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Post by snsurone on Dec 8, 2017 3:28:34 GMT
On the whole, I love the MGM musicals produced by the Freed Unit.
But this one is, arguably, its very worst.
Yes, there were some very good song-and-dance numbers here, especially with Lena Horne, Judy Garland, and the "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" ballet with Gene Kelly and Vera Ellen.
But the story line between the numbers was ridiculous, and so fake.
Tom Drake, who couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, was totally blah as Richard Rogers, and Mickey Rooney gave a disgustingly hammy performance as Lorenz Hart.
And this movie doesn't have the staying power of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN or GIGI.
Of course, the Hays Office would never allow the fact that Hart was gay into the screenplay, but I can't understand why the script made no mention of his alcoholism.
And his death scene on a rainy street would be greeted with laughs today.
Truth be told, Rogers and Hart made few memorable songs and their plays are mostly forgotten today.
Richard Rogers had far greater success when teamed with Oscar Hammerstein II, and their plays are considered classics: OKLAHOMA, CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
Some day, maybe someone will make a true biopic of Larry Hart, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 8, 2017 3:44:26 GMT
"Rogers and Hart made few memorable songs and their plays are mostly forgotten today."
Ro dgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's death in 1943. Wiki Link with history and analysis List of well-known songs(1925) "Manhattan", "Mountain Greenery" (from The Garrick Gaieties) (1927) "Thou Swell" (from A Connecticut Yankee) (1928) "You Took Advantage of Me" (from Present Arms) (1930) "Spring is Here", "Yours Sincerely" and "With a Song in My Heart" (from Spring Is Here (film)) (1932) "Lover", "Mimi", "Isn't It Romantic?", (from Love Me Tonight) (1933) "You Are Too Beautiful", (from Hallelujah, I'm a Bum) (1934) "Blue Moon" (from Manhattan Melodrama) (1935) "Little Girl Blue", "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (from Jumbo) (1935) "It's Easy to Remember" (from Mississippi) (1936) "There's a Small Hotel", "Glad to Be Unhappy" (from On Your Toes) (1937) "Where or When", "I Wish I Were in Love Again", "My Funny Valentine", "Johnny One Note", "The Lady is a Tramp" (from Babes in Arms) (1937) "Have You Met Miss Jones?" (from I'd Rather Be Right) (1938) "This Can't Be Love", "Falling in Love with Love" (from The Boys from Syracuse) (1938) "I'll Tell the Man in the Street" (from I Married an Angel) (1939) "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", "I Like to Recognize the Tune", "Give It Back to the Indians" (from Too Many Girls (musical)) (1940) "It Never Entered My Mind" (from Higher and Higher) (1940) "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "I Could Write a Book" (from Pal Joey) (1942) "Wait Till You See Her", "Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me", "Ev'rything I've Got" (from By Jupiter) Stage and film productions(1920) Fly With Me (1925) The Garrick Gaieties (1925) Dearest Enemy (1926) The Girl Friend (1926) Betsy (1926) Peggy-Ann (1926) The Fifth Avenue Follies (1926) Lido Lady (1926) Garrick Gaieties - 2nd Edition (1927) A Connecticut Yankee (1927) One Dam Thing After Another (1928) Present Arms (1928) Chee-Chee (1928) She's My Baby (1929) Heads Up! (1930) Spring Is Here (film) (1930) Ever Green (1930) Simple Simon (1931) America's Sweetheart (1932) Love Me Tonight (film) (1932) The Phantom President (film) (1933) Hallelujah, I'm A Bum (film) (1935) Mississippi (film) (1935) Jumbo (1962 film Billy Rose's Jumbo) (1936) On Your Toes (1939 film) (1936) The Show Is On (Broadway revue with one song by Rodgers and Hart) (1937) Babes in Arms (1939 film) (1937) I'd Rather Be Right (1938) The Boys from Syracuse (1940 film) (1938) I Married an Angel (1942 film) (1939) Too Many Girls (1940 film) (1940) Higher and Higher (1943 film) (1940) Pal Joey (1957 film) (1942) By Jupiter (1943) A Connecticut Yankee (revised, with additional songs, their last collaboration)
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Post by neurosturgeon on Dec 8, 2017 3:51:56 GMT
I would disagree with you about the quantity and quality of the Rodgers and Hart song output, but I do agree the the movie "Words and Music" is pretty bad, except that it does showcase some great songs and performers.
