Funny Girl (1968)

Why it's here:
For the chance to see and hear Barbara Streisand, who shouldn't be overlooked as a major film star. She won an Oscar for her role for Funny Girl - which was also her first screen role.

Specs:
2 1/2 hours; color
Set in the 1920s

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
8.0. In fact, every one of us rated it an "8."

More about the film and our reaction to it:
You expect teen and preteen boys to enjoy certain kinds of movies. Abbot and Costello pictures, the On the Road series, the Maltese Falcon....  But, when they love a movie like Funny Girl -- detailing the life of stage star Fanny Brice -- that simply speaks volumes to the QUALITY of a motion picture. It has to be a great film if it won over people who are so far out of its target demographic. And it was. [In fact, my husband, who was working in his study and had not planned to watch, came in to see it; it hooked him from the next room].

Barbara Streisand and her incredible voice and performance are the undisputed anchor for this movie. She is so watchable. Everything else -- from the plot, to supporting performances, cinematography -- is  a support to her charm, comedy and talent. We also enjoyed seeing Omar Sherif again, this time in a very different role from where we saw him last (Lawrence of Arabia).

The film is long, but, again, it speaks to how well made and solid it is that we didn't mind. We watched it over two nights and were all anxious to sit back down and enjoy the second half.

It is clear that we are now deep into the modern-era 60s! We've seen, in this festival, many films dealing with marriage and divorce, but this one felt like a first, in that the marriage ended (sorry spoilers!) for reasons that are distinctly depressing: people who love each other, where neither is at fault, cannot make a go of it for reasons of pride and introspection. Though set in the 20s, the film is stewed in its (present) time; It feels like a 60s flick. Parents should be aware of some very sexy bikini style costumes on full display in an early musical number! Those costumes were certainly not period appropriate.

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Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Why its here:
Seriously? Of course I wanted to include an Elvis film. The only decision was which? Viva Las Vegas is generally regarded as one of his best and has the bonus that we got to see Ann Margrock, of Flintstones fame (that's Ann-Margret to the rest of you.)

Specs:
Short! Not even an hour and a half and color. We could not get a hold of this movie anywhere and were going to have to rent it from Amazon (yikes!), when luckily TCM happened to play the flick on a Sunday afternoon that fit right in to our plans. Worked out great.

Our family's rating on a scale of 1-10:
6.75

More abut the film and our reaction to it.
Personally, I feel a little sheepish giving this film a "7" since it is not a strong film, really. It's absurd and far-fetched, weak on plot and cheap-ish on effects, BUT, it is a very entertaining and enjoyable film. Its simply fun to watch and that makes up for all its shortfalls.  A movie like this is wonderful because it knows just what it is and doesn't try to be anything bigger.

I am not a huge Elvis fan, but I've always found it so cool that he was both a major performing artist and film actor. OK, maybe he wasn't a great actor, but he made 31 films! and that's nothing to sneeze at. Elvis is nothing if not entertaining and charming and Ann-Margret is the same. Together they carry this senseless film and make us root for them.

Now for a brief rundown on the silliness. Elvis plays a rock & roll race car driver who has come to Vegas to compete in the Grand Prix. He meets his rival driver in the first few moments, clashes with him, gets angry and insulted then proceeds to hang out with him genially for the rest of the film. He also meets Ann-Margaret when her car breaks down, but she gets away before he learns who she is and, assuming she's a show girl, he spends the whole night (along with his enemy) searching for her by going to all the clubs. He finds her the next day at the pool of the hotel he's staying at, teaching swimming lessons. She doesn't like him and pushes him in pool. This causes his big wad of cash, that he was going to use to buy his race car's motor, to float away, so he gets a job at the hotel. One of our favorite bits is their first date, where these two broke kids both have a day off from the hotel, so they go dancing at the university, then motorcycle riding, then fly around in a helicopter, then go waterskiing. Those things don't cost money, right?

She alternately hates him and loves him -- the hate seemingly connected to her fear that he will die in a car crash, yet still finds room in her heart to introduce him to her dad (William Demerest who is very charming here) who plays a pivotal role by the end in helping Elvis compete (in the race and with his daughter). Somewhere in the midst of all of this, Elvis and Ann-Margaret also compete head on in a talent competition (where they both win ridiculous prizes) and have the opportunity to perform some dozen or so song numbers. I lost count. Given that this has been out for about 50 years, I won't consider this as a spoiler if I tell you that at the end Elvis wins the race! and then the director decided the movie was over so cut to a scene of the leads getting married. And the film ends. Boom.

