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Judy Garland managed to subdue her ongoing medical problems long enough to make Summer Stock in 1950, her last film with MGM and longtime collaborator Gene Kelly.In a throwback to Garland's "let's put on a show" films with Mickey Rooney, Kelly plays a theater director who sets up in Garland's barn to prepare his musical, but Garland has other ideas.Romantic entanglements ensue, of course, and Eddie Bracken, Phil Silvers, and Marjorie Main are on hand to lend comedic support. Following his mostly forgettable score in 1949's The Barkleys of Broadway, Harry Warren contributes another mostly forgettable score, though it's complemented with a few ringers from other songwriters.There are many enjoyable moments, however, including a lot of tap from Kelly.He and Garland share a tap duel at a square dance turned lindy hop, and Garland performs her classic "Get Happy" routine in a black jacket and fedora.Kelly also performs a solo number to "You Wonderful You" with no gimmicks--just a darkened stage, a squeaky floorboard, and a sheet of newspaper.--David Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Garland and Kelly shine
This movie is a great fell-good love story. I've always thought that Gene kelly and Judy Garland have the most amazing on-screen chemistry and its ashame that they didn't do more than 6 films together. Judy, as usual gave a great performance in all her numbers. May they be playful, riviting, heartbreaking or just plain knock-outs, she did it great! As for Gene Kelly, though he was not thrilled with the project, never let it show. He gives absolutly amazing performances(like always) dancing in the barn with Judy and in his newspaper dance. Although my favorite is the "you wonderful you" number where Judy and Gene dance and sing nice"n"easy under low lights on an empty stage. It's so beautiful seeing Gene holding Judy in those gorgeous arms of his. He holds her like she was the love of his life and he never wanted to let go. You can almost feel those hugs just watching them. I recommande this movie to everyone and especialy Gene and Judy fans.

A LOT OF FUN!
This is a perfect movie to have around the house when nothing else seems watchable. This MGM diamond packed with and brimming over with fun is always a treat! And if you love Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, it's all the more so. Judy plays a country girl whose only interest is in running her debt-ridden farm.She returns home one day to find her barn full of cows, pigs, chickens...and actors, sets, and props. She learns that her sister has permitted a troupe of theater actors, headed by Gene and Phil Silvers, to perform a show in their barn. Judy complies on one condition: these theater folk also support themselves by doing chores around the farm. But picking eggs and milking cows aren't every man's fantasy, as Gene and Phil learn. But in spite of a madcap hullaballoo on the farm, a love story manages to intertwine itself between Judy and Gene... except for Judy being engaged... and her sister in love with Gene... This is a marvelous movie for anyone, young or old. Judy sings and struts the stuff that made her a legend, particularly shining in a memorable number called, "Get Happy". She croons "You Wonderful You" with Gene, who dances at the top of his form... on newspapers. Gene and Phil do a hilarious number called "Heavenly Music" in hillbilly attire, and the finale "Happy Harvest" will have you smiling long after the picture's over. With Judy Garland singing and Gene Kelly dancing, how can you go wrong with this priceless piece of MGM treasure? Buy it today and get happy with "Summer Stock"!

The end...
With Judy Garland struggling in her life during this time this movie holds a special place in my heart. A large fan of Judy Garland and Gene Kelly I decided to watch this one day on TCM...well lets just say from the number with Judy on the tractor to her closing Get Happy number I was hooked. I fell in love with the performances given by the two along with the rest of the cast...with some great songs...and a few not so great...it still ends up being a great movie. It's Judy's last MGM movie and her last pairing with Gene Kelly and I think it was a great ending.

Man, how they put on a show!
This movie was a treat to watch and I am so excited about this movie I am starting to write this review even as the VCR is rewinding the tape! GRIN Garland, Kelly, Silvers, DeHaven and fantastic other cast members give a strong, convincing performance in the movie Summer Stock. The script is well written; yes, though the plot is not the deepest, and to an extent predictable, the lines are thoughtfully written. The musical numbers are fantastic and include superb scenes where Kelly dances as well as Judy's infamous "Get Happy" number. (One exception is the number at the end with Silvers and Kelly dancing and singing as farmhands--not too special a musical number in my opinion.) It seems that Judy's character owns and runs a farm--in debt--and Kelly playing Joe brings his acting troupe to try out a new show and stake a claim in show business. Of course, after some complications--and romantic partner swapping--the show goes on and is a tremendous success. Happy Ending! Judy's great performance in her final completed film at MGM is truly remarkable in light of her poor health at the time. (However I must say that although it could just be my imagination, Judy looks a bit skinnier in some scenes in the film than she does in other scenes. Could this reflect her possibly losing or gaining weight during the time this movie was filmed?) In short, this film is a very fine addition to any serious movie buff's collection, especially if part of the collection includes musicals. Get this film--Amazon lists it as out of stock for a GOOD reason! Tons of people bought this movie and you'll GET HAPPY when you see this!

"Get Happy" and Get Summer Stock
Summer Stock is a typical MGM movie. That's what makes it so good! This is the third and final teaming of Judy and Gene. I think they should have done movie movies because they were so great together in this one. Gene Kelly and Judy Garland do wonderful dances togther in this movie, and I have to say the best song is "Get Happy". The story about this song is MGM thought there wasn't enough songs in this movie so they added this one at the last minute! It turned out to be one of the best remembered songs from the film. And I promise you'll remember it too! I don't own this movie, but everytime it comes on tv, I have to watch it! That's how wonderful it is! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A very good film with Esther Williams!
I think this is a very good Esther Williams film. Though there is not a lot of fancy swimming scenes, most is done in the ocean, while swiiming the channel. The story line and songs are delightful.

Fun movie!
As a former synchro swimmer and coach of synchro, this movie is a treat. Any Esther Williams movie is enjoyable to me, but this one is also very cute with Tom and Jerry taking an underwater dip with Esther. It's a great movie for kids and adults! Highly recommended -- way cute!

exellent Williams musical
Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas star DANGEROUS WHEN WET, a delightful musical about an American girl and her dream to swim the English Channel.

Katie Higgins (Esther Williams), and the rest of the health-savvy Higgins clan (William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood, Donna Corcoran and Barbara Whiting), are all invited by the publicity frontman of Liquapep (Jack Carson), to come to England and swim the English Channel.

Along the way, Katie gets involved with a dashing Frenchman (Fernando Lamas) and experiences her first taste of love.

Featuring a tuneful score including "I've Got Out Of Bed On The Right Side", and a fantastic cartoon sequence where Williams cavorts with Tom and Jerry.

Funny, good time movie
I have loved this movie ro years and was thrilled to find it on Amazon! The story line is cute, the acting is witty, and if you have ever loved a musical, this is for you! There's even an interlude with Tom and Jerry. Fun movie!

Totally Addicting!
I have been watching this videos since I was 13 years old. It's a family favorite. My sisters and I still sing all the songs! Esther Williams is so fun to watch in this film and does a wonderful job portraying Katie Higgins the "farm girl" who wants to swim the English Channel in order to win money to "buy a bull"! It's just a really sweet film. Ferando Lamas and Esther Williams are so adorable together, they seem like an unlikely couple, but on screen they really can light it up. I highly recommend it to musical lovers everywhere and anyone who just wants to relax with a really good movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

The wonderful Leslie Caron stars in this Oscar-winning musical fable with a touch of the bizarre. Caron plays Lili, a recently orphaned waif hopelessly in love with a carnival magician. Mel Ferrer plays Paul, a gruff puppeteer who can express his softer side only through his puppets. Sound weird? It is. Caron's performance is lovely. She is, as always, a graceful dancer, but she is also able to pull off the much more difficult task of making Lili pure and innocent without being icky--shetalks to Paul's puppets with complete conviction. (The puppets, by the way, are incredibly creepy.) Younger viewers will take Lili at face value, but adults may well get sucked into its unintentional dark side: homelessness, suicide, emotional repression, and giant dancing puppets all come into play. Also enjoyable is Zsa Zsa Gabor, who does a great job standing around looking pretty as the magician's assistant. --AliDavis ... Read more

Reviews (30)

"Lili" a completely enchanting, magical film
"Lili" is one of the most magical and enchanting films ever. It is a small film - not lavish and overblown - but a production that grabs your heart from the very beginning. Leslie Caron has never been better and richly deserved the Academy Award nomination (and should have won). Her scenes with the wonderful puppets (some of the best uses of puppetry in films) are completely enchanting. Mel Ferrer, Jean Pierre Aumont, Kurt Kasner and, surprisingly, Zsa Zsa Gabor couldn't be better. The excellent ballet sequence at the end of the film in which the puppets turn into the puppeteer each time Lili dances with them, showing her that the person behind the characters she has come to love is her real love, is a perfect resolution for the story. "Lili" was the basis for an equally wonderful Broadway musical, "Carnival". This is a film that can be viewed over and over and never lose it's charm and magic.

