Cabaret

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BagelOnAPlate
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Cabaret

Post by BagelOnAPlate »

Life is a cabaret, old chum.
Come to the cabaret ...


Day Eleven of TCM’s 31 Days of Oscars is devoted to musicals, my favorite movie genre. The final musical airing is Bob Fosse's divinely decadent Cabaret starring the one and only Liza Minnelli with songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb. (Technically, the movie airs at 4:00 AM Eastern on March 12.) The movie won a total of 8 Academy Awards, including Best Director for Bob Fosse. Cabaret, in fact, holds the record for the most Oscars won by a movie that did not win Best Picture. (That award went to The Godfather.) The commercial and critical success of Cabaret was a vindication of Fosse’s viability as a Hollywood filmmaker, which was uncertain after the box office failure of his first movie Sweet Charity. Producer Cy Feuer had to convince Allied Artists studio executives (who wanted a more established movie director) to hire Fosse for the project based on his talent as a stage director and choreographer. After his triumph with Cabaret, Bob Fosse would go on to receive two additional Best Director Oscar nominations (for Lenny and All That Jazz) and one Best Screenplay nomination (for All That Jazz).

The movie Cabaret was adapted from the hit Broadway stage musical which was adapted from John Van Druten's play I Am A Camera which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood's anthology The Berlin Stories, in particular the ones called "Sally Bowles” and “The Landauers,” which are chapters in the Goodbye to Berlin section. I Am A Camera focused on English night club performer Sally Bowles in Weimar Berlin with a subplot about a gigolo wooing a wealthy Jewish girl. The stage musical Cabaret replaced the gigolo subplot with one about a romance between Sally's gentile landlady and a Jewish grocer. The movie Cabaret restored the subplot about the gigolo and the Jewish heiress with the role of Sally's landlady greatly reduced.

Bob Fosse's concept of the musical was for the songs to be sung only in the context of a performance, with no characters bursting into song during a scene. As a result, all of the songs from the stage musical that were "sung dialogue" were eliminated. The songs in the movie, except for one, were all performed in the Kit Kat Club where Sally Bowles works. Supposedly Fosse at one point wanted to cut the "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" number sung by the German youth in the beer garden because he thought all the songs in the movie should be sung inside the cabaret. Happily, he decided to keep this song in his final cut of the film. The song works wonderfully to show the rise of Nazism, and the scene where it is sung is quite chilling.

There are not enough superlatives for Liza Minnelli's performance in this movie. In the original stage play Sally Bowles was a mediocre English singer whose illusions of being "discovered" were comically pathetic. Liza Minnelli's Sally, on the other hand, is a bravura singer and dancer. The idea here is that while Sally is a great talent, she's an emotional and psychological wreck. The movie version added three songs by Kander and Ebb for Liza that were not in the stage production: "Mein Herr," "Money" (a duet with Joel Grey, who recreated his stage role as the club's M.C.) and "Maybe This Time" (a song that Liza had first recorded on her debut studio album Liza! Liza! released in 1964 and again on her New Feelin' album released in 1970 and one that was originally written for Kaye Ballard as a B-side for one of her singles). Liza's Sally is also American. Liza had auditioned for the role in the stage musical. One of the reasons she supposedly was rejected was because the character was English. In interviews Liza has commented that she was not even asked if she could do any kind of an English accent. At the advice of her father, director Vicente Minnelli, Liza drew inspiration for Sally's look from Jazz Age film actress Louise Brooks, in particular Brooks’s helmet-like bob hairstyle and her “Lulu” make-up (named after Brooks’s character in the German silent film Pandora’s Box).

Joel Grey was the only performer from the original stage production to appear in Fosse’s movie. Determined to put his own stamp on the work, Bob Fosse didn’t want to use anyone from the Broadway cast. In fact, Fosse’s choice for the role of the M.C. was Ruth Gordon, who was well-known to the public at the time for her role as the Satanist neighbor in Rosemary’s Baby, for which she received an Oscar. Producer Cy Feuer and Allied Artists executives, however, insisted on Joel Grey, going so far as to tell Fosse that if forced to choose between Fosse and Grey, they would make the movie without Fosse. In his 2017 memoir, Joel Grey recounts that the Cabaret shoot was tense, with Fosse never offering Grey any encouragement on his performance or socializing with him. However, Grey sometimes caught Fosse smiling after one of Grey’s takes. For his work in Cabaret, Joel Grey received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The role of the Christopher Isherwood stand-in was played by Michael York. In the stage play, this character was an American named Cliff Bradshaw, but in the movie he was re-named Brian Roberts and was English like the real Christopher Isherwood. Also, like Isherwood, Brian Roberts was gay. (Cliff had been heterosexual in the original stage production of Cabaret; the sexuality of the Isherwood character in I Am A Camera was not identified.) Like Brian Roberts and Sally Bowles, Isherwood and Jean Ross (the woman who inspired the Sally Bowles character in The Berlin Stories) shared a flat in Berlin, but unlike Brian and Sally, Isherwood and Jean Ross never had sex, even though they often shared a bed. The character of Baron Maximilian von Heune (played by German actor Helmut Griem) was inspired by an American playboy (called “Clive” in The Berlin Stories) who sexually pursued both Jean Ross and Christopher Isherwood. The direction of Fosse and the cinematography of Geoffrey Unsworth (who received an Oscar for Cabaret) in the scene with Minnelli, York and Griem at Maximillian’s estate is mesmerizing and the choice to have no sound at one dramatic point is a brilliant one.

