Here Come the Girls (1953), 6 Color

A clumsy, full-of-himself chorus boy gets a chance at Broadway stardom when he's a stand in for a leading actor threatened by an infamous killer.
1h 18min | Comedy, Musical | 14 August 1953 | Color
Director: Claude Binyon
Stars: Bob Hope, Tony Martin, Arlene Dahl, Rosemary Clooney, Millard Mitchell, William Demarest, Fred Clark, Robert Strauss.
Nick Castle ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045866/
Watched online, blurry.

In the Tap! Appendix for The Four Step Brothers. They appear late in the Ali Baba number, which I've linked below. BH is tapping with them, with less precision and no stunts.

Songs performed:

• Girls, Sung/danced by the chorus (including BH) during the first production number 
• Never So Beautiful, Sung by Tony Martin 
• Ya Got Class, Sung by Rosemary Clooney and Bob Hope 
• It's Torment, Danced to by Inesita (brief flamenco, in man's clothing), Sung by Bob Hope, Arlene Dahl and chorus 
• When You Love Someone, Sung by Rosemary Clooney 
• Ali Baba (Be My Baby), Sung by Rosemary Clooney, Also danced to by The Four Step Brothers and Bob Hope
• Heavenly Days, Sung by Tony Martin 
• See the Circus, Sung by Arlene Dahl and chorus 

Enjoyable BH fluff, where RS is trying to kill him with a knife, even onstage during performances, because AD claims to love him, all to shield her true love TM.

BH dances up a storm here, in the first number and in Ali Baba. I'm impressed. Then again, the print is blurry, and the crew includes a specialty dance double; no photo to determine if he could have been BH's dance double. There certainly was a stunt on a bicycle that needed a double.

Loses a + on my rating because the plot is repetitive and we get (seemingly) long stretches between musical numbers.

Hope Enterprises, Paramount, dir. Binyon; 6

The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), 6

Grainbelt University has one attraction for Dobie Gillis - women, especially Pansy Hammer. Pansy's father, even though and maybe because she says she's in dreamville, does not share her ... 
1h 12min | Comedy, Musical | 14 August 1953 | b/w
Director: Don Weis
Stars: Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, Barbara Ruick, Bob Fosse.
Alex Romero ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045479/

1st film acting credit for BF. 1st full choreography credit in a musical for Alex Romero (only uncredited assistants before), also in the cast (as "Announcer").

There's no character named Maynard G. Krebs in this film, the Bob Denver role in the '59-'63 TV show The Many Loves of DG.

Songs performed (30 chapters, no menu):

• ch11. All I Do Is Dream of You, Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van 
• ch13. You Can't Do Wrong Doin' Right, sung/danced by Barbara Ruick, Bob Fosse, Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van 
• ch16. All I Do Is Dream of You, Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van 
• ch20. I'm Thru with Love, Performed by Bobby Van 
• ch28. Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms, Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Barbara Ruick 
• ch29. All I Do Is Dream of You (alternate lyrics, brief), Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van, Fosse, Ruick

AFI also lists "You Wonderful You," words by Saul Chaplin and Jack Brooks, music by Harry Warren, additional words and music by Jeff Alexander; I didn't hear it.

This is a lot of drivel to sit through for the 1 Fosse number. However, it's a great number, especially to compare the Fosse whole-body dance style against the Bobby Van classic hoofing (who again reminds me of Ray Bolger without the legomania). I'm so taken by watching that, I don't really notice DR, who's off-screen or off to the side.

The story of DR's strict parents, BV's poor academic decisions, and BR's relentless use of BF is all really horrid. Maybe it's funny to a layman, but the freshmen cutting class and plagiarizing irritates me beyond belief.

MGM, dir. Weis; 6

Latin Lovers (1953), 6+ Color

Nora Taylor has $37,000,00 but thinks every man she meets prefers her bankbook figure to her own, and that include her current fiancé, Paul Chevron, who has $48,000,000 of his own. Paul ... 
1h 44min | Comedy, Music, Romance | 28 August 1953 | Color
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Lana Turner, Ricardo Montalban, John Lund, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, Eduard Franz, Beulah Bondi.
Veloz ... choreographer (as Frank Veloz)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045988/

6 songs in Soundtrack, only 1 with performer, and he's not in the cast.

When RM sings that song, it does indeed sound like Carlos Ramirez; AFI doesn't mention him.

This is RM's 28th of 63 films (some non-US), and per AFI, his last for MGM. I think I saw him limp once in this film, but he rides a horse (gentle cantor), and dances the mambo with Rita Moreno and LT, so the back injury from '51 isn't slowing him down much.

I watched this in segments, so I'm not sure that I understood the plot completely. The confusion point: when/why did LT decide her money was a problem in her romance with RM? She thought it was with JL, who has $48M of his own, and she was right. Each of them goes to a shrink to figure it out: he to Eduard Franz (shown to be a henpecked husband, and we get a cute twist with this wife), she to Beulah Bondi (very nice to see her as a competent professional instead of maternal or feeble). 

LC plays RM's adorable, womanizing grandfather. JH plays LT's secretary/companion.

Yes, LT's wardrobe is all gray, white, black; beautiful gowns. 

Hopefully next time I'll pay better attention. The enjoyment here may just be the players, but that's enough for a 6+.

MGM, dir. LeRoy; 6+

The Caddy (1953), 6

Although gifted golfer Harvey Miller is too nervous to golf in public tournaments, he acts as coach and caddy for friend Joe Anthony.
1h 35min | Comedy, Musical, Sport | 10 August 1953 | b/w
Director: Norman Taurog
Stars: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Donna Reed.
Jack Baker ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045589/
Watched online, good print.

6 songs in the Soundtrack: 1 by JL, 2 by DM, 3 by both (1 of them also with others).

Just another entry in the M&L filmography, with the emphasis on comedy.

The only time actor Lewis Martin is credited in anything with Jerry Lewis or Dean Martin. This is 23rd of his 44 film credits.

York Pictures Corp., distr. Paramount, dir. Taurog; 6

Cruisin' Down the River (1953), 6 Color

Beauregard Clemment, a New York night club crooner, inherits a broken-down Georgia showboat. He decides to turn it into a nightclub. He falls in love with Sally Jane, the granddaughter of ... 
1h 19min | Musical | 23 July 1953 | Color
Director: Richard Quine
Stars: Dick Haymes, Audrey Totter, Billy Daniels, Cecil Kellaway.
Lee Scott ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045660/

Watched online, blurrrrrry, but better than another copy by the same user, which also has weak sound.

See the guy down in the corner of the poster? That's Billy Daniels, and I believe he's African American. He's the manservant to CK, has a gorgeous voice and sings in his spare time, primarily in church (all black) and then on the showboat. Other black performers are included in the church scenes, but more important, in the showboat scenes which are racially integrated. I think there is so much footage on black performers here that excising them would make this a much shorter film. 

10 songs in the Soundtracks, only 1 with a performer.

DH sings plenty, and even dances a bit. There was a blonde dancing, but it was too blurry to decide if it was AT or not. Really nice to see AT in a non-Noir role; she plays a college teacher of English who falls for DH, and is the granddaughter of CK who had a feud with DH's grandfather. 

There was 1 dance number (ensemble) that impressed me a for a few moments.

The racial integration made me super happy. But the poor print prevents me from giving this a +.