A Charming Tale of Bittersweet Love
Leslie Caron's first starring vehicle after her debut in 'An American in Paris' was this small musical (with only one song) about a naive French orphan named Lillete Daurier who happens upon members of a travelling circus. She convinces them to take her with them as she is desperate for work and needs money. She falls in love with the handsome Mark (Jean Pierre Aumont) who is married but takes advantage of Lili's crush by stringing her along shamelessly. The carvinal puppeteer (Mel Ferrer) offers sympathy by way of his puppets,including the lovable Carrot-Top and his friends.They help her through her troubles and yet Lili loathes and fears the man controlling them,whom she calls 'The Angry Man'. It is not until Mark and his wife leave the carnival for a better booking that Lili wakes up to herself and begins to grow up and discover that it is the puppeter she has fallen in love with and not the silly crush that she had with Mark. The ballets featured are delightful with Lili's dream of Mark romancing her and throwing over his wife (done gracefully with snappy and sexy music and Zsa Zsa Gabor as the 'Other Woman')and the climactic ballet where the puppets become life size and dance with Lili. The music is by the same composer who wrote the score for Lucille Ball's 'Forever Darling',as some musical arrangements are identical in both pictures.Based on a story by Paul Gallico.

Magic Dreamworld
A charming little musical that grabbed me from the beginning, Lili is not as simple as it looks or sounds. This is definitely a character-actor driven movie, with Leslie Caron carrying the weight of film with her wide-eyed charm. The movie touches on dark issues like suicide, attempted rape, homelessness, poverty, bitterness, and thwarted dreams, but in a marvel of restraint, it doesn't dwell on these things and overemphasize them. The real focus is Lili's beautiful hope and joy in living.

An orphan, Lili joins up with a traveling circus. She's helplessly naive, but with the family-like troupe and the puppets in her carnival act, she blossoms into a poised, lovely creature. The puppets themselves are quite interesting and significant - see how they resemble the live characters. In the midst of all this, the only clouds in her sky are her boss (the brooding puppeteer, Berthalet, played to perfection by the sexy Mel Ferrer) and her unattainable crush (the vainglorious Marcus the Magnificent). Her coming-of-age is the main plot, made both satisfying and achingly real.

Leslie Caron pulls off the role admirably. Lili is endearingly sweet, without going over the top. Caron draws you in before you even know you've been charmed off your feet. Lili loves and hates so simply until she learns better, and then you see her mature realistically. It's rings inexplicably true. The two dance sequences showcase Caron's extensive ballet skills without becoming huge productions that halt the story's progress. In fact, they actually carry the story further - something not all musical pieces accomplish if you think about it. The fantasy one is marvelous in revealing Lili's alter-ego - she's sexy and confident, and ultimately, not Lili. The last is particularly moving as both participants come together emotionally. Caron's face and feet act as much as the rest of her put together - a good thing, as her English is rather accented.

Most of the movie is sort of dreamy and surreal. The brief "real-life" location scenes look real, while the rest has the-painted-backdrop feel with clearly fake sets and props. This actually doesn't detract from the movie or the story, since they are not actually terribly relevant. The characters hold center stage. A feel-good movie if you just want to be entertained, a thought-provoking movie if you want to be engaged.

See also Paul Gallico's Love of Seven Dolls, the novella this movie and the musical, Carnival, were based upon. (A warning, the book explores the darker side of the story, but also worthwhile for mature readers.)

One of the 3 best films of all time
"Lili" ranks with "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" as one of the three finest motion pictures ever filmed. Its captivating song, "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo," ranks with "Over the Rainbow," "When You Wish Upon a Star," "You'll Never Know," and "It's a Grand Night for Singing" as one of the five best original movie songs. Its climactic dream-ballet sequence, in which Lili dances with life-sized versions of four puppets, is rivaled only by the "Out of My Dreams" dream-ballet sequence of "Oklahoma." And no actress has ever been more adorable and endearing--or capable--than Leslie Caron is in this movie.

Not really a musical, Lili is best described as a romantic fable or sophisticated fairy tale. It tells the story of a naive 16-year-old orphan who joins a carnival. There she brings success to a lame puppeteer (Mel Ferrer) by interacting with his four puppets. Her ingenuousness leads her to regard the puppets as real persons. Ferrer, though outwardly bitter about the war injury that ruined his career as an acclaimed dancer, shows flashes of inner kindness and humanity: he uses his puppets at one point to infuse joy into a despondent Lili, and he smiles when she isn't looking. Soon he falls in love with Lili. But she can't recognize as Ferrer's the tenderness that is revealed only in the puppets. Repelled by the overt rudeness of "the angry man," Lili becomes infatuated with the carnival's magician, a ladies' man. When she eventually learns the magician is married, Lili's eyes open. But the puppeteer's jealousy still clouds her vision. She decides to leave the carnival. Her departure precipitates the dream sequence. Here, dancing with the four puppets she has grown to love, she slowly realizes that each character represents a facet of the puppeteer's personality. Gola the giant, for example, is frightened by girls, so he tries to frighten them; but he is actually cowardly, clumsy, longing to be loved. Lili's belated recognition that Gola and the others are really Ferrer brings the story to its heartwarming conclusion.

This imaginative movie is more than a classic. It is pure enchantment. Make it your top priority.

Set The Record Straight
Just to set the record straight on the source of this magnificent film. It is NOT based on the book "Love for Seven Dolls". The book was written and published a few years AFTER the film came out. It is based on a short story by Paul Gallico titled "The 7 Souls of Clement O"Rielly" that was published in the Saturday Evening Post. In it the story is of a girl on a TV show acting with puppets who is going to leave, the realizes her love for the puppeteer.

It was a sort of take on the wonderful "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" program, but there was never a romance betewwn Burr Tillstrom and Fran Allison. In fact, the book, "Love for 7 Dolls" is dedicated to Burr Tillstrom (the puppeteer for Kukla) and Fran Allison. So it is obvious Mr. Gallico is acknowledging the inspiration for the stores to the TV show. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

One of the best epic westerns
Ford is perfect for this role, and the story is told very well. Fantastic cinematography, including wagons and horses racing to claim land and Ford's strong moral stand at a party with big-time politicians trying to change his views. Timeless and powerful. I loved the ending and Anne Baxter's performance. A great plot with suspense and unpredictable consequences. Very handsome movie, with strong cast.

Magnificent film, one of the best westerns, very artistic
Ford is perfect in this role. The cinematography, including the wagons racing to claim their land, was outstanding. Anne Baxter gives a great performance as the woman Ford leaves for another woman. Great suspense and drama, bold sweeping action, and a wonderful plot perfectly cast and filmed. An essential part of any western collection. I haven't seen the original Cimarron yet, but I cannot imagine telling the story any better. The ending is great too, powerful and patriotic. This is a timeless classic of epic proportions and beautiful storytelling.

Cimarron
I'm glad this is back in print - it's been a while since I've seen it, but it is a classic Glenn Ford role - the deep, rightous, but haunted cowboy. This is definately not a chick movie - the thought processes and emotions that Ford's character explores are no more understood by actual women than they are by his character's wife. My favorite scene is his return from the Spanish American War, and I also thought the ending was well done.

