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Well, you've read the notes, you know what is fit and not fit, you know what you've read and therefore you are ready to post about what you've read so what in tarnation are you waiting for? Let's get some postin' goin' on, shall we?
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Oops (spoo), I clicked post by mistake. Oh, well, ignore this until midnight.
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Now we're right. Notes are up and all is well with the world.
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A hangover from yesterday's notes (damn cheap wine):
DR Jose: Being able to throw the letters in any order in the middle of a word and still have it understood might work in most cases, but what happens when the word is quite long? Like "antidisestablishmentarianism"?
Just making sure the letters are all in there would be trying enough!
(We could say it backwards, "dociousaliexpeisticfragicalirupus," but that would be going too far, don't you think?)
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Indubitably.
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Worst Musical:
Lost Horizon although there a few spngs that I actually like. Thankfully the versions I have seen over the years have excise the majority of the musical numbers.
Brigadoon for me is a bore. They filmed it all on soundstages which for me doesn't work. By the time I first saw it when I was about 16 or so the artificality was apparent and I walked out on it. Also they basically excised the character of Meg because of the Hayes office.
I love the Marx Brothers movies but with the exception of a couple of songs the are painful to watch and listen to.
Some of the infamous disaters I would have loved to have seen Song of Norway, From Justin To Kelly. And then there was I Do Anything that had its 8 songs excised entirely from the film.
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And I am also reminded that I once watch the French dubbed version of How to Succeed in Business.... on TV (in Montreal) and all the musicals numbers were cut out. They jumped from the moment before the song to the moment afterwards.
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Good morning, all. I got my new VCR yesterday, so my equilibrium has been somewhat restored. I never could remove the dreadful MERRY WIDOW from the recorder, however, but I did get most of "Johnny One Note" finished to complete the first half of this Mickey-Judy show. One problem I have with the arrangement is that it changes key after the minor section ("Cats and dogs . . .") and goes up a half step, which seems to me to negate the title of the song: if Johnny's only note is A (key of D) or B-flat (key of E-flat), then doesn't changing the key and therefore Johnny's pitch, make the song "Johnny Two Notes"? It's these things arrangers pull that drive me mad. But all in all, a good week.
Worst Film Musicals:
1. MAN OF LA MANCHA: awful musical arrangements, awful concept.
2. LOST HORIZON: it was like watching a major disaster, and you couldn't look away.
3. BRIGADOON: love the show and hate almost everything about this movie (except for Gene Kelly), from Irene Scharaff's faux 18th Century dresses with their strange collars to the truncated score to the overall fake look of the film. One of the points of a fantasy about the past is that the past should have real detail (the two New Yorkers don't know they're out of synch) and this town of Brigadoon is a bad theme park.
4. ON THE TOWN: I was never a Jules Munshin fan, so there's strike one, cutting most of the Bernstein score is strike two, and the lush scoring of the acerbic Bernstein remaining is strike three. I'm out.
5. HELLO DOLLY!: La Streisand is too young and so miscast, the film is so overblown, and Irene Scharaff makes sure the other ladies' costumes keep Streisand looking better than Irene and Minnie. My favorite number is the title song only because at that point Streisand in gold. with the men all in waiters' mufti, suddenly provides a design concept for a musical number lacking throughout the remainder of the film.
Favorite Bad Musical Film:
GUYS AND DOLLS: the sharp edge of a cartoonish "Broadway fable" is missing, I'm not crazy about the new songs, but I love this movie.
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Hmmm, my candidate for worst movie musical has been mentioned before and discussed here by its many fans but I'll go ahead and mention it again. I know I am in a minority but it's how I feel.
I think The Pirate, that Judy Garland, Gene Kelley, Vincente Minnelli fiasco, is one of the worst movie musicals I have ever sat through. I think it is without a doubt the worst score Cole Porter ever wrote Mack the Black makes me laugh. I think it's a course in itself on bad lyric writing ((the line about Caribbean or Caribbean Sea for instance). I LOVE Miss Garland. You will find no bigger defender or fan of her work. But in this sloppy mess, I think she comes off so badly and looks AWFUL. VM did such a masterful job with Judy in MMISL but then to light her that way and let her wear those dreadful costumes and sing that music. What was he thinking??? Everyone talks about Gene Kelly and how sexy he is. I don't see it. I think he's much sexier and much better in Summer Stock. My Dear Anthony loves this movie and finds Mr. Kelly the epitome of sexual energy in this movie. I watched The Pirate once with him because I remember seeing it years and years ago and disliking it. I wanted to see it again, fresh, with someone who really, really enjoys it. Well, it didn't work. I just don't get this movie. All I see is a dark, jumbled, muddled mess. No sex appeal, bad music, a silly story and less than stellar performances by two of the great movie musical legends. Oh, well. As I've stated before, that's all just my humble opinion.
I'll be back later, I hope, with an idea of a favorite bad movie musical
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TOD by td:
THE APPLE - still, it's mesmerizing.
AT LONG LAST LOVE - it's pretty bad, BUT, when seen as seen on television with less emphasis on Cybil and Burt, it almost works.
MAN OF LA MANCHA - why anyone would want the shrill soundtrack album with those ludicrous arrangements is beyond me, but, still, it's a matter of taste - I can't stand it. Ms. Loren is game, and soemtimes nails the character - more often than not with coffin nails.
CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC - where was the Bounty when Rosie really needed it? Mickey & Judy meet The Village People; chaos ensues. Life though, has a funny way of paying things back: recently, I got to *murder* the man who is giving Valerie Perrine her massage during the Y.M.C.A. number. (okay, so he played Christopher Marlowe in a play, and I got to murder Marlowe in Deptford).
MOULIN ROUGE! - of which I am still of two minds. I still don't like Nicole Kidman's performance (if you can call it that) or Ewan's for that matter, but Leguiziamo, Caroline O'Connor and the others are interesting. As a whole, I don't think it works.
YENTL - drop the songs, Babs, and you've got a movie. drop the songs, though, and you have no reason FOR the movie. Too long, too serious to be truly enjoyable.
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The worst movie musical I've ever witnessed is the much-lauded Moulin Rouge, a French farce that gets no laughs. At one point, it makes fun of a Bernie Taupin lyric and then, later, we're supposed to take the reprise totally seriously. Fatal disease as mere plot device. Cameras not showing the full dance. One of the greatest comedy songs ever (Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend) getting nary a laugh, let alone a smile.
Truth to tell, I love movie musicals so much, it's hard to think of a bad one. Two "disappointments" that have certain fascinations come to mind. The original 1930 vintage Good News had too much book, too little singing. One of my favorite shows, Top Banana, was made into a movie with virtually all its songs cut. And yet it filmed the original stars (Phil Silvers, Rose Marie) and I was intrigued by the way a run-of-the-mill book played back then. Oddities, both, not "worsts"
Musicals related question: I'm interested in examples of movies with characters who are based on Betty Comden and Adolph Green - a platonic couple who write together. I think The Bandwagon's one. Others?
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Ah, yes, Can't Stop the Music or I remember it (did Mad Magazine do this title takeoff or am I remembering something else?) You Can't Stop the Mucus (blecch). I remember this came out around the same time as Cruising (the Al Pacino as leather queen movie) and while Cruising got protests and anger, all Nancy Walker (director of Music) got was bad reviews. A musical telling the story of the Village People and treating them as "straight" Again, what where they thinking???
I do enjoy the film version of Sweet Charity. Don't know why, but I always enjoy it when I see it.
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Mark Your Calendars for December 7
Besides being Pearl Harbor Day, that's the date the Eisner Studios will be releasing a new deluxe DVD of MARY POPPINS. One extra that will make it a must have is a new scene with Sherman music and a mixture of live action and animation featuring newly filmed material with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke!