Musical biographies of the 1940's are far from being factual representations of the lives of the composers featured. "Till The Clouds Roll By" had little to do with the life of Jerome Kern, as did "Rhapsody In Blue" did for Gershwin or "Night and Day" for Cole Porter. The flimsy stories holding the songs together were horrible, but the music was the thing.
Cole Porter's life did get a better retelling in "De-Lovely" but the music was sacrificed. The version of "Begin the Beguine" is unrecognizable, but Porter's life is more realistic., but very depressing. I think telling the story of Larry Hart would be interesting, but of little interest to anyone these days.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 8, 2017 3:58:08 GMT
"Tom Drake, who couldn't act his way out of a paper bag"
Wiki Page on TOM DRAKE"After a number of films, Drake co-starred with Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) as John Truett, the boy next door. He appeared in more than forty films in all, including Mrs. Parkington (1944), The Green Years (1946), Cass Timberlane (1947), as composer Richard Rodgers in the loosely-based biography Words and Music (1948) and, in a role at the opposite end of the character spectrum from John Truett, as the leader of a gang of criminals in Warlock (1959). He also had a minor role in the movie The Singing Nun (1966), playing Ed Sullivan's producer Mr. Fitzpatrick. From 1950 thereafter, Drake had roles in numerous television series, such as NBC's Cimarron City and Banacek, ABC's 77 Sunset Strip, Land of the Giants and The Streets of San Francisco, CBS's Perry Mason and Lassie." Words and Music:  Meet Me In St. Louis: 
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 8, 2017 4:00:57 GMT
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Post by kijii on Dec 8, 2017 6:30:41 GMT
I would disagree with you about the quantity and quality of the Rodgers and Hart song output, but I do agree the the movie "Words and Music" is pretty bad, except that it does showcase some great songs and performers. Musical biographies of the 1940's are far from being factual representations of the lives of the composers featured. "Till The Clouds Roll By" had little to do with the life of Jerome Kern, as did "Rhapsody In Blue" did for Gershwin or "Night and Day" for Cole Porter. The flimsy stories holding the songs together were horrible, but the music was the thing. Cole Porter's life did get a better retelling in "De-Lovely" but the music was sacrificed. The version of "Begin the Beguine" is unrecognizable, but Porter's life is more realistic., but very depressing. I think telling the story of Larry Hart would be interesting, but of little interest to anyone these days. Then there is De-Lovely (2004).......... What's interesting is that I have been working on my viewing gaps for Vincente Minnelli movies. I will be seeing Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) later since it on my DVR disc right now. What was fun to see Cabin in the Sky (1943) again. What a lot of fun that is!! ![]()  ![]() As part of my Vincente Minnelli project, I also recently saw Kismet (1955) and The Pirate (1948) for the first time from beginning to end. Another Minnellli movie which is not mentioned enough is Yolanda and the Thief (1945). It is a beautiful musical fantasy. www.imdb.com/title/tt0038262/reviews-31 But, Minnelli, like most directors, laid a few eggs too. This one for example. What a mess THIS is.......with almost all the actors playing against type in plot-stupid movie.  |
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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on Dec 8, 2017 13:00:33 GMT
Bad film, but I consider Till the Clouds Roll By to be even worse....what a stupid script.
Mind you, both have very nice Technicolor.
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Post by snsurone on Dec 8, 2017 13:10:55 GMT
I won't argue the fact that Rogers & Hart had a very large output of work.
But how many of their plays are revived today?
Have any been made into motion pictures as were Rogers & Hammerstein's?
And few of their individual numbers are even remembered today.
It's very sad, for Larry Hart was indeed a talented lyricist.
But I suppose his personal demons were just too overwhelming for him to cope.
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Post by teleadm on Dec 8, 2017 17:18:36 GMT
Back in the days when biopics caring about facts was purely accidental, OK that was a bit sarcastic.
I have the soundtrack on a cassette tape (remember those?), but I don't have a cassette player anymore, that works...
...and I loved the soundtrack.
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Post by neurosturgeon on Dec 8, 2017 17:19:11 GMT
Most of the Rodgers and Hart musicals were from the days when there was really no plot to musicals. Musical numbers were more of specialties than being part of the story. Until "Pal Joey," one of their last, This was pretty much the case, so their musicals don't lend themselves to revivals. "Oklahoma" is considered the started of the modern musical, having songs that move the plot along.
A new musical compiling their sons, like have been done with the Gershwins, would be great. But I really don't see any besides "Pal Joey," "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthir's Court," "Boys from Syracuse" or "On Your Toes" ever seeing a stage again.