Character of Courage
Clancy (Glenn Ford) portrays the atypical hero of an era gone but not forgotten. His penchant for fun adventure and excitement, always accompanied by goodness and virtue, soon find him at odds with his beautiful new wife. Even though their newspaper business flourishes with potential and periodic problems Clancy's internal restlessness drives him on to War and remote engagements while his dutiful wife attends to the newly founded entity set in the heart of Oklahoma immediately after land rush. Nostalgic movie goers who rarely see the raw character of courage so eloquently presented in films today will relish this return to the adventure of a "humble and reluctant hero." Prepare to shed a tear or two and enjoy a hearty laugh. But Cimmaron will not quickly retire from your memory once you've watched it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The MGM reunion of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, 10 years after their last RKO picture, happened by accident. The Barkleys of Broadway was meant to pair Astaire with Judy Garland as a follow-up to their 1948 hit Easter Parade. Garland, however, had to drop out due to health problems and was replaced by Ginger, who had gone on to a successful career in nonmusical drama and comedy.As it turned out, the plot probably suited Ginger better than it did Garland.Josh and Dinah Barkley are a veteran song-and-dance couple whose routine bickering turns into a complete breakup when Dinah decides she hasn't received enough credit for her talent and leaves Josh to take a straight dramatic role as Sarah Bernhardt.Fred and Ginger are as charming and comfortable together as a veteran couple should be, but this film is not a return to the RKO days--its elements are trademark MGM: splashy colors, Fred in a gimmicky solo number (playing sorcerer's apprentice to a line of unoccupied shoes), Oscar Levant providing his usual dynamic pianism and acerbic personality, and a score that is at its best when it borrows songs from a previous generation.In fact, Harry Warren, who provided the music for Ira Gershwin's lyrics, was upset that the film's big ballroom number recycled George and Ira Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away from Me," which Fred and Ginger had introduced (but did not dance to) in 1937's Shall We Dance.Frankly, though, "They Can't Take That Away" not only works well thematically, but is one of the greatest songs ever written for the screen, while Warren's score is merely adequate and unmemorable.All in all, The Barkleys of Broadway is a warm, welcome, and not completely satisfying reunion.Watch it, then watch Swing Time again.--David Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (10)

better than what people say
people say that this is the weakest of the A/R bunch but I strongly disagree. It may not be their strongest (Top Hat & Swing Time) but it's not their weakest. It may even be in the top five. I agree with the other reviewers that the first time you watch it you're like "Ok, that was just fine." the secind time you watch it you say "that was actually very good" and the third time "that was wonderful!" This is a better than average MGM movie, and quite sophisticated too. JUdy annd Fred were fine in "Easter Parade" but who could beat our beloved Ginger Rogers with Fred? The direction is wonderful, some of the best they'd had. The acting is excellent, it's funny witty and the dances I think are superb. The technicolor is also beautiful, and it's nice to see Gin's blue eyes and deep red lip rouge. Ginger is no longer a lithe little thing with a delicate baby face, but she's beautiful and very grown up looking. She is in a woman's body now, and after not doing a real musical for almost 10 years (!) she is in incredible form. Her dancing is really up to par with Astaire.
Some intersing technical notes, in the Barkley's house. They have one bed that they share. Nowadays that seems like nothing, but back then the censors were still hot on the idea that married people shouldn't share a bed in movies, because it suggested sex. (So where DO babies come from then.) (At one point Fred does think Ginger's pregnant, but by 1949 the censors still couldn't read between the lines.) Another interesting thing is that they have their own bathroom, divided by a shoulder height wall. It comes to principal use when Roger's is undressing and we (including astaire only) see her shoulders and up.(God forbid she take off her shirt in front of her husband!)
The dance number are really exceptional in this. 0We see Swing Trot through the credits, but we catch the end alone, and it's really swell, then, Astaire croons to Rogers back at their house after bickering (again) while they're in bathrobes. (almost like the famed scene in Swing Time when he sings "the way you look tonight" and she come sout with shampoo in he hair) this time he sings, "you'd be so hard to replace" as if to remind the audience that for ten years, his partners haven't been up to the par as Ginger was. then there's 'Bouncin' the blues' i think one of their best taps together. it's a rehaersal number, and it's just adorable, sweet, and loads of fun to watch. It's that old Astaire/Rogers magic. It's almost like a grown up version of "I'll be hard to handle" Ginger and her liquid hips make a stripper's exit at the end of the number, with Fred leaning on her exended arm. Later that day, Josh and Dinah go to an art museum, where they are to see the unveiling of a new portrait of them. It shows Dinah as a pancake, and Josh, as the plate that molds her, (which is the common conception people had of A/R throughout their careers.) Ginger retorts at the sculpture in deadpan style. "Why is my face a pancake?" It's quite a funny scene. "my one and only highland fling" renews teh comical stuff they could do together. Ginger had a knack for putting on accents and mocking people. which is seen throughout her 73 movie career. 'MOAOHF' is a delightful number, and the ending is sweet. "A day in the country" is sund to Oscar Levant, as they take a trip to the country for a while, while he wants to go back to NY" Ginger's voice is extremely good in this song, it seems to have develpoed a bit. "Shoes with wings on" is Fred's customary big solo and it's very good. what else can you say about the man who defied dancing? It's really quite good. But we can''t waut for his reunion with Gin. (They'd split at this pouint) Possibly the best number in the fil, "They can't take that away from me" a reprise from their 1937 movie "shall we dance?" it's one of my favorite songs period, and he sings it beautifully to her on stage. If you watch Her face expressions, you'll realize how much this number really means. The dance is gorgeous too. After the song is over, Ginger starts to cry, which she has always done with such emotion. Manhatten downbeat is their last dance together and it's a big splashy finish, with beautiful costumes. The very end show a close up of the greatest dancing team's faces.
20 years after Barkley's, they reunites at the academy awards, where they presented an oscar. They did a swirl and dip for old times, and the applause was so overwhlmind, the forgot to stop holding hands. :-)

Really good Fred and Ginger
This movie is the only color Fred and Ginger movie. It's really good, nice dancing, fun to see them older and in color. The dance "I've Got Shoes With Wings On" is really fun and amazing. Fred sure could dance. This isn't their best movie, it's my 5th favorite Fred and Ginger. I think "Follow the Fleet" is far more romantic, but if you're a Ginger and Fred fan, this is a must see. They made this movie after years of not working together. They were so good together, it's pretty funny, too.

way of thinking
If you think of this as an ASTAIRE_ROGERS movie, then you will have some trouble. However, If you think of this as a movie WITH Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, then you will enjoy it. I thought it was very nice, especially when they did the "they can't take that away from me" and dance to it. Ginger doesn't look a day older than 30. (she's 38, and still adorable)We also have to remember, that this was after the depression, after the war, and ten years of different audiences since thier last picture. not to mentio MGM instead of RKO, so of course it will be different. The magic is still there, but in a different way. Don't look for it, but accept it as it is, and you'll find that Asaire-Rogers chemisrty never left.

It's MGM, by way of variety television.
It's weird the things that get stuck in your memory. I never thought of this as an inferior film just because the formula separates itself from the RKO depression-era 30's (the film was made in 1949), though I seem to be hearing this a lot from critics. In fact, when I first saw the dance of 'They Can't Take That Away from Me,' I actually thought it was a performance from a TV special, not a movie. The performance is an exhibit, not a love scene. There's something almost- I don't know- *cold* about the way they move on that bare, heavily draped, stage. It's also the first and only adagio they perform in color- which, in itself has a sense of an era ending. Nevertheless, they have the same emotional connection to each other, and at the ages of 38 and 50 respectively, they still carry off the grace and elegance. When they saunter off the stage, an excited audience breaks into applause- like they've been watching an act from THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW. It's extrordinary that ten years after Rogers remade herself doing straight award-winning drama and Astaire remade himself as a solo performer and a man who could dance with just about anyone, they could settle back into one more film and not have one strain of foot or hair out of place. MGM formula and Oscar Levant aside, it's a very nice way to end a professional marriage.

Finale in Color
Fred and Ginger put a cap on their careers together once more.

