Coming up on TCM...

[ziggy6708a]

so....should we blame this MESS totally on the greed & arrogance of the producers & director, without a mention of WHY 2 such major acting talents would embarress themselves in a major film musical when they simply CANNOT SING??!

[Hibi]

O'Toole was dubbed (not even with a good singer). Sadly, Sophia wasn't.

I think the reasoning was using a great singer wouldn't sound like O'Toole, so they went with someone who sounded more like him but wasn't up to singing the score in a great way. My Quest (The Impossible Dream) was terribly done.

[ziggy6708a]

just FYI
Leonard Maltin still gives the film a BOMB rating in his annual Movie and Video Guide, stating "Beautiful source material has been raped, murdered and buried".

[CinemaInternational]

so....should we blame this MESS totally on the greed & arrogance of the producers & director, without a mention of WHY 2 such major acting talents would embarress themselves in a major film musical when they simply CANNOT SING??!

Well, it had been a growing trend beginning in the late 60s to hire actors who weren't singers for musicals (such as Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave in Camelot or Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood in Paint your Wagon), and it went from there. It still continues to this day on various musicals.....

[Hibi]

just FYI
Leonard Maltin still gives the film a BOMB rating in his annual Movie and Video Guide, stating "Beautiful source material has been raped, murdered and buried".

Oddly enough, there are some rave reviews for this film on imdb. No accounting for taste, I guess. Granted, adapting this stage musical for film was a daunting prospect at any time. But this adaptation released at the end of the roadshow era was a megaton bomb!

[CinemaInternational]

just FYI
Leonard Maltin still gives the film a BOMB rating in his annual Movie and Video Guide, stating "Beautiful source material has been raped, murdered and buried".

Oddly enough, there are some rave reviews for this film on imdb. No accounting for taste, I guess. Granted, adapting this stage musical for film was a daunting prospect at any time. But this adaptation released at the end of the roadshow era was a megaton bomb!

Generally speaking, I think audiences who grew up since the film was originally made have become used to musicals with big stars who were less than ideal singers, which is probably why the reputations of once-slated films like Camelot, Paint Your Wagon, Man of La Mancha, Mame, and At long Last Love have increased a bit since their first release.

[Hibi]

just FYI
Leonard Maltin still gives the film a BOMB rating in his annual Movie and Video Guide, stating "Beautiful source material has been raped, murdered and buried".

Oddly enough, there are some rave reviews for this film on imdb. No accounting for taste, I guess. Granted, adapting this stage musical for film was a daunting prospect at any time. But this adaptation released at the end of the roadshow era was a megaton bomb!

Generally speaking, I think audiences who grew up since the film was originally made have become used to musicals with big stars who were less than ideal singers, which is probably why the reputations of once-slated films like Camelot, Paint Your Wagon, Man of La Mancha, Mame, and At long Last Love have increased a bit since their first release.

Yes, probably so.

[ziggy6708a]

& the final death knell for '70s musicals AND Cinerama...

[CinemaInternational]

& the final death knell for '70s musicals AND Cinerama...

I didn't see this film, but I saw the earlier Song of Norway, made by the same group of people. That film made The Sound of Music look like A Clockwork Orange by comparison. (in terms of cinematic saccharine)

[Hibi]

& the final death knell for '70s musicals AND Cinerama...

YEP!

[Hibi]

Song of Norway was Florence Henderson's shot at being the new Julie Andrews. She and the film failed miserably.

[CinemaInternational]

Song of Norway was Florence Henderson's shot at being the new Julie Andrews. She and the film failed miserably.

I'll give the film this much: it was exquisitely photographed and the music was beautiful. Otherwise, I'll go by what Thumper's mother said: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"

[ziggy6708a]

[CinemaInternational]

Pennies from Heaven is an extraordinary film, but very downbeat. Still, for my money its one of the greatest films of the 80s. And Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is his best comedy, a veritable feast for Noir fans. Don't miss that one. It's such great fun, and it was the final film for behind-the-scenes veterans Miklos Rozsa and Edith Head.

[jimimac71]

Of the 4 movies, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid."
His brief cameo in "The Muppet Movie."
But of course, "The Jerk."
Not sure what the theme is. Not his birthday.
Don't remember ever seeing "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
"Father of the Bride" wasn't even close to being like the original in quality.
That's just me.