50's Musicals and Queens of England

In that order. It was a triple feature this weekend...first up was The Band Wagon, something I bumped to the top of my Netflix queue when I got a hankering for some Fred Astaire, after watching Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer. I know, go figure. I also bumped Singin' in the Rain to the top, so that was my Saturday double feature, a pair of 50's musicals.

I like musicals, as a general rule, although I'm not really one of those people who's nuts about them. I'll pick a good weepy 30's drama first. And I prefer my classics in black and white; once the studios went Technicolor, boy, did they go color. Hot pink and neon green and electric blue and that day-glo yellow "Casino number" set from Rain...pass me the sunglasses. Some of the color combos on the costumes, too...no sane human wears those combinations. I prefer a nice, silvery-toned black and white film, thanks. Plus, the dancing they do in some of these musicals is too avant grade for my taste. Give me Astaire and Powell doing a tap to "Begin the Beguine" rather than Gene Kelly slinging Cyd Charisse around while the brass blares. Not that there's anything wrong with that kind of movie, it's just not my first choice.

So, with that in mind, I sat down to watch The Band Wagon and, finally, Singin' in the Rain, one of those movies people always talk about: "You haven't seen it? Ever? What is wrong with you?" I very much enjoyed the premise of Rain, with the story being about the transition from silent movies to sound (although that did make the Casino number seem even more out of place). Fred's starting to look a little creased around the edges in Wagon, but he still can dance, and how. Gene's character of Don Lockwood reminded me of Harry Palmer from For Me and My Gal, one of my all-time favorite movies, ever. And, of course, Gene is extremely easy on the eyes. Especially mine. ;)

Today it was one of the movies from the Errol Flynn box set, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. I've been especially looking forward to this one because I have a great interest in Tudor history, I have a whole shelf of books in my library on the subject. I was impressed by how Bette Davis looked, and also her acting, although I thought there was a bit too much begging for a queen in the scene where she sees Essex for the last time before his execution. Errol Flynn, always good in tights, and an all-around wonderful job as Earl of Essex. I can already tell this is one I'll be watching over again quite often. As in Warner's release of The Adventures of Robin Hood, they put together on the DVD a "Warner night at the movies," with a cartoon, newsreel, preview (of Dark Victory), and a short subject. It really sets the atmosphere of going to the movies, and having it be a whole event, which to me is a part of what watching classic movies is all about.

Rainy Saturday triple feature

It poured buckets today, so I decided all my errands could wait, and it was going to be a movie day. I'd just gotten one in the mail I bought on eBay, and have three new ones from Netflix. Let's see how many I plowed through today.

First up, Ziegfeld Follies, which I bought never having seen it before. Usually I like to see movies at least once before I buy them, but lately I will buy them if they have lots of stars I love. Then it's usually a good bet the purchase will be well worthwhile. ZF, however ... not so much. It has your usual MGM tag line: Greatest Production Since The Birth Of Motion Pictures! Heh. I love MGM taglines ... every movies is the greatest thing since sliced bread! Musical numbers are always major hits! Technicolor! Cinemascope! Stereophonic sound! More stars than there are in heaven! It's the movie of the year! And so on.

I was all excited to see William Powell back as Ziegfeld, until the movie actually started. Good news: he's just as sexy with silver hair. Bad news: he's playing Ziegfeld-in-Heaven, planning a new show from beyond the grave with "today's stars". Which means, whoever MGM wanted to showcase in 1946. Yeah, that ... wasn't a good idea. (Heaven is apparently furnished with set decorations from Anna Held's suite in The Great Ziegfeld.) Oh, I almost forgot to mention the dolls. You see, when Ziegfeld-in-Heaven reminisces about the Follies he made when he was, you know, actually alive, they recreate the acts with...claymation dolls. Ugly ones. I wish I was kidding. Which I guess makes Ziggy some kind of showbiz puppet master or something.

I was expecting a movie along the lines of The Great Ziegfeld and Ziegfeld Girl, both of which I love, and both of which have a healthy dose of plot to balance out the musical numbers. ZF, however, is all musical numbers, one right after the other, introduced with pages from a "storybook." Oh, wait, there were also a few comedy sketches. Fanny Brice -- cute and funny, her usual schtick. Keenan Wynn -- not so much funny, but he tried. Red Skelton -- funny for Red Skelton fans.

The musical numbers ... very strange and not what I consider MGM standards. Fred Astaire as a Chinese person? Um, no. Lucille Ball all in pink, cracking a whip at women dressed as slinky cats? I think not. The one high point was Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire in a number called "The Babbit and the Bromide," which was wonderfully danced and very cute, if somewhat repetitious in the lyrics.

I think this is one purchase that may eventually go back up for sale. Although maybe not, because I am somewhat vain about my classic movie collection, and I would like to see Gene and Fred's number again. We'll see.

Next on the program was Love Me Tonight, a newly released DVD I got from Netflix solely because it had Myrna Loy in it, and as a result of watching it, Maurice Chevalier is my new boyfriend. So charming, so adorable. I could listen to him sing all day. (Why is there not a soundtrack for this movie on Amazon?) Jeanette MacDonald I had only ever seen in clips, never in a whole movie, and I liked her a lot. C. Aubrey Smith and Charles Butterworth, two guys I love to see, who are now the next two in line for a Character Actors I Love profile. I thought the story was great (yes, it's your typical "royalty falls in love with a commoner in disguise" plot, but in this movie it seemed fresh and new) and it was beautifully shot and directed. This one may go on the Amazon wish list.

Lastly, Meet Me in St. Louis; oddly enough, I think this movie is the one about which I have the least to say. It was a Judy Garland musical, which usually means an automatic win, and that was the case here. Great performances, catchy tunes, you know the drill. Two of my favorite supporting actors, Marjorie Main and Harry Davenport (who will always be "Dr. Meade" to me). Leon Ames kept reminding me of Jerry Orbach. It's not my all time favorite Garland musical extravaganza (that would be For Me and My Gal) but I liked it. Liza's introduction was nice, but she looked very trembly.

Ah, it's always nice when you have an entire day to spend watching movies. At least to me it is.