Its silly to spend words on what is so pleasing to see...so
Comden and Green, Harry Warren and Ira Gershwin under the hat of the unique Arthur Freed. Wonders never cease

CP ... Read more

Amazon.com

Never before available on home video and unseen on television since1973, the 1950 production of Annie Get Your Gun has achieved somewhat legendary status, most notably for who would inherit the role Ethel Merman had made famous on Broadway in 1946. MGM originally cast Judy Garland, but her ongoing drug and alcohol problems led to her being fired and replaced by Betty Hutton. Fortunately, the bright and brassy Hutton sparkles in this highly fictionalized story of Annie Oakley, the sharpshooter who wins fame in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and wins the heart of fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler (Howard Keel). Dashing baritone Keel was beginning his career as one of MGM's favorite leading men in the 1950s (including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Kiss Me, Kate). Together they make gold of the many Irving Berlin hits--"Doin' What Comes Naturally," "Anything You Can Do," "They Say It's Wonderful," "I Got the Sun in the Morning," and the classic anthem "There's No Business Like Show Business."

Annie Get Your Gun is unquestionably a product of the 1950s. Keel's relentless chauvinism and Hutton's constant fawning over him grow tiresome (though she does stand up to him in a battle of the sexes), and the Indians wear full headdresses and face paint, say "Ugh," and destroy modern conveniences. (In the name of political correctness, the 1999 Broadway revival starring Bernadette Peters removed "I'm an Indian Too" and received its own share of criticism from purists.) Quibbles aside, the excellent cast and immortal score make Annie Get Your Gun a classic musical. It's great to have it back. --David Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (71)

Betty Hutton scores a triumph as Annie Oakley
At last the 1950 movie muscial "Annie Get Your Gun" is finally available for a whole new generation and fans who fondly recall seeing it years ago to experience the magic of America's greatest composer,Irving Berlin(who in addition to the great score of this film brought us"White Christmas", God Bless America" and hundreds of others)dynamic stars, Betty Hutton, Howard Keel and a first rate supporting cast perform in one of Hollywood's greatest and at the time most expensive musical. The technicolor has been preserved in such a manner that the colors are a joy to behold and the meticulous detail of the great photography of Charles Rosher and the costumes by Walter Plunkett("Gone With The Wind")and Helen Rose, who did the exquisite western costumes for Betty Hutton are truly a feast for the eye.This film showcases Betty Hutton at her best. She may not have "voice of the century" like Judy Galand who had to bow out of the role due to illness and other problems but she adds a tremendous gusto to the role plus an almost child like innocence to her early scenes as the backwoods, uneducated Annie. She is especially touching in several scenes in addition to her special gusto (toned down here from some of her earlier roles). Betty Hutton was one of the top stars in Hollywood when this film was released. That same year she made the cover of Time magazine and the film went on to be one of the top grossing movies that year. She went on to sing and dance with Fred Astaire in "Let's Dance" and then won the coveted starring role in Cecil B. DeMille's oscar winning film(for best picture of 1952)"The Greatest Show on Earth"in which she did most of her own stunts in her role as a trapeze performer in a circus.(both of these films are available on video Her last big film was "Somebody Loves Me" in 1952. She left Paramount Pictures due to a dispute over having her then husband direct her next film. She later made one more film in 1956(released in 1957 called "Spring Reunion" a small black and white film produce by Kirk Douglas'company co-starring Dana Andrews. Miss Hutton gave a sensitive performance in this drama about an unmarried career woman in her 30's ,lonely and living with her parents. Once the most popular girl in high school, she meets and old classmate at a reunion. The film gave Miss Hutton a chance to really show that she was a actress fo considerable depth. It is a small film but quite affecting. It is not available on videobut has been aired on TCM) Also in "Annie Get Your Gun", Howard Keel made his movie musical debut and it was an auspicious one indeed. The first of many great parts showcasing his magificient baritone voice, natural acting ability and his strong, handsome ,masculine prescence.Mr. Keel later reached his peak in MGM musicals in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and especially "Kiss Me Kate" (both available on video and probably DVD)The theatrical version of "Annie Get Your Gun"had several songs that were not included in the film. One "I'm a Bad Bad Man" would have been fun to have had Mr. Keel perform and two sung by Annie were a ballad"I Got Lost In His Arms"(beautifully done recently by Bernadette Peters in the broadway revival) and the delightful "Moonshine Lullaby" sung by Annie to her little brother and 3 sisters with an assist by them . It would have been nice to have had Miss Hutton do these in the film. Most of her songs except "They Say It's Wonderful" are of the exuberant variety. She is a standout doing the show's greatest number "There' No Business Like Show Businesss" in which she sings with her co-stars, later a reprise by herself and a again with Mr. Keel. Before the film, it is enjoyable to see the original trailer(or coming attraction promotion) for the film, a short introduction and brief history of Annie Oakley and her various incarnations by broadway/television star, Susan Lucci. Shown are outakes made by Judy Garland before she was let go for the film. After the film 2 completed numbers by Miss Garland are shown. She appears rather tired in them but her voice is just great and fine natural acting ability is evident as always. Finally a lovely number that unfortunately was later deleted from the film before it was released is shown for the first time.It is called "Let's Go West Again" with Betty Hutton. It is a good number , beautifully shot, sung in a more low key manner by Miss Hutton. Another interesting sideline, some of the original lyrics by Mr. Berlin were considered a little too "racy" for movie censors in 1950. For example in "You Can't Get a Man With A Gun",The lyric "a man's love is mighty he'll even buy a nighty for a gal who he thinks is fun, but they don't make pajamas for pistol packing mamas" was altered for the movie to "a Tom, Dick or Harry will build a house for Carrie when the preacher has made them one" Although a minor complaint it did cause a few of the songs to lose a little of their "bite".The film won 2 Oscars for sound recording and musical adaptation and it is obvious by the smooth , clear arrangements which give great justice to Irving Berlin's genius as both a composer and lyricist. I highly recommend this film for the entire family, especially if you are tired of the current films that offer nothing more than extreme violence, car chases, boring performers, gimmicky special effects, blatant sexuality etc. run and get this film. Betty Hutton was recently interviewed by the brilliant Robert Osborne on TCM(the Turner Classic Movies cable channel) and if they see my review I want to say "Bravo" to both of you for an outstanding one hour conversation about Miss Hutton's life and career. I hope that Betty Hutton will continue to give future interviews and lectures . She is a remarkable "survivor"who gives so much of herself to her audience.It is not surprising that she got her start on the Broadway stage and after her movie career continued appearing all over The USA and Europe in concerts and and theatrical productions to sellout audiences until personal problems in the 1960's caused her to stop performing until she made a brief return to Broadway in 1980(filling in for Alice Ghostley) in the role of Miss Hannigan in "Annie" ( muscial based on Little orphan Annie)

Worth the wait?
Well, it`s here at last. The long-awaited VHS of this smash hit Broadway musical.
I remember seeing it at the movies when it came out and thinking - what went wrong?
The tunes are great - the start is excellent but there`s no heart.
It`s too clean I guess and one-dimensional. Poor Howard Keel has not got into his stride as a movie actor and his Frank Butler is stodgy and quite unpleasant.
Our girl, Betty does her nut as usual but as she gets prettier so does her character diminish and she too appears brash and unsympathetic.
Of course, the songs are block-busters but I really missed Moonshine Lullaby which would have gone a long way to redeem Betty Hutton`s portrayal of Annie Oakley.
My favourite line is when Chief Sitting Bull says:
"Keep bow tight, keep arrows sharp AND NO PUT MONEY IN SHOW BUSINESS."
Unfortunately the movie degenerates into montage sequences of little moment and a conclusion that depends on the woman being subservient to the man and 'letting him win'.
Based on a true story, it starts so well........but finishes like a damp squib.
In all fairness, Judy Garland couldn`t have cut it as Annie, as we see in a couple of her numbers before she was sacked from the production.

There Really Is No Businesss Like Show Business!
Annie Get Your Gun is my favort play.And now it is my favort movie. I loved being in that play even though i was only 11 years old i still loved doing it.As I got older I found out that there was a movie and when I got the movie I could not stop watching it, and now my future goal would Be Palying Annie Oakley. And I think Annie would be proud.

There Really Is No Businesss Like Show Business
Annie Get Your Gun is my favort play. I loved doing it even though i was only 11 years old is till loved doing it.As I got older I found out that there was a movie i could not stop watching it. And My Future goal in life would Be Palying Annie Oakley. And I think Annie would be proud.

