Dore Schary’s post-MGM personal production is a class act in every respect — Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan and Myrna Loy are well cast in a story of intimate emotional cruelty. It’s from a play derived from Nathanael West’s soul-crushing novella, and despite the talent involved, it can’t shake the feeling of an overheated TV drama. The acting and characterizations are riveting. Young Dolores Hart is a beacon of light amid the gloom and misery, and in her first movie, Maureen Stapleton’s’ fireball of anxiety and malice all but steals the show. The fine cinematography is again by the great John Alton.
Lonelyhearts
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, Myrna Loy, Dolores Hart, Maureen Stapleton, Jackie Coogan, Mike Kellin, Onslow Stevens, Frank Maxwell, Frank Overton, John Gallaudet, Don Washbrook, Johnny Washbrook,...
Lonelyhearts
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date October 25, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, Myrna Loy, Dolores Hart, Maureen Stapleton, Jackie Coogan, Mike Kellin, Onslow Stevens, Frank Maxwell, Frank Overton, John Gallaudet, Don Washbrook, Johnny Washbrook,...
- 10/29/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
MGM’s remake of the grand musical can’t be ignored — the restored transfer is stunning, demonstrating the studio’s technical skill at full tilt. There are good aspects to this version, even if it’s mostly a missed opportunity more notable for production backstories than for itself. It’s Kathryn Grayson’s high water mark at MGM, and Howard Keel does yeoman’s work on his side. MGM’s musical arrangements of the Hammerstein / Kern songbook is as good as ever. Most critics in 1951 thought it superior because it was in Technicolor; and it was one of the top $ money earners of the year.
Show Boat
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date February 23, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, Leif Erickson, William Warfield, Regis Toomey, Adele Jergens, Owen McGiveney,...
Show Boat
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date February 23, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, Leif Erickson, William Warfield, Regis Toomey, Adele Jergens, Owen McGiveney,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
MGM’s remake of the grand musical can’t be ignored — the restored transfer is stunning, demonstrating the studio’s technical skill at full tilt. There are good aspects to this version, even if it’s mostly a missed opportunity more notable for production backstories than for itself. It’s Kathryn Grayson’s high water mark at MGM, and Howard Keel does yeoman’s work on his side. MGM’s musical arrangements of the Hammerstein / Kern songbook is as good as ever. Most critics in 1951 thought it superior because it was in Technicolor; and it was one of the top $ money earners of the year.
Show Boat
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date February 23, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, Leif Erickson, William Warfield, Regis Toomey, Adele Jergens, Owen McGiveney,...
Show Boat
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date February 23, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, Leif Erickson, William Warfield, Regis Toomey, Adele Jergens, Owen McGiveney,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Now for a real treat for musical fans, a core MGM dazzler with top stars, fully restored and looking incredibly good. Vincente Minnelli’s snappy, funny 1948 show isn’t ranked among producer Arthur Freed’s best but it ought to be. Silly farce gets a high-toned, technically amazing workout as Judy Garland’s demure señorita secretly lusts after the ruthless corsair of the title, Mack the Black! Gene Kelly’s slippery carny womanizer impersonates her piratical fantasy sex object, and it all ends in clowning and killer musical numbers. Cole Porter’s smart songs attest to the great orchestrators and arrangers in MGM’s world-class music department; the new full digital restoration makes the movie look and sound better than I’ve certainly ever seen it.
The Pirate
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 102 min. / Street Date November 24, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak,...
The Pirate
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1948 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 102 min. / Street Date November 24, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak,...
- 11/24/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I don’t know if Garland fans still go around chanting ‘Judy Judy Judy’ at her every appearance, but they do have a timeless song ‘n’ dance number to celebrate here. Her last MGM movie is only a so-so vehicle but Gene Kelly and the studio’s top music & dance talent work hard to put it over the top. Garland’s lack of stability is still an issue. For much of the movie she looks visibly overweight, yet in the showstopper ‘Get Happy’ she suddenly slims down to the best — maybe not the healthiest — look of her career.
Summer Stock
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1950 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 109 min. / Street Date April 30, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, Phil Silvers, Ray Collins, Nita Bieber, Carleton Carpenter, Hans Conried, Jeanne Coyne, Carol Haney, Almira Sessions.
Cinematography: Robert H. Planck
Film Editor: Albert Akst...