Its not great cinema; it's Elvis cinema. And you just have to go with it.

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My Fair Lady (1964)

Why it's here:
We'd already seen all the more family oriented big musicals from this era, so we branched out.

Specs:
almost 3 hours, color

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
7.75

More about the film and our reaction to it:
The movie is of course fantastic! But, it is not as well-suited to family viewing as, say, Mary Poppins or the Sound of Music. The ideas are more complex and there are no kids or youth-centered points of view. It is strong on the subtle brilliance of the underlying ideas, which makes it a tremendous film, but may not become your kids most beloved of musicals. Luckily there is plenty of humor and fantastic performances which mitigate against the tremendous length of the film.

We loved the first part, but I do think spirits were dragging by the end and we were all glad to see the credits roll.

Much is made of the backstory of the making of this film... for instance how Audrey Hepburn was chosen for the role rather than have Julie Andrews reprise her theatrical performance, ... of how Hepburn, though she trained heavily, was not allowed to sing her own songs, ... of how Cary Grant was offered the lead role and said "not only will I not do it, I will not even go to see the film if Rex Harrison is not cast," ... of how Harrison was trepidatious of Hepburn's acting chops but came to feel that she was the best co-star he'd ever had.  The film and its making are just so ... interesting for some reason. It seems the film has an iconic status almost outside of its value as cinema. I guess then to be culturally literate, you need to see the film :)

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Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Why it's here:
I've been so excited to get to this film! First, I'd never even seen it myself and, second, it would be a perfect re-cap to our experience with the transition from silent to sound. This film consistently ranks at the very top of "all time best films" lists.

Specs:

Just over an hour and a half, color.
Set during the transition from silents to sound films, around 1927

Our family's average rating:
7.88

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This film started out as pure perfection. As a perfect spoof of the silent era, filmed in a kindhearted, self-aware way, this movie hits the mark and is just golden. We knew enough of the silent era and the transition to talkies to give us great thrill of enjoyment when the film explored those themes. We delighted in the silly silent-film director and the over-the-top stars and parties. Any details that didn't ring quite true (and there were a few) were easy to forgive.

Had the film been able to stay in the mode it started in and be consistent throughout, it would have earned a '10' from me and maybe a notch or two higher from the rest of my family, but it didn't. It trailed off. It meandered into long dancy dream sequence territory that became self-important and started to fall for its own plot.

Nevertheless. It is still an amazing film.

I was expecting great things from Gene Kelly, but the true delight for us was Donald O'Connor who we didn't know. He was amazing - funny and a a talented dancer. His routine "Make Em Laugh" was a definite highlight for us all, as was the incredible "Moses Supposes". I guess it goes without saying that the song numbers are insanely good. I haven't even addressed the title number yet, which is priceless and, if anything, too short. We could have watched Gene Kelly dance forever. Debbie Reynolds (who, I got to tell the boys, is Princess Leia's mother) was also wonderful. Although Gene Kelly himself was apparently critical of her dancing skill, we found her to be a terrific addition to the cast.  Kelly may have been a bit of a tyrant, because, she supposedly said later that "making this movie and giving birth" were the two most difficult things she'd ever done! We're glad she did both.

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Easter Parade (1948)

Why it's here:
I guess, to see Judy Garland and Fred Astair. Seemed like an odd pairing

Specs:
An hour and 45 minutes; COLOR with a capital "C" -- I guess with all caps.
Supposedly set in 1912 :)

Our family's average rating:
6.88

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This serves as an extraordinary exposition of Technicolor. Half the point of making this film must have been to showcase "color" -- deep lush velvet and silk fabric drapes in every color, enormous bouquets of flowers, gowns with sequins and fringe, all overdone in the most saturated tones imaginable.

Even at age 50, Fred Astair moves like a dream on a cloud. He must be the most graceful man to have ever danced. As we watched his dance scenes with Judy Garland - who is a lovely dancer, but primarily a singer, we could see the difference with his top-notch dancing skills. He moved with total fluidity. On the other hand, Judy sang with complete power, skill, style and talent. Fred couldn't hold a candle to her pipes. The movie benefits, oddly enough, by allowing each to shine in their own way and help showcase the other's complementary talent.

The supporting roles were enjoyable as well. Peter Lawford and Ann Miller play the alternate love interests and, up until the end, my younger son and I were sure that Judy would end up with Peter, and Fred with Ann. Jules Munshin, an actor I'd never heard of, gives a wonderfully funny performance as a waiter. His description of how he makes the salad was comic genius.