One of the most fun films ever made!!
Betty Hutton is sooo good in this musical. Even in pigtails, freckles, and rags she's totally loveable and her backwoods accent is hysterical!!
Annie Oakley (Hutton) and Frank Butler(Howard Keel) are two of the best gunshots in the world, but Oakley, who doesn't know a thing about being a lady, falls hopelessly in love with the handsome Butler. After accepting an offer to work with Butler in Buffalo Bill's western show, Oakley takes pains to become a beautiful lady and win Butler's heart. Unfortunately for Oakley, Butler can't take her being a better shooter than him, so a big rivalry ensues and so does all the fun.
Most memorable performance is Hutton and Keel's adorable number with the song "Anything You Can Do."
The quality of this DVD is great. Picture's bright and clear, sound is excellent, and so are the extra features like Susan Lucci's intro and about four outtakes, two of which contain Judy Garland's only two finished performances. Enjoy!! ... Read more

Reviews (23)

A Fairly Good Musical
THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN is a fairly good musical based on the life of a young woman who rises from rags to riches as the wife of Leadville Johnny Brown and later gains even more fame as a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. The movie is not quite as good as the original production on Broadway starring Tammy Grimes but it is still very entertaining in spots. The most memorable song is "Belly Up To The Bar, Boys."

Debbie Reynolds does a fine job in the lead as Molly Brown and Harve Presnel repeats his successful Broadway role as Leadville Johnny Brown. The strong supporting cast for the film includes Ed Begley, Hermione Baddeley, Jack Kruschen and Vassili Lambrinos.

The movie received Oscar nominations for Best Color Cinematography, Color Costume Design, Color Art Direction and Adapted Music Score. Debbie Reynolds was nominated for Best Actress. MY FAIR LADY dominated the Academy Awards in 1964.

Debbie Is Unsinkable
This terrific 1964 film is based on the stage musical of the homespun backwoods girl at the turn of the last century from Meredith Willson and Richard Morris, but this is Debbie Reynolds' movie all the way! Her energetic performance as Molly Brown deserved an Oscar and more. This is a big good old-fashioned musical the way they used to make them. Great Choreography by Peter Gennaro and Panavision Cinematography by Daniel Fapp make this a real winner combined with Meredith Willson's music. The underrated Harve Presnell plays Johnny Brown. This guy could sing and dance! It was good to finally see him show up in a recent move in a pivital role, something called "Saving Private Ryan."

Is this real?
When I started watching this the other day, I had no idea when it was made, who it was made by, etc. Thus, in my ignorance and based on the laughable opening scenes, I thought I might be watching some really bad quality program. And so, I sat down to enjoy a really poor quality film, just to do it.

As the movie progressed, I was able to get past the jerky story-telling and one-dimensional plotline to really start appreciating the main character, Molly Brown. She reminded me of Reba, and her enthusiasm and energy were unreal! She bounced back from more let-downs than one could possibly imagine.

By the end of the flick, I got the idea that Molly Brown was based on a real person as she had turned up in "Titanic" as a much heavier Kathy Bates. Her story was unbelievable and very rich, if still somewhat poorly told in this film.

In doing a bit of research, I learned alot more about the film. I think I appreciate what it was setting out to do but am disappointed that they directors seemed more enamored with the frivolous than with the meat of Brown's story. In the true story, Molly Brown forces her fellow women to row the boats around to pick up drowning survivors from the Titanic. Here, she simply sings to those in the boat with her.

Not too bad over all, but there might be better ways to learn Molly Brown's story...or whatever her real name is.

Great Musical, Weak on Authenticity
The songs and the dances were terrific -- but Mrs. Brown's real first name was "Maggie," and this film shows the wrong side of the Titanic scraping the ice berg, better loosen your belt. Bellying up to the ice berg. Whatever.

The End of an Era
When this movie originally came out, I wouldn't have guessed that this would be one of the last great musicals out of Hollywood. Sad as that may be, I am eternally grateful that Debbie Reynolds was cast as Molly Brown. She is absolutely terrific. Of course, she's always terrific and fortunately still going strong. And Harve Presnell.....this man would have been huge in the musical genre if MGM and its musicals hadn't crashed and burned.
If you love the film musical as an art form, this is a must have for your collection. Remember, no one did them bigger or more consistently better than MGM. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

FOUR-STAR-MUSICAL HIT
Because of the broken legs of Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly, Ann Miller and Fred Astaire(out of a two-year retirement)starred with the great JUDY GARLAND in this musical. It`s a great show and it is on a standard formula. Many of the ingredients were used in similar films; "Singin`in the Rain" were they d o include a fashion show, only one composer(Ok 2 - Nacio Herb Brown/Arthur Freed), singing in the rain, a bitchy lead replaced by a plain-Jane ingenue... The most funny thing however is that when I watched DIRTY DANCING in 1987, the female character was called "Baby Frances" by her family(as was Judy was by her own family) and the plot was stolen from Easter Parade. But this is EASTER PARADE. The only team-work of Garland-Astaire - great Irving Berlin songs(indeed he only agreed 2 let the picture be shot if Judy was involved). Vincente Minnelli was first choice as director until Judy`s psychiatrist insisted the studio replace him, fearful she might see husband-director Minnelli as a shadow respresenting her problems with the studio MGM. The song Mr Monotoni was cut from the film(Garland wearing the Get Happy costume later in the 1950 SUMMER STOCK)but is seen in THAT`S ENTERTAINMENT III 1994. EASTER PARADE is a joyful package of entertainment, forever cherished... What is most a revelation is that JUDY GARLAND delivers a Hanna Brown of flesh and blood - not a musical-comedy-cartoon. But that`s the great Judy for u... See my MORE ABOUT ME page about my thoughts of JUDY GARLAND

I love this movie!
I am a Judy Garland and Fred Astaire fan. The first time I saw this film was on Easter sunday on TCM. I only saw the last half I was not too impressed. I have to admit I bought the movie only for Garland. When I got home my whole family gathered round the TV to watch it. I was amazed. The musical numbers are all superb, Irving Berlin's score is perfect, Ann Miller and Peter Lawford are equally super, Garland (like usual) is vocally and comically outstanding, and Astaire's dancing is as good as ever! I think Astaire is a better mach for Garland than Mickey Rooney (sorry Mickey) and Garland is even more suitable for Astaire than Ginger Rogers! Even my dad who claims to hate musicals fell in love with this charmer. I've seen it at least 5 times and it has never bored me. I was lucky enough to buy the MGM version; not the one patterned with Warner Bros. I mean MGM made the movie give them alittle credit! Any way this movie will entertain everyone I highly recomend it!

Garland! Astaire! MIller! Lawford! Berlin! -- and more!
It goes without saying that Easter Parade is one of the greatest MGM musicals ever made. Fred Astaire and Judy Garland make a wonderful dancing, singing and acting team! As you may know from all the reviewers before me, Astaire plays the part of Don Hewes, a very famous dancer, who is very upset after his love interest and dance partner Nadine (played by Ann Miller) leaves him to pursue an even more lucrative career on the stage. In anger and disgust he impulsively vows that he could turn any woman into a better dancer than his partner had been-and he makes a great pick! Hannah Brown, played by Judy Garland, is (of course) not too good at dancing at first, but with much coaching and hard work Hewes (Astaire) builds her into a dancing star as his new partner! (As the Amazon review points out, while watching this film I was reminded more than once of the musical My Fair Lady. There is that theme of the older, more experienced and educated man coaching, teaching and molding a younger woman.)

This film offers a love triangle with Peter Lawford also being attracted to Garland but he doesn't get far as she is very much in love with Hewes (Astaire). The musical numbers are outstanding thanks to the incomparable Irving Berlin, Garland, and Astaire. Ann Miller (playing Nadine, Astaire's former partner) also does a fantastic job with her dance number while singing "Shakin' The Blues Away." Indeed, it's hard to decide which numbers are the best; they're all so well done and beautifully filmed! "Steppin' Out With My Baby" and the title song are particularly strong numbers; so is "We're A Couple Of Swells," a vaudeville-type number that Garland liked very much.

The choreography is excellent. The dancing is superlative and they must have really put a lot of effort into a dance routine with Garland and Astaire early on in the film where she dances almost every step wrong!

