The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

The Great Ziegfeld, starring William Powell as Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., is a magnificent biopic detailing the life and loves of the innovative showman. The lush tale opens at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, where Ziegfeld shows off his latest attraction, Sandow the Strongman. Ziegfeld and his lifelong competitor, Jack Billings (Frank Morgan), vie for audience attention with the wily Ziegfeld finally winning out and setting a precedent for all their future competitions. Ziegfeld's story is one of overcoming obstacles to create some of the most spectacular, over-the-top stage shows ever. No matter whether the hitch was attracting an enthusiastic audience, scrounging up financial backers when he was completely broke, or discovering the right stars for his shows, the determined and charming Ziegfeld always seemed to be successful in the end.

Ziegfeld leaves the sideshow of Chicago for the Great White Way. He starts to make a name for himself among the vaudeville and burlesque shows of New York City through his work with some of the most popular acts of the day, including Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, and Fanny Brice (who appeared in the movie). And, of course, a neverending bevy of showgirls. Ziegfeld establishes his signature spectacular stage shows with the introduction of French singer Anna Held (Luise Rainer), whom he steals right out from under Jack Billings' nose. Soon he has the pretty French coquette under contract and under his spell. They marry, and he begins a string of Broadway hits with his new bride in a starring role. Ziegfeld's popularity peaks with the Ziegfeld Follies, featuring song and dance numbers that glorify beautiful women. Many of his spectacular song and dance revues are recreated for the movie, and they are truly a feast for the senses. The sets shimmer and spin like runway models. The costumes sparkle in a fantastic sea of gossamer skirts, sequins, glitter, and feathers. The symphonic pitter-patter of (seemingly) hundreds of tap dancing girls is absolutely spine-tingling. Each number is more extravagant than the last. It seems as if everything he touches turns to gold.

While his Broadway hits keep his name in lights for many years, Ziegfeld always seems to have financial issues. The more lavish his stage shows become, the more money he has to borrow from his lenders. His old competitor, Jack Billings, often ends up finding him backers and money. Ziegfeld also experiences some unexpected flops as Hollywood's influence begins to eclipse that of Broadway. In his personal life, his appreciation of pretty girls eventually dooms his marriage, but Ziegfeld's divorce from Anna Held facilitates his next marriage to Billie Burke (Myrna Loy). Perhaps it's my excitement at seeing one of my favorite cinematic duos together again, but Billie Burke seems like the love of Ziegfeld's life. Personally, I found the dramatic aspects of the movie really picked up once Loy entered the scene and Rainer wasn't on the screen so much. Ziegfeld's story has a relatively happy ending, as he is happily married with a child and has some late-career success back on Broadway, including a show about the circus that is reminiscent of his sideshow beginnings in Chicago.

Although I generally enjoyed the movie, I was surprised to discover that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Luise Rainer won best Best Actress for her portrayal of Anna Held. I suppose I thought the overlong movie was good but not quite that good! The film was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg for M-G-M. The scriptwriter (William Anthony McGuire), the set designer (John Harkrider), and the choreographer (Seymour Felix) for the movie had all worked previously for Ziegfeld. There's a lot more information on the movie at Wikipedia.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of clips from the film online. My two favorite numbers from the movie were 'You've Never Looked So Beautiful Before,' which is like a fashion magazine come to life and the Ziegfeld Follies showstopper, 'A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody,' which I managed to find on the website, Dailymotion. It's like a gigantic rotating wedding cake! That's Entertainment shows about half of the number, but you have to watch the movie (or head over to Dailymotion) for the full clip.

For Me and My Gal (1942)

Last month I also watched MGM's 1942 classic For Me and My Gal starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. This was a nostalgic story of a vaudeville duo preceding and during World War I. Both Garland and Kelly (in his film debut) were in top form, although there was not as much dancing as I would have liked (despite being directed by Busby Berkeley). This was a more plot-driven musical than many, and some of the scenes (like Kelly deciding to injure himself to avoid the draft) were pretty weighty for a musical.

I liked the World War I-themed numbers (which must have conjured up fond memories for the audience of the last war), but the title song takes the cake:


Courtesy of spearsboy01 on YouTube

Watch the movie and I guarantee you will be wishing you could buy some war bonds!

Anchors Aweigh (1945)

This past week I watched MGM's 1945 classic Anchors Aweigh featuring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson. I know I saw this one a long, long time ago, but I had only a dim recollection of not liking it for some reason. This seemed unlikely, since I like Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, and many World War II musicals are among my favorites. So it seemed appropriate to give this another try. I still didn't like it.

Joe (Kelly) and Clarence (Sinatra) are two sailors on a 4 day leave. They are coerced into helping little Dean Stockwell return home after he runs away to join the Navy. They meet his beautiful Aunt Susie, an aspiring singer, played by Kathryn Grayson, and Clarence falls for her. Joe tells her they will get her an audition with Jose Iturbi so she will go out with Clarence. They then try to meet Iturbi and set up an audition. In the meantime, Joe and Susie fall for each other and Clarence realizes he's better suited to a sassy waitress from Brooklyn. By chance Susie meets Iturbi, who does give her an audition everything works out in the end.