Summer Stock
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1950 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 109 min. / Street Date April 30, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, Phil Silvers, Ray Collins, Nita Bieber, Carleton Carpenter, Hans Conried, Jeanne Coyne, Carol Haney, Almira Sessions.
Cinematography: Robert H. Planck
Film Editor: Albert Akst...
- 5/4/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Balletic, stylized and rather aloof, MGM’s biggest musical for 1954 still has what musical lovers crave — good dancing, beautiful melodies and unabashed romantic sentiments. Savant has a bad tendency to fixate on the inconsistencies of its fantasy concept — in which God places an ideal Scottish village outside the limits of Time itself.
Brigadoon
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1954 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart, Barry Jones, Albert Sharpe, Virginia Bosler, Jimmy Thompson.
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Art Direction: Preston Ames, Cedric Gibbons
Film Editor: Albert Akst
Original Music: Frederick Loewe
Screenplay, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Produced by Arthur Freed
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
MGM underwent some severe cutbacks in 1953; most of its contract players were dropped including the majority of its proud roster of stars. The studio would have to survive in a new kind of Hollywood,...
Brigadoon
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1954 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart, Barry Jones, Albert Sharpe, Virginia Bosler, Jimmy Thompson.
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Art Direction: Preston Ames, Cedric Gibbons
Film Editor: Albert Akst
Original Music: Frederick Loewe
Screenplay, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Produced by Arthur Freed
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
MGM underwent some severe cutbacks in 1953; most of its contract players were dropped including the majority of its proud roster of stars. The studio would have to survive in a new kind of Hollywood,...
- 9/23/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It's in glorious Technicolor Metrocolor, CinemaScope and StereoPhonic Sound! Fred Astaire's final MGM musical gives him Cyd Charisse and a Cole Porter score, plus some nice Hermes Pan choreography. The script and Rouben Mamoulian's direction aren't the best, but the combined magic of the musical and dancing talent saves the day. Silk Stockings Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1957 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 117 min. / Street Date July 12, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Janis Paige, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, Jules Munshin, Joseph Buloff, Wim Sonneveld Cinematography Robert Bronner Art Direction Randall Duell, William A. Horning Film Editor Harold F. Kress Original Music Cole Porter Written by Abe Burrows, Leonard Gershe, George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Leonard Spigelgass Produced by Arthur Freed Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
On the Town? The Pajama Game? Damn Yankees? The Warner Archive Collection's next musical up for the...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
On the Town? The Pajama Game? Damn Yankees? The Warner Archive Collection's next musical up for the...
- 7/23/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Many symphony orchestras now play music from Hollywood’s golden age, but none that I’m aware of has attempted to perform Scott Bradley’s breakneck-paced scores for Tom and Jerry cartoons—until now. I’m indebted to Rob Paquin for sending me the YouTube link to this remarkable performance by the John Wilson Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall, as part of the BBC Proms concert series. In his e-mail Rob writes, “As you can hear from the full house audience, it was a great success and long overdue. John Wilson has been painstakingly trying to restore the original arrangements for classic scores. He is a big fan of MGM's distinctive musical sound when Conrad Salinger and Johnny...
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- 9/17/2013
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Ivan Radford Dec 6, 2019
With the festive season approaching, here's a rundown of 10 all-time classic Christmas movie soundtracks.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, a sure sign that people will soon start ranking, once again, the best Christmas movies of all time--a crazy thing to do, because we all know it’s still Die Hard. But what about film music? From Vaughn Monroe serenading the end of John McClane’s adventure to Danny Elfman’s Nightmare before the big day, soundtracks are a big part of that seasonal feeling.
And so, as December draws in, here are the top 10 Christmas movie soundtracks of all time. (Probably.)
10. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Made in MGM’s heyday, this romantic musical is based on a series of shorts by Sally Benson, but really is a showcase for Judy Garland’s legendary larynx. The Wizard Of Oz star came into her own in the 1944 movie,...
With the festive season approaching, here's a rundown of 10 all-time classic Christmas movie soundtracks.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, a sure sign that people will soon start ranking, once again, the best Christmas movies of all time--a crazy thing to do, because we all know it’s still Die Hard. But what about film music? From Vaughn Monroe serenading the end of John McClane’s adventure to Danny Elfman’s Nightmare before the big day, soundtracks are a big part of that seasonal feeling.