I recommend this movie for lovers of classic musicals, Garland fans, Astaire fans, Miller fans as well as aficionados of great quality films. Get this movie for your collection today and you'll never regret it! A BUY! GRIN

Avoid this picture.
This has to be the worst musical I have ever seen. I like them generally and I love Judy Garland, but this is just atrocious. It has a stupid paper thin plot without a single twist, boring characters who would never do anything you wouldn't expect, and songs which have absolutely nothing to do with the action of the scene into which they've been crammed. If you want a good Garland musical see A Star is Born or Meet me in St. Louis (I'm sure if you're here you've already viewed Oz), but stay far away from this.

Musical
A fantastic musical. A sure-fine collectable that they couldn't ever make a remake of. This has many classic songs I once sung in choir; unforgettables such as "Stepping Out with My Baby" and more. The plot is one about a dancer who just lost his partner to another. He decides to show her how he really did turn her into a star by taking any girl--and doing just that. He picks Judy Garland, a nightclub singer, and turns her into a dancer, sure enough. She falls in love with him, but he still wants to get his old partner back. In the end, though, he realizes how in love he is with her and takes her out for the "Easter parade," singing the title song. You should see it if you love Judy's singing and Fred Astair's wonderful 5 star tap dancing! Enjoy! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Vincente Minnelli's 1958 adaptation of Colette's story about a girl (Leslie Caron) groomed as a courtesan--but desired as a wife by a Parisian playboy (Louis Jordan)--won a lot of Oscars, but it also has the unusual distinction of being an MGM musical shot on location in the City of Lights. What a musical it is (by Lerner and Loewe): Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold crooning "Ah, Yes, I Remember It Well," plus the songs "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "Gigi," "I'm a Bore," and "She's Not Thinking of Me." Director Vincente Minnelli (Some Came Running, Meet Me in St. Louis) makes a sumptuous, dreamy, almost laid-back affair of it all, and the indispensable cast is forever etched into memory. Hollywood's long-running infatuation with continental grace and manners, the memory of a much earlier time imported to American movies through such immigrant directors as Ernst Lubitsch, may have finally come to a gentle end with this film. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (62)

"GiGi" - 9 Oscars / Best Pix 1958 now on WideScreen DVD!!
MGM's "Gigi" was their last big Musical production. MGM won 9 Oscars including; Picture of the Year (1958), Best Director - Vincent Minnelli, Best Song - "Gigi", Best Cinematography, Art & Set Design, Best Costumes.

The Colorful Metrocolor WideScreen production was directed by Vincent Minnelli - Oscar Winner!! Lerner & Loewe provide us with the great lyrics & music. Gigi title song won an Oscar! Another favorite is Maurice Chevalier's singing of "Thank Heaven For Little Girls".

Summary: We are in the Summer of 1900 Paris. Leslie Caron as "Gigi" was perfectly cast as the young Parisian grand daughter being groomed & refined to be the socialte wife for a rich to do gentlemen. Gigi is infactuated with her Grandmothers (Herimone Gingold)ex's nephew Gaston (Louis Jourdan) a rich playboy who befriends the young rough around the edges, Gigi. As this story developes Gaston's has numerous public affairs that continue to fail & his only joy is being with Gigi. As the story evolves we have lush & colorful sets and lavish scenes of 1900 Paris & a complex love story begins. Hollywood Happy endings, prevail!

This DVD has a Full Screen & WideScreen (LetterBox) version. the movie is 116 minutes long. Excellent Quality picture & Color. Only extra is a trailer. Very delightful family movie.
Enjoy.

A BEAUTIFUL MUSICAL.
A lavish, glossy and eminently tuneful movie treat, GIGI tells the story of an illegitimate waif who lives in 1890's Paris with her Aunt Alicia and her Grandmother (Hermione Gingold). Their plan is transform this waif into an elegant courtesan so that she can become the mistress of wealthy Jourdan, who eventually takes her as his bride because he truly loves her. This throws Gingold for a loop; the family is not used to marriage: Chevalier - Jourdan's father - was once her lover...Produced in Paris, it's a delight from the first frame to the last. All the usual Parisian landmarks are featured: the Tuileries, the Bois de Boulogne, the Palais de Glace, etc. Chevalier steals every scene he's in (except, perhaps when he's singing I REMEMBER IT WELL with Gingold). The original story was based upon a French story by Collette and was ingeniously adapted for a musical stage play by Lerner and Lowe. Caron had played the role on the Paris stage, and here her songs were dubbed by Betty Wand. The film won a grand total of 9 AA & a special Oscar was given to Chevalier for his contribution of over 50 years of performing in the entertainment world.

Bravo! Bravo!
I think that GIGI is the best musical ever. I just love Aunt Alicia and her sister. Hermoine Gingold is fabulous. This movie takes you into a world that you don't want to come out of. If only they would make more movies like this today. My grandaughter absolutely adores it. I want to watch Gigi over and over and does not want it to end. I get lost in the movie and wish I could stay there forever. It is absolutely fantastic.!!!!! More young people should be able to see this movie. Whomever have not seen this movie they are missing out on life itself. Julia Reid

Watch it for Leslie Caron!
I had never seen the Best Picture of 1958, the year of my birth. Turner Classic Movies (possibly the best channel of all available televison channels) provided many of the Best Picture winners during the month of February so I finally got to see it.
Although quite dated and politically incorrect (I challenge you to see/hear Maurice Chevalier sing "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" and not think it so) this movie is a perfect vehicle for Leslie Caron. She is funny, charming and winsome. Effective as both a young girl and then convincingly blossoming into a young lady, Miss Caron is entirely believable in her role. Hermione Gingold plays her guardian aunt with Maurice Chevalier the uncle of her suitor. Louis Jourdan is charming but I found Monsieur Chevalier to be what my mother used to call a "professional Frenchman". Laughing off the suicide of one of his nephew's mistresses is totally unacceptable and I also found Chevalier's mannerisms tedious.

On the whole I found that by watching the movie strictly for the performances of Caron, Gingold and Jourdan it was very enjoyable. Paris was lovely, the costumes gorgeous and Vincente Minelli's direction superb.

Substance, not sparkle -- the triumph of innocence in "Gigi"
When Yeats mourned, "The ceremony of innocence is drowned," he was prophesying the loss of all that is decent in the coming 20th century - and he was crying out for us to fight for all we are worth to prize the innocence of the young, to put aside all self-indulgent pursuits in the face of innocence. "Gigi" is set against all the magnificence the world can offer as a backdrop for the test of innocence against the cunning and the carnal. The movie's real appeal comes not from its lush setting, costumes and flight from our crass age into the Impressionist gentility of fin-de-siècle Paris, but ultimately from Aristotle's pet component of any literary work of merit: the plot. And "Gigi" has a plot that never fades for an instant. In truly entertaining fashion we watch as the fate of the heroine's innocence comes to hang on the edge of a knife from the movie's sunny beginning to its climactic end. For lovely, irresistible Paris is, in reality, a turbulent arena where the innocent are thrown to all the well-tailored wolves of Society, to fend for themselves with nothing but their hearts and their integrity as protection against a life-lived-hollow.

The watchword for "Gigi" is paradox, that steady companion of reality. Look for it everywhere, in the boredom that pervades the intricate lives of the rich elite versus the interest and charm that young Gigi exudes when she simply enters a room. The simple, the "straight of heart," are the enviable ones, while the titans gnash their teeth (and one another's) in their futile pursuit of a remedy for an ennui that becomes downright pathological. Leisure becomes the hardest work of all for the upper classes; titillation requires higher and higher doses, until no amount of frivolity - France's special export to the world - will give joy. Where, the movie asks, is all this legendary Gallic joie-de-vivre? The wealthiest of them all, Gaston (played to perfection by Louis Jordan), is so far past the pursuit of money that he alone of his class has the composure to look around himself, take his life's bearings, and realize that the Emperor is quite naked. And so he is driven on his strange, unconscious heroic quest to live an authentic life. It begins when, on an impulse, he hops out of a carriage ride with his uncle, Paris's veteran joie-de-vivre mentor (played to sheer magnificence by Maurice Chevalier), and seeks refuge in the simple house of Hermione Gingold, who plays Gigi's grandmother.

