Singing, Dancing, and Talkies

Though it is usually categorized as a musical, the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain has all of the elements of a classic romantic comedy film. Co-directed by Stanley Donen and song and dance man Gene Kelly, the film is a great example of a Hollywood movie that parodies Hollywood as well as the politics of falling in love on a Hollywood set.

Don Lockwood (Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are the on-screen romantic duo of Lockwood-Lamont, whereas off stage, they detest each other. When Hollywood suddenly goes from silents to talkies, studio head R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) decides the next Lockwood-Lamont should be a talkie. Unfortunately, Lina talks like a sqwaking bird not a swooning starlet. Enter Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds), a young actress who is struggling to make it but can sing, dance, act, and is the head of the Don Lockwood fan club, unbeknownst to Don himself. Don and pal Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) conspire to have Lina's parts dubbed over by Kathy, but when Lina and friend Zelda Zanders (Rita Moreno) feel threatened by Kathy's presence, they attempt to ruin the whole scheme. Don has to prove his love for Kathy and Lina's sham in the midst of several colorful and catchy musical numbers.

The acclaim of this film is known far and wide. Singin' in the Rain is a definite must see for any film fan, buff, or viewer. Time voted it one of the 100-Must See Films of all time. It was on Entertainment Weekly's list of 10 Best Films and #8 on Empire Magazine's list of 500 Greatest Films of All Time. It made severeal AFI lists including #1 Musical, "Singin' in the Rain" as #3 song, #10 in the 100 Years...100 Movies List, and #16 in 100 Years... 100 Passions.

For a review and history of the film, you can look here at the mardecortesbaja blogspot. Roger Egbert's review of the film can be found here and a review from decentfilms.com can be found here. Noripcord.com has also done a review, as has leftfieldcinema.com.

For more information on the film, you can check out this page at filmsite.com or you can read this hypertextual reading of the film, thanks to Project Muse.

When All Else Fails, Rob a Train

The 1965 film Cat Ballou is one of those films that has it all. Though the genre it settles into is definitely Western, Cat Ballou has elements of comedy, drama, and still remains a family film. Directed by Elliot Silverstein, the screenplay for the film was written by Walter Newman that was based on a novel written by Roy Chanslor.

The film stars Jane Fonda as Catherine "Cat" Ballou, who is traveling home to Wolf City, Wyoming after spending time at teacher's college. She is going to meet her father Frankie Ballou (John Marley), a rancher, but on the train there, she aids in the escape of Clay Boone (Michael Callan) from the sherrif transporting him while Boone's Uncle Jed (Dwayne Hickman) distracts the sheriff. When Cat arrives home, she finds out the local government is trying to take away her father's ranch, which her father works with the help of Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini). The goverment has sent out a murderer-for-hire with a silver nose name Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin). Clay and his Uncle Jed come to help Cat and she also hires legendary gunfighter Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin) to help. Unfortunately, the years have not served Shelleen well and he is down a drunken mess who can't even hit the side of a barn when he shoots. When silver-nosed Strawn kills Cat's father, it is up for her and her four accomplices to bring justice to Wolf City before the noose literally tightens around their own necks.

The film's plot is narrated by two "Shouters" known as Professor Sam the Shade and The Sunrise Kid, played by Nat 'King' Cole and Stubby Kaye, who with their banjo, guitar, and Western ballads, serve as a sort of Greek chorus for the movie, laying out the plot and mixing in a little of their own opinions about what is going on. Cole died of lung cancer before the film was released. Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his part in the film, mainly do to a comedic rough riding scene in the film. When he accepted his award he thanked "a horse someplace out in the valley".

Though this film is not particularly well-known or high on the popularity meter, it did manage to rank #10 on AFI's List of Greatest Western films. An article you can read here talks about a group who tried to track down the filiming locations for this movie and their own adventures in the American West. The blogspot No Smoking in the Skullcave has a review of the film, which can be read here. All in all, Cat Ballou is a great film full of comedy, suspense, and all of the horseriding, gunfighting action a good Western requires. As a special treat, here is a trailer that gives a brief synopsis of the film:

Disney, Annette Funicello, and Babes in Toyland

Disney’s 1961 musical adaptation of the classic Babes in Toyland is a Technicolor wonderland filled with the classic cast of Mother Goose characters. However, Disney changed up the film a lot to make it its own. The plot and the songs for this version are pretty much unrecognizable from the classic operetta by Victor Hudson or the more popular 1934 Laurel and Hardy version. Directed by Jack Donohue, you can find the entire film here, though it is divide up into several 9 to 10 minute increments.

