1h 57min | Comedy, Drama, Music | 18 December 1944
Director: Henry Koster
Stars: Margaret O'Brien, José Iturbi, June Allyson, Jimmy Durante, Marsha Hunt, Hugh Herbert, Marie Wilson.
Jack Donohue ... dance director (uncredited)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037104/
Uh, oh. Little girl is top billed. But previously rated 7. Roll 'em Smokey.
Lights up. Good thing I'm at home, not stuck in a theatre without kleenex. Holy Smokes. I want to give this a 9. Why?
- MO
- Classical music, and plenty of it.
- Seeing the orchestra go from 50% male to almost none. Makes me wonder if some orchestras were only amateurs, populated with people who had defense or other "essential" full-time jobs.
- JA's storyline and performance
- JD
- HH & MW (and her fur coat)
We get two novelty numbers from JD, and one jazz blast during an orchestra warm-up. Otherwise look at the Soundtracks for the classical pieces, all well-executed. A music-only track would make sense here, but this is only Warner Archive.
I'll not reveal any spoilers for future viewing.
MO (b. 1937) is still acting; she has 2 films in post-production for release this year. I should look at viewing/owning more of her childhood stuff.
This should strike me as sentimental schmaltz, but it felt genuine and plausible instead. I'm sure it's partially because I'm watching in sequence, and am immersed in the time period, with its sacrifices and heartaches. Nowhere near what the contemporary audience with men overseas would feel, but closer than just watching the movie as a random choice without having thought about the war much.
I'll give this a minus to distinguish it from the color extravaganza of Meet Me in St. Louis.
MGM, dir. Koster; 9-