Chevalier represents the Parisian romantic idol of his age. One gets the feeling in watching him in "Gigi" that he was almost spending his entire movie career simply in apprenticeship for this seminal role. For I do not think we could really understand the frantic romanticizing of the 19th century French without his incredibly compelling, appealing performance - it flows so naturally from his every pore that it seems less like acting than living the bon vivant code he preaches. And yet, having reached the pinnacle of self-interest, Parisian style, he is still touched by Gigi's grandmother, just as his nephew is ultimately won over to real love by the innocent one, Gigi herself. We are, in fact, educable! And the undercurrent of joy that pervades this masterpiece of filmmaking is centered around this buoyant theme: we can all be taught to realize virtue.

Gigi is Gaston's soulmate, though neither knows what that means at the movie's start. He is too emotionally stunted to realize she is a woman - and wouldn't know what to do with a woman besides woo her - and she is unaware that she is leaving childhood. The movie chronicles the maturing of both partners-to-be: Gigi from physical and emotional adolescence to womanhood, Gaston from the emotional adolescence that Society has demanded, to manhood. There is realism in the depiction of all this gaiety, as we watch Gaston try desperately to follow his uncle's "sage" advice, clinging sulkingly to his boorish, feckless bachelorhood and blaming Gigi for being "unreasonable" in wanting marriage over a high-priced affair. His antics make him the more likeable, as we identify with whatever false ideal we might have clung to long after it had outlived its usefulness. In the case of "the Parisians" that Gigi rants against in her early soliloquy, it is the puerile, incessant pursuit of romantic adventure long after grown adults should have found their mate that has gone stale ... and made their lives atrophy as pathetic parodies of eternal 17-year olds. The victim of all this pursuing is innocence - in this case, the innocent love that a young woman can bring to her mate only once, not in the absurd repetition of romantic pursuit that characterized adulterous Paris.

Does Gigi conquer this silly, dangerous sensuality alone? No, again paradox moves to the forefront, and Gaston discovers for himself the infinite spiritual beauty of true love that Gigi has been trying to express to him. In her moment of weakness, he finds the need to become strong - and so useful to his mate. And thus in the end, love conquers its counterfeit, amorousness.

"Gigi" is a warning to our own age that has set itself on its own reckless pursuit of loving relationships, turning nature on its head in the process and life into a cosmic game of trivial pursuit. In raising before us the challenge to love, no less relevant to us now, the artist's value to Society rises above mere diversion. The challenge is whether we even now can listen to the message of "Gigi," whether we in our own jaded Society can pull back from the abyss of terminal, self-centered sensuality and rediscover the God-given joy of our heart's true desire ... innocent love become mature through fidelity. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Queen of Chaos-Comedy Strikes Again!
Doris Day in another "sit-com" material comedy smash. "Please Don't Eat The Daisies" is the fluffy story of a much feared theatre critic (played by "Mr. Debonaire" David Niven) and his over-the-top household of excitement. Among his daily troubles are antics by his wife (Day), their four ill-mannered sons, a St. Bernard dog (why not a poodle or a beagle?), as well as their servants and actors whom he had given horrible reviews. -- The plot runs at a fast pace, with a few Doris Day tunes for the flavor (including the title song and the somewhat over-done "Que Sera Sera"). -- Despite the typical minor flaws most comedies happen to have, I find this film very entertaining and can recommend it especially as a choice for family viewing.

domestic comedy at it's funniest
Doris Day and David Niven make for an unforgettable screen team in the MGM/Euterpe production of PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES.

Larry and Kate McKay (Niven and Day) are the "proud" parents of four unruly sons and a nervous wreck of a sheepdog!

As Larry becomes a theatre critic (the most feared one), he comes under scrutiny from an old friend (Richard Haydn) and the advances of a volumptuous Broadway star whom he had critically crushed (Janis Paige).

Among the goings on, Day has enough time to sing a few tunes, including the Title Song, "Que Sera, Sera" and "Any Way The Wind Blows".

A funny and frisky family comedy.

Awful
Hideous film. The whole film is about poor Doris Day and her "challenges". What challenges? This film was not at all funny or engaging. Rent/buy it only if you're a Doris Day or (yawn!) David Niven fan. Fans of the great comic actress Patsy Kelly beware - she only has a small part and that role is wasted. What a shame, perhaps had Patsy Kelly been better utilized, this would have been a funny movie.

A family of six move to the country.
Doris Day is the mother of four rambunctous children (Charles Herbert, Stanley Livingston and Flip Mark). Her husband (David Niven) is a playwriter who has been hired by a newspaper as a play critic. Not everyone likes him now, but now that he is getting publicity he prefers to stay in the city. Doris Day's dream is to buy a house in the country. That is what they have been planning. They finally buy a big house in the country, but adjusting to country life is different for everyone. Kathryn Card ("I Love Lucy") has a small role. Doris sings "Que Sara Sara" which she first sang in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956). The song was later used in the tv series The Doris Day Show. Please Don't Eat The Daisies became a tv series (1965-67) starring Pat Crowley and Mark Miller with Kim Tyler, Brian Nash, Jason Fithian and Jeff Fithian. Ellen Corby played the maid.

One of the Best Doris Comedies of all time.
This movie was made in the era of Beenie Boppers and Rock Hudson . This movie was a breath of fresh air after all of the other movies that were going on like Bikini Beach, Pajama Party and all of that stuff. This film starred Hollywood Classics. Doris Day & David Niven. This is about a family that lives in New York. The Mackay Family. Well they have 4 little boys that are considered the monsters. Lawrence MacKay (David Niven) is an aspiring PlayWright that was just put in charge as cheif columnist on Movie Review in their local Newspaper. Well Mrs. MacKay (Doris Day) is trying to keep her family together but it is kind of hard when you have 4 little boys that favorite activity is throwing paper bags filled with water out of the window hitting the paserbies on the sidewalk that goes past the apartment building that they live in. Well Mrs. Macakay finally convinces Lawrence that they need to movie out to the country. Well they do but Mr. Mackay has the urge to move out of the country. But Doris won't let him so he stays in a ritzy hotel in New York City close to his office during the week then he comes home on the weekend. Well he meets The beautiful and Seductive Miss Deborah Vaughn (Janis Page) whot tries to get him to movie in with her and have an affair. Well Doris saves the day and the movie ends happily ever after.

This movie features the following hit Doris Day Songs.

Don't Eat The Daisies
Anyway The Wind Blows
Kay Sara Sara

Great Movie. Makes a great movie for those nights. When you and your family are huddled around the Television. ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Bubbly Musical Remake of Hepburn Classic!
'High Society', MGM's musical remake of Philip Barry's classic 'The Philadelphia Story', is a frothy, high-spirited joy! While it lacks the inestimable star power of Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart, in replacing the male leads with the greatest crooners of all time, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, and offering Hollywood's Princess, Grace Kelly, in her last film role, MGM was NOT dropping the marquee value by much! Add to the mix the legendary Louis Armstrong, and one of Cole Porter's last great film scores (including the lushly romantic 'True Love'), and you have all the ingredients for a delightful movie experience!

Changing the film's locale from Philadelphia to Newport, the class distinction subplot of the story becomes, at best, a minor plot point, but it does provide the 'hook' of the Newport Jazz Festival to bring in Armstrong, and to add songwriting as a hobby of millionaire C.K. Dexter-Haven (Crosby). His ex, Tracy Samantha Lord (called 'Sam' in this version, so Cole Porter could recycle his tune 'Goodbye, Amanda', as 'Goodbye Samantha'), and played by the luminous Kelly, is remarrying, to boring, wooden George Kittredge (played woodenly by John Lund). An 'Enquirer'-type scandal sheet, 'The Spy', blackmails the family into allowing a writer and photographer (Sinatra and Celeste Holm) to cover the nuptials (in an improvement on the original story, where Cary Grant 'sells out' the Lords in an attempt to disrupt the wedding).

