1h 22min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 13 November 1953 | Color
Director: Stanley Donen
Stars: Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Fosse, Kurt Kasznar, Richard Anderson.
Gower Champion ... musical numbers staging
Stanley Donen ... musical numbers staging
In the Tap! Appendix for Marge and Gower Champion, Bob Fosse, Debbie Reynolds.
Songs performed (30 chapters, no menu):
- ch5. Give a Girl a Break, Sung/danced by Marge Champion, Debbie Reynolds, Dolly Sharp (as Helen Wood) and ensemble
- ch8. Nothing Is Impossible, Performed by Gower Champion, Bob Fosse and Kurt Kasznar, danced by GC, BF
- ch13. In our United State, Sung/danced by Debbie Reynolds and Bob Fosse
- ch16. Challenge Dance, Danced by Marge Champion and Gower Champion
- ch20. In our United State, played instrumentally for the "Balloon Dance" performed by Reynolds & Fosse
- ch21. Puppet Master Dance, Performed by Dolly Sharp (as Helen Wood) and Kurt Kasznar
- ch22. It Happens Every Time, Danced by Marge Champion and Gower Champion, (GC singing dubbed by Bill Lee)
- ch28. Applause, Applause, Sung/danced by Gower Champion and Debbie Reynolds
Previously rated 6, so I'm not being harsh today.
I was very disappointed by this, especially since it's directed/co-choreographed by Stanley Donen. I don't love all of his stuff, but I expected to like his musicals. What's wrong:
- Another backstage musical where we have to replace the female star. 42nd Street ('33) did it best, and we've had numerous reboots since. This star departs because of temperament (in '33 it was an injury).
- The 1st 2 numbers set my teeth on edge.
- GaGaB was cute until it got to the 3 principal candidates. We see women reading the notice in the paper, and the non-starters were terrible; I'm sure that's a thing when you have an open audition. But the 3 principals were shown highlighting their different styles, and it invoked Leslie Caron's dances as Henri was describing her to Adam (Oscar Levant) early in An American in Paris ('51, Minnelli).
- NiI felt like filler. They had to sing/dance to bolster their resolve to make the show go forward? Ugh. And with Kasznar holding back the dancing, it was almost painful.
- The 3rd number, IOUS, BF is basically proposing to DR on their 1st date. I didn't understand why he singled her out in the cattle call (she was leaving before performing, and he sent her to the producer immediately); had he seen her perform somewhere prior?
- In the "Balloon Dance", we get something Busby Berkeley did plenty: show us reverse footage, here to make balloons magically appear. If you want me to not be distracted, give DR something else to wear. The billowy multi-petticoated skirt gives a clear signal this is reversed motion. That was cute in the '30s (and the skirts were infrequently distracting, but that's because they weren't really dancing then, just moving in formations), not now.
- An IMDb trivia item says Fosse choreographed his own dances. I'm not convinced. It feels more like Champion to me. It has none of the breathtaking quality of his moments in Kiss Me Kate ('53), which I saw immediately prior to this.
- At the open audition, BF explains they can't see everyone dance, and people take themselves out of the running based on his explanation that they'd have to sing and act well too. 1) Why didn't they say that in the ad, and 2) when did producers finally get the idea to watch dancers in groups, ala All That Jazz ('79)? The fact that the women gave up so quickly seemed preposterous.
- BF is treated as a go-fer, but is allowed to advocate for his candidate (DR) with equal standing and fervor as the director (GC) and the composer (KK) advocated for theirs. I don't get it.
- BF prematurely tells DR she got the part, which causes him great stress and her great heartbreak. Then, when the chosen star has to drop out, HE DOES IT AGAIN. What kind of moron is this, and why does the script writer want to torture her again? To show how determined she is? The bulk of the film is about the selection process, so this is how they add conflict?
The best part of the film: the dances by M&G alone. And this time they added romance, because they play unattached people who've worked together before, she quit showbiz, now wants to come back. The ending is romantic too, and that's not what we've had from them before. They were either already married or just dance partners previously. This was very nice.
MGM, dir. Donen; 6