After a screening of Cabaret, Vincente Minnelli told Bob Fosse that he had made a perfect movie. And Minnelli was seated on his daughter’s right on the evening when she won the Best Actress Oscar (seated on her left was Liza’s boyfriend at the time Desi Arnaz Jr). If only Liza’s mother Judy Garland had been alive to see her daughter’s triumph.


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TikiSoo
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Re: Cabaret

Post by TikiSoo »

Thank you for that excellent write up on Cabaret, Bagel!
This is a movie best viewed twice since I found it kind of confusing the first time seeing as a teen. Joel Grey scared me!

But it certainly seems like all the stars aligned-especially the iconic, defining role for Liza. Thank goodness her beauty & immense talent has been forever captured on film.
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jimimac71
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Re: Cabaret

Post by jimimac71 »

Cabaret is a bit deep for my shallow mind. <grin>
My favorite with Liza Minnelli is Arthur.
Dudley Moore does what little singing is in the film.
Liza is both hilarious and serious.
Joel Grey is in an episode of Matlock and isn't frightening.
I wanted to read the post by BagelOnAPlate, but it was so long.
The reader view in the Firefox browser (desktop version) came to my rescue.
The post is spectacular!
Liza is still Liza and nothing nasty comedians like Ellen DeGeneres say will change that.
I love musicals too!
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HoldenIsHere
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Re: Cabaret

Post by HoldenIsHere »

BagelOnAPlate wrote: March 5th, 2023, 7:57 pm At the advice of her father, director Vicente Minnelli, Liza drew inspiration for Sally's look from Jazz Age film actress Louise Brooks, in particular Brooks’s helmet-like bob hairstyle and her “Lulu” make-up (named after Brooks’s character in the German silent film Pandora’s Box).

I loved your CABARET thread at the TCM forums!
I'm glad you created one here at the SSO.

Thank you mentioning the influence of Louise Brooks on the look of Sally Bowles in the movie.

For anyone who thinks they don't like silent films, I recommend seeing G. W. Pabst's PANDORA'S BOX starring Louise Brooks as Lulu.
The movie is a masterpiece of Weimar cinema that was hacked to pieces shortly after initial release in 1929 but fortunately was re-discovered and restored decades later.

The video below features scenes from PANDORA'S BOX underscored by Natalie Merchant's song "Lulu."

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TikiSoo
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Re: Cabaret

Post by TikiSoo »

HoldenIsHere wrote: March 7th, 2023, 11:28 pm For anyone who thinks they don't like silent films, I recommend seeing G. W. Pabst's PANDORA'S BOX starring Louise Brooks as Lulu.
Not to derail the thread, but I wholeheartedly agree with you!
A testament: While on vacation, our teen was too tired to "go out" and stayed in the hotel room. We arrived back after dinner & found her enraptured with PANDORA'S BOX on TCM! She wouldn't let us go to sleep until the movie ended!!
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Swithin
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Re: Cabaret

Post by Swithin »

BagelOnAPlate mentioned Jean Ross, on whom the Sally Bowles character is based. I want to recommend very highly a BBC production called Christopher and His Kind (2011), which is based on Isherwood's 1976 book which was his attempt "to set the record straight" after the success of Cabaret. It's a great film, brilliantly acted by Matt Smith as Isherwood and Imogen Poots as Jean Ross.



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Detective Jim McLeod
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Re: Cabaret

Post by Detective Jim McLeod »

I saw Cabaret years ago and thought it was just OK. I always found Bob Fosse's choreography style to be really bizarre. The Kit Kat Club scenes are the moments I recall the most, I don't remember much of the non musical scenes. "Money Makes The World Go Around" was the most memorable song for me. And there was the strange one with Joel Grey and two female dancers and he suddenly bites one of them on the behind!
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Sepiatone
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Re: Cabaret

Post by Sepiatone »

I thought it was OK too. what stuck out for me was the ending, which showed the twisted, distorted reflections of the Nazi officers in the audience, offering a macabre foreboding of the tragic events yet to come.

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Intrepid37
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Re: Cabaret

Post by Intrepid37 »

Detective Jim McLeod wrote: March 8th, 2023, 8:49 am I saw Cabaret years ago and thought it was just OK. I always found Bob Fosse's choreography style to be really bizarre. The Kit Kat Club scenes are the moments I recall the most, I don't remember much of the non musical scenes. "Money Makes The World Go Around" was the most memorable song for me. And there was the strange one with Joel Grey and two female dancers and he suddenly bites one of them on the behind!

