Till the Clouds Roll By
- JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Till the Clouds Roll By
I was looking to see if there was a previous thread on this musical, but I couldn't find one...
Anyway, I bring it up mainly because, to me, it has one of the most charming musical numbers in it that I have ever seen. I have had the memory of this number in my head for years, and couldn't wait to see it (and hear it) again today. It was just as good, if not better than I remember it. And as I watch, I realize that the number is very representative of this musical as a whole. It is infectious, silly, extremely well orchestrated and staged, and it reminds me why I love MGM. In fact, the whole movie, though not considered great, has a certain.... well..... charm is the only word for it.
The number I am talking about is the title one, Till the Clouds Roll By. I have always liked rain songs, ones that mimic the sound of falling rain in the music - from Bambi's April Showers to Singin' in the Rain. I just love the way the number starts out. The music begins with our eyes on the playbill, and then we look up to see the grand and gargantuan "down home" set. The action moves inward until we are in the middle of the number ourselves, and oddly enough, it works.
I really love the way Ray McDonald sings. Something about his plain, homey voice against the lush MGM arrangements thrills me. Add to it the really sweet little dance number he and June Allyson perform in the middle of the rainstorm, and you get a lovely slice of Americana - just like apple pie.
This is a dancer's number, which is probably why I like it so much, but there is nothing fancy about it. The chorus comes in and does some light stepping, and we are treated to a lively color scheme of white, gray, blue and the brightest, cleanest looking Schiapperelli pink you've ever seen in the costumes. June is wearing a raincoat and umbrella of shocking pink. The girls hold umbrella, too - they have white ones with a cherry blossom branch (or something) embroidered on each. The girls wear clear slickers with flowered print underneath, and have their hair piled up into 1940's style curls, under their clear head scarves. The boys wear light blue slickers and really goofy rain hats a la the Gortons of Gloucester fisherman. There are three couples featured before the windup. The girls end up the number by tossing their umbrellas in a Rockettes style diagonal line (how they did this in one take I'll never know), and June Allyson and her impossibly big smile, and Ray McDonald with his boyish voice come back to sing the plaintive refrain once again. The bookend stage framing is back, as the camera pulls away from the two stars, and we see the lovely tableau as if it were all done on stage.
I don't know why this number moves me the way it does. Maybe it's because it was made in 1946, just as the war was over and there was such a feeling of relief in the air. I swear, every time I see or hear it it makes me weep for a lost innocence... a time when audiences actually enjoyed slight musical numbers like this one.
The movie is a treat, as long as you forget the irritating plot. Just watch or listen to the really beautifully orchestrated musical numbers - especially Lena Horne singing Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man and Why Was I Born, or the Dinah Shore numbers. As long as you avoid the plot, this really is one of the best tributes to a composer - the songs are all knockouts. Don't watch poor Frank in his big suit... he's really good as long as you don't look....
[youtube][/youtube]
Anyway, I bring it up mainly because, to me, it has one of the most charming musical numbers in it that I have ever seen. I have had the memory of this number in my head for years, and couldn't wait to see it (and hear it) again today. It was just as good, if not better than I remember it. And as I watch, I realize that the number is very representative of this musical as a whole. It is infectious, silly, extremely well orchestrated and staged, and it reminds me why I love MGM. In fact, the whole movie, though not considered great, has a certain.... well..... charm is the only word for it.
The number I am talking about is the title one, Till the Clouds Roll By. I have always liked rain songs, ones that mimic the sound of falling rain in the music - from Bambi's April Showers to Singin' in the Rain. I just love the way the number starts out. The music begins with our eyes on the playbill, and then we look up to see the grand and gargantuan "down home" set. The action moves inward until we are in the middle of the number ourselves, and oddly enough, it works.
I really love the way Ray McDonald sings. Something about his plain, homey voice against the lush MGM arrangements thrills me. Add to it the really sweet little dance number he and June Allyson perform in the middle of the rainstorm, and you get a lovely slice of Americana - just like apple pie.
This is a dancer's number, which is probably why I like it so much, but there is nothing fancy about it. The chorus comes in and does some light stepping, and we are treated to a lively color scheme of white, gray, blue and the brightest, cleanest looking Schiapperelli pink you've ever seen in the costumes. June is wearing a raincoat and umbrella of shocking pink. The girls hold umbrella, too - they have white ones with a cherry blossom branch (or something) embroidered on each. The girls wear clear slickers with flowered print underneath, and have their hair piled up into 1940's style curls, under their clear head scarves. The boys wear light blue slickers and really goofy rain hats a la the Gortons of Gloucester fisherman. There are three couples featured before the windup. The girls end up the number by tossing their umbrellas in a Rockettes style diagonal line (how they did this in one take I'll never know), and June Allyson and her impossibly big smile, and Ray McDonald with his boyish voice come back to sing the plaintive refrain once again. The bookend stage framing is back, as the camera pulls away from the two stars, and we see the lovely tableau as if it were all done on stage.