This two and a half hour musical doesn't contain any memorable songs, isn't very funny, and doesn't even have a lot of good dancing in it. Of course it contains the famous dance with animated Jerry Mouse. Although I know this was very impressive for the time, I didn't particularly like it. I much preferred the Mexican Hat Dance Scene:


Courtesy of SpaceComics on YouTube

This movie did have a few bright spots, though. First was seeing Gene Kelly in his skivvies. Second was Joe and Clarence convincing another suitor that Susie is very friendly with the entire US Navy. And third was Clarence mistaking Jose Iturbi for a piano tuner.

This isn't a bad movie, but if you want to see Kelly and Sinatra as sailors on leave, watch On the Town instead.

In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

This week's musical was 1949's In the Good Old Summertime, another MGM musical I had never seen before. I chose this one because it was available on TCM on Demand. Our normal TCM station was not working properly, so I couldn't watch an old favorite On the Town as I had originally planned.

In the Good Old Summertime stars Judy Garland and Van Johnson. It's a musical version of the 1940 comedy The Shop Around the Corner. For those of you who have not seen this musical, the original movie it was based on, or its latest incarnation as You've Got Mail, the plot is this: Veronica (Judy) and Andy (Van) are anonymous pen pals and have fallen in love through their letters. Unbeknownst to them, they start working at the same music store and hate each other. The pen pals decide to meet, but when Andy sees it's Veronica, he leaves before she sees him. He's horrified, but somehow he begins to fall in love with her - and she with him. Then he reveals the truth and they live happily ever after.

I enjoyed The Shop Around the Corner when I saw it years ago, and I like Judy Garland and Van Johnson, so this seemed like a sure winner. This movie was pleasant enough, but was a lackluster musical, if it can even be called a musical. It did have about half a dozen musical numbers worked into the plot, but no one spontaneously bursts into song. Personally, I prefer musicals where the characters just start singing for no good reason and no one thinks it's strange. In this movie there was a perfectly logical reason for Judy to sing each time she did. That in itself doesn't make it bad, but the songs were not particularly memorable. I did like "Play that Barbershop Chord:"



Courtesy of musicalcomedy11111 on YouTube

Probably the best scene was right at the beginning when Andy and Veronica meet:


Courtesy of SolidHepKitten on YouTube

A few interesting tidbits: The little girl who plays their daughter at the end of the movie is Liza Minelli. The movie takes place almost entirely in winter, despite the name.

The one thing I kept thinking while watching this movie was how old Van Johnson and Judy Garland seemed to be, although they were only 33 and 27, respectively. I guess that was a lot older then than it is now.

While not a standout, this was a pleasant musical, and one I'm happy to add to my life list.

It's Always Fair Weather (1955)

My first musical of 2009 was MGM's 1955 offering It's Always Fair Weather. I had never seen this one before, although it stars two of my favorites, Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. Apparently it marked the end of MGM's great era of movie musicals and didn't do too well in theaters. It was intended to be a sequel to On the Town, but Frank Sinatra wasn't available, so the story was reworked. I think this was a good thing, as it allowed Gene Kelly to break away from being type-cast as a dancing sailor and be a dancing soldier instead.

For a very detailed synopsis, see the TCM site here. Briefly, three GIs (Gene Kelly, Michael Kidd, and Dan Dailey) return from World War II in 1945. They are best friends and vow to meet again in 10 years. They part company to follow their post-war dreams and the years pass. Gene Kelly plans to become a lawyer, Michael Kidd a chef, and Dan Daily an artist. After 10 years they meet again only to find they have nothing in common and have not achieved any of their goals. Gene Kelly has become a gambler and ladies' man in New York. Dan Daily has sold out to corporate America and is creating ads, not art, in Chicago. Michael Kidd is not a chef, but a cook at a hamburger stand - in Schenectady, NY, of all places. Over the course of the day, they go from not remembering why they were friends in the first place, to regaining their self-respect - and friendship - all with the help of TV producer Cyd Charisse.

This was a likable musical with some great dancing, but few memorable songs. My favorite part was the scene when each buddy privately regrets meeting the others again to the tune of The Blue Danube:


Courtesy of marxfan8 on YouTube

The most memorable song (not necessarily in a good way) was Situation-Wise:


Courtesy of marxfan8 on YouTube

There was some impressive dancing including the three buddies dancing with trash can lids and Gene Kelly tap dancing on roller-skates:


Courtesy of Reggieray12 on YouTube

I have to admit these dance routines made me anxious while watching them. I was afraid they would trip on the trash can lids and I didn't see how Gene Kelley could possibly roller skate and tap dance at the same time, since I can't do either separately, let alone together.

I did have some issues with the theme of this musical, though. Initially, it soothed my nagging conscience about all the friends I've lost track of over the years. That's OK, I thought. We've grown apart and wouldn't have anything in common anyway. But then I realized it's because I've sold out to corporate America and I live in Schenectady (well, the suburbs of Schenectady - I guess that's even worse!). Why this Schenectady bashing? It's not that bad (that could be their new slogan). It must have been a very nice town in 1955, and I think it received unfair treatment in the film. Also, I would have been proud to create Miss Klenzrite, the anthropomorphic mop that Dan Dailey is ashamed of drawing. At least I don't gamble.

So the first musical of 2009 didn't turn out to be the uplifting experience I would have hoped for, but I was still happy to see a classic for the first time.