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Worst musicals ever made: Anything with Nelson Eddy
Worst musical film based on a Broadway musical: A CHORUS LINE
Musical that's so bad it's entertaining: CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC
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Re: DR Jose's post where he said you could read any words as long as the first and the last letter were in the right place.
I think like DR Ben said, that would work only for smaller words, and I think also just for more familiar words. But it was very cool.
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Re: last night's American Idol
First before I forget, I believe next week's theme is movies.
I LOVED how the separated the kids into three groups of three.
It was quite easy to predict. I knew that whatever group George was in was the highest vote getters. Although I was hoping they were going to say group B (John, Jon Peter, and Fantasia) were the high vote getters (just to see everyone's reaction).
I think it is very interesting that Jennifer Hudson and LaToya (in group C with George), went from the bottom three last week, to the top three this week.
I was quite certain that whatever group Camile was in (group A with Jasmine and Diana) would be the lowest vote getters.
But it is interesting that JPL and John Stevens can seemingly do no wrong.
The thing that suprises me the most is how Jasmine has fallen from grace. The very first week the judges said she was the best. And the message boards were filled with "we love Jasmine". And now she's been in the bottom 3 twice I believe.
I was also happy I won't have to listen to Camile sing again. But again I thought Simon was a bit hard on her. The poor girl looked like she was going to start crying. And I don't think he needed to make the comments he did.
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I had made a conscious effort to forget all about A CHORUS LINE. Spoo!
Drat and double drat!
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How could I forget A Chorus Line? I remember sitting in the theatre and at one point, for some unknown reason, we find out Zach's address which was something like Lucy and Ricky's address in that it didn't exist but I remember it was someplace on 12th Avenue in Manhattan. I was still in Minneapolis at the time but familiar enough with NY to know that 12th Avenue was basically the West Side Highway and I laughed and laughed at that point. I also laughed at how bad that movie turned out.
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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1541&ncid=785&e=8&u=/afp/20040407/en_afp/france_literature (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1541&ncid=785&e=8&u=/afp/20040407/en_afp/france_literature)
Since you've mentioned THE LITTLE PRINCE.
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I have to say I was a little surprised that it took until Post #12 to get to A CHORUS LINE. It's just horrible!
As is YOU CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC, but this one goes on the guilty pleasures list...must have seen it 3 or 4 times in the theatres when it first came out. Just too much fun! And a Greenwich Village that doesn't exist anymore. On so many levels......
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Can I ask a question of all of you VOTD soundtrack mavens from yesterday?
I know Margaret Whiting dubbed the fabulous "I'll Plant My Own Tree" for the ST, and someone (I forget who) dubbed Miss Duke's songs. But tell me, please, who covered the title song for the album. Is it, as I have long suspected, none other than Miss Dory Previn?
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I am also surprised that neither MAME nor NIGHT MUSIC have come up as worst movie musicals yet......
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Good Morning!
Worst Movie Musical: Yes, the "adaptation" of A Chorus Line.
What's even worse, however, are actor/singer/dancers who come into auditions singing either "Surprise" or "I Am A Dancer/Let Me Dance For You".... UGH!!! My eyebrows always begin to raise when they're put in front of me. I recently had a very unfortunate run-in with "Surprise"... Not only is it a bad song, imho, but the actor/singer(?) was also bad. In many ways. UGH!
Well, matinee in two hours! Later gators...
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Guilty pleasure bad musical is AT LONG LAST LOVE. I despise Burt Reynolds in this movie - he can't dance a step and the singing is adequate. But as I written before about it, the thing I love is that they do entire versions of the songs. I think it's stupendous that each of the four main characters gets a verse of the title song. One rarely gets to hear all the marvelous lyrics to Porter's songs, and here we get them. I wish the leads had been better, but Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, and Eileen Brennan make all their moments count. It was a terrible idea to record the songs live. People who aren't primarily singers come off sounding really awful, and even the good singers like Kahn can't be heard and their best.
I taped the movie off the Fox Movie Channel some months ago, and will probably do a DVD of it the next time it comes around.
I LOATHE Ross Hunter's LOST HORIZON. Can't stand any of the songs, and though people like Peter Finch try really hard to make it into something, it's ghastly from the word go.
I, too, would like to see SONG OF NORWAY one day. I've read about how awful it is, but I'd like to see for myself.
Boy, we've got some BIG splits among us with this topic. I love THE PIRATE, and I think Gene Kelly is at his sexiest. No, the score is only a hair above mediocre, but it's serviceable, and I think it's ravishing to look at and a good deal of fun. But different strokes, I guess.
I've never thought MAN OF LA MANCHA was as terrible as others do either. Frankly, I prefer it to CAMELOT. A CHORUS LINE, of course, has to rank as the WORST botched stage-to-film musical.
BK, I believe I COULD GO ON SINGING is in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. At least, my laserdisc is, and it IS a Panavision movie. If the new DVD is 1.85:1, then it has been reframed, and that will NOT make me happy.
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DR RLP, about your comment last night that Fantasia was easily the top vote getter in Group B, I'm not so sure. More than thirty minutes into voting, her line was not busy and John Stevens' was. I'm actually thinking he was at the top of that group. Neither Fantasia's nor Jon Peter's lines were busy at all. Of course, with Jon Peter being a Mormon, he may have a greater block of West Coast/Western voters.
I was gratified to see the three people I thought sang the best this week actually got the top three number of votes: LaToya, George, and Jennifer.
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I love musicals, period!
I don't buy into the notion that a movie has to be true to its Broadway roots. Most Broadway shows can use some improvement. Almost all need to be changed for film. When they're not changed, they sort of just sit there looking important but generating little excitement (like "My Fair Lady").
Things have gone too far astray, however. Major disappointments have occurred, like "A Little Night Music" and "A Chorus Line."
I love movies and I love theater and I love music.
DR Noel: I have heard the rumors that there was an audience that just sat there staring at the screen during a showing of "Moulin Rouge."
I thought it was merely an urban legend.
When I saw it, folks were having a blast and smiling and laughing all through the film. I love it for its explosive energy and irreverence. It blows away stereotypes of what to expect, IMO. But I concede it's a love it or HATE IT film, and I'm always shocked when I learn that people who love music/musicals/theater hated it. But they are out there in force.
:D
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JoseSPiano the "power of the mind" was interesting.
Penny O is leaving now-must say goodbye then take Echo for a short walk.
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BTW, next week on IDOL, the theme is movie songs.
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DR RLP, about your comment last night that Fantasia was easily the top vote getter in Group B, I'm not so sure. More than thirty minutes into voting, her line was not busy and John Stevens' was. I'm actually thinking he was at the top of that group. Neither Fantasia's nor Jon Peter's lines were busy at all. Of course, with Jon Peter being a Mormon, he may have a greater block of West Coast/Western voters.I was gratified to see the three people I thought sang the best this week actually got the top three number of votes: LaToya, George, and Jennifer.
DR MattH, I am not at all convinced that calling every line is the "indicator" you make it out to be. I had all sorts of trouble getting through on Fantasia's line, yet had no difficulty at all calling for LaToya and Jennifer. Rang first time and answered.
JPL took several tries before I got answered.
I don't call the lines of folks I think ought to go....hence John Stephens got NO vote from me, thank goodness!
I did call and vote for Jasmine. Got through first time on her line, too.
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Hey we are almost on page two!
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MattH, I didn't say Singing was in 1:85, I said Man of La Mancha is - which is correct. Singing is in 2:35 and will be presented that way on the DVD.
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Yes DRStuart, Dory Previn sand the VOTD theme song on the album. Helen's song on the album was by Eileen Wilson, and Gail Heineman...I think that is the singer's name. So when you get the CD, you don't get a lot of the songs that you MIGHT have enjoyed in the movie.
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Good morning. May I rant? :o I just saw an interview with Nia Vardalos (MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING). Her new film, CONNIE AND CARLA, is about two performers on the run from the mob, who become stars in a drag show, as men posing as women (who are actually women). And a guy falls in love with one of them...You fill in the blanks. In other words, SOME LIKE IT HOT meets VICTOR/VICTORIA.
