1h 48min | Fantasy, Musical, Romance | 8 September 1954 | Color, WS
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Stars: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse.
Gene Kelly ... choreographer
In the Tap! Appendix for Van Johnson, Gene Kelly, "tapping" in the dirt.
Bizarre that ballet dancer Hugh Laing was here (his only film) and didn't really dance. Even in his outtake, he's not doing anything too special. He did act well, but he was always angry/frustrated in the story.
Fantasy makes a good partner with musicals since you're already suspending your disbelief about people breaking into song/dance. And with the way NYC is portrayed, everyone should want to flee that, but not necessarily to an agrarian life.
How the heck does the teacher know the bargain the preacher made, and particularly the rule about no one can leave? He certainly didn't know about the rule that allows for the ending to the film.
It's really not fair to have to watch this immediately after 7 Brides. This dancing is nowhere near the spectacular level of that, and the syrupy romantic nature of this dancing contrasts poorly with the athleticism of that. Besides, we've seen CC do this kind of stuff before. The outdoor sets look very artificial (in studio), and we spend most of the film outdoors.
Songs performed (28 chapters with menu):
Bizarre that ballet dancer Hugh Laing was here (his only film) and didn't really dance. Even in his outtake, he's not doing anything too special. He did act well, but he was always angry/frustrated in the story.
Fantasy makes a good partner with musicals since you're already suspending your disbelief about people breaking into song/dance. And with the way NYC is portrayed, everyone should want to flee that, but not necessarily to an agrarian life.
How the heck does the teacher know the bargain the preacher made, and particularly the rule about no one can leave? He certainly didn't know about the rule that allows for the ending to the film.
It's really not fair to have to watch this immediately after 7 Brides. This dancing is nowhere near the spectacular level of that, and the syrupy romantic nature of this dancing contrasts poorly with the athleticism of that. Besides, we've seen CC do this kind of stuff before. The outdoor sets look very artificial (in studio), and we spend most of the film outdoors.
Songs performed (28 chapters with menu):
- ch2-3. Once in the Highlands/Brigadoon/Down on MacConnachy Square, Sung by Eddie Quillan, Villagers, and Offscreen MGM Chorus
- ch5. Waiting for My Dearie, Sung by Cyd Charisse (dubbed by Carol Richards) and Dee Turnell (dubbed by Bonnie Murray)
- ch8. I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean, Sung by Jimmy Thompson (dubbed by John Gustafson), Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Chorus, Danced by Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Chorus
- ch10-11. The Heather on the Hill, Sung by Gene Kelly, Danced by Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse
- ch14. Almost Like Being in Love, Sung and Danced by Gene Kelly
- ch17. The Entrance of the Clans
- ch19. The Wedding Dance, Danced by Jimmy Thompson and Virginia Bosler
- ch20. The Chase, Sung by men pursuing Hugh Laing
- ch21. The Heather on the Hill, Danced by Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse
- ch26.
- I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean reprise, Sung offscreen by Jimmy Thompson, Carol Richards, and Chorus
- The Heather on the Hill reprise, Sung offscreen by Jimmy Thompson, Carol Richards, and Chorus
- Waitin' for My Dearie reprise, Sung offscreen by Jimmy Thompson, Carol Richards, and Chorus
- ch27. Finale: Brigadoon, Sung by the MGM Chorus
Outtakes:
- Come to Me, Bend to Me, sung by JT, VB
- From This Day On, sung/danced by CC, GK
- Sword Dance, danced by HL & 4 others
- There But For You Go I, sung by GK (audio only)
I bolded the song title in ch14 because it became a standard, and I like it. But the dance, with fedora and jacket held by fingers over his shoulder, is too reminiscent of Singin' in the Rain ('52), without the puddles.
8 is my prior rating, and I won't change it. But watching this in sequence, immediately preceded by 7 Brides, makes me append a minus.
MGM, dir. Minnelli; 8-
