2h 31min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 19 June 1962 | Color, WS
Director: Morton DaCosta
Stars: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford, Pert Kelton, The Buffalo Bills, Timmy Everett, Susan Luckey, Ron Howard.
Tom Panko ... assistant choreographer
Onna White ... choreographer
26 songs in the Soundtracks.
No wonder it sometimes feels like wall-to-wall songs.
Best dance number: Shipoopi, with a large ensemble and high-angle shots. The library dance is also very good, and the finale has an impressive number of band and town folk. I'm impressed with the dancing of both RP & SJ. BH not so much.
The darkened fade-outs feel very stagey, and always make me very aware of the director. And I mean Aware, not Appreciative.
RP is the most amazing Harold Hill. I can't imagine anyone else in the role, even though I've seen the 2003 version with Matthew Broderick.
I'm fascinated by one-hit wonders of B'way/opera: Bizet's Carmen, this, Bernstein's West Side Story. Each has 1 other work that's occasionally performed, but nowhere near as popular as their big hit. Maybe it's more prevalent than I realize, but I think only with lesser "hits." These are huge.
I don't have a lot to say, but this is eminently watchable. I'm letting it run again while I write this, and have no urge to move on.
Warner, dir. DaCosta; 8