Rounding out the film were awesome Irving Berlin songs, which are now resonating in our heads,  some incredibly elaborate sets, a very cool special (dance) effect where Astair moves in slow motion relative to the background dancers filmed at normal time. This movie had to have had a big budget and, all in all, was very enjoyable - though we would have enjoyed it a fair bit more had it been about 15 minutes shorter. I think it's rating must have dipped at least a 1/2 point by lasting just that bit too long!

It irked me to no end that the picture was set in 1912 when almost nothing about the film (other than an occasional car or telephone) looked anything like it belonged in 1912. Not the hairstyles, nor the clothes, nor the furnishings, the music, dance styles or the male/female relationships gave any impression of 1912. In fact, though the picture was released in 1948 I thought it had a very 1950s look and sound.

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Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Why it's here:
This is often regarded as one of the finest musicals ever made. We wanted to see if that was true, and loved that it would showcase the talents of Judy Garland as a young adult a few years after we became familiar with her as Dorothy.

Specs:
Two hours, gorgeous TECHNICOLOR! We watched on a dvd from the library.
The film is set in 1903-04

Our family's average rating on a scale of 1-10:
7.88

More about the film and our reaction to it:
As my husband put it: "this really is, truly, just good entertainment."  Sometimes films are "great" just because of how well made they are. Its not the story, or even the acting, that is the hook, but rather, the production as a whole. It is clear that every little detail has been attended to. It benefits from beautiful cinematography in the camera angles, the movement, and the placement of objects -- are all just simply lovely. The costumes are wonderful and so colorful -- the color being sharp, intense, but very real and moving. It is an excellent piece of technicolor cinema. The songs are excellent and the whole thing just has heart. It is hard to explain why its so good. It just is.

The first moment Judy Garland sang is the moment my breath stopped and my heart leaped into my throat. She was an incredible talent and an emotional performer. You respond to her voice in a visceral way. Some of the songs in the film will be familiar, even if you aren't a fan of musicals (Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis... Bang Bang Bang Went the Trolly... even, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas).

The underlying story involves a family in St. Louis at the time of the Worlds' Fair. The two eldest daughters and their beaux, form the main story, but smallest sister "Tootie", played charmingly by Margaret O'Brien is a source of constant comic relief with her obsession with death. It is an unusual film that constantly feels different from what the viewer is used to. It sort of strikes out its own territory with light comedy and music, but some silly or almost surreal aspects and a deeper emotional drama too. The whole thing is filmed with such a tight strong vision that, as you are watching (like with Citizen Kane), you just get the feeling that you are watching someone's masterwork (here, Vincente Minnelli's).

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Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Why it's here:
Recommended by a friend, this highly acclaimed film was in production when the bombing of Pearl Harbor took place. Already patriotic in its themes, telling the life story of George M. Cohen, author of the WWI anthem Over There, the film's patriotism took on massive new heights with the energized crowds at the start of WWII. It hit a major chord with audiences and enjoyed a riveting profoundly good performance from James Cagney in the lead role.

Specs:
Just over 2 hours; black and white. Available on dvd.
Set over a range of years beginning in 1878 and leading up to "modern" times.

Our family's average rating:
6.83

More about the film and our reaction to it:
My kids were less impressed with the film this than I was, and my husband refused to even watch it - as he has some strange deep-seated abhorance of James Cagney. But I found Cagney absolutely amazing. He is an actor with astonishing range. I haven't seen much of his work, but associate him mostly with dark, violent, gangster pictures. Here he is a singing dancing dynamo with incredible musical talent.

He has an intensity that shines out of him and you can see how someone with so much personality became a great tough-guy icon. His performance as George M. Cohan is nothing short of brilliant and I was blown away by it. That said, I can't say I loved the film as much of critics of the day did. But then, I am not on the treshhold of a new world war as they were when this deeply patriotic and touching film was released. According to one of the actresses in the film, the patriotic mood "permeated the set almost every day."

Cohan was THE Broadway songwriter of his time, and the film, as a biopic of his life, is less of a story than a series of vignettes from his musicals. There wasn't a great deal of plot to follow, but what was there, was interesting. Like many other stars of his time, he virtually grew-up on stage, in Vaudeville and other venues. His family's act (The Four Cohan's) toured and performed constantly. As a result, Cohan became deeply familiar with the ins and out of showbiz and ultimately penned some amazingly catchy and clever tunes. The film showcases many, but the ones most viewers are likely to be familiar with are "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Give My Regards to Broadway", the major WWI war anthem "Over There", and of course the title tune "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (you know the  one: I'm a yankee doodle dandy; yankee doodle do or die; a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July. . .")

