Hopefuls try out before a demanding director for a part in a new musical.
Director: Richard Attenborough
Stars: Michael Douglas, Terrence Mann, Nicole Fosse, Audrey Landers.
Michael Bennett ... choreographer: original stage production / stage director: original stage production
Gregg Burge ... assistant choreographer
Jeffrey Hornaday ... choreographer
Brad Jeffries ... assistant choreographer
Helene Phillips ... dance assistant
Watched online; very blurry.
11 songs in the Soundtracks.
IMDb trivia: "Michael Bennett, the choreographer and director of the original Broadway production, was involved with the production at an early stage of development, but left because the producers were unwilling to give him the level of creative control he desired. He advised producer Cy Feuer not to put the film's main focus on the relationship between Zack and Cassie."
On IMDb I have this as a 6, but a Netflix rating. So I might feel almost the same today as I did back then. I remember being violently against the film when I first saw it, since I had the cast album (vinyl) and had seen the touring company of mostly B'way originals in the 70s in LA/H'wood, and was a big fan of the show. The B'way show was NOT about a romance between the director and the dancer who can't really melt into the chorus anymore. They are heavily featured, but What I Did For Love was about dancing, not about romance.
Today I sort of zoned out during that song. This Cassie is not very compelling to watch. In fact, the whole cast isn't. But that's sorta the point: they're chorus dancers, not leads. However, I'm pretty sure I saw Donna McKechnie and Priscilla Lopez onstage, and that's a long time for me to remember those names and performances.
This print was so blurry, and this is so much about dancing, I'm tempted to get a cheap dvd. Maybe.
Embassy Pictures, distr. Columbia, dir. Attenborough; 7-