I don't know why this number moves me the way it does. Maybe it's because it was made in 1946, just as the war was over and there was such a feeling of relief in the air. I swear, every time I see or hear it it makes me weep for a lost innocence... a time when audiences actually enjoyed slight musical numbers like this one.
The movie is a treat, as long as you forget the irritating plot. Just watch or listen to the really beautifully orchestrated musical numbers - especially Lena Horne singing Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man and Why Was I Born, or the Dinah Shore numbers. As long as you avoid the plot, this really is one of the best tributes to a composer - the songs are all knockouts. Don't watch poor Frank in his big suit... he's really good as long as you don't look....
[youtube][/youtube]
- Uncle Stevie
- Posts: 461
- Joined: April 15th, 2010, 10:15 am
- Location: Bloomfield, New Jersey - USA
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
I watched this today on TCM. Very good.
Uncle Stevie
"Great Marriages Are Made In Heaven,
So Is Thunder and Lightning"
"Great Marriages Are Made In Heaven,
So Is Thunder and Lightning"
- moira finnie
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Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
I only saw a few minutes of this movie, but what a delight to see that restored version of Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)! This neglected movie looks so fresh and crisp! A young filmmaker I had the pleasure of interviewing awhile back is the daughter of a man who spent literally years working on this restoration! I remember growing up seeing it look all muddy with blah color. It's beautiful now. And Lucille Bremer's flaming tresses really were lovely. Hey! Could you believe how skinny Van Heflin was as Jim I. Hessler, Jerome Kern's collaborator and mentor? He looked like a gazelle in that scene on the bicycle (well, maybe...I'm stretching it a bit.)
I love that rainy day number too, Wendy, and wish that TCM would show another musical with a rainy number or three--April Showers (1948), starring Ann Sothern and Jack Carson, who sing the title number. The movie is the usual bundle of schmaltz about vaudeville at the turn of the century, but it is as likable as the performers and that particular number, which is done in a fairly casual, throwaway style in an off-stage setting is a joy.
My favorite number from Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), however, has gotta be this one that makes me nostalgic for a Paris that disappeared long before any of us were born:
[youtube][/youtube]
I love that rainy day number too, Wendy, and wish that TCM would show another musical with a rainy number or three--April Showers (1948), starring Ann Sothern and Jack Carson, who sing the title number. The movie is the usual bundle of schmaltz about vaudeville at the turn of the century, but it is as likable as the performers and that particular number, which is done in a fairly casual, throwaway style in an off-stage setting is a joy.
My favorite number from Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), however, has gotta be this one that makes me nostalgic for a Paris that disappeared long before any of us were born:
[youtube][/youtube]
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
Wendy: Well of COURSE you love that number....it has my mystery lady in it! The you tube video is quite fuzzy for me, but she's there.....
That number touches you the way Gene Kelley does when he takes that final swing around the street, before 'meeting' the cop...tear up every time. I think it is the way the dancers, both chorus and featured, relate their love of dance.
That number touches you the way Gene Kelley does when he takes that final swing around the street, before 'meeting' the cop...tear up every time. I think it is the way the dancers, both chorus and featured, relate their love of dance.
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
.
Surprisingly I have a copy of this movie. It was in the good old $5.00 bin at Walmart and when I saw something about the life of Jerome Kern, I grabbed it. It's a great movie to have in the background as you're cleaning or sweeping, etc. All that energetic Kern music keeps you going. My favorite song, and arrangement is My Mountain Greenery Home. I don't hear enough of Perry Como and he does a wonderful bang up job on it. The old barber is in great voice on this one.
.
Surprisingly I have a copy of this movie. It was in the good old $5.00 bin at Walmart and when I saw something about the life of Jerome Kern, I grabbed it. It's a great movie to have in the background as you're cleaning or sweeping, etc. All that energetic Kern music keeps you going. My favorite song, and arrangement is My Mountain Greenery Home. I don't hear enough of Perry Como and he does a wonderful bang up job on it. The old barber is in great voice on this one.
.
Anne
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Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
I watched this movie just the other day. I always enjoy seeing it. It is part of my Kathryn Grayson collection. I have all of Kathryn`s films.
- JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
Moira -
Ah, so that's why it looked so fresh and lovely in all it's Technicolor majesty! I remember this one always looking muddy, too. I had no idea it had been restored. They did a BEAUTIFUL job... half of the pleasure of watching this one was the gorgeous color - not overdone like some restorations. I wanted to leap right inside the movie and lap it up, it looked so wonderful, those ice cream colors.
Van Heflin a gazelle? Well, not quite, but he sure did look trim - I barely recognized him at first! And I have to admit that as long as he and Robert Walker were on screen, I enjoyed watching the plot contrivances. Both actors can seem so mild mannered, but can switch to downright scary at the drop of a hat. But no sweating or insanity going on in this movie..... thank goodness!
I don't think I have ever seen April Showers - but if it has Jack and Ann and rain, I'm right there. I love both of them so much! I'll keep my eye out for it on TCM.... lately they seem to have ESP, playing all the movies I'd like to see. When you talk about casual, throwaway numbers, that is exactly what I like to watch, the ones that look deceptively simple. They have a joy and happiness that's hard to beat.
The Last Time I Saw Paris also really gets to me. I think this movie has some of the best, most emotionally satisfying, CLASSIC renditions of standards that I can remember seeing. And we can thank the wonderful Dinah Shore for singing a definitive version of this song. I somehow can never listen to Vera Lynn without thinking of Dinah's more thoughtful, and to me, more moving version.
Nancy -
I was looking for your gal too! I look for her all the time now. And yes, I think that's the reason I get teary eyed watching certain dance numbers - they really evoke the absolute joy of life. But then, I get teary eyed watching William Demarest take a pratfall. I'm such a goof.
Ah, so that's why it looked so fresh and lovely in all it's Technicolor majesty! I remember this one always looking muddy, too. I had no idea it had been restored. They did a BEAUTIFUL job... half of the pleasure of watching this one was the gorgeous color - not overdone like some restorations. I wanted to leap right inside the movie and lap it up, it looked so wonderful, those ice cream colors.
Van Heflin a gazelle? Well, not quite, but he sure did look trim - I barely recognized him at first! And I have to admit that as long as he and Robert Walker were on screen, I enjoyed watching the plot contrivances. Both actors can seem so mild mannered, but can switch to downright scary at the drop of a hat. But no sweating or insanity going on in this movie..... thank goodness!
I don't think I have ever seen April Showers - but if it has Jack and Ann and rain, I'm right there. I love both of them so much! I'll keep my eye out for it on TCM.... lately they seem to have ESP, playing all the movies I'd like to see. When you talk about casual, throwaway numbers, that is exactly what I like to watch, the ones that look deceptively simple. They have a joy and happiness that's hard to beat.
The Last Time I Saw Paris also really gets to me. I think this movie has some of the best, most emotionally satisfying, CLASSIC renditions of standards that I can remember seeing. And we can thank the wonderful Dinah Shore for singing a definitive version of this song. I somehow can never listen to Vera Lynn without thinking of Dinah's more thoughtful, and to me, more moving version.
Nancy -
I was looking for your gal too! I look for her all the time now. And yes, I think that's the reason I get teary eyed watching certain dance numbers - they really evoke the absolute joy of life. But then, I get teary eyed watching William Demarest take a pratfall. I'm such a goof.
- JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
For those of you interested, almost all of Ray McDonald's MGM movies will be shown during November and December, starting with a reshowing of:
Till the Clouds Roll By - November 7th 6:00AM ET
Good News - November 30th 8:00PM ET
Babes On Broadway - December 9th 1:30 AM ET
Life Begins for Andy Hardy - December 16th 1:00PM ET - This was Ray's favorite of his own films, even though there was no singing or dancing in it.
All Ashore - December 23rd 7:30AM ET
- JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
I am bumping this thread up because Till the Clouds Roll By will be on :
Sunday morning, November 7, at 6:00 AM ET
I can't wait to record it in all it's glorious Technicolor.
Sunday morning, November 7, at 6:00 AM ET
I can't wait to record it in all it's glorious Technicolor.
- Uncle Stevie
- Posts: 461
- Joined: April 15th, 2010, 10:15 am
- Location: Bloomfield, New Jersey - USA
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
We saw it again on NJN - a PBS station. It was uninterrupted and very enjoyable.
I also saw The Jolson Story from my own collection.
Happy New Year
I also saw The Jolson Story from my own collection.
Happy New Year
Uncle Stevie
"Great Marriages Are Made In Heaven,
So Is Thunder and Lightning"
"Great Marriages Are Made In Heaven,
So Is Thunder and Lightning"
- JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: Till the Clouds Roll By
Glad you liked it, Uncle Stevie.
I watched it again, and found it charming as ever.
I watched it again, and found it charming as ever.