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The Road to Morocco (1942)

Why it's here:
To see the comedy team of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in one of their famous "road" pictures.

Specs:
Hour and a half, black and white. This is one of seven films featuring the same basic gag of our leads "On the Road..." to somewhere.

Our family's average rating on a scale of 1-10:
8.5

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This is what we would nowadays call a 'buddy picture', featuring two wise cracking smart-alecs cruising around the countryside, trading insults, laughing and trying not to get killed. (In this case, there's singing too). The most similar modern film I can think of is Shanghai Knights with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson.

The cool thing about getting your buddy flick fix in the classic era, is that you get all the humor of the buddy picture without all the raunchy stuff they put in them these days.  This film is not just hilarious, but very family friendly too. ...with the one caveat that it is not particularly socially sensitive. Cultural stereotypes abound, and there is a bit where mental retardation is made fun of. I know that's not cool, and we had a nice conversation with the kids about how the standards for what is OK to make fun of have changed over time, but still...  These elements did not feel offensive, because the movie is so light-hearted and happy go lucky, and because our main characters spend just as much time skewering themselves as anyone else. It was clear that the whole movie was delightfully fun to make.

The movie is so packed with snappy dialogue and one-liners that we "had" to watch it twice just to hear everything :)  The chemistry between Bob Hope and Bing Crosby is tremendous. We talked about how Crosby was predominately known as a singer (who was also funny) and Hope was predominately a comedian (who also sang). Hope has extraordinary comic timing. If you haven't seen him lately, or haven't seen him in his prime, then you need to watch this film.

And I don't want to leave out Dorothy Lamour who costarred in all the "road" pictures with the guys -- and is talented, funny and charming.

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San Francisco (1936)

Why it's here:
I had seen this movie years ago and found it exciting and powerful. The depictions of the San Francisco earthquake are so realistic you have to remind yourself that they aren't actual footage of the event. Very evocative.

Specs:
2 hours, Black and white. I couldn't find the dvd anywhere so we had to rent it on Amazon.
The film is set in 1906.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
7.25

More about the film and our reaction to it:
Unfortunately, the film wasn't quite as good as I'd remembered. But it's still well worth watching. The problem is that it can't quite decide what it wants to be: a rough and tumble Gable male-bonding film, a romance, a musical, or a disaster film. It does all four very well, but your family isn't likely to respond to all the parts equally. In our family, for instance, the music numbers were too many and too long, the dramatic romance also was a bit much. But, once the earthquake happened, well then we were riveted. Families should know that the story is very sad. This is a disaster film and people are shown screaming for lost family members and mourning their dead. Although it has a religious-themed uplifting ending, it will likely inspire some tears.

San Francisco is a lush epic of grand scale and as such provides large scale entertainment value! The scenes of the earthquake are simply incredible. It had to have been a very expensive picture to make judging alone from the number of buildings brought to rubble.

One of the best parts of the movie is its talented cast. MacDonald (as Mary Blake) and Gable (as Blackie Norton) reportedly had trouble getting along off camera, but you would never know it from their chemistry in the film. They have to overcome their class divisions and a variety of misunderstandings in order to find each other, but they are appealing and sympathetic and you want it to work out for them. MacDonald had an incredible voice and belts out the tune San Francisco so many times that we have that permanently scored in our memories now. The film also benefits from Spencer Tracy's touching performance as the priest who is both Blackie's childhood friend and a pillar of support to Mary.

Though the film is long and gets bogged down a bit at times, it is excellent viewing.

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Top Hat (1935)

Why it's here:
We needed more musicals! We needed to see the iconic dance team of Astair and Rogers. There is nothing better than Top Hat for that.

Specs:
Just over an hour and a half, black and white; available on dvd

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
8.13

More about the film and our reaction to it:
You just never know how your kids are going to respond to a movie. I was sure they'd both be into it. They both really respond to Cary Grant, and Fred Astair always seemed to me like Cary Grant on wheels, just light airy flirty and cool. They liked Astair well enough, but weren't blown away enough by his dancing the way I wanted them to be! Astair dances in my favorite style - so light and graceful, so easy on the eyes. My younger child was far more interested in this film than the older, but he tends to have more patience for things like singing and dancing.

In any case, this is a wonderful film. I can almost picture it being in color (though it was black and white), the costumes and sets are vibrant and classy and really have a sparkly feel about them. The plot relies upon a fair amount of innuendo and involves misunderstandings about cheating husbands. Its good to know that going in... There's also a fair amount of threatened violence too ("for the man, the sword! for the woman, the kiss" is a line we still repeat).