I have one simple question (two really) - Is there an original film idea left in the world? And - How can they get away with this?
(Same rant goes for the new Jennifer Garner film - 13 GOING ON 30 - "A 13 year old girl plays a game on her 13th birthday and wakes up the next day as a 30 year old woman." aka BIG.)
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But Panni, those ideas are TOTALLY different. It's WOMEN instead of MEN. ::) ;D
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LOL....yes I had my VOTD album before the movie was released! Probably in November, 1967, or so.
RLP check out SquareDeal.com you can give the transaction number and the problem and THEY contact the other party and deal with them. It's free and it works!
Worst movie musical for me is LOST HORIZON, because I love the original film so much, and with the cast they had, I thought it would really be good. And I think with different composer/lyricist, it might have worked.
A CHORUS LINE is close, but there are some moments in there that I like. And of course I like all the Beach Party movies!
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I have to say I was a little surprised that it took until Post #12 to get to A CHORUS LINE. It's just horrible!
Likewise Annie. Another case of an Oscar winning director being rewarded with a valuable project despite not being at all an appropriate choice.
I also think the Broadway Melody of 1940 is incredibly dull, with the exception of the tap segment of "Begin the Beguine"
I'll go along with DR Ben who mentions Sweet Charity as the bad movie musical favorite.
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DR Dan (The Man): ACH! I'm wounded! "The Broadway Melody of 1940" is dull? Ohmygosh! With all those great numbers??? And all that mugging by George Murphy???? I find it endlessly entertaining! :D
BK: There have been a couple of more exchanges on the "Daisy Clover" thread...checkitout!
"American Idol" slipped in the ratings last week. Instead of finishing one-two, it finished two-three (Tuesday and Wednesday editions).
No doubt it's because DR Pogue did NOT watch last week!
:D
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RLP, I have responded over there - even with the irrefutable proof he STILL doesn't admit he's wrong. A bit of a psycho-sociopath, I'm afraid. And he wrote me an e-mail and STILL thinks he's responsible for MGM doing La Mancha and I Could Go on Singing in their proper ratio. Unbelievable.
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Well my suggestions for the reading of Kritzer Time....after much deliberation are:
Page 236 from the *** to the end of the chapter.....
Chapter Six....when Benjamin writes his first song....and don't forget to play the CD!
And the other part....you can't read because it would reveal a MAJOR book development....but it is the graduation ceremony.
Yesterday DRCHARLESPOGUE mentioned that Scaramouche is his favorite George Sidney movie...and I enjoy it as well.
But that leads me to a question: the leading lady is Eleanor Parker. She is a beautiful woman, she is a good actress, but I could never really warm to her as a performer no matter what character she is playing? Does anyone else feel this way about a performer? She does everything right, but she seems a bit cold in everything I have seen her in, even CAGED!
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DR JRand: Are you sure that website is right?
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DR Dan (The Man): ACH! I'm wounded! "The Broadway Melody of 1940" is dull? Ohmygosh! With all those great numbers??? And all that mugging by George Murphy???? I find it endlessly entertaining! :D
Yeah, "dull" was a poor choice of words. Maybe just "disappointing", considering it had Astaire and Powell. For me, it just lay there like so much fish.
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Thanks Jrand - I'll check out those sections.
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Likewise Annie.
OOoooh, I forgot about ANNIE being as bad as it is. I did like the TV version, though.
And thank you for the info on VOTD, DR JRand. As much as I like all of the ladies songs on the album, I my think my favorite musical moment on the album is the incredibly cheesy, Vegas-y intro arrangement for "Come Live With Me." (Interrelated is one of my favorite moments in the movie, which is the ultra-focused pin spot in which Lee Grant is sitting as her brother makes his entrance to sing above-referenced song. Plus the expression on her face.)
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Musicals related question:[/b] I'm interested in examples of movies with characters who are based on Betty Comden and Adolph Green - a platonic couple who write together. I think The Bandwagon's one. Others?
There are the Carole Cook-Joe Bova (?) characters from 42ND STREET, but they were so badly set up in the original production I remember being amazed that they were in the show-within-the-show as well as writin it.
And how could I have forgotten the dreadful MOULIN ROUGE as well? I guess because my mind for safety's sake always thinks of the John Huston film.
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We own the Tony Scotti album on which he sings again Come Live With Me. We think he made two albums (he may have made more) but we have only seen the one we have Starring Tony Scotti, featuring the Theme from Valley of the Dolls. High camp value here folks.
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I think we just broke through and are at Message Number 37,002. Larry E. made it message 37,000 and these two make it 37,002
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...I do enjoy the film version of Sweet Charity. Don't know why, but I always enjoy it when I see it.
Part of why I enjoy Sweet Charity is the joy of watching Bob Fosse discover a new toy, having so much fun directing his first film. "I'm a Brass Band" is spectacular.
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MattH, I love THE PIRATE! After SINGING IN THE RAIN, it is my favourite Gene Kelly musical.
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I don't know if it was good or bad because no one ever mentions it and I never saw it.. BUT it popped into my head just now... So, has anyone got an opinion on NEWSIES?
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And that's what makes horse racing and why I do these here topics. So much fun.
I'm glad someone is keeping track of our marvelous posting record - I'm only doing the landmarks, so our next real celebration (and it will be a biggie) will be the rapidly approaching 40,000 post mark.
My least favorite movie musicals:
Lost Horizon (but it IS a guilty pleasure)
A Chorus Line (the absolute worst)
Annie
Moulin Rouge (even though it's not a real musical)
At Long Last Love
Man of La Mancha (shame on all of them)
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I think Newsies could have been good with a director and choreographer who knew what they were doing. Kenny Ortega just doesn't cut it and the film doesn't work at all. I've watched it a few times and I really like some of the score a lot, but it needed a surer hand and someone who could have worked with both screenwriter and songwriters to make it flow better.
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DR JRand: Are you sure that website is right?
No....it's SquareTrade NOT SquareDeal....duh!
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And how could I have forgotten the dreadful MOULIN ROUGE as well? I guess because my mind for safety's sake always thinks of the John Huston film.
That's because everyone's giving the wrong title to the more recent film. The Huston film of '52 is Moulin Rouge, the Lurhmann film of '01 is Moulin Rouge! with self-hyping exclamation point.
Let's just say the difference between the two is the difference between Jose Ferrer and John Leguizamo...with the latter in a tiny (oops) supporting role.
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For some reason, der Brucer is listening to the LP of Applause. Great cast. Hearing the score coming from another room, it's amazing how much Bacall sounds like Davis!
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I like the NEWSIES CD in part...."Santa Fe" is such a pretty want song! But the dancing is so out anachronistic, it spoils the movie for me....and then, as much as I love her, any movie made after 1990 in which Miss Ann-Margret plays a sex object is just misguided.... Again, I love her, but her career as a hot box has bottomed out.
DRBEN I also have that Tony Scotti album....and yes I love Lee's pinspot at the club! Is that Johnny Williams at the piano in that scene? And how about that tux - what the hell color is that? I like "Come Live With Me" especially the arrangement later on in Jennifer's suicide scene.... But of course Helen's big number is the best part of the evening....what the hell IS that supposed to be? Is it a revue, is it a book musical? It has to have scenes because that's all Neely has left if they cut her song, but what the hey? HIT THE SKY!
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Let's just say the difference between the two is the difference between Jose Ferrer and John Leguizamo...with the latter in a tiny (oops) supporting role.
I'd simply say that the Huston film good and the faux MOULIN ROUGE!!! is rotten.
DR CharlesPogue, I love THE PIRATE, too, if only for Judy's line "he asked for me" and nothing else, but the Nicholas Brothers and Kelly are amazing in it, and Minelli's work as baroque and over-the-top as the play demands. Since the original Behrman play is so good, I've always wondered at why this wasn't turned into a stage musical.