Columbia, dir. Quine; 6

Let's Do It Again (1953), 6 Color

In this 1953 musical remake of "The Awful Truth" Wyman is married to womanizing composer Milland and sets out to give him some of his own medicine. She has an affair, but her ploy backfires... 
1h 35min | Comedy, Musical | 17 July 1953
Director: Alexander Hall
Stars: Jane Wyman, Ray Milland, Aldo Ray, Leon Ames.
Valerie Bettis ... choreographer: Valerie Bettis' dances
Lee Scott ... choreographer: Jane Wyman's dances

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045995/

Cast comparison with The Awful Truth ('37):

Jane Wyman::Irene Dunne

Ray Milland::Cary Grant

Aldo Ray:: Ralph Bellamy

And that film had director Leo McCarey, whom CG was supposedly imitating when he created his future persona during the film.

This is almost a scene-for-scene remake, but without the same dialog, and missing some important cuteness: the shared custody was of the dog (The Thin Man's ('34) Asta by a different name); here it's of a piano that can't be moved because the exterior window has been changed. 

And far more important, the cuteness of the reconciliation is completely absent: no broken lock, no cat blocking the door, no animated clock with CG & ID as the dancing figures, and most important, no prolonged mooning by the couple wistfully wanting each other. Here it's much more abrupt and afterthought-ish.

R.Bellamy was a milquetoast 1st generation oil millionaire from Oklahoma with a mother in tow, and she wanted everything to be terribly proper. AR is alone, very virile and rugged (looks out of place in his tuxedo), a uranium millionaire from Alaska.

Per the Soundtracks, 6 songs performed. That's enough to call it a musical, but the songs too feel like an afterthought. JW shows us perhaps why she didn't make more musicals. (Recall that she worked as a chorus girl in many films.) Perhaps she was not so musically adept to emerge from the chorus that way. Her first prominent parts were sassy acting roles, not songs/dances.

Valerie Bettis, who choreographed R.Hayworth in Salome ('53) and Affair in Trinidad ('52) plus a couple of other films, had a dance number (mostly adagio with ~5 chorus boys) that was interesting mostly for the full-length, flared half skirt (more of a train) that was sewn to her stockings down their seams. Made for a good visual effect, but distracted from the dance itself because I was checking whether it was indeed attached.

Fascinating perhaps only to contrast with the truly classic antecedent (though not the original; 2 others were made in the 20's). 

Columbia, dir. Hall; 6

The Band Wagon (1953), 8- Color

A pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.
1h 52min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 9 July 1953 | Color
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Stars: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan, James Mitchell.
Michael Kidd ... stager: dances and musical numbers

Patricia Denise ... assistant dance director (uncredited) / dancing stand-in: Cyd Charisse (uncredited)

Alex Romero ... assistant dance director (uncredited) / dancing stand-in: Fred Astaire (uncredited)

Oliver Smith ... designer: musical numbers (art department)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045537/

In the Tap! Appendix for Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan. That's a soft-shoe (ch22), not really worthy of being called tap. FA's ch5 dance is more tap-ish.

Songs performed (29 chapters with menu):

• ch3. By Myself, Performed by Fred Astaire  
• ch5. A Shine on Your Shoes, Sung by Fred Astaire and Danced by him and Leroy Daniels 
• ch6. Oedipus Bridge, Performed by Jack Buchanan and chorus 
• ch8. That's Entertainment, Performed by Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant and Fred Astaire 
• ch10. The Beggars Waltz, Danced by Cyd Charisse, James Mitchell and The Corps de Ballet 
• ch15. Dancing in the Dark, Danced by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse 
• ch17. You and the Night and the Music, Sung by chorus, Danced by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse (pyrotechnics overload)
• ch19. Something to Remember You By, Performed by chorus at after-party 
• ch19. I Love Louisa, Performed by Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and chorus 
• ch21. New Sun in the Sky, Performed by Cyd Charisse (dubbed by India Adams) 
• ch22. I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan, Performed by Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanan 
• ch23. Louisiana Hayride, Performed by Nanette Fabray and chorus 
• ch25. Triplets, Performed by Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan 
• ch27. The Girl Hunt, Danced by The Corps de Ballet, Danced by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse 
• ch28. By Myself, reprised by Fred Astaire  
• ch29. That's Entertainment, Reprised by Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant, Cyd Charisse (dubbed by India Adams) and Fred Astaire in the finale 

Commentary track by Michael Feinstein and Liza Minnelli (b. '46); she has memories of being on set as a child, but her best contributions are pointing out various technical/artistic points that she sees because she's been in the business. They are friends and big fans of the film; most of their comments amount to personal asides to each other. When discussing JB's career, MF mentions a bunch of B'way stuff, and ignores the film he made with Jeanette MacDonald and Ernest Lubitsch at Paramount. I'm guessing the track was recorded in '05 (the year the dvd was released), and people probably weren't reaching for IMDb as readily then (originated in '96). I stopped the commentary halfway through this time. The 37 min featurette on disc 2 was fine.

I don't find this as enjoyable as MF&LM do, never have. I think I'm not enough of a theatre person, because they rave about how it's so true to the experience of putting on a show. My favorite song here is By Myself, which is only sung, not danced; That's Entertainment has been used so much, I dread it. Louisiana Hayride makes me wonder what the heck the show within the film is about; and that's after JB's overblown production has been scrapped.

None of the dancing is particularly exciting. The Girl Hunt ballet is very tongue-in-cheek. It seems to be mocking G.Kelly's Slaughter on Tenth Avenue from Words and Music ('48) and the Broadway ballet from Singin' in the Rain ('51), and I don't like that. I'd much rather watch Gene Nelson dance than watch this "fun spoof". Only 3 more FA dancing films in the 50's, then Finian's Rainbow ('68). There's a reason the Tap! author cut off her book at 1955.

My 8 is a prior rating. I don't feel like downgrading it, but might give this a 7 today. IMDb average is 7.6 with 8,400+ votes.

MGM, dir. Minnelli; 8-

Sweethearts on Parade (1953), 5 Color

Cam Ellerby (Ray Middleton) brings his traveling medicine show to town and it spells glamor and excitement to young Sylvia Townsend (Eileen Christy). Her mother, Kathleen (Lucille Norman), ... 
1h 30min | Drama, Music, Romance | 15 July 1953 | Color
Director: Allan Dwan
Stars: Ray Middleton, Lucille Norman, Eileen Christy, Clinton Sundberg.
Nick Castle ... dance director

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046386/

Watched online, bad print: some sections turned into a single color, and many jump cuts felt like damage splices.

Why would this have a 7.5 rating (only 18) votes?

We have here a collection of several good singers, singing lots of meh songs (no performers listed in the Soundtracks.) And some ok dance numbers. It's all set in the 1850's, so not my preferred era. One number is done in blackface, including the female lead singer (dressed in male attire).

The story, about a woman and near-adult daughter who rediscover the husband/father who mom abandoned years ago to give the daughter a more stable life (?). Yet when his tent show comes to town, they end up leaving with him/it. (I skipped all the stuff in the middle.)

I like film because it gives me insights about the era in which it was filmed. I don't get that from period pieces like this. So those have to give me even better story than a contemporary film. Didn't happen here. Lots of unfamiliar faces (except the lead, the abandoned father, although even looking at his filmography didn't explain why I find him familiar), and I don't care about the story or the characters.

Republic, dir. Dwan; 5

So This Is Love (1953), 6- Color

Biopic of opera star Grace Moore, who was killed in a plane crash in 1947.
1h 41min | Biography, Music, Musical | 15 July 1953 | Color
Director: Gordon Douglas
Stars: Kathryn Grayson, Merv Griffin, Walter Abel, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeff Donnell, Fortunio Bonanova.
LeRoy Prinz ... choreographer
Paul Haakon ... assistant dance director (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046334/

Watched online, ok print.

