| 12 Products In This Category |
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Like Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), 20th Century-Fox's There's No Business Like Show Business is a "catalogue" film, its thinnish plot held together by an itinerary of Irving Berlin tunes. The story chronicles some twenty years in the lives of a showbiz family, headed by Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman. Two of the couple's three grown children -- Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor -- carry on the family tradition, while the third, Johnny Ray, decides to become a priest. There are a few tense moments when O'Connor falls in love with ambitious chorine Marilyn Monroe and loses all sense of perspective, but the family reunites during a splashy production-number finale. Highlights include Dailey and Merman's Play a Simple Melody duet, O'Connor's A Man Chases a Girl solo, and Monroe's tempestuous rendition of Heat Wave (her delivery and stage presence both compensate for her unflattering bare-midriff costume). Of historical interest, There's No Business Like Show Business was Fox's first CinemaScope musical; as such, i
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Includes:On the Avenue (1937) Lillian Russell (1940) That Night in Rio (1941) The Gang's All Here (1943) On the Avenue Director Roy Del Ruth and singing star Dick Powell were raided from the Warner Bros. stables for this frothy musical comedy that features a wonderful collection of Irving Berlin songs, including "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and "Slumming on Park Avenue." Powell stars as Broadway impresario Gary Blake, who is busy putting together his latest Broadway musical starring ...
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Elvis Presley made his motion picture debut in the Civil War drama Love Me Tender. Elvis, however, is not the star of the proceedings: that honor goes jointly to Richard Egan and Debra Paget. The story concerns three brothers--Egan, William Campbell and James Drury--who steal a Union payroll on behalf of the Confederacy, only to discover that the war is over and that they're now technically outlaws. Rather than return the money, the brothers divvy it up amongst themselves. Upon returning home, Egan discovers that his sweetheart (Debra Paget) has married Elvis, his youngest brother. Since Love Me Tender has been played incessantly on TV since the early 1960s, it is giving away nothing to reveal that the film is one of two in which Elvis Presley's character dies at the end. Naturally, Elvis is afforded plenty of opportunities to sing: the scene in which he launches into an anachronistic hip-swivelling performance at a county fair is one of the high points of mid-1950s kitsch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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In this musical, the cruise that salesgirl Nan Spencer (Alice Faye) worked so hard to pay for is cut tragically short when the ship is damaged. In recompense for the failed cruise, Nan is treated to a tour of Havana, guided by a shipping company officer, Jay Williams (John Payne). Once in Havana, Nan becomes the center of attention when both Jay and a local man (Cesar Romero) fall for her. This film features a number of songs, including "Tropical Magic," "Romance and Rhumba," and "A Weekend in Havana." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
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Loosely based on the life and times of several R&B artists (The Dells, The Temptations, Frankie Lymon, Sam Cooke and others) The Five Heartbeats traces the rise and