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Off to Todai for lunch. Keep the home fries burning and the posts coming so I have lots to read upon my return. Thanks ever so, you dear dear people out there in the dark.
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I never really had any problems with Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge. To me it was a toy of a movie, a wild ride, an extension of the good, surreal MTV videos of the 80s. And at it's candy center was a harmless romance plot. I had fun watching it.
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FANTASIA (the first, not the sequal) is a great Disney film. Whatr was it being voted on for?
BK---
I just read the interview. Why not make "Casting the KRITZER Movies" a topic of the day one day next week.
Also, if you want Joel Grey to read the book, send it to him at the Gershwin Theatre where WICKED is playing. He's not on stage that much, so this would give him something to read in his dressing room between scenes.
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WEL thanks for the care package that arrived today!
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Der Brucer has moved on to Baker Street, with a pre-Benson Inga Swenson singing beautifully. But I think she had better material in 100 in the Shade.
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I certainly don't consider these to be "worst" musicals by any strech of the imagination, however it does seem that a lot of people do not consider them to be very good...but I love them...they are:
APRIL IN PARIS
SUMMER STOCK
I will also add BLONDIE GOES LATIN. I know I have mentioned the movie many many times but have never gotten a reaction out of anyone so either I am the only one who has ever seen it...or nobody wants to hurt my feelings! LOL! But it has some lovely songs sung by Penny Singleton and Tito Guizar (who I would LOVE to find a CD of someday)...and some nice Penny Singleton dance numbers, too!
As for musicals I don't like (I don't like to call movies "worst" because it really is a matter of opinion to me) I can't think of any off hand, but I know I didn't care much for HIT THE DECK and I am sure I have seen some from the late 60s or the 70s that I couldn't get through.
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Dear Friend BK, I loved the interview. Congratulations on an excellent job, and thank you for letting me be a part of it. In all our madcap adventures, I never got the Kritzer tour, so we'll have to do one when I next get out to LA. I wish I could be there for the signings at the end of April.
Leslie Kritzer is another CCM graduate, as is my friend Matt Bogart (both of whom I forgot to mention in my CCM post yesterday). I met her when she did DEAREST ENEMY for Mel Miller around 1995, then she did FUNNY GIRL at Papermill. Very talented lady.
And I agree: you should send Joel Grey a copy of the book.
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Der Brucer has moved on to Baker Street, with a pre-Benson Inga Swenson singing beautifully. But I think she had better material in 100 in the Shade.
Much better material, and her understudy, singing in "What A Night This is Going to Be," was Virginia Vestoff of 1776 and VIA GALACTICA.
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WHAT?
Someone doesn't think "Summer Stock" is very good?
Aughghghghghghghgh!
I LOVE THAT MOVIE!
"Howdy Neighbor, Happy Harvest!"
Phil Silvers and his rhubarb cracks!
A healthy (!) Garland in a great role for her!
Wonderful singing and dancing and a nice romance between her and Kelly!
"Get Happy!"
I've always thought it underestimated, but never thought that anyone hated it.
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Among the film musicals I've never cared for are Doctor Doolittle, Man of La Mancha, and (don't gasp) Oliver.
Yes, Oliver. I've always thought it bloated and unweildy. Add to that list the aforementioned Mame and Lost Horizons, and I think we've got a pretty good list of bad musicals, and what made them so.
Want to make a really bad musical about New York City? Follow the example of all the above films, and have a crane shot that starts at street level and takes us ALL THE WAY UP to the top of the Empire State Building...and then fill every inch of the screen with dancers and singers careening about in the streets below! Never mind that, at that height, you can't make anyone out as a person, it'll be big and everyone will love it!
Want to know why I love the musical Goodbye, Mr. Chips? Because the filmmakers knew that less can be more! With the one exception of "London is London," which deliberately piled on every excess in it's staging (and cleverly kept it all on a London stage), the film is brilliantly minimalist.
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I did get most of "Johnny One Note" finished to complete the first half of this Mickey-Judy show. One problem I have with the arrangement is that it changes key after the minor section ("Cats and dogs . . .") and goes up a half step, which seems to me to negate the title of the song: if Johnny's only note is A (key of D) or B-flat (key of E-flat), then doesn't changing the key and therefore Johnny's pitch, make the song "Johnny Two Notes"? It's these things arrangers pull that drive me mad. But all in all, a good week.
I've always thought the song was someone singing about "Johnny One Note" and not intended to be representative of Johnny singing his one note...which was "ahhhhh" with no words.
It's always been my impression that the key changes were part of the song "about" this one-note person named Johnny. :D
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Here is your Allison Hayes picture of the week: a studio arranged Beach Date with Mr Race Gentry in February, 1956. The other couple? Mark Damon & Beverly Tyler! ;D
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I've always thought the song was someone singing about "Johnny One Note" and not intended to be representative of Johnny singing his one note...which was "ahhhhh" with no words.
DR RLP, to me "Ahhhhh" is the sound to sustain the pitch, which is Johnny's one note, namely the 5th (dominant tone) of the chord: Johnny could only sing one note, and Richard Rodgers, in the permutations of the tune, never takes Johnny's note off that dominant and the song as written stays in one key. As the song is written, Johnny's one note is constant, and any arranger who decides a modulation to another key will improve the song or make it more exciting is missing the point/joke of the song. As it turned out, in the arrangement I just finished scoring, Johnny had three notes!
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I, also, love topics like today’s topic because, from the very start, we can all agree to disagree.
NOT MY FAVORITES
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Lost Horizon -- IMHO the worst movie musical of all time. Impossible to believe that anyone thought before making this movie. Enough said.
Chorus Line –- Living proof that it is possible to ruin a near-perfect musical.
Hello, Dolly! and Annie –- Kelly and Huston should be ashamed of themselves.
Moulin Rouge! –- Like watching a train wreck, but not as interesting.
The Pirate -- When I first saw this movie, when I was a kid, I figured I was too young to appreciate it. When I saw this movie, as an adult, I figured I was too old to appreciate it. Either way....... A mess.
GUILTY PLEASURES
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Can’t Stop The Music – A totally awful, but somehow enjoyable Gay nightmare. Not to mention Bruce Jenner in cut-offs and a half-shirt.
Camelot -- I know a lot of people find this movie horrible, and it’s true that Richard Harris at times behaves like your cousin, Larry (lovable, but so embarrassing); but Franco Nero breathing life back into the fallen knight, and Vanessa’s Guinevere remembering the forgiveness she used to see in Arthur’s face make me weep every time.
Who is Race Gentry?
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Inga Swenson definitely had better material in 110 IN THE SHADE. I think that's a musical ripe for rediscovery. I love that score. The score for BAKER STREET has never been one of my favorites.
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Back from lunch.
RLP: Mr. Capuccino seems to have left the room. So predictable.
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Matt---
Mufti did BAKER STREET about three years ago. The book was a bore and the score had a lot of differences from the LP due to re-writting it during the original engagement. The one thing the show is noted for is being the first Broadway show with a color Playbill® cover.
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Yes, Oliver. I've always thought it bloated and unweildy. Add to that list the aforementioned Mame and Lost Horizons, and I think we've got a pretty good list of bad musicals, and what made them so.
Want to make a really bad musical about New York City? Follow the example of all the above films, and have a crane shot that starts at street level and takes us ALL THE WAY UP to the top of the Empire State Building...and then fill every inch of the screen with dancers and singers careening about in the streets below! Never mind that, at that height, you can't make anyone out as a person, it'll be big and everyone will love it!