I love the film and would recommend it generally. If it happens to strike a chord with those at your house it might be a big hit. If not, oh well, its still great to see Astair and Rogers. Everyone should.

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A Night at the Opera (1935)

Why it's here:
Truth be told, I am not a huge Marx Brothers fan, but felt they needed to be in the festival. This was supposed to be one of their best.

Specs:
About an hour and a half, black and white. Available on dvd

Our family's average rating (on a scale from 1-10):
7.0

More about the movie and our reaction to it:
Its been a while now since we watched this and I'm finding I'm fuzzy on the plot details. Hmmm... lets see... there is a basic backdrop of opera singers travelling on a boat and the brothers somehow or other being mixed up in matchmaking while trying to make some money...  The point is, I'm not sure the plot matters all that much to enjoying a Marx brothers' movie. The are simply funny - individually and collectively - regardless of what they're doing and why. Groucho with his one-liners may be the most famous, but we responded more to Harpo who is silent and a more physical comedian -- the one who uses his little horn to communicate. There's a brother for everyone's taste. Chico has a very funny bit playing piano that had us mesmerized too. One of the best parts of the movie was Groucho's banter with Chico about signing a contract.

The whole thing is light, fluffy, meaningless and pretty enjoyable. It did get off to a slow start and bog down a bit (for us) during the longer opera performances (we're pretty low-brow I guess), but overall well recommended.

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The Broadway Melody (1929)

Why it's here:
In response to our disappointment with The Jazz Singer, I searched for a real first introduction to sound. This one, billed as the first "all talking, all singing, all dancing" sound film seemed to fill the bill.

Specs:
About 2 hours. Black and white (was actually released with a short two-color Technocolor sequence for one of its big song numbers; however, that sequence is now believed to be lost.) It is available on dvd; our library actually had a copy. Talkie -- a real talkie all the way through.  For more info about the transition from Silents to Sound, check out that topic.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):

6.0

More about the film and our reaction to it:
The "thrill" of seeing a movie with dialog after 20 films, amounting to nearly 30 years of silents, was not inconsequential to us. We got to feel some part of what audiences at the time must have felt to have been able to listen to a movie.

However, once the initial excitement has passed, you are left (again) with a fairly second-rate picture. This was a melodramatic story underpinning a pretty good musical, but just too over the top for our tastes. The love story was a bit seedy and harsh - with a lecherous rich guy preying on the ingenue and an older sister's fiance falling for same ingenue.

It's interesting for the opening footage taken (probably from a plane) looking down at New York City. Incredible. And for the glimpses into the backstage inner workings of a Broadway show.

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The Jazz Singer (1927)

Why it's here:
This is widely billed as the first talkie and we included it on our list for that reason. Also, the film is extremely iconic and is spoken of almost any time movies are spoken of, especially the musical number with Al Jolson singing "Mammy" at the end. It had to be included.

Specs:
About an hour and a half long, black and white. And, I'm sorry, but this really is not a talkie. It is somewhere in the middle between silent and talkie.

For more info about the transition from Silents to Sound, check out the page devoted to that topic.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):

3.5

More about the movie and our reaction to it:
Finally! Woo hoo! And no I'm not excited about a talkie, but rather about the first film that we get to pan! We hated this movie. I suppose it would be fairer to say that most of us hated it. I probably would have tolerated it better, maybe even enjoyed it a bit, if everyone else in my family hadn't been complaining the whole time.

The movie had two major strikes against it: first, though billed as the first "talkie," there was precious little spoken dialog in the film. The film is primarily a silent (with title cards) all the way through. Just a few key scenes were wired for sound, though all the song numbers were. My kids were seriously disappointed that after all these silents and just when they were ready to dive into "real" movies with spoken dialog, that experience was withheld from them.

The second drawback is that the movie just isn't that good -- as a silent or as a sound. It highlights one of the major problems of this transition era: When the whole point of your endeavor is the fact of having "sound!", rather than the telling of a story, the audience gets treated to second rate stories. We've seen such great silents in our festival. The story here couldn't hold a candle to most of them. It was dull and plodding and overly dramatic. My family didn't care much what happened to any of the characters, and by the time Al Jolson sang "Mammy" they had little charity left to spare for that iconic moment in cinema.

If you watch, just make sure you explain to your family first that this isn't a full talkie; then, at least yours won't have to suffer the disappointed expectations that mine did.

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