DuBarry was a Lady--film on DVD

Often very talented people don't fit into the narrow categories they are offered in the early part of their careers. They need to define themselves as performers and find their niche or remake the world to create a new niche for themselves. That seems the case with the very talented but ineffective cast of Cole Porter's DuBarry was a Lady.

Lucille Ball may suffer the most in this film for not fitting the mold of a beautiful chanteuse looking for marriage with deep pockets rather than love. In her early scenes, Ms. Ball falls flat and in delivering her dialogue and even in her nightclub song (where she is clearly dubbed). She comes to live much more in the "second act" of the film which is entirely a dream sequence in 18th Century France. Here there is a lot more comedy in which she can shine, and there are flashes of the comic genius that will redefine television and create the sit-com a decade later.

Gene Kelly and Red Skelton also suffer to a lesser extent being cast in this musical which really don't fit their talents. Skelton, too, will prove better in the medium of television. While Kelly has a fantastic tap number, he's not the singer to introduce Porter's song "Do I Love You."

The delightful find of the film is the comic song "Salome" sung by Virginia O'Brien, who fares well as the under-appreciated comic side-kick. The other big number from the score is the familiar "Friendship" where Ms. Ball is clearly no dubbed, but perhaps should have been.

DuBarry was a Lady
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Film released by MGM in 1943
Cast: Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Gene Kelly, Zero Mostel, Virginia O'Brien, Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum film on DVD

Eek, a week since my last entry. Sorry, a combination of work obligations and internet connectivity issues have hog-tied me. So it's a good thing I had a farcical romp like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum to entertain me.

I didn't realize this had music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. For some reason I thought he did the lyrics only, like he had for Gypsy and West Side Story. But no, he did both for this show. Was this Sondheim's first Broadway score? If so, "Comedy Tonight" is a home-run. The rest of the score is probably greatly compromised from stage to film and doesn't really hold its own.

The clowning does hold its own for me, even if the very 1960s filming techniques seem a bit dated now. Zero Mostel and Jack Gifford reprise their roles from the stage version, which premiered in 1962. Phil Silvers is added to the film along with Buster Keaton, to create a whos-who of top-notch clowns. Bland-ola Michael Crawford is the young lover, Hero. He has the skinniest legs ever, and should never were a toga again. Fortunately, the primary song for Hero "Lovely" is better suited to Crawford's voice than what he was asked to sing in the film version of Hello Dolly.

About ten years ago, this show was remounted with Nathan Lane in the Zero Mostel role. I can imagine the antics being much funnier on stage than on screen, which tends to flatten the action for me sometimes. Mr. Lane was later replaced by Whoopi Goldberg. Did she play the character as a man or a woman? The sex-capades of the romp would change dramatically, depending on that answer.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart
Film directed by Richard Lester
Released in 1966
Cast: Michael Crawford, Zero Mostel, Jack Gifford, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, Annette Andre