I've often envisioned what Sweeney Todd could become in the wrong hands, and I see something along the above happening to "Nothing's Gonna Harm You". A la "Consider Yourself" and "Thank You Very Much", Mrs. Lovette and Tobias would prance and cavorte throughout the streets of London, meeting up and exchanging verses with various shopowners, beggars and whores. Of course there would be the requisite Punch and Judy show (perhaps foreshadowing Todd and Lovette's final confrontation). Then the final shot as all (and I do mean ALL) of the denizens of Fleet Street are parading their way to the end of the song, now transformed into a march. Cut! Print!
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I spent a lovely afternoon with the new DVD of FOR ME AND MY GAL. The film looks simply grand with a very sharp picture and no blemishes to speak of. Mono sound solid and reliable.
John Fricke's commentary track is marvelous when he sticks to the background and making of the picture and biographies of the principals and supporting players. A couple of times he gets weirdly segued into giving some historical information about what was going on in the world during the making of the film, and I found that a bit tedious. Still, an enjoyable track and one that doesn't simply tell us what's happening on the screen as we see it.
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Sorry, bk, I must have misread your comments about I COULD GO ON SINGING and MAN OF LA MANCHA, and the original aspect ratios.
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Matt---
Mufti did BAKER STREET about three years ago. The book was a bore and the score had a lot of differences from the LP due to re-writting it during the original engagement. The one thing the show is noted for is being the first Broadway show with a color Playbill® cover.
I too have thought this score to be fairly boring as preserved, except for "I'm in London Again!" which was written by Bock & Harnick anyway.....
The color Playbill cover (depicting one of Miss Swenson's fabulous Irene Sharaff hats, or were they by Motley??), yes. But don't forget the Bil Baird Marionettes doing the entire Victoria Jubilee. Kinda like Phyllis Newman re-enacting her entire pageant in a 3 minute song.....
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There are lots of worst movie musicals I've never seen/never wanted to see - notably Little Night Music, Lost Horizon, Moulin Rouge, Man of La Mancha.
Chorus Line, Mame and Paint Your Wagon are the worst ever seen.
Mad Magazine did a great parody of Lost Horizon ("The World Is a Rhomboid without a Circumference, and Nobody Knows What This Simile Means.")
I'll be e&t over the weekend. Will be spending Easter with Gord's (Protestant) family, while I try to observe the dietary restrictions of Passover.
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Will be spending Easter with Gord's (Protestant) family, while I try to observe the dietary restrictions of Passover.
I sympathize and empathize, DR Dan. My partner's family's Easter festivities now include a turkey (or london broil) and a box of matzah in order to placate me. They are Roman Catholic, and quite thoughtful about my restrictions.
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As to the topic of the day:
Unless I missed it, I can't believe not one person has mentioned Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, hands-down my choice for The Most Wretched Movie Musical in the History of the Universe. There is absolutely nothing good about this film; awful cast, loathsome performances throughout, and FUGLY* sets.
Can't Stop the Music at least has blantant homoeroticism, which counts for something, at least.
By the way, Matt...I've actually seen Song of Norway recently, and on the big screen, as part of a "private screening" with some friends of ours who just happen to own a movie theater. It's astonishingly bad, and Florence Henderson's voice goes through you like a nail in the temple. And the lox who plays Edvard Grieg sits there like so much fish. Do you need to see this movie? Absolutely, you do. It's drop-dead hilarity.
*I know this is a family site....can I use the word "fugly"?
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Actually, mentioning Sgt. Pepper reminds me of how awful The Wiz wuz. Or should that be how awful The Wuz wiz?
I saw the Mufti Baker Street - it was awful. That's the only Mufti I've seen.
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Oh THE WIZ....oh....all I could think of during Lena Horne's big number in closeup and out of synch....was even in Beach Blanket Bingo, Annette's mouthing matched her lyrics!
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Loved the interview, BK! I'm sure Joel Grey would be thrilled to learn how much both his Littlechap and personal kindness meant to you.
Movie musicals that are painful for me to sit through:
A Chorus Line
Camelot
Annie
Moulin Rouge (although I love Caroline O'Connor)
Guilty Pleasures
Mame
I REALLY need to see Man of La Mancha and A Little Night Music.
Well, I open in "Where's Charley?" tonight. I'm a bit nervous, but I think I'm ready. Really, I'm really only worried about the dancing and the locker room scene, as I'm onstage in a camisole and slip; I've never been that scantily-clad onstage before!
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No, I've never seen SGT. PEPPER, but after I read about who was in it and description of its contents, I had NO desire to see it.
I forgot to mention MAME which is almost as terrible a butchering of a Broadway musical as A CHORUS LINE but not quite. It did give us Bea Arthur and Jane Connell redoing their orginal roles (both of whom had left by the time I saw the original Broadway production) and that wonderful song "Lovin' You" for Robert Preston to sing.
ANNIE as well did have a few things to recommend it. But the made-for-TV version was SO much better.
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Jrand -- I am still waiting to find out who Race Gentry is and / or was, and while we are on the subject..... What other couple???
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[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]BREAK A LEG,[/move]
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[move=RIGHT,scroll,6,transparent,100%]MAYA!!![/move]
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LOL....Race Gentry was an actor from the Henry Willson stable - the picture was from a "Show" magazine layout from February 1956. The magazine was a small-type magazine that cost 15 cents.
Just for you DRTCB is a bit more of the layout.
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I can't listen to the Radio Show either. I downloaded the software AGAIN....but I keep getting a box that says it can't find the clip.
My system must not be compatible with something or other.
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e-mail Mr. Bakalor, Jrand.
Yes, we'd have to add Mame to the pile and I'm not too fond of Camelot either.
Break a leg to our darling dear reader Maya! And be sure to post a photo of you in your camisole and slip - if you don't, nefarious Jed will never forgive you.
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e-mail Mr. Bakalor, Jrand.
Yes, we'd have to add Mame to the pile and I'm not too fond of Camelot either.
Break a leg to our darling dear reader Maya! And be sure to post a photo of you in your camisole and slip - if you don't, nefarious Jed will never forgive you.
Knowing Jed, he probably already has a picture!
(http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/mittelgrosse/medium-smiley-048.gif)
Can you say n-e-f-a-r-i-o-u-s ?
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"Oliver" is fabulous!
John Green worked miracles with that score!
A perfect case of a movie musical being better than its theatrical source!
:D :D :D ;D ;D ;D
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Another wretched musical was the teevee remake of The Music Man, with the inprobably-miscast Matthew Broderick. Kristen Chenoweth was the only reason I made it halfway through the thing; eventually, even she couldn't be entertaining enough to keep me watching.
What were they thinking?
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Page four, and all is well!!!
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Who is Race Gentry?
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Race Gentry was a contract player at Universal-International who never made much of a dent in Hollywood. He was one of a number of hunk actors represented by agent Henry Wilson. The only movie off hand that I can think of him being in is THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW with Barbara Stanwyck.
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Thanks for the suggestion, MR BK....but no thanks.
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Really enjoyed the interview BK! It will add to my enjoyment of reading Kritzer Time!
Sorry that you didnt' really get to meet Leslie Parrish...but does that mean the Three Stooges story was for real?
Next time I come to L.A. I want the Kritzer tour for sure!
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WE NEED MORE POSTS, TO KEEP US ENTERTAINED!!!
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I think one either gets what elmore calls THE PIRATE's baroque style or they don't. Having always been a fan of swasbucklers and panache playing, I just sort of naturally accept its over-the-top, larger- than- life (or I prefer life-on-a-grand-scale) stylistics and go with the flow. I love Kelly's arch Barrymorish performance and the Pirate ballet is as athletic and robust as anything Errol Flynn ever did. Even Judy...who sometimes gets on my nerves...is in top form here. And the delicious Walter Slezak...always a joy!
Two guilty pleasures: ABOUT FACE, a musical version of Brother Rat with Gordon MacRae, Eddie Bracken, and Dick Weston...and a young Joel Grey before he got his nose bobbed. And THREE SAILORS & A GIRL, Jane Powell, Gordo again, Gene Nelson, and Jack E. Leonard with a cameo by Burt Lancaster.
