Author Topic: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017  (Read 14975 times)

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #80 on: May 23, 2017, 03:01:57 PM »
So you know, this is a hypothetical situation. I just want to hear what you consider the go-to musical scene to hook someone.

oldkid, I like your idea of Once. A sneaky way to show someone that musicals have a very broad definition. For example, 8 Mile can be seen as a Musical, or Stop Making Sense.

I also think "The Trolley Song" is a great choice. It's one that surprised me when I watched it, and I was already a fan. Like Busby Berkeley a lot of its greatness lies in the visual composition. Unlike Berkeley, it shows the need to sing when words cannot express how deep the emotions run.

Bondo

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 23082
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #81 on: May 23, 2017, 06:17:42 PM »
America

*drops mic*

Of course if I don't care about singing, I'm going Seven Brides' Barn Dance for pure dancing joy.
« Last Edit: May 23, 2017, 06:20:46 PM by Bondo »

Sam the Cinema Snob

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 26795
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #82 on: May 23, 2017, 06:43:25 PM »
I agree with Bondo.

Truly this is the darkest timeline.

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #83 on: May 23, 2017, 10:38:18 PM »

Dancing Lady (1933)
"The top spot. Where if you drop, you've got twice as far to fall."

It's another crazy cast for Music of May. This showbiz drama stars Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. In his film debut, Fred Astaire plays himself and The Three Stooges play the Pianist (Larry) and two stagehands (Moe and Curly). Larry plays it mostly straight, but the three have their moments. Those with some knowledge of old Hollywood actors will also recognize Franchot Tone, Robert Benchley, Eve Arden, Grant Mitchell and Sterling Holloway (aka. Winnie the Pooh)


The story is familiar, with Crawford being torn between a rich and comfortable future as the wife of Tone and her need to be a dancer under Gable's direction. It's more dramatic than these stories usually get, which is good because Crawford's strength is not dancing. (Then again, I don't appreciate Rita Hayworth, who Crawford's style reminds me of.) Gable is his usual self, but there's a reptile, predator quality to Tone that keeps this from being a balanced triangle.


"What's a striptease on 2nd Avenue is art on Broadway."

It doesn't need to be said that the film could've used more Astaire. This was clearly his screen test for later film work, appearing in only two scenes, both musical numbers. The other songs are forgettable, but the finale is worth noting for its attempt to imitate Busby Berkeley's style. It's more surreal and cluttered, but interesting to see the form filtered through a different person.
Rating: * * 1/2

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #84 on: May 24, 2017, 02:07:49 AM »
America

*drops mic*

Of course if I don't care about singing, I'm going Seven Brides' Barn Dance for pure dancing joy.

As far as scenes that best display what musicals are about, yes, these.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #85 on: May 24, 2017, 10:36:57 PM »

Wonder Man (1945)
"Holy jumping Republicans, throw this maniac outta here!"

This film has a lot going for it. The supporting cast is insane with familiar faces, some of whom only have a couple of lines. The great Vera-Ellen (White Christmas) dances up a storm in her film debut. Comic relief comes from three of the best in that bunch: S.Z. Sakall, Allen Jenkins and Edward Brophy. Unfortunately this is a vehicle for Danny Kaye, whose shameless mugging really needs to be harnessed tighter. Here he plays identical twins, which means there's twice as much to find annoying.

I try to make peace with Kaye. He's as talented as Mickey Rooney, another actor who often could use more restraint but can truly do anything. I remind myself that I was around when Jim Carrey was funny for a similar unhinged style or that Kaye plays great to children, but man I wish I had some editing scissors when he goes into his one-man routines, which is often. I can appreciate the level of difficulty. There's a scene where Kaye disguises himself as an opera star and then tries to tell the district attorney in the crowd about killers waiting just offstage, all while still singing what sounds like opera. That's difficult to conceive, difficult to write and incredibly difficult to perform. Kaye gets there, but he also adds a ton of physical comedy and exaggerated expressions that cheapen the stunt.
Rating: * *

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #86 on: May 25, 2017, 09:44:35 PM »

Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
We’re in the money, we’re in the money.
We’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along!
We’re in the money, the skies are sunny…
Old man Depression, you are through, you’ve done us wrong!

When I first watched this I think I was only aware of Ginger Rogers and musical director Busby Berkeley. Now the film is wall-to-wall with familiar faces, which made me think I was going to like it even more. Things start off with a bang as Ginger Rogers belts out "We're in The Money", including a verse in Pig Latin. The shots intercut Berkeley's surrealism with large coin props and costumes with an extreme close-up of young Rogers beautiful face. Unfortunately, this is the best part of the film.