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Post by snsurone on Dec 8, 2017 17:30:57 GMT
One of my numerous movie books claims that the "Thou Swell" number was almost ruined by the Blackburn twins' "forced grinning".
Well, I think those boys were adorable and very good dancers, and I prefer their "grinning" over June Allyson's ear-grating voice!
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Post by mattgarth on Dec 8, 2017 17:31:04 GMT
There is one nearby theater in New England that is devoted to staging musicals of the historic past.
The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut has been doing that since 1963, winning a Tony Award for regional theater excellence.
Of their three shows for this season, OKLAHOMA! was the middle one featured.
All performances are near sellouts.
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Post by snsurone on Dec 8, 2017 17:43:44 GMT
Y'know, it might be interesting if a biopic could be made about Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copeland, and their relationship to one another.
But I suppose their families might object.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 8, 2017 17:50:00 GMT
I guess if "making movies from the stage play" is a main criterion for judging the worth of a composer, that George M. Cohan must really be considered some sort of hack and a failure as a writer of musicals. Cannot fathom why they even bothered making that long forgotten bio-pic about him. <-- sarcasm alert !  |
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Post by snsurone on Dec 8, 2017 18:01:32 GMT
Who says YANKEE DOODLE DANDY is "long forgotten"?
Granted, it did take a few liberties with Cohan's life, but it's still considered a classic and won Jimmy Cagney his only Oscar.
TCM airs it every Fourth of July.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 8, 2017 18:34:17 GMT
For anyone else who might be saying "who in the heck are the Blackburn Twins?" (perhaps because they were in only three movies) Here they are in Words and Music:    |
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Post by neurosturgeon on Dec 8, 2017 22:09:41 GMT
By the way, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is my all-time favorite film.
Here is a video clip of "Thou Swell":
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Post by Doghouse6 on Dec 8, 2017 22:39:06 GMT
And few of their individual numbers are even remembered today. I guess it depends upon one's definition of "remembered," and by whom. A good couple dozen of their songs have long been considered standards, putting them right alongside those of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern and others of the Tin Pan Alley era. I'm certainly in some agreement with you about the film and its overwrought melodrama and, I'm sorry to say, the abilities of Tom Drake, a generally colorless actor who never quite seemed able to relax and shed his stiffness before the MGM cameras. And even the astonishingly multi-talented Rooney seemed so determined to wrest an Oscar nomination from the Academy that it's like watching someone trying to choke a confession out of a suspect, squeezing so hard that any truth or life is strangled in the process. I was watching Girl Crazy just last night and there was far more honesty in a simple little scene of him and Garland washing dishes than there was in all of his WAM pathos. He simply tried too hard instead of doing what he knew how to do best. Still, with all that, I find the film loaded with entertainment value just for the numbers, of which there were about a dozen. Garland's two and the sublime "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" alone are worth the proverbial price of admission. And as a matter of personal taste, I much prefer the sophisticated wit and deft rhymes of Hart's lyrics to the right-between-your-eyes sentiment of Oscar Hammerstein's. For example: Summer journeys to NiagaraAnd all other places aggra-Vate all our caresWe'll save our faresBeans could get no keener re-Ception in a beaneryBless our mountain greeneryHomePoor Johnny One-NoteSang out with gustoAnd just o-Verlorded the placePoor Johnny One-NoteYelled willy-nillyUntil heWas blue in the faceFor holding one note was his aceClever and brilliant. |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Dec 8, 2017 22:57:52 GMT
neurosturgeon Doodle is one of my "forever films" as well. I don't care that none (almost none ?, any ?) Cohan plays have hit the big screen ... it's a great movie and if it is historically not true, I just don't care because it's a gem of a movie and not supposed to be seen as a American Masters / Ken Burns Biography ! Same for Words and Music... RoDgers and Hart were an amazingly talented team and their Words and their music will no doubt live forever even if no-one ever sees the shows that first presented the songs we still sing or hum to this day. Historically accurate ? <shrug>. Great singing and dancing held together by a tissue thin story line. Enough for me.  thanks for the SWELL clip. Quite nice !
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Post by neurosturgeon on Dec 8, 2017 23:14:03 GMT
Bat Outtaheck -
One thing I failed to note is the last big number in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is from the Rodgers And Hart musical, "I'd Rather Be Right." Contractual agreement with Cohan said that no other composers could get on-screen credit, so "Off the Record" was not credited to them.
If anyone doubts the genius of Larry Hart, I suggest that they search out the uncensored version of .Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered." Patti Lupone has a great version out there.
EDIT: I found it!
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