And so, as December draws in, here are the top 10 Christmas movie soundtracks of all time. (Probably.)
10. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Made in MGM’s heyday, this romantic musical is based on a series of shorts by Sally Benson, but really is a showcase for Judy Garland’s legendary larynx. The Wizard Of Oz star came into her own in the 1944 movie,...
- 12/8/2012
- Den of Geek
"Funny Face" shouldn't have worked. It was a musical with a borrowed score, based on a stage play its author had failed to sell, with a leading man past his prime and a leading lady, 30 years younger, who had a thin singing voice. Indeed, the film, released 55 years ago today (on February 13, 1957), was not a hit. Yet today, it's regarded as a visually sumptuous classic, with Fred Astaire dancing with impossible grace at 58 and Audrey Hepburn in one of her most stylish, iconic performances. Still, as beloved as "Funny Face" is, many viewers may not know of the real-life love story that inspired the movie, or about the film's ties to such far-flung projects as the "Eloise" novels and the counterculture drama "Five Easy Pieces." Here, then, are 25 little-known facts about "Funny Face." 1. The movie's title and four of its songs came from George Gershwin's 1927 Broadway musical "Funny Face.
- 2/13/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Royal Albert Hall, London
For those of us who know our musicals from DVDs and Christmas TV, John Wilson's Hollywood Prom delivered a pleasurable shock. His orchestra, with its nine-piece percussion section and full-blown jazz big band, blasted out a surround-sound version of music that is usually squeezed through the tiny speakers of a telly.
Without the tap dances, chorus girls and (often flimsy) plots, the music had to stand up for itself. Wilson, who has brought a passion for authentic performance to movie soundtracks, shone a glittering spotlight on arrangers such as Ray Heindorf, Conrad Salinger and Lloyd "Skip" Martin. They were Hollywood's invisible men, who toiled behind the tinsel to stretch three-minute ditties into extended suites (This Heart of Mine) or craft subtle tone poems that became huge hits (Secret Love, sung beautifully by Clare Teal).
A tag team of vocalists interpreted familiar songs from movies made between...
For those of us who know our musicals from DVDs and Christmas TV, John Wilson's Hollywood Prom delivered a pleasurable shock. His orchestra, with its nine-piece percussion section and full-blown jazz big band, blasted out a surround-sound version of music that is usually squeezed through the tiny speakers of a telly.
Without the tap dances, chorus girls and (often flimsy) plots, the music had to stand up for itself. Wilson, who has brought a passion for authentic performance to movie soundtracks, shone a glittering spotlight on arrangers such as Ray Heindorf, Conrad Salinger and Lloyd "Skip" Martin. They were Hollywood's invisible men, who toiled behind the tinsel to stretch three-minute ditties into extended suites (This Heart of Mine) or craft subtle tone poems that became huge hits (Secret Love, sung beautifully by Clare Teal).
A tag team of vocalists interpreted familiar songs from movies made between...
- 8/30/2011
- by John L Walters
- The Guardian - Film News
A composer of classic musicals, he wrote Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Among the perennial Christmas songs, one of the most performed and popular is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, with words and music by Hugh Martin, who has died aged 96. Since it was first sung by Judy Garland in the film Meet Me in St Louis (1944), this bittersweet yuletide ditty has been performed by hundreds of artists from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day and Bing Crosby to rock bands including Coldplay and Twisted Sister.
The song has featured in several other films, notably The Victors (1963), in which the Sinatra version is used ironically during the execution of an American soldier for treason; The Godfather (1972); When Harry Met Sally (1989); Home Alone (1990); Miracle On 34th Street (1994); and Donnie Brasco (1997). In 1989, the song received the award for most-performed feature-film standard from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Among the perennial Christmas songs, one of the most performed and popular is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, with words and music by Hugh Martin, who has died aged 96. Since it was first sung by Judy Garland in the film Meet Me in St Louis (1944), this bittersweet yuletide ditty has been performed by hundreds of artists from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day and Bing Crosby to rock bands including Coldplay and Twisted Sister.
The song has featured in several other films, notably The Victors (1963), in which the Sinatra version is used ironically during the execution of an American soldier for treason; The Godfather (1972); When Harry Met Sally (1989); Home Alone (1990); Miracle On 34th Street (1994); and Donnie Brasco (1997). In 1989, the song received the award for most-performed feature-film standard from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
- 3/15/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
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