It's just Joel Grey that impressed me in that. He's spooky.

I can live without Liza and Michael in it. They bore me to death.
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EP Millstone
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Re: Cabaret

Post by EP Millstone »

Sepiatone wrote: March 8th, 2023, 1:07 pm . . . what stuck out for me was the ending, which showed the twisted, distorted reflections of the Nazi officers in the audience, offering a macabre foreboding of the tragic events yet to come . . .
. . . a wonderfully morbid example of precisely why Cabaret is in my movie collection*. The grim, sardonic tone of the story punctuated by the dark lyrics of Fred Ebb ("If you could see her through my eyes, She wouldn't look Jewish at all") and Joel Grey's sinister yet charismatic performance, and further inflected with the downbeat cynicism of Bob Fosse, for me, is a refreshing and immensely appealing antidote to the treacly sap and terminally upbeat schmaltz that characterizes conventional musicals.

* Which also includes the similarly mordant All That Jazz.
"Start every day off with a smile and get it over with." -- W.C. Fields
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TikiSoo
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Re: Cabaret

Post by TikiSoo »

EP Millstone wrote: March 8th, 2023, 8:16 pm . . . a wonderfully morbid example of precisely why Cabaret is in my movie collection*. The grim, sardonic tone of the story punctuated by the dark lyrics of Fred Ebb ("If you could see her through my eyes, She wouldn't look Jewish at all") and Joel Grey's sinister yet charismatic performance, and further inflected with the downbeat cynicism of Bob Fosse, for me, is a refreshing and immensely appealing antidote to the treacly sap and terminally upbeat schmaltz that characterizes conventional musicals.
Wow. Makes me want to see it again, I know so many love it. I've only seen it once and couldn't get interested in the charactors, found them repellent. Joel Gray's make up scared the hex out of me! Liza is so mesmerizing, guess there was a lot of "story" and nuances I missed.

I needed a shower after viewing ALL THAT JAZZ, his style is just not my cup of tea, But oh I love his dancing & his individuality. Fosse is always intense & honest, not always pretty.

And some people enjoy schmaltz, I certainly do.
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BagelOnAPlate
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Re: Cabaret

Post by BagelOnAPlate »

jimimac71 wrote: March 6th, 2023, 12:36 pm
My favorite with Liza Minnelli is Arthur.
Dudley Moore does what little singing is in the film.
Liza is both hilarious and serious.
My favorite Liza Minnelli line in Arthur is her response to the customer at the diner counter who asks if she recommends the French toast:
"With all of my heart."
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BagelOnAPlate
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Re: Cabaret

Post by BagelOnAPlate »

TikiSoo wrote: March 10th, 2023, 8:32 am
EP Millstone wrote: March 8th, 2023, 8:16 pm . . . a wonderfully morbid example of precisely why Cabaret is in my movie collection*. The grim, sardonic tone of the story punctuated by the dark lyrics of Fred Ebb ("If you could see her through my eyes, She wouldn't look Jewish at all") and Joel Grey's sinister yet charismatic performance, and further inflected with the downbeat cynicism of Bob Fosse, for me, is a refreshing and immensely appealing antidote to the treacly sap and terminally upbeat schmaltz that characterizes conventional musicals.
Wow. Makes me want to see it again, I know so many love it. I've only seen it once and couldn't get interested in the charactors, found them repellent. Joel Gray's make up scared the hex out of me! Liza is so mesmerizing, guess there was a lot of "story" and nuances I missed.

And some people enjoy schmaltz, I certainly do.
Yes, Joel Grey's look in Cabaret is more than a little unsettling.
I hope you watch Cabaret again, TikiSoo, and let us know what you think of it after a second viewing.

And, like you, I also enjoy schmaltzy musicals as well as darker ones like Cabaret.

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Last edited by BagelOnAPlate on March 10th, 2023, 10:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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EP Millstone
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Re: Cabaret

Post by EP Millstone »

BagelOnAPlate wrote: March 10th, 2023, 9:02 pm My favorite Liza Minnelli line in Arthur is her response to the customer at the diner counter who asks if she recommends the French toast:
"With all of my heart."
My favorite line in Arthur:

Susan Johnson: "A real woman could stop you from drinking."

Arthur Bach: "It'd have to be a real BIG woman."
"Start every day off with a smile and get it over with." -- W.C. Fields
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Re: Cabaret

Post by KayFrancis »

Many years ago, one of my jobs in Manhattan was in midtown. My favorite lunchtime restaurant was an English tearoom, Mary Elizabeth.
I sat at the counter many times, this time to my right was Joel Grey reading the Times . I recognized him and told him how much I admired his performances. He was so sweet and we chatted all thru lunch
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