From this point on, the film follows the original version fairly closely, adding songs to 'spice up' the proceedings. Sinatra and Holm take potshots at the idle rich with 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?'; Crosby tosses off a sweet ditty for Sam's little sister ('Little One'), and attempts, with Armstrong, to explain contemporary music ('Now You Has Jazz'); Sinatra, smitten with Kelly, expresses his feelings ('You're Sensational' and 'Can I Make Love To You?'); Crosby and Kelly, in a flashback, recall their honeymoon ('True Love', which became a hit single, earning both stars a gold record). The film highlight is, understandably, the fabulous and funny duet between Crosby and Sinatra, 'Well, Did You Evah?' (rich with sly comments on Crosby's famous fortune, and Sinatra's 'new' style of crooning). The number is nearly always featured in MGM musical retrospectives, and is a show-stopper!

As all the pieces fall into place for a 'beautiful' wedding, (which concludes both versions of the story), Louis Armstrong provides a final coda that is both charming and a reminder that Hollywood just doesn't make 'em like this any more!

'High Society' may not be in the stratosphere of 'The Philadephia Story', but it certainly has a well-deserved place in the cosmos of its own! This one's a keeper!

A GREAT "SOCIETY" MUSICAL
MGM's idea to remake "The Philadelphia Story" as a musical, with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra in the lead roles may sound perfectly ridiculous. But the idea was intriguing, and so 1956 audiences went to see this new film, "High Society"... and MGM had hit the nail right on the head. The audience loved it, and we still love it today.

"The Philadelphia Story" is still "The Philadelphia Story" (okay, so it's moved to Connecticut), with much of the original script intact and reformed to compensate the film's fine musical numbers. But for those who have seen neither "Story" or "Society", the storyline is as follows:

Millionaire charmer C.K. Dexter-Haven (Crosby) is trying to woo back his uppity ex-wife, Tracy Lord (Kelly), despite the fact that she's already engaged to be married to George Kittridge, the following afternoon. When Tracy's family is blackmailed by an unscrupulous editor who threatens to do an expose' on Mr. Lord's philandering, Tracy agrees to host a photographer and reporter from the editor's magazine. Enter sweet-and-cynical reporter Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm), and brash-and-smirking reporter Macaulay "Mike" Connor (Sinatra). Tracy has every intention of taking the two "spies" for a ride, not anticipating the ride she's about to be taken on... with the help of Mike and a bucket of champagne. By the time the wedding march is about to begin, who will walk down the aisle with Tracy... George, Dexter... or Mike?

While a bit softer ("fluffier" to use Mr. Maltin's words) than the original, this version is actually a lot of the time more fun to watch, with new colorful takes on the story's characters: Crosby milks charm and elegance from his sophisticated easygoing role. Kelly is a pertfect post-Katharine Hepburn Tracy. Sinatra is Sinatra through and through in his cynical but goodhearted role as Mike. Celeste Holm is a lot of fun as the sarcastic but romantic Liz, and the whole cast including John Lund, Louis Calhern, and even ol' "Satchmo" himself, Louis Armstrong, in a cameo as himself, playing at the much-hyped Newport Jazz Festival (and eventually at Tracy's wedding).

"High Society"'s musical score is a lot of fun, too: Armstrong's scratchy singing of the title tune, Sinatra and Holm sing the funny number, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?", Crosby and Kelly duet with a charming rendition of "True Love", and the Crosby-Sinatra gemstone "Well, Did You Evah?", sung over a magnum of champagne... any wonder this film won the Oscar for musical scoring?

"High Society" is definitely a great movie musical, a great and witty successor to "The Philadelphia Story", and funny enough for the whole family to have a real "swingin' time." My, it's yar.

Dreadful!
This movie may stand on its own, but unfortunately it is painful to watch for anyone who knows The Philadelphia Story. Bing Crosby is too old, is unbelievable and is miscast. Frank Sinatra is passable, but pales in comparison to Jimmy Stewart in the original. Celeste Holm is fine when she is singing, but she seems unduly matronly and lacks the charm and spark of Ruth Hussey, also from the original. Then there is the problem of Grace Kelley. She is convincing as a rich ice princess, but ( in this film, at least) she posseses none of the charm, aristocratic strength, or appeal that Katherine Hepburn gave to the original Tracy Lord.

Whereas the original was quick and dynamic, the pacing of this one is slow and ponderous. The side trip to Newport and commentary on "the end of a way of life" adds nothing to the film. And Louis Armstrong's appearance, while perhaps noteworthy in its day, now seems embarrasingly buffoonish. One has the sense that the directors and producers are trying to create a joke at Armstrong's expense by placing him in a mileau where they clearly find him out of place.

As a kid, I liked this movie when I saw it on tv. Now, however, I see it and cringe. Truth be told, I can't even sit through it all. Bad, bad, bad!

High Sociey
Absolutely one of the best movies of its ilk of all time! Great fun, light, fabulous to look at, super catchy songs, and the best collection of great actors! I LOVE High Society!!!!

Grace is Great!
If you're "holed up" for a long weekend (of rain, as it turns out this Memorial Day), and haven't seen it, "High Society" is a great diversion, almost as good as a Memorial Day barbecue, and maybe better.

I raaaally liked the original Philadelphia Story, being a huge Katharine Hepburn fan, but I must say, Grace Kelly is just fantastic in this role and to me, even better than Kate. Probably because, Grace is Tracy, the central character in the story.

Otherwise, except for the sets, including the great collection of 50's classic cars, Newport mansions, women's dresses, and the dancing, this is a lesser film than the originial.

But it's worth watching for Grace Kelly alone. I didn't realize she was such a talented comedienne. The movie gets better as it goes along, stick with it. Grace Kelly makes the best tipsy, goofy, adorable woman I've ever seen! ---Wow. This alone is worth the price of a DVD.

My feeling is, and this is not being a Kelly fan at all before, that the U.S. should have done something to prevent her from moving to Monaco. I was too young to follow that story as it happened, but it seems a crying shame for America's entertainment and film industry and us people. She's got something that, say, Gwyneth Paltrow tries for but doesn't have to the same degree. I now understand why people made such a big fuss about her, and this movie will help you do the same.

If you don't like musicals, which I don't, you can fast forward through the frankly mediocre, ill-timed, and happily not-too-frequent musical numbers. (Sorry, I beg to differ with the other reviewers.) Even Louis Armstrong is forgettable in this. Not every movie's a musical, for Godsake. (Besides, Grace doesn't sing!!!) Except, the most enjoyable singing in the movie, to me, was Grace Kelly's drunk amateur singing! It was terrific!

The great Sinatra and also Bing Crosby (whom I admit to not liking either as an actor or a ba ba ba boom singer), don't get very good songs to sing in this movie, compared to the timeless and great songs Frank got in Pal Joey, say. They should develop a button that skips through singing in 50's and 60's musicals! Some of these films woulda been fine without the singin' and with the same performers anyway.

As I said, if you're in the mood for watching a great female performer, WATCH THIS, folks! Grace is TIMELESS in this film. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

A Fairly Good Musical
THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN is a fairly good musical based on the life of a young woman who rises from rags to riches as the wife of Leadville Johnny Brown and later gains even more fame as a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. The movie is not quite as good as the original production on Broadway starring Tammy Grimes but it is still very entertaining in spots. The most memorable song is "Belly Up To The Bar, Boys."

Debbie Reynolds does a fine job in the lead as Molly Brown and Harve Presnel repeats his successful Broadway role as Leadville Johnny Brown. The strong supporting cast for the film includes Ed Begley, Hermione Baddeley, Jack Kruschen and Vassili Lambrinos.

The movie received Oscar nominations for Best Color Cinematography, Color Costume Design, Color Art Direction and Adapted Music Score. Debbie Reynolds was nominated for Best Actress. MY FAIR LADY dominated the Academy Awards in 1964.

Debbie Is Unsinkable
This terrific 1964 film is based on the stage musical of the homespun backwoods girl at the turn of the last century from Meredith Willson and Richard Morris, but this is Debbie Reynolds' movie all the way! Her energetic performance as Molly Brown deserved an Oscar and more. This is a big good old-fashioned musical the way they used to make them. Great Choreography by Peter Gennaro and Panavision Cinematography by Daniel Fapp make this a real winner combined with Meredith Willson's music. The underrated Harve Presnell plays Johnny