Curious that KG made this film at Warner. I wonder if she was still under contract to MGM and this was a loan out. Kiss Me Kate ('53) is still MGM, but she has only 1 more film credit after that, a Paramount release. No filming date info on IMDb for Kate.

I know who Grace Moore is because she did When You're in Love ('37) with Cary Grant and 8 other films. I wasn't aware that she died in a plane crash, which is not shown in this film.

I don't trust biopics for accuracy, so the subject is irrelevant. This is yet another story of a wannabe star. And I didn't find it particularly interesting, nor was I pleased by the music (~17 songs performed).

The time-consuming ballet duo was mildly interesting since the dancers, The Szonys, went beyond traditional ballet moves (for instance, she did a leap into a split). But it was just a performance specialty; these were not characters in the story - I don't think. (I was semi-watching on a small screen).

So, here's a big shrug.

Warner, dir. Douglas; 6-

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), 9 Color

Showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers.
1h 31min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 1 July 1953 | Color
Director: Howard Hawks
Stars: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, George Winslow, Marcel Dalio.
Jack Cole ... choreographer
Gwen Verdon ... assistant choreographer (per AFI)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045810/

This performance is the definition of the MM persona.

The film Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955) is listed in IMDb as "following" this, and the source material does, and JR costars there. But it was produced by a different studio, and the character names and relationship (sisters) are different.

Songs performed (30 chapters with menu):

• ch1-2. Two Little Girls from Little Rock, sung by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell (dubbed by Eileen Wilson) with Chorus 
• ch6. Bye Bye Baby, Performed by Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe with Passengers 
• ch8. Anyone Here for Love?, Performed by Jane Russell and the Olympic Team 
• ch22. When Love Goes Wrong, Performed by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell (dubbed by Eileen Wilson) with Parisians 
• ch24. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, Performed by Marilyn Monroe with Chorus 
• ch27. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, Also performed by Jane Russell 

The AFI catalog also lists:

"You're in Love," music and lyrics by Lionel Newman and Eliot Daniel

and no mention of it being cut. But I don't find it.

I'm shocked to see a dubber for JR's duets with MM. I tried to listen hard on the first one, but I don't think she gets any solo time in that song. (I forgot by the time the second duet arrived 20 chapters later.)

This film is every bit as delightful as my prior 9 rating would indicate. The songs are catchy (but welcome to repeat in my ear) and well-staged/performed. 

The wardrobe is terrific, except when the letter of credit has been revoked, and they're out on the street, both wearing conservative outfits, MM's has a spectacular collar (but the lowish neckline shows nothing), and JR's is drably  accessorized with hat and matching scarf. The pink gown of the Diamonds number is gorgeous, especially the color; chorus girls are also in other shades of pink, and in the wide-skirted style with organdy/tulle fabric; MM's is sleek and memorable. (And yes, if you look for him, you can see George Chakiris in that number.)

The feminist in me has no problem with this. The women are great friends, they have a career, and are objectifying men in similar ways to the ways men do women, as MM explains in her delightful speech about it. If I weren't such a fan of MM & JR, I might be able to whip up some militant fervor, but I just can't manage.

Always welcome, and delightful here: CC. And the little boy, GW, is hilarious.

At the moment, I have 3,877 ratings, with 14 10's and 83 9's. The graph here is the easiest way to find that count: just mouseover the bars until the total appears.

Fox, dir. Hawks; 9

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953), 4 Color

A young boy travels to an imaginary world where, assisted by his family's plumber, he must save other piano playing kids like himself from the dungeons of his dictatorial piano teacher who also mind-controls his mother.
1h 29min | Family, Fantasy, Music | 19 June 1953 | Color
Director: Roy Rowland
Stars: Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig.
Eugene Loring ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045464/

The boy here, TR, became Lassie's TV master from '54-'57.

Sheer torture. If there weren't other titles on the disc, I'd hurl it into a dumpster.

I'm not a Dr. Seuss aficionado; the only tales of his that I know are the 2 Horton films (hears a Who, and hatches an egg) and the Grinch; I like those. I know _of_ green eggs and ham and other such, but don't know them.

This one has a high-ish rating on IMDb: 6.9 with 3.2k votes.

I would like to have enjoyed the dancing, but the absence of females in this film bugged the heck out of me. The only female I saw was the boy's mother, and she was hypnotized into being the baddy's henchwoman. And all the "whimsical" musical instruments were the main focus of the big dance anyway, not the humans playing them.

I felt the story dragged on and on. Perhaps this would have made a cute half hour film instead of trying to fill 89 minutes. Probably also needed to be animated, not live action.

Childish, slow, boring, sexist. 

Columbia, dir. Rowland; 4

Dangerous When Wet (1953), 8 Color

A young woman enters a contest to be the first to swim the English Channel.
1h 35min | Animation, Comedy, Musical | 18 June 1953 | Color
Director: Charles Walters
Stars: Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson, Charlotte Greenwood, William Demarest.

Billy Daniel ... choreographer

Charles Walters ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045670/

The high rating is for the story, and the drama of the channel swim finale. I like the family (CG (she does her kicks and splits!) & WD are EW's parents), and FL as the love interest (they marry '69-'82, his death). Also cute: the live action blended with cartoon swim with Tom and Jerry and FL as an octopus.

Songs performed (26 chapters with menu):

• ch2. I Got Out Of Bed on the Right Side, Performed by William Demarest, Esther Williams, Charlotte Greenwood and Donna Corcoran 
• ch4. I Like Men, Sung by Barbara Whiting 
• ch13. In My Wildest Dreams, Sung by FL
• ch17. EW swims with Tom and Jerry in time to music, octopus FL reprises In My Wildest Dreams, a family of seahorses reprise I Got Out of Bed on the Right Side
• ch20. Ain't Nature Grand? Sung by Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas, Also sung by Barbara Whiting, Also sung by Jack Carson and Denise Darcel, Also sung and danced by Charlotte Greenwood and William Demarest 
• ch21. Ain't Nature Grand? Swum by EW & FL
• ch26. I Got Out Of Bed on the Right Side, reprised by the principals

MGM, dir. Walters; 8

The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953), 6 Color

A romantic triangle develops on Erie Canal boats in 1850.
1h 21min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 12 June 1953 | Color
Director: Henry Levin
Stars: Betty Grable, Dale Robertson, Thelma Ritter, John Carroll, Eddie Foy Jr.

Jack Cole ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045752/

Bootleg, poor print during GV dance especially.

Definitely a musical: 8 of 10 songs in the Soundtracks have performers identified. But Fox is sabotaging Grable again by putting her 100 years back, where legs are not exposed (I don't remember seeing the costume in the poster drawing.) She gets down to camisole and bloomers that cover the whole leg, and gets wet, but it still reveals nothing.

Nor does she dance much. Even when we get ensemble dancing, with Jack Cole constrained to a non-exotic setting, non-exotic characters, she's an observer, not a participator.

When she dances with Gwen Verdon, GV's moves are tamed to meet BG and/or the era, and it's all too brief anyway.

DR is adorable. He seems calm and gentle, yet ready and able to fight when needed. He sings here, and it sounds like his voice. It doesn't sound like he could project on stage. But as beefcake goes, he's Grade A Prime.

The story is fascinating in 1 aspect: did women really hire out to be the cook/housekeeper on a 2-man canal boat: 1 man driving the horses that drag the boat through the canal, and 1 man aboard and steering? How did THAT not result in sexual harassment or worse? It's very close quarters. And she's one of many such women according to this script. She's "engaged" to the owner (JC) of her current boat, but he's gone from a lot of the film (in jail), so she can concentrate on new hire DR. And he's so hot headed and alcoholic, you immediately want her to dump him.