The difference in plot from the other versions become apparent early. The film begins with Mother Goose (Mary McCarty) inviting everyone to Mother Goose Village, where dwell characters like the Toymaker (Ed Wynn), Grumio (Tommy Kirk) and Simple Simon the Pie Man (Jerry Glenn). This time, it is Tom the Piper's son (Tommy Sands) and Mary Quite Contrary (Disney poster-girl Annette Funicello) who are to be married in a ceremony that has all of Toyland abuzz. However, the evil Barnaby (Ray Bolger) won't let this happen. He orders to have Tom kidnapped and killed and drives away Mary's sheep, which are tended to by Little Bo Peep (Ann Jillian). Without Tom and the sheep for income, Barnaby thinks he has Mary where he wants her. But his henchmen go behind his back, selling Tom to some gypsies who allow him to escape. Reunited, Mary and Tom must band together with the other characters of Toyland to defeat Barnaby once and for all.

The Disney version of Babes in Toyland is only the second film version, the other being the Laurel and Hardy version. This was the first Babes in Toyland in color, Technicolor to be precise, and was the most elaborately created. The costumes are unique and the stage play like setting with colorful set design is very cheery and Disney. It was the first live-action musical Disney produced and another wasn't made until the release of Mary Poppins in 1964. Disney was perhaps a little reluctant to produce a live-action musical after Babes in Toyland, which bombed at the box office despite heavy studio promotion. Despite this, Annette Funicello says that Babes in Toyland was her favorite film that she made.

A good article with extra links on this film can be found here, thanks to Nationmaster.com. Another basic analysis of the film can be found here, thanks to epinions.com. Also, the New York Times review of the film can be found here.

Vincent Price Double Feature: Part One

A copy of MGM Midnite Movies came into my possession recently, a double feature of two Vincent Price movies. I plan to talk about both, but in this post I want to focus on the first of the movies, The House of Usher. Price is perhaps best known for his terrifying feature films based on the works of revered American literary genius Edgar Allan Poe. It was Poe who wrote stories of mystery, the macabre, was involved in the Romantic literary movement and pioneered the short story, detective-fiction, and science-fiction genres. The frightening natures of these stories are brought fully into life by King of Horror Vincent Price in these many films. The House of Usher was the first of eight films directed by Roger Corman based around Poe works, many of which star Vincent Price.

The story Poe wrote was changed up a lot for the film. The film version follows the path of wealthy Bostonian Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) who comes to visit his fiancée, Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey). When he arrives, the butler (Harry Ellerbe) does not wish to let him into the house, but Philip persuades his way in and then encounters the extremely sensitive to noise, light, and sound Roderick Usher (Vincent Price), older brother and ward of his beloved. Roderick tells him Madeline is ill, though she seems perfectly fine to Philip. Roderick begins to warn Philip of the horrible history of their family and the curse that lays over the house. Philip thinks it is all in Roderick's head, until he discovers that Roderick is not the only thing who is possessed.

For a low budget, early Sixties horror film, the effects are pretty decent. The use of color in the film is remarkable. The color red is extremely noticeable and focused on for dramatic effect but several monochromatic scenes throughout also help create a sense of eeriness and fear. Corman usually directed B-movie black and white double features, but he was allowed to film this movie and consequently others in color and CinemaScope.

This film and the other Poe/Price/Corman collaborations have gained considerable cult status, especially among horror fans. A review on eccentric-cinema.com praises how well the film was made with such a low budget. Another review and analysis can be found here, thanks to classic-horror.com. I do highly recommend watching not only this film but the other ones in Corman's Poe series. And stay tuned. The second part of this double feature is coming up soon.