I also enjoy SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE, if for nothing else than Gene Nelson's dance in the gym to Am I In Love.
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MERDE, MAYA!
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Yes, MBarnum, all the other celeb stories are real, including The Three Stooges.
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RLP: You must see the latest of the FSM board. Mr. Capuccino STILL won't admit he's wrong, even with the irrefutable proof shoved in his face. I've given him one more chance to behave like a human being and then he will rue the day he was ever a pathological liar.
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Confidential to Dear Reader Maya:
Break a leg!
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RLP: You must see the latest of the FSM board. Mr. Capuccino STILL won't admit he's wrong, even with the irrefutable proof shoved in his face. I've given him one more chance to behave like a human being and then he will rue the day he was ever a pathological liar.
Holy Merde, BK!
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I must interrupt this thread with a special message:
Before I read the notes or read any postings I have a bone to pick with someone on this here board. And pick it I shall.
Mr. Bruce Kimmel. Do you know what you did to me today? You made me cry. CRY, :'( I tell you during my lunch half hour. Made my eyes red and nose runny so when I went back to my desk everyone asked if I was hurting again.
I must demand something for my tears. I want another Benjamin Kritzer book forthwith or withforth. Please. :)
The ending was something of a shock-a-roo and I kept thinking there has to be more!
Seriously, I really, honestly enjoyed it, tears and all. I want to think about it for a day and then I will write the promised review to all the sites. I want to be a little more eloquent than, “I laughed, I cried, I kissed $20.00 bucks goodbye." (Or however much it was, I don’t remember). LOL!
I have notes and posts to read.
Go ahead with whatever you were talking about before this.
I now return you to your regular thread.
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Good vibes to DR Maya on her Opening Night. ~~~~~~~~~~~
Apparently tonight's episode of The Apprentice will feature interviews. And TWO people will be fired in the first half hour. My guesses are: Bill and Nick will be gone (Nick for sure).
Can't wait for Survivor. I want Boston Rob to be reunited with Amber (okay I'm a sucker for romance).
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Danise - then I guess it worked somehow. Think about it, and I can't wait to read your thoughts!
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RLP: Feel free to also post over at FSM - the more people who call this idiot on his idiocy, the better.
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DR Danise: Great easter outfit!
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Link FSM please. What is all the excitement bout?
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Oh yes, forgot to say yesterday....great Easter outfit, DRDANISE!
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Panni, regarding your rant earlier today-LOL
JRand53 I feel the same about Charlton Heston. I have liked many of his movies and the characters he portrayed. It was just him personally I didn’t care for.
Maya, I hope your play went well tonight and am looking forward to the details.
MBarnum, if you ask, Bruce might add my house to his tour.
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All of these are pretty bad movie musicals (and all have been mentioned before):
Annie
At Long Last Love
Brigadoon
Camelot
A Chorus Line
Mame
Man of La Mancha
But the one really bad movie musical that I like (I don't know why, I just do) is Xanadu. I love the songs (I have the CD). I remember the first time I saw it was when we had HBO (years ago), thinking that it was a fun (and yes, I realized, not very good) lazy afternoon movie.
And BREAK A LEG, D.R. MAYA!
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BK: I've challenged Mr. Capucine on various fronts over the past few months. You've been there for some of it.
Let's not give the impression we're out to gang up on him and beat him mercilessly.
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DR Maya, break hearts!
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Break an egg, Maya!
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Link FSM please. What is all the excitement bout?
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.asp?threadID=19184&forumID=1
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I'm going to listen to the interview now. I will be thinking about what I want to say, Bruce.
Break an arm, an leg or whatever it takes but have a wonderful time doing it, Maya!
Thank you for Easter outfit compliments. You DO know that bunny is low carb?
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WE NEED MORE POSTS, TO KEEP US ENTERTAINED!!!
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Well, let me entertain you!
My Last Supper Joke
It's the Last Supper, and Jesus announces to his apostles, "My brothers, I want to let you know that this is the last time I shall break bread with you. At this very moment, Roman guards are on their way to arrest me, and it is because one of you has betrayed me."
Well, the apostles are all stunned. They all think so highly of one another that each of them starts to wonder if they have done something inadvertantly to bring about this betrayal.
So Luke comes up to Jesus and asks, "Was it I, Lord?"
And Jesus turns to Luke and says, "No, Luke, it is not you. In fact, I know that your love for me has grown stronger each day that you have been with me. It is not you, my brother."
Then Mark comes up to Jesus and asks, "Was it I, Lord?"
And Jesus turns to Mark and says, "No, Mark, it is not you. I sense that your love for me is also great, and the words that you will write about me will live on for thousands of years. It is not you, either, my brother."
Then Judas comes up to Jesus and asks, "Was it I, Lord?"
And Jesus turns to Judas and says...
"Oh, was it I, Lord?!? Was it I, Looooord?!?"
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MR BK I happen to have a PDF file of a newspaper in Wisconsin that was selling the VOTD LP in March, 1968!
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Good vibes to DR Maya on her Opening Night. ~~~~~~~~~~~
Apparently tonight's episode of The Apprentice will feature interviews. And TWO people will be fired in the first half hour. My guesses are: Bill and Nick will be gone (Nick for sure).
Jennifer, have you heard the rumor that Omarosa and Sam were moles?
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Knowing Jed, he probably already has a picture!
(http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/mittelgrosse/medium-smiley-048.gif)
Can you say n-e-f-a-r-i-o-u-s ?
Ahh, if only!!! ;D
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http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=9396
Soundtrack Collector gives the two release dates for the LP
March -1968 and June 1967!
Fox Album 4193 In Like Flint was Released in 1967
Fox Album 4194 Day the Fish Came Out was Released in 1967
Fox Album 4195 Fathom was released in 1967.
VOTD was Fox Album 4196. There is no Fox release with the album number 4197...or at least it is not a soundtrack.
All releases in 1967 began with the number 41.
All releases in 1968 began with 42....as in 4200 A Flea in Her Ear.
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Break a leg, Maya!
It looks as though I'm in the minority, but I love "Moulin Rouge"! I think that it's silly fun with great music and choreography, and though the camera angles make me a little dizzy, it's beautifully directed. More importantly, it appeals to my generation (kids brought up on MTV after MTV stopped showing music videos!) and introduces them to musicals. I can't tell you how many of my peers loved "Moulin Rouge" so much that they saw Luhrrman's "La Boheme", which they loved, so they went and saw more musicals. Some even saw operas! Creating an audience for musical theatre in young people is important, and any movie that makes an effort to do that is incredibly admirable.
The much mentioned "Chorus Line" is truly awful, as are all the recent made-for-TV musicals that have aired lately. "Annie", "The Music Man", and "Bye Bye Birdie" all have wonderful film versions already, and I see no reason to remake something that is already done well (especially when the remake is crummy). I'm also not fond of the movie of "Hedwig And The Angry Inch". Though I never got to see the off-Broadway production, having read the script, it seems to me that the movie isn't true to the feel of the stage version. Though the movie is fun and entertaining, it's not very funny and it's certainly not moving. The music also just doesn't sound good in the film version. I just find the movie to be really disappointing.
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I simply refuse to see the movie version of A CHORUS LINE... just self-preservation, that is. Same goes for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. I don't know from some of these bad musicals, such as LOST HORIZON and CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC, and I gather I'm all the better for it. I have seen (unfortunately) the dreaded MAN OF LA MANCHA film... ugh. Also not a fan at all of the HELLO, DOLLY, BRIGADOON, or ...FORUM movies. I know I'm very much in the minority around here, but I do rather enjoy MOULIN ROUGE. Is it a great movie? Certainly not. But I find it quite enjoyable for what it is.
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Jrand, can you post that pdf file in that thread? That would be GREAT!
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Say, whar'd everybody go?
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Maya, Break the proverbial.