TR is welcome, as always, but doesn't contribute much here. She's got too much money and status in this role, and that's not the best use of TR.

So: too much modesty/clothing, too little dancing, but an interesting historical(?) factoid(?).

Fox, dir. Levin; 6

Remains to Be Seen (1953), 6-

June Allyson plays a band singer working in New York City; Van Johnson is the manager of a fancy apartment house where a murder is committed. The victim is Allyson's wealthy uncle, and ... 
1h 28min | Comedy, Crime, Music | 15 May 1953 | b/w
Director: Don Weis
Stars: June Allyson, Van Johnson, Louis Calhern, Angela Lansbury, Dorothy Dandridge.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046235/
Watched online, ok print for small screen.

This has no business with a Music tag. 3 songs in the Soundtracks.

Dorothy Dandridge, in gown and hairdo used on the poster for Bright Road ('53) sings Taking a Chance on Love in a completely excisable number in a nightclub. She's announced by her own name within the film, and does nothing else.

The plot is hard to follow because the film doesn't engage my attention after the opening scenes. A barking dog leads the manager to the apartment of a dead guy. The dog is not his, and they think the death is natural until someone sticks a chef's knife in his chest after the manager and others move the body from the living room to the bedroom.

JA is not singing in NYC; a lot of time/effort is spent in the script explaining that she came from a tour, is missing work, and is trying to contact her bandleader. She was lured to NY by her uncle's attorney (why, I forget) named Benjamin Goodman (guess who she thought the telegram was from), and now she inherits the income from a million until she dies. But AL wants the money; her foundation is the next in line after JA kicks. AL tries to lure JA to her death by sleepwalking off the balcony, but luckily VJ plays some music (record/radio) that lures her to him just in time.

Then we get the romance developing between JA & VJ (yawn), and it turns out the doctor did it, and tries to kill JA when she figures it out. But VJ comes to the rescue. The End.

If you like VJ and JA, and plenty of people must have, then this might be pleasant. For me, it was a chore. Since I didn't pay full attention, I'll be generous.

MGM, dir. Weis; 6-

The Girl Next Door (1953), 7- Color

Stage-and-night club star Jeannie Laird (June Haver) buys her first home, and everyone who is anyone comes to her first garden party only to be blinded by smoke from next door. Jeannie ... 
1h 32min | Comedy, Musical | 13 May 1953 | Color
Director: Richard Sale
Stars: Dan Dailey, June Haver, Dennis Day, Billy Gray, Cara Williams.
Richard Barstow ... choreographer 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045815/

In the Tap! Appendix for Dan Dailey (DD). If he tapped, so did JH.

16th and final film credit for JH. Her bio trivia says she was in a convent Feb-Sep '53, a reaction to a fiance who died; no filming dates for this movie. She marries Fred MacMurray Jun '54.

DD has several more films, including 5 musicals.

1 more musical for Billy Gray.

I'd recommend watching the featurette "Discovering the Girl Next Door" before the film next time, or make sure you pay better attention to the dancing. The other 2 featurettes, on DD and on BG, are worth the few minutes they last as well.

Songs performed (25 chapters with menu):

• ch1. We Girls of the Chorus, Performed by June Haver (dubbed by Beryl Davis) and female chorus during the opening credits
• ch1. The Great White Way, Performed by an off-screen chorus during the opening credits
• ch2-3. A Quiet Little Place in the Country, Performed by June Haver (dubbed by Beryl Davis)
• ch5. If I Love You a Mountain, Performed by Dennis Day
• ch7. I'd Rather Have a Pal Than a Gal Anytime, Performed by Dan Dailey and Billy Gray "washing"
• ch9. You're Doin' All Right, Performed by Dan Dailey and June Haver (dubbed by Beryl Davis) in her backyard.
• ch11. Nowhere Guy, Performed by June Haver (dubbed by Beryl Davis), then danced by June Haver, Dan Dailey and male dance chorus in DD's head, set on nightclub stage
• ch14. I'm Mad About the Girl Next Door, Performed by Dan Dailey, Danced by Dan Dailey and June Haver in the empty nightclub
• ch18. You, Performed by Dennis Day, Dan Dailey and June Haver (dubbed by Beryl Davis)
• ch21. You(I)'d Rather Have a Pal / I'm Mad About the Girl Next Door (medley), Performed by Dan Dailey, June Haver (dubbed by Beryl Davis) and Billy Gray in a daydream forest
• ch23. If I Love You a Mountain, Also performed by Dennis Day and Cara Williams
• ch24. ...the Girl Next Door reprise by Dennis Day and choir, danced by DD & JH in her backyard
• ch??. The Great White Way, Danced by Dan Dailey and June Haver 

Pleasant and different: DD is a stay at home, work at home, single-parent (widowed) dad, and international stage star JH buys the house next door. The musical numbers do NOT come from her large-stage career; one that starts there quickly turns into DD's daydream. What I remembered from this is JH+DD dancing in her backyard. They also dance in 2 daydream sequences and in an empty nightclub. He's a lot taller than she (5'1"), which isn't always great. The story is more about BG adjusting to his dad (DD) falling for JH when BG+DD have been a tight unit for years. JH's showbiz career seems like an excuse for her to dance, and he (a cartoonist) dances because she does.

We get 2 animation sequences by UPA embedded in the film.

Fox was smart enough to use both DD's acting and musical performance talents. This intimate musical is a good outing for him and for us. JH brings beauty, glamour, and dancing chops too. While I respect the studio making a differently-centered musical, I don't love those in-home-conflict stories. (Us against the world, yes. us against each other, no.)

Fox, dir. Sale; 7-

Scared Stiff (1953), 6-

Fleeing a murder charge, a busboy and a nightclub singer wind up on a spooky Caribbean island inherited by an heiress.
1h 48min | Comedy, Horror, Musical | 27 April 1953
Director: George Marshall
Stars: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizabeth Scott, Carmen Miranda.
Billy Daniel ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046280/

Watched online, good print.

The musical numbers are clustered together, with 3 in the initial scene in the restaurant, 4 aboard ship (3 with CM or JL imitating her), and nothing after they land in Cuba and get to the island (with the supposedly haunted castle).

This is CM's last screen credit. She has 2 more TV appearances (15 episodes total), the last being the one after which she had her fatal heart attack ('55).

Songs performed:

• "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine" by DM with chorus girls
• "You Hit the Spot" by DM, interrupted by JL
• "What Have You Done for Me Lately" by DM & JL
• "San Domingo" by CM, DM, JL
• "When Someone Wonderful Thinks You're Wonderful" by DM
• "Mamãe eu quero (Mama yo quiero)" by JL
• "Song of the Enchilada Man" by DM, CM, JL and chorus

This is totally shrug-worthy. The plot is very Abbott&Costello-ish, with multiple independent stories woven lightly together: the gangster plot from act 1 intersects the inheritance plot in acts 2&3 because hotel rooms are nearby.

Wallis-Hazen, distr. Paramount, dir. Marshall; 6-

Sombrero (1953), 6+ Color

Adapted from the book, "Mexican Village," by Josefina Niggli, the film tells three interwoven love stories against the background of a feud between two villages. Cyd Charisse and Rick Jason... 
1h 43min | Musical, Romance | 22 April 1953 | Color
Director: Norman Foster
Stars: Ricardo Montalban, Pier Angeli, Vittorio Gassman, Vittorio Gassman, Yvonne De Carlo, Cyd Charisse, Rick Jason, Nina Foch, Kurt Kasznar, José Greco.
José Greco ... choreographer
Hermes Pan ... choreographer for Miss Charisse

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046344/
Bootleg, ok print.

