Post by snsurone on Nov 2, 2018 2:11:43 GMT
I wonder if I'm the only person in the US who actually prefers the 1952 version of theo musical over the 1937 one.
Every article I have ever read in every book about musicals castigates this version.
Most of the brickbats fall on Kathryn Grayson as Magnolia.
Sure, she wasn't the world's greatest actress, but Jeez--this isn't Shakespeare!
I have no complaints about her acting, and while I'm far from an expert on vocalizing, I can't believe her voice was a "thin, watery soprano"!
IMO, her overall performance was every bit as good as Irene Dunne's in the earlier film.
And although Gaylord was written as a tenor, I love Howard Keel's baritone.
I have no complaint with the ending showing Gaylord and Magnolia reconciling when Kim was still a small child.
It was the opportunity for them to start their lives over.
In the 1937 movie, Kim was already an adult Broadway star when Gaylord returned.
In reality, she would probably be angry and resentful at her father suddenly reappearing and disrupting her and her mother's lives.
As a matter of fact, even Parthy realized that the impoverished Gay would be a millstone around the family's neck.
IMHO, Ava Gardner was magnificent as Julie, as good as--if not better than--Helen Morgan.
One of the complaints about the 1952 film was that Steve, to prove he had "negro blood in him" just pricked Julie's finger with a pin and sucked her blood, whereas in the earlier version, he sliced the palm of her hand with a knife.
I believe this was pure sadism on his part!
One thing I never understood--why did Steve ultimately abandon Julie, leaving her to scrounge a miserable existence alone?
That was never explained.
No question that Paul Robeson's rendition of "Ol' Man River" was brilliant, but, as in all movies of that time, the black characters were stereotyped, and a few were even eye-rolling caricatures.
In fact, Hattie McDaniel's Queenie seemed like a dry-run for her Mammy in GWTW.
William Warfied was just as good, although his part was smaller.
Finally, there is the question of the "Cotton Blossom" itself.
In one of the books I read, real show boats were actually barges pushed along the river by ferries, and not the enormous paddle-wheel with its huge pistons in the 1952 movie.
To which I say, "So what?"
In most musicals you have to suspend disbelief, and this one is no exception.
It had the blessing of beautiful Technicolor photography, a magnificent Jerome Kern score, and excellent direction.
Every article I have ever read in every book about musicals castigates this version.
Most of the brickbats fall on Kathryn Grayson as Magnolia.
Sure, she wasn't the world's greatest actress, but Jeez--this isn't Shakespeare!
I have no complaints about her acting, and while I'm far from an expert on vocalizing, I can't believe her voice was a "thin, watery soprano"!
IMO, her overall performance was every bit as good as Irene Dunne's in the earlier film.
And although Gaylord was written as a tenor, I love Howard Keel's baritone.
I have no complaint with the ending showing Gaylord and Magnolia reconciling when Kim was still a small child.
It was the opportunity for them to start their lives over.
In the 1937 movie, Kim was already an adult Broadway star when Gaylord returned.
In reality, she would probably be angry and resentful at her father suddenly reappearing and disrupting her and her mother's lives.
As a matter of fact, even Parthy realized that the impoverished Gay would be a millstone around the family's neck.
IMHO, Ava Gardner was magnificent as Julie, as good as--if not better than--Helen Morgan.
One of the complaints about the 1952 film was that Steve, to prove he had "negro blood in him" just pricked Julie's finger with a pin and sucked her blood, whereas in the earlier version, he sliced the palm of her hand with a knife.
I believe this was pure sadism on his part!
One thing I never understood--why did Steve ultimately abandon Julie, leaving her to scrounge a miserable existence alone?
That was never explained.
No question that Paul Robeson's rendition of "Ol' Man River" was brilliant, but, as in all movies of that time, the black characters were stereotyped, and a few were even eye-rolling caricatures.
In fact, Hattie McDaniel's Queenie seemed like a dry-run for her Mammy in GWTW.
William Warfied was just as good, although his part was smaller.
Finally, there is the question of the "Cotton Blossom" itself.
In one of the books I read, real show boats were actually barges pushed along the river by ferries, and not the enormous paddle-wheel with its huge pistons in the 1952 movie.
To which I say, "So what?"
In most musicals you have to suspend disbelief, and this one is no exception.
It had the blessing of beautiful Technicolor photography, a magnificent Jerome Kern score, and excellent direction.