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Maya! Minx and I are sending great vibes your way!
Break a leg, and don't lose the camisole!
TOD:
I have never seen SGT PEPPER'S. . .am I lucky?
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC was just wrong from the word "Go," but, at least it gave us Diana Rigg's short reprise of "Every Day A Little Death."
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I am not a member at FSM, but I will give it a shot!
I just read the interview....very nice! And you may have commented on this before, MR BK, but did you mention the Tammy 45 incident to Ms Reynolds....and if so what was her reaction?
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I have never seen SGT PEPPER'S. . .am I lucky?
It depends on whether or not you have a burning desire to see Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees dancing around a gigantic hamburger, leading around George Burns.
Personally, I think you could probably live a full, happy life without that....
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No, never mentioned it to Debs.
Just register and you can post. Pics attach the same way they do here. The idiot just wrote me and is STILL saying it wasn't released until September - all because of the Schwann listing. This is his MO - just because it's written somewhere he believes it and doesn't think that anything written could be in error. I sent him your info as well as posting it, but the ad would be great - the final nail in his obnoxious coffin.
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Hmmmmmm couldn't post the ad, but I will keep working on it. :)
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"Errant" and "truant" don't even cover it, I know. Apologies! See why I'm the world's oldest newbie? Today's notes reminded me of a few of my favorite topics and questions.
Even as an admitted Lerner & Loewe fanatic it's hard to defend "The Little Prince" as the movie it turned out to be. However, as an IDEA for a movie, and a SCORE for a movie, I'm actually quite fond of it. Give the songs a chance! "The Little Prince" -- ahem -- GROWS on you!
I can't remember if this has come up at HHW or not, but the long-lost demo tape of Lerner & Loewe themselves performing their "Little Prince" songs, as they intended them to sound, is now available on CD! It's well worth hearing as a document not only of the complete, untampered-with score, but of the songwriters as well, since precious few recordings of Lerner & Loewe performing together exist.
Lerner's portrayal of all the different roles is charming, and Loewe's keyboard virtuosity is incredible, particularly for an arthritic septuagenarian. Buy your copy NOW at www.frederickloewe.org, or www.bluedalmatian.com. (End plug here.)
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Mr. White mentioned "Goodbye Mr. Chips." Reminds me of a question I ask now and then at various message boards. Years ago, in ShowMusic magazine, I read about the long gestation period of the movie, during which several songwriting teams were engaged to write spec "Chips" scores, before the producer finally went with Leslie Bricusse.
The article mentioned that an LP (or was it a multi-LP set?) was put together by the producer and distributed to cast, crew & friends. Does anyone have this set, or know what is on it? Track listing please?
A recent Google search turned up a Petula Clark CD set called "I Love to Sing," which contains several rejected "Mr. Chips" songs by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent ("Downtown"). --Was this material included on the legendary rejected-demos LP?
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All this talk of "The Pirate" reminds me of the "Be a Clown"/"Make 'Em Laugh" incident. The story goes that when "Singin' in the Rain" was being prepped, a Donald O'Connor acrobatic/comedy number was needed , "something along the lines of 'Be a Clown,' from that other picture."
Well, it seems Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown took the suggestion literally and turned in a near-ripoff of Porter's song. The result, of course, is the legendary number for which O'Connor will always be best remembered.
But questions remain:
What the heck were Freed & Brown thinking?
. . . And which was the better song?
. . . And what did Porter think?
To quote Hugh Fordin, "Only a man of Cole Porter's tact and distinction would have chosen to ignore the existence of that song."
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Couldn't get it to work....but here it is as a JPEG....maybe DRRLP can move it on over to the FDM board.
Date in top right is March 7, 1968, and VOTD is one of the "Top Ten Albums" in the country...so it must have been out awhile! ;D
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DR SIGERSON HOLMES I am chomping at the bit to hear those unused CHIPS songs....
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DR SIGERSON HOLMES I am chomping at the bit to hear those unused CHIPS songs....
Which, the Tony Hatch ones? (That Petula CD is on my rather extensive must-have list. Need MONEY. Need decent JOB.)
Or all those (supposed) others?
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Jennifer, have you heard the rumor that Omarosa and Sam were moles?
Where did you hear that?
I don't want to spoil anything for tonight's show. But it was reported on all the entertainment shows that some past contestants would return.
OMG what a liar that witch is!
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Btw, DR Jenny, I also loved Moulin Rouge. Although I was not crazy about the beginning (too much motion for me).
Btw2, did anyone watch the Bachelor last night. If you wanna know who the mole is, just ask me.
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Jrand, if you e-mail it to me as a jpeg attachment, I'll post it.
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[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]! ! ! WELCOME BACK MR. HOLMES! ! ![/move]
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Done and done MRBK!
Yes, DRSigerson....ALL OF THEM!
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Jen, I haven't watched the Apprentice yet, so no spoilers please!!! Btw, I LOVE Nick. I hope he didn't get out!
Robin, I was wondering when someone would mention the made-for-tv The Music Man. The 1982 (?) Annie? UGH ::shudder::
Related story: This summer, my boss has advertised five two-week sessions of a summer camp in which kids will learn and perform a Broadway, Jr. show. (I can't wait to see this happen. :P I don't have high hopes.) The last show of the summer is Annie, Jr.. There are already 7-10 girls signed up--no boys. We discussed the fact that my boss might have to take the male roles, so I mentioned Daddy Warbucks, Drake, Rooster...My boss said, "What about Punjab?" No joke. See!! This is just one horrible effect of that terrible movie. (I know Punjab was in the comic, just not the stage version.) He also told me, "I'd cast you in the Ann Reinking role. Can you dance it?" I replied, "Grace Farrell doesn't really dance." "Oh. So they added that 'We Got Annie' song for her?" Um, yes. So much for him knowing Broadway shows.
Break a leg, Mymy! Haha--Is that [Wauwa] really your name? ahaha that was great! :)
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"Oh. So they added that 'We Got Annie' song for her?" Um, yes. So much for him knowing Broadway shows.
Of course, that song was indeed written for the stage version, but was subsequently "lost in Boston," only to be resurrected for the Huston movie.
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Where did you hear that?
I don't want to spoil anything for tonight's show. But it was reported on all the entertainment shows that some past contestants would return.
OMG what a liar that witch is!
I don't want to spoil anything either, yet. I will say that a friend in work told me he read about the rumor on a reality show messageboard.
Hmmm... I just read that last sentence out loud and it doesn't sound like a very reliable statement. I might as well have added the phrase "and he heard it from his sister who is a nurse in the emergency room!"
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I can't tell you how many of my peers loved "Moulin Rouge" so much that they saw Luhrrman's "La Boheme", which they loved, so they went and saw more musicals. Some even saw operas! Creating an audience for musical theatre in young people is important, and any movie that makes an effort to do that is incredibly admirable.
You make a very good point there, Jenny. While I found sitting through Moulin Rouge! tortuous, I agree with you that if it interests a new generation in musical, it has done an admirable thing.
Welcome back, Mr. Holmes...
On Cole Porter's generosity in not suing those who'd stolen from him, Sheldon Harnick tells the story of being thrilled that Porter was considering the theft of his Begin the Beguine in Harnick's Boston Beguine, and said to the question of whether to sue: "Nah!"
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There are already 7-10 girls signed up--no boys.
When we lived in Boulder and Dear Daughter was younger, she attended a performing arts camp for several summers in a row. They had the same problem. One year the show was GUYS AND DOLLS and Rachel played Nicely Nicely.
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I really like OLIVER! too, even more than FUNNY GIRL which came out the same year on film.
Yes, I know XANADU is a guilty pleasure for a lot of people, but I really don't like it at all. So that's one that I don't get.