Weird combination of comedy and drama. Not a dramedy, but one of 3 storylines is primarily "funny."

3 couples: son of a cheesemaker RM chases PA from rival town, mostly comedically. His buddy, RJ, a candy vendor, falls for the sister (CC) of torrero JG. Meanwhile, 3rd buddy VG, from a prominent family, loves YD from the slum (or worse), but marries NF because he has a terminal brain tumor and she is also from a prominent family and this is what his father wants.

CC & JG are gypsies and very superstitious; he believes that he will survive the bull ring only if she remains pure, so he forbids her from dating or even leaving their hotel room without him. She seeks the help of a witch, who gives her an effigy and instructions, including that she must make sure her intended victim (brother JG) sees the doll, since believers are more susceptible to it power. Sure enough he gets killed in the ring. She feels guilty, and seeks redemption by dancing with a sword on a temple ruin high in the mountains during a thunderstorm.

That dance by CC (~88min) and JG's flamenco dance (~54min) are the best reasons to watch this. This is the 2nd of 5 film credits for JG.

RM injured his back filming Across the Wide Missouri ('51), doesn't dance here, but has lots of action that's probably aided by a stuntman. I don't see a limp, but his actions are so animated that he may be masking it, or maybe we didn't see him walk much. He sang, twice I think, and it sounded like his own voice.

Unfortunately, YD doesn't dance. Her storyline is the most interesting (although she's often just referenced), and its resolution is eyebrow-raising. The comedic RM plot is the least interesting and seems to take a lot of screen time.

5 songs in the Soundtracks with no performers. Some titles suggest dance music.

MGM, dir. Foster; 6+

Bright Road (1953), 8

Based on the story "See How They Run," which ran in the June 1951 issue of "The Ladies' Home Journal" and subsequently won that year's Christopher Award. The story was written by Mary ... 
1h 8min | Drama, Music | 17 April 1953
Director: Gerald Mayer
Stars: Dorothy Dandridge, Philip Hepburn, Harry Belafonte.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045578/
Watched online, good print.

The Soundtracks says DD sang twice; I don't remember it, unless she was part of a group sing. The poster is terribly misleading. She never appears in an evening gown in this film (but appears exactly like this in Remains To Be Seen ('53)). Here she wears plain schoolteacher clothes and pulled-back hair.

I do remember HF singing, only his own guitar accompaniment, not an impressive selection. But he's the principal of a school, not an entertainer. I wouldn't classify this as music/al, but I won't fight it.

I'm very glad to have seen the film. I'm sure it's mostly white behind the camera, but this is incredible progress for black portrayal onscreen. Especially since I speculated that a black number in the film I watched immediately prior was still excisable.

It's very nice to see DD act a straight-arrow role. This is her 24th of 32 credits. 1st of 13 film credits for HF. PH has only 1 other credit 4 years later.

This is a tale of good new teacher trying to reach the troubled boy. It's told well, with nice details, and voice-over to convey the teacher's thoughts at times. The story could easily have been about a white rural community instead. But the fact that it's black educated adults dealing with black children makes it very refreshing in '53.

I liked it.

MGM, dir. Mayer; 8

Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie (1952), 6 Color

At the fiftieth anniversary of his town's founding, the town's first barber recalls his long-dead, spirited bride and the flaw in his own character that helped bring about her loss and others.
1h 48min | Drama | 27 June 1952 | Color
Director: Henry King
Stars: Jean Peters, David Wayne, Hugh Marlowe.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045307/
Official release, but horrible print: too dark to see what's going on.

Skipped this in '52 despite the film title being a song title, because the title song is the only song in the Soundtracks, and this is not tagged as music/al. But saw this on Tommy Morton's filmography, and took another look at the poster, then at the songs in the AFI catalog, which has 3 more songs. But they didn't jump out at me; they might just be background, sung by an offscreen quartet at best.

Although TM (playing DW's son) does dance with Helene Stanley to the title song in a vaudeville setting, it's only the one number (ch8). So I have to concur this is not a musical.

Amazon reviewers are very sentimental about this film. I don't understand why. It strikes me as just another multi-generation telling of family+history+progress, this one including the Spanish-American War, WWI, Chicago's St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and barely mentioning WWII.

Fox, dir. King; 6

Small Town Girl (1953), 7+ Color

Rick Belrow Livingston, in love with Broadway star Lisa, is sentenced to 30 days in jail for speeding through a small town. He persuades the judge's daughter Cindy to let him leave for one ...
1h 32min | Musical, Romance | 10 April 1953
Director: László Kardos (as Leslie Kardos)
Stars: Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller, S.Z. Sakall, Robert Keith, Bobby Van, Billie Burke, Chill Wills.

Busby Berkeley ... choreographer

Alex Romero ... assistant choreographer (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046330/

In the Tap! Appendix for Ann Miller, Bobby Van+.

Bobby Van (b. '28) here looks and dances a lot like Ray Bolger. His hopping dance (ch8) lasts over 3 min and has only 3 cuts (4 segments). I remember Elaine Joyce telling the story that he was hospitalized after the number, but I don't find that anywhere. Here's Hugh Jackman's homage on the 2014 Tony's (I can't believe he sang at the end!)

Songs performed (10 chapters, no menu):

• ch1. The Lullaby of the Lord, Performed by Jane Powell & chorus [Cindy leads the church choir and congregation in song at the regular church service] 
• ch2. Fine, Fine, Fine, Performed by Jane Powell, Bobby Van & female chorus [Ludwig and Cindy sing and dance to the song at the box social] 
• ch3. Small Towns Are Smile Towns, Performed by Jane Powell [Cindy sings the song to Rick in jail] 
• ch4. Take Me to Broadway, Performed by Bobby Van [Ludwig sings and dances to the song when he is alone in Papa's store after hours trying on the tuxedo] 
• ch5. The Fellow I'd Follow, Performed by Jane Powell [Cindy sings the song at the party at the Livingston mansion] 
• ch6. I've Gotta Hear that Beat, Performed by Ann Miller [Lisa sings and dances to the song when Rick arrives at the theater the first time] (Hands through the floor "playing" instruments)
• ch7. My Flaming Heart, Performed by Nat 'King' Cole [Nat King Cole sings the song at the Club Del Rio when Rick shows Cindy a night on the town in New York City, and Cindy later listens to the song on the phonograph in her bedroom] 
• ch8. Take Me to Broadway (reprise), Performed by Bobby Van [Ludwig hops through the streets of Duck City to a largely instrumental version of the song after leaving the Kimbell house] 
• ch9. My Gaucho, Performed by Ann Miller & male chorus [Lisa dances to the song when Rick arrives at the theater the second time] 
• ch10. Hallelujah Chorus from "The Messiah", Performed by chorus with Jane Powell [The church choir is singing the song when Rick and his mother arrive at the church] 

It's '53; they're probably still excising Nat King Cole's number in some regions.

Between BV & AM, this is very good dancing film. CW, BB, CZ add spice, and Handel's Messiah was a very nice musical addition. FG was well-cast in the role, and well-paired with AM & JP.

MGM, dir. Kardos; 7+

I Love Melvin (1953), 7- Color

Melvin Hoover, a budding photographer for Look magazine, accidentally bumps into a young actress named Judy LeRoy in the park. They start to talk and Melvin soon offers to do a photo spread... 
1h 17min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 20 March 1953 | Color
Director: Don Weis
Stars: Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel, Richard Anderson, Allyn Joslyn, Les Tremayne, Noreen Corcoran, Jim Backus.