Like oldkid, I remember Ginger being in the film a lot more. She's a spark plug, ready for her close-up and ready to teach Astaire about dancing with sex appeal, but she's billed 8th, which is appropriate for how many scenes she's in. The bulk of the film rests with Joan Blondell, Warren William and the lovely coupling of Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. I like them a lot, but I could make a list of films where they're better. 


The musical sequences here are upper tier for Berkeley, whose output is so consistent it would be tough to rank. They're beautiful, surreal, a little dramatic and there are occasional head-scratchers, like Billy Barty as a baby shooting spitballs. His focus is composition, not dancing, and the shots he creates can impress a modern audience. I wouldn't want to ward anyone off of a Busby Berkeley film, or one with this cast I adore, but there are a good half-dozen that I will return to before I watch this again.
Rating: * * 1/2
« Last Edit: May 25, 2021, 12:12:13 AM by 1SO »

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #87 on: May 26, 2017, 11:03:16 PM »

A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)

It's a terrific premise, which could've been the foundation of a western comedy classic. To fulfill a contract, a train driven by Walter Brennan and Arthur Hunnicutt (who played Brennan's Rio Bravo role in El Dorado) has to make it through hostile territory to the station in Tomahawk. Problem is, there's 20 miles of track that hasn't been built yet. So the engine is pulled by mules and the train is guarded by the wounded Marshall's tomboy daughter (Anne Baxter). The contract also demands at least one passenger, so Dan Dailey (There's No Business Like Show Business) sits on the side of the train. Riding along are stagecoach drivers fearing the end of their jobs, including Jack Elam (of course) and some showgirls looking to travel under the protection of the group.


You probably recognize Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles, the same year as The Asphalt Jungle. She's part of the film's big song and dance, and Dailey plucks Monroe from the quartet for some speciality dance moves. This is barely a musical, but I liked Dailey's ballad "On the Colorado Trail" which has a "Don't Fence Me In" vibe, and he shows tremendous skill during the campfire number with Monroe and the ladies.

Baxter has only stood out to me in All About Eve, but she has a great character here. Raised like a boy, she's given her first opportunity to hold the kind of authority usually reserved for men. Along the journey she learns how to be a woman because of the differences between her instincts and those of the men around her. Brennan provides the broader humor as his beloved train is in constant danger of not making it to the destination. This includes a very funny sequence where the train must be taken apart and carried by the group and their animals over a hill. We see the recognizable parts go by one at a time.

The film's biggest failure is the stuntwork, which often looks phony. There's the expected terrible rear projection, but also blows that don't land or look soft on impact, and Baxter really needed gun training to keep her from closing her eyes and tucking her head into her shoulders when she fires. The script is a winner. It deserved better care behind the camera.
Rating: * * * - Okay
« Last Edit: January 02, 2021, 12:47:40 AM by 1SO »

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #88 on: May 28, 2017, 12:48:27 PM »

I Dream Too Much (1935)
"We used to eat, we used to drink; whatever happened to the illicit drugs we used to do?"

Opera singer Lily Pons never made it in Hollywood. When this film was released, one critic harshly called it "I Scream Too Much" and the label stuck. People usually think it refers to her singing, but she actually has a great opera voice, as far as opera voices go. In truth, it's her shout that has a bit of a screech to it. The studio teamed her up with Henry Fonda, perhaps the only actor who could sound charming while saying a girl is "too skinny" and "I'd treat you very badly. You'd interfere with my work and I couldn't have that. I'd probably beat you!" The script is soft and safe, a perfect vehicle for Pons, with many training wheels, including the supporting cast.


That's Mischa Auer (Destry Rides Again) playing piano and acting like a snob who is won over by Pons' voice. The musical numbers are a lot like that. Everybody is ready for disaster and by the end they're calling her the greatest. Eric Blore lends great comic support with lines like, "I'm a waiter now. It's a shocking profession. One learns how dangerous eating really is." Too bad the story is clunky with large passages of time to get from one scene to another and the old annoying conflict where the man can't handle his wife being more successful while the wife is ready to turn her back on her career for the stability of unemployed husband (??? ::)) and kids.

The musical finale is also a great disappointment, promising an upbeat musical comedy number before delivering another opera number. The tap dancing rehearsal becomes ballroom in the show. I would like to have heard Pons do a pop number, show some range.
Rating: * * 1/2

Sandy

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 12075
  • "The life we build, we never stop creating.”
    • Sandy's Cinematic Musings
Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #89 on: May 29, 2017, 08:04:29 AM »
How I wish, I could have watched more movies this month. These reviews have made me want to join in the fun! I'll do what I can, with the few days remaining...

 

love