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I got my MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS today, and it looks and sounds sensational. Never have I seen a home video version of it with that much vivid color. I noticed things I had never noticed before like the very colorful etchings around the seasons as the calendar came up to announce them, and Mrs. Smith's emerald green dressing gown with the multi-colored strips running down it. just to give two examples. Loved the rechanneled surround sound and feel so happy to have this now in such a beautiful format. Enjoyed Fricke's commentary more than on FOR ME AND MY GAL.
Poor Liza. The sharpness and clarity of DVDs do her no favors.
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Der Brucer and I will be off tomorrow, to sit upon his grandlads.
I hope they don't squirm too much.
:o
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Supposedly Warners has remastered their MGM KISS ME KATE (possibly in an enhanced for 1.75:1 widescreen disc?) and will be offering trade-ins for those who bought the original DVD issue last year.
Has anyone read anything more about this?
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Have a conundrum: We're trying to post the newspaper ad from jrand's post. He's sent it to me and I've saved it on my computer. However, the board over at FSM doesn't work like ours - there's a place to add an attachment for a photo but there's no browse button, just a place to put in an http:// url. Does anyone have a clue how to get the photo from my computer to their board?
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DR Jenny, we don't agree about the merits of the film versions of ANNIE or BYE BYE BIRDIE. (I agree wholeheartedly that THE MUSIC MAN's screen version could hardly be bettered and that it was foolish to re-do it.)
The films veered away from the stage versions for no good reason, and I'm glad to have the made-for-TV versions that more closely followed their stage versions. True, the BIRDIE remake was saddled with the miscast Jason Alexander, but I still prefer it to the 1963 film version (which admitting that there are GOOD things about that film just as there are some good things about Huston's ANNIE; just not enough good things.)
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Good evening all
Speaking as one who grew up on movie musicals, I have to admit that ANNIE is a guilty pleasure of mine. I absolutely loved it as a kid, long before I knew there was a stage version. The Disney version is alright...I like that they brought back NYC for Daddy Warbucks, it's a good song.
I have seen the movie version of Chorus Line, and I wish I hadn't.
I flatly refuse to see the recent remakes of South Pacific and Music Man.
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Have a conundrum: We're trying to post the newspaper ad from jrand's post. He's sent it to me and I've saved it on my computer. However, the board over at FSM doesn't work like ours - there's a place to add an attachment for a photo but there's no browse button, just a place to put in an http:// url. Does anyone have a clue how to get the photo from my computer to their board?
BK, it sounds like they want you to link to an image hosting site. There's a free one at photobucket.com (http://photobucket.com/). You need to register and set up an account. If you don't want to go thru that bother I can store it under my account and give you the link.
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Hey, Brucer and Woody! Have a swell time with the grandlads tomorrow. Those lucky little rugrats...
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Dan, can you do that? I actually tried linking here to the pic jrand posted, but it didn't take it. I right clicked the photo, got properties and got the URL for the photo, then tried to post it over there to no avail - it didn't attach. Or you could go to filmscoremonthly.com message board, find the Inside Daisy Clover thread and register and try to post it.
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Hi, everybody!
You guys are so very sweet; thanks so much for the opening night wishes! I think things went pretty well on the whole, although a few errors were made. People covered pretty well, so they really weren't a big deal. Personally, I think I did decently, but vocally I wasn't at my best. I didn't warm up enough, and I was drinking Vanilla Pepsi...I SO should have had bottled water.
I have a small pic that I took in the ladies' room with my new cell phone's camera. They will just show you how huge my hair was. When I took out the elaborate coiffure, I counted something like 40 bobby pins!
Jenny--I do agree that "Moulin Rouge" was a good thing in that it introduced many younger people to musical theatre. It's really just a matter of personal taste. While I liked the performances for the most part and admired the art direction, I didn't care for the hyper-kinetic MTV tone of the film, the blatant anachronisms and messy mélange of "La Boheme" and "La Dame aux Caméllias."
Anyway, here is the pic!
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I'm trying the photobucket thing.
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I'm actually feeling sleepy tonight, which I think is a good sign that I'm adjusting to the time change. So I'm off to bed.
BK, I went ahead and added the pic to my account anyway. Here's the url:
"http://img42.photobucket.com/albums/v130/WandaDuck/VOTDalbum.jpg"
Don't use the quotes.
Hope that works!
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Break a leg, Mymy! Haha--Is that [Wauwa] really your name? ahaha that was great! :)
LOL, Laura (on a joke from a recent IM conversation)! Cole is actually a brilliant guy...please don't think too badly of him for that silly (and hilarious) misunderstanding!
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I went to photobucket and opened an account. Worked like a charm and the ad is now posted over there. Thanks, Dan!
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Oh, Mymy, I never would think badly of him! It was hysterical! I actually wonder why no one else has ever questioned it before. You and Sarah call me that all the time. Maybe there are people out there who assume that's my real name and just don't have the guts to ask!
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Well, I suppose that photo will have to do for now, Maya. :D
Glad all went well!
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Jed's waiting for that scantily-clad camisole pic, Maya.
As I thrash through my latest pre-production re-write I just had a thought...probably not particularly original or profound...about why writing can be such a depressing thing. Because it is basically a process of rejection...rejecting ideas, words, sentences, discarding until you find just the right thing that works. But you reject tons of stuff before you accept. And even once you accept something, you keep tweaking and changing and honing, which is just another form of rejection...
Ah, well...back to the old grind....
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As I thrash through my latest pre-production re-write I just had a thought...probably not particularly original or profound...about why writing can be such a depressing thing. Because it is basically a process of rejection...rejecting ideas, words, sentences
Agree. What I find MOST depressing, FS Pogue, is that it is never good enough. That when you think you've nailed it - there is still more to do. I'm sure when you handed in the latest draft you were pleased and thought you were close. And now you're rewriting, taking it apart. When you (generic "you") repeat this process again and again, you either totally lose confidence - which a writer can't afford to do - or you have to fool yourself into thinking that this is IT. That this time they'll like it and this is the way it's going to be shot. There's a saying in Hungarian: "And then you wake up with your feet in the chamber pot."
I'm probably making no sense at all, but I'm sure you know what I mean.
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And that is why writing novels is the best. You only have to please you. Not that that's always easy, but at the end of the day YOU decide what works and doesn't, what you reject and don't. I'm in a particularly delicate part of the new book, and I've been rewriting and adding constantly for three days, until I feel it's at least right enough to go on. Unlike the Kritzer books, on this one, even though I've consistently gone back and tweaked and reworked things, I'm sure I'll be adding little bits here and there and smoothing things here and there once I finish.
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Of course it doesn't help when you freakishly lose a page and a half of decent material, which you then have to reconstruct from your addled brain, knowing it's not quite as good as what was just flowing from your fingers. That happened today. I saved the book to floppy as I do (I thought I was through for the day), and then I usually close the book file, and if I want to do more work I reopen. Today I didn't close it, and I ended up writing another page and a half, then clicked save and it wouldn't because it was still acting as if it were the version that was saved to floppy. It finally gave me a screen to save it so I just saved it to a different part of the computer. I SHOULD have cut and pasted the new page and a half somewhere by itself, but I stupidly didn't. It saved the file, but when I opened it it only had the floppy version which, of course, was sans the new page and a half. The stupid part is that this happened once before on one of the Kritzer books - I lost a couple of pages on one of those, too.
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Nothing's making much sense at this point to me, bleary-eyed, brain-drained. I find myself mulling on stuff for a week and half and then having to write it all in like four days, when if I just attacked a little a day....a little more writing and a little less contemplation..., I wouldn't be lathering the horse now. Because after I stewed and rejected all this stuff, I usually find myself returning to my initial instincts.
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And that is why writing novels is the best.
I'm envious. Maybe one day I'll try it. Although I think that short stories are more my thing. That would be great fun.
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Because after I stewed and rejected all this stuff, I usually find myself returning to my initial instincts.
Me, too. Because those are usually the right ones.
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Does anyone know if the post office is open on Good Friday?