Robert Alton ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045899/

In the Tap! Appendix for Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds. 2nd and final feature film pairing them.

Songs performed, music by Josef Myrow, lyrics by Mack Gordon (8 chapters, no menu)

(It's as though they went through a checklist of numbers to include.):

• ch1. A Lady Loves, Performed by Debbie Reynolds and male chorus in dream with fuschia dancehall dress (Opening number grabber)
• ch2. We Have Never Met, As Yet, Performed by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor in parallel in a park (Meet cute)
• ch2. Saturday Afternoon Before the Game, Performed by chorus and Debbie Reynolds as onstage football (B'way musical mockery)
• ch3. Where Did You Learn To Dance, Performed by Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds in her living room (Good Mornin' number)
• ch4. Life Has Its Funny Little Ups and Downs, Performed by Noreen Corcoran and Donald O'Connor (he skate/taps in a gazebo; notice the cuts before and after the tapping; wheels are likely inactive during taps; interesting to see the tap movements accentuated with/by the skates) (Male lead solo/ Fred Astaire homage (GK doesn't do skates until '55))
• ch4. film within film dance sequence with ensemble (they're at the movies) (H'wood musical mockery)
• ch5. I Wanna Wander, sung/danced by Donald O'Connor alone in photo studio (Make 'Em Laugh number)
• ch7. A Lady Loves, And There You Are (perhaps?), danced by Debbie Reynolds & male chorus (Fred and Gene mockery (by name, costumes and masks))
• ch7. Saturday Afternoon Before the Game reprise time montage, Performed by Debbie Reynolds and chorus (Time montage via musical clips)

Following a formula can be fun if you mock or honor things well, but this is too formulaic, and not clever enough. A big flaw in I Wanna Wander: the only reason he wants to wander is because the room is full of travel backdrops, props and costumes, and, whoops, someone forgot to include an internal audience for this show-off dance. (GK was sitting there before and after Make 'Em Laugh.)

This has some good dancing (as I would expect from Alton/O'Connor/Reynolds), but I don't care if they get together or not, or if DR gets to be a star or not. However, I was happy that DR did NOT get together with RA, since he was a square who would have wanted the perfect 50's housewife (although that was never spelled out.)

MGM, dir. Weis; 7-

By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953), 6 Color

Marjorie Winfield's engagement to Bill Sherman, who has just arrived home from fighting in World War I, serves as the backdrop for the trials and tribulations of her family.
1h 41min | Comedy, Family, Musical | 26 March 1953 | Color
Director: David Butler
Stars: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Billy Gray, Mary Wickes.
Donald Saddler ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045586/

Watched online, good print. (Waiting for replacement discs to arrive.)

There was a brief show within the film, and perhaps the social ice skating also needed a choreographer? 

9 songs performed per Soundtracks; all by either DD or GM or both.

Followup to On Moonlight Bay (1951), with the same family members and beau for DD, although the 3rd wheel was changed (both character name and actor, but he's similar enough we might not notice). I'm very glad the "series" stops here. This is like Warner trying to create a cross between Meet Me in St. Louis ('45) and the Andy Hardy films. Billy Gray is heavily emphasized in both Warner films, and Leon Ames was the father in MMiSL as well as here.

This is pleasant fluff at best. Always nice to hear DD sing, but this is all pre-jazz music, which is not my stuff.

Warner, dir. Butler; 6

The Stars Are Singing (1953), 6+ Color

Fifteen-year-old Katri Walenska jumps a Polish ship, swims ashore and enters New York illegally. The United States Immigration officials are alerted---the USA still had a functioning ... 
1h 39min | Musical | 11 March 1953 | Color
Director: Norman Taurog
Stars: Rosemary Clooney, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Lauritz Melchior.
Jack Baker ... stager: dance numbers

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046364/
Watched online, part 1, part 2; awful, blurry.

Could/should be in the Tap! Appendix Tommy Morton. Next time try to document his dancing in the Soundtracks. 2nd of 3 films for him.

1st of 6 films for RC (b. '28). She sings Come On-a My House as a demo, and claims it'll never go over. It must have been a pretty big hit by then. (As I recall, she didn't like the song when she first heard it in real life either.)

12 songs in the Soundtrack: 4 by RC, 5 by AA, 2 by LM, 2 duets (AA+LM, AA+RC).

Interesting how deep we are in the Cold War now (term 1st used in early '46 by W.Churchill in a speech). AA has defected from the behind the Iron Curtain, and come to LM since they're both opera singers. She has to be hidden until they can straighten out her immigration status (she's wanted for deportation), but they put her on a TV amateur show to win the hearts of America because she can sing.

Paramount, dir. Taurog; 6+

She's Back on Broadway (1953), 8- Color

When her Hollywood career fails, an actress returns to Broadway and tries for a comeback in a stage show directed by her former lover.
1h 35min | Comedy, Musical | 14 March 1953 | Color
Director: Gordon Douglas
Stars: Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, Frank Lovejoy, Steve Cochran, Patrice Wymore.
LeRoy Prinz ... numbers staged and directed by

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046306/

In the Tap! Appendix for Condos and Brandow, Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson.

The is the penultimate film appearance for Steve Condos (partnered with Jerry Brandow, dancing with Patrice Wymore) until Tap ('89). I've watched the YouTube clip of their dance often, but seeing it on the "big" screen with an official release disc gave me a whole new perspective on the SOUND of it. When I read about why dancers respected Steve so much, it was always about the rhythms he made with his feet. Dancing with a partner, or worse, with multiple partners, suppressed that. It's his improv, his solos, where that shines. I grieve that we didn't get more of that on film. The only word I have for his 20 second solo is sublime.

Patrice is a terrific dancer too, and we get more than just the rehearsal with C&B. Next time through the musicals, I'll be sure to pay more attention to her. This is her 5th (and possibly 2 more) musical of 12 films.

And then there's Gene Nelson. How are there not altars erected in every state to this guy? He's leaping in the air and onto things like gravity is an option. Graceful, elegant, handsome and I'm totally smitten. Only 3 more dancing films with him.

Songs performed (10 chapters, no menu):

• ch3. I May Be Wrong, Performed by Gene Nelson (slight dancing)
• ch4. One Step Ahead, Performed by Patrice Wymore, Condos and Brandow (all 3 dance)
• ch4. I'll Take You, Sung and danced (slightly) by Virginia Mayo (dubbed by Bonnie Lou Williams (uncredited)) and Gene Nelson 
• ch5. Break the Ties That Bind You, Performed by Virginia Mayo (dubbed by Bonnie Lou Williams (uncredited)), rehearsal where SC tries to break her 
• ch6. Breakfast in Bed, Performed by Virginia Mayo (dubbed by Bonnie Lou Williams (uncredited)) and ensemble, big production number
• ch8. rehearsal dance: VM, GN, ensemble, possibly song "Voodoo"
• ch8. Mardi Gras danced by PW, male quartet, ensemble
• ch9. Behind the Mask, sung by tenor, danced by VM, GN (big solo) and ensemble
• ch10. I'll Take You, Also sung/danced by Gene Nelson, Virginia Mayo (dubbed by Bonnie Lou Williams (uncredited)) & Chorus 

The story, about a movie star (VM) with a stalled career, who goes back to B'way to restart her movie career is ok. The B'way show within the film is completely incomprehensible: lots of flashy numbers with no possible way they link together, so impossible that it must be the writers winking at us about B'way or musicals or both. The drama with VM & SC is a 6. But the dancing...

Warner, dir. Douglas; 8-

Lili (1953), 4 Color

An orphaned young woman becomes part of a puppet act and forms a relationship with the anti-social puppeteer.
1h 21min | Drama, Musical, Romance | 10 March 1953
Director: Charles Walters
Stars: Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kurt Kasznar.
Dorothy Jarnac ... choreography assistant
Charles Walters ... choreographer
Jack Cole ... dance coach: Mel Ferrer (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046000/
Watched online, good print.

The low score is for the horrid title song, which sticks in my head like slime. Also, the story is childish (in an adult way), MF doesn't dance and neither does ZG. So LC doesn't move much either.

Only 2 songs in the Soundtracks, and that's 1 more than AFI lists. No wonder I hate the song so much after watching the movie and running errands.

MGM, dir. Walters; 4

Call Me Madam (1953), 7+ Color

Washington hostess Sally Adams becomes a Truman-era US ambassador to a European grand duchy.
1h 54min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 4 March 1953 | Color
Director: Walter Lang
Stars: Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, George Sanders, Billy De Wolfe, Walter Slezak.
Robert Alton ... dances and musical numbers staged by

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045592/

In the Tap! Appendix for Vera-Ellen, Donald O'Connor.

Somehow I want to like this more, but don't. We get DO & VE dancing together, choreographed by RA, and it doesn't mesmerize me. We get GS singing, and that does mesmerize, but only because I wondered if he were the singer (per commentary track: yes). I adore EM, but more so in her younger days. BD has too much to do and it's all sour, not comedic. WS has too little.

14 songs in the Soundtracks, all by Irving Berlin (32 chapters with menu):
**** Unlike Warner discs, Fox did not make the chapter title the song title. I'll leave further annotations for the next round. The songs appear to be in order. ****

• ch. The Hostess with the Mostes, Performed by Ethel Merman 
• ch. Lichtenburg, Sung by offscreen chorus 
• ch8. Can You Use Any Money Today, Performed by Ethel Merman 
• ch. Marrying for Love, Performed by George Sanders 
• ch11. It's a Lovely Day Today, Sung by Donald O'Connor, and Vera-Ellen (dubbed by Carol Richards) ****dance?****
• ch. That International Rag, Performed by Ethel Merman 
• ch14. dance at the ball, Vera-Ellen and Donald O'Connor duet
• ch16. You're Just In Love, Sung by Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor 
• ch. The Ocarina, Sung by Vera-Ellen (dubbed by Carol Richards) and chorus, Danced by Vera-Ellen and dancers 
• ch20. What Chance Have I With Love?, Sung and Danced by Donald O'Connor 
• ch. Something To Dance About, Sung by Donald O'Connor and Vera-Ellen (dubbed by Carol Richards), Danced by Donald O'Connor and Vera-Ellen 
• ch24. The Best Thing For You Would be Me, Sung by Ethel Merman and George Sanders 
• ch29. You're Just in Love, Sung by Donald O'Connor and Ethel Merman 
• ch31. Mrs. Sally Adams, Sung by telephone operators 
• ch32. Finale: You're Just In Love/Something to Dance About, Sung by Ethel Merman, George Sanders, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen (dubbed by Carol Richards) and chorus 

Fox, dir. Lang; 7+

All Ashore (1953), 6 Color

Three sailors finally get some shore leave, and go in search of fun and girls.
1h 20min | Comedy, Musical | 3 March 1953
Director: Richard Quine
Stars: Mickey Rooney, Dick Haymes, Peggy Ryan, Ray McDonald.
Erze Ivan ... assistant choreographer
Lee Scott ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045491/

Watched online, good print.

In the Tap! Appendix for Peggy Ryan, Ray McDonald. They certainly danced together, probably tapped a bit.

The final scene was a beach party, and it's too soon, but they had an electric guitar, and I heard early rock, and half expected Frankie & Annette to show up.

Most of the time is the boys scrounging for dough, chasin' girls, dating, scrounging for a place to sleep, doing day jobs for food... not exactly affluent stuff. I've forgotten how they lost MR's savings near the beginning of the leave. The other 2 were tagging along to sponge off him.

This is a west coast adventure, starting in San Diego and ending on Catalina (they're not very close together, but the story seems like they take a tourist boat from one to the other).

PR & RM are wonderful dancers, and we get some good stuff from them. But not enough quantity to bump this to a +.

Columbia, dir. Quine; 6

Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1953), 6 Color

War-weary Captain Willoby and his men are the occupation force on an island of lovely women...and are forbidden to fraternize.
1h 27min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 1 March 1953
Director: Edmund Goulding
Stars: William Lundigan, Jane Greer, Mitzi Gaynor, David Wayne, Gloria DeHaven.
Seymour Felix ... choreographer

Helen Tamiris ... dance director (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045702/

Watched online, blurry.

Synopsis make it sound like island has no native men; untrue.

8 songs performed per Soundtracks: 2 by GD, 1 by JG, 1 by WL (dubbed) & DW, 2 by MG (1 danced), 2 by chorus.

Very happy not to have spent $$ on this one. This is a pale imitation of South Pacific (B'way; film is '58), without the prejudice issues. 

GD plays a bratty "reporter" (daughter of a newspaper owner) who romances WL. JG is the missionary's daughter/niece/whatever, also has eyes for WL. MG plays native girl, limited English, given to WL by chief/king/whatever, and tries to please him, seems to want him, but revealed otherwise at end (tidy).

The only dance I recall is MG doing a native thing with a bunch of guys on drums. Kinda dull, and very unlike the 2 films that made me notice Helen Tamiris (big beautiful ensembles).

MG is an unconvincing native, even with Billy Gilbert as chief. Her broken English ain't cute.

Fox, dir. Goulding; 6

Salome (1953), 7- Color {nm}

After her banishment from Rome, Jewish Princess Salome returns to her Roman-ruled native land of Galilee where prophet John the Baptist preaches against Salome's parents, King Herod and Queen Herodias.
1h 43min | Drama, History | 24 March 1953
Director: William Dieterle
Stars: Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson.
Valerie Bettis ... dance for Miss Hayward created by
Valerie Bettis ... choreographer (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046269/

Watched because RH dances, and that's always worth seeing.

The story is engaging. I remembered that Salome had requested the head, but it was her mother, seizing an opportunity that Salome had not anticipated. I like RH (b. '18), her dancing and her acting. (She's between husbands at the moment; divorced Aly Khan in Jan, and marrying Dick Haymes in Sep.) 

The dance of the 7 veils (no, I didn't count them) is in the final chapter (12) of the dvd. It is preceded by other dancing entertainment for the king, but none is worth much, not even the "Asian dancers" who get billing. But it's worth seeing the whole film to build up to the dance, and what it means to her (why she's doing it), and to contemplate that H'wood is making such a religious film; Harry Cohn is still running Columbia at this point (through '58).

Columbia, dir. Dieterle; 7-

Peter Pan (1953), 5 Color

Wendy and her brothers are whisked away to the magical world of Neverland with the hero of their stories, Peter Pan.
1h 17min | Animation, Adventure, Family | 5 February 1953 | Color
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney
Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046183/
Watched online, ok for small screen.

This barely qualifies as a musical: 5 songs performed per the Soundtrack, and they're concentrated in 2 pockets, so did Disney intend for this to be a musical, or just threw them in?

I don't care about the story. I don't remember PP being a story I read/knew as a child. And I don't like the Disney style. So this didn't capture my attention.

Disney, distr. RKO, dir. various; 5

Tonight We Sing (1953), 6 Color

Story of the legendary impresario Sol Hurok and the many stars that he introduced and represented to the world of music.
1h 49min | Musical | 26 January 1953 | Color
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Stars: David Wayne, Ezio Pinza, Roberta Peters, Anne Bancroft.
David Lichine ... choreographer
Sol Hurok ... technical advisor

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046441/
Watched online, blurry.

Somehow this takes the musical biopic a step too far. Because it's about an impresario instead of a composer, lyricist or performer, it lacks the cohesion you get from seeing similar works brought together in one place. And because the only commonality of Hurok's clients is they perform in the classical world, we get no cohesion there either.

DW is better used in other films I've seen. I don't know who should have played this instead, because I don't know anything about Hurok from this other than a very broad outline. From DW I get affable, distracted, lover of classical music. Neglected his wife for his clients/career. She encouraged him to bring his ambitions/dreams to reality.

3 songs listed in the Soundtracks, which is laughable. I just added the 15 additional pieces from the AFI catalog, but no links and no performers. I don't want to go through the film again to see what I can identify, which won't be a lot.

Shrug-worthy. Then again, maybe at a future date I'd welcome this hodgepodge. Maybe someone will flesh out the Soundtracks and make this a concert that can be followed with a program.

Fox, dir. Leisen; 6

Niagara (1953), 8 Color {nm}

As two couples are visiting Niagara Falls, tensions between one wife and her husband reach the level of murder.
1h 32min | Film-Noir, Thriller | 21 January 1953 | Color
Director: Henry Hathaway
Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046126/

MM is in full persona here, albeit with a femme fatale twist. This is her first top-billing.

I've always liked this film, especially because it is Technicolor noir, and for the programmable bells in town. Events also satisfy the Production Code sense of justice.

I've always admired JP for her strong presence here, holding her own even in scenes with MM, who pulls attention like a rabid gorilla. JP plays a wife on a belated honeymoon, and I'm not impressed with her husband. He seems to like and love her, but dismisses her observation of a prowler as a dream, and discourages her contact of the police. She persists, and gets, um, swept up in events through no fault of her own. By painting her as such a righteous, capable, attractive woman, we're rooting for her, which makes the tension of the finale extra sweet.

Here's IMDb Trivia about the bells:

During filming at the "bus station", which is actually the Rainbow Tower and Bridge Complex, the tower's Rainbow Carillon can be heard. Completed in 1947, it consists of 55 bells weighing a total of over 43 tons. It was played manually four times a day until the early 2000's when an automated system was installed by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission.

Fox, dir. Hathaway; 8

The I Don't Care Girl (1953), 8 Color

This semi-film within a film opens in the office of producer George Jessel, who never saw a camera he couldn't get in front of, who is holding a story conference to determine the screen ... 
1h 18min | Biography, Musical | 14 January 1953
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Stars: Mitzi Gaynor, David Wayne, Oscar Levant, Bob Graham, George Jessel.
Uncredited dancers: Barrie Chase, Julie Newmar, Gwen Verdon.
Jack Cole ... choreographer (active '44-'60, 29 films including as dancer)
Seymour Felix ... choreographer (active '29-'53, this is his 38th of 39 films)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045898/

bootleg, poor print; official release ordered.

In the Tap! Appendix for Mitzi Gaynor. I'm not convinced she taps.

This is the last of 4 films for Bob Graham.

So what do you do when MGM & G.Kelly have made 2 ultimate musicals in a row? You can't top 'em, so you go a completely different direction: you lampoon the musical film in layers.

Take the concept of Rashomon ('50), where different people see the same event(s) completely differently (well before MGM does it in Les Girls ('57) with M.Gaynor), and "tell the story" of Eva Tanguay (1878-1947). Add the extra layer of having those storytellers being interviewed by writers trying to come up with a script for a biopic on ET. Then bring in 2 radically different choreographers, and have them stage musical numbers as told by those interviewees in radically different styles, according to the personalities of the interviewees, and create stage sets and costumes for ET accordingly, and ignore the era in which ET performed.

Because they're smashing so many conventions, this is a hoot. I'm hoping the official release is a decent print, because the colors are bright, and should be terrific to see.

I'm not the only one who loves this; someone attached the choreographer to each musical number in the Soundtracks, although only 3 each were credited onscreen.
(xx chapters, no menu; I'll update this when I get the official release):

• ch. Kiss Me My Honey, Kiss Me, Sung by Bob Graham and Mitzi Gaynor 
• ch. This Is My Favorite City, Sung and Danced by David Wayne, Staged by Seymour Felix (cr)
• ch. On the Mississippi, Sung and Danced by Mitzi Gaynor, Staged by Seymour Felix 
• ch. Pretty Baby, Sung and Danced by Mitzi Gaynor and David Wayne, Staged by Seymour Felix (cr)
• ch. Hello, Frisco!, Sung by Bob Graham and Oscar Levant, Staged by Seymour Felix 
• ch. Liebestraum played by Oscar Levant
• ch. I Don't Care, Sung and Danced by Mitzi Gaynor, Staged by Seymour Felix (cr)
• ch. Little Fugue in G minor (Bach), The Johnson Rag & Italian food lyrics to opera music samples, played by Oscar Levant, danced by Mitzi Gaynor & male dancers, Staged by Jack Cole (cr)
• ch. As Long As You Care (I Don't Care), Sung by Bob Graham, Staged by Seymour Felix 
• ch. I Don't Care (Reprise), Sung and Danced by Mitzi Gaynor, Staged by Jack Cole (cr)
• ch. Piano Concerto no. 1 by Franz Liszt played by Oscar Levant
• ch. Here Comes Love Again, Sung by Bob Graham, Staged by Seymour Felix 
• ch. Beale Street Blues, Sung and Danced by Mitzi Gaynor and Bob Graham, danced by Gwen Verdon, Staged by Jack Cole (cr)

I suspect I wouldn't appreciate this so much if I hadn't been watching musicals in sequence.

Just watched the official release, and was not impressed with it being better quality. I put both in the binder so next time I can compare them. Note to self: the copy in the Duplicates storage seemed of lesser quality, so check all 3 before deciding to discard any.

Fox, dir. Bacon; 8

The Mississippi Gambler (1953), 6 Color {nm}

In 1854, Mississippi riverboat honest card gambler Mark Fallon wins young Laurent Dureau's diamond necklace family heirloom which, in the end, will bring him happiness and tragedy alike.
1h 39min | Adventure, Romance, Western | 13 January 1953 | Color
Director: Rudolph Maté
Stars: Tyrone Power, Piper Laurie, Julie Adams, John McIntire
Gwen Verdon ... choreographer, voodoo dancer
Harold Belfer ... dance director (uncredited)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046080/

Watched online, blurry, incomplete. Next time, try this.

Only on quest because of Gwen Verdon dance/choreography. Didn't like the number (voodoo dance) because she was in Negro makeup. Even in New Orleans, I don't think she'd pass for mulatto/Creole. Katharine Dunham would have created a better dance. (I love GV, but not here.) The male dancers looked like they were actually black.

Although the print was blurry, and TP is less than 5 years from death at age 44, it's nice to see him again. He was in a few Alice Faye musicals in the 30's and I miss him. He does some pretty decent fencing here (and it was sword fighting with George Sanders that brought on his fatal heart attack.)

This is PL's (b. '32) 8th of 48 films (one currently in post-production.) She's plenty young here, and acts well as a young, petulant, Southern, landed-gentry lady.

I'm guessing this would be a 6+ with a decent print.

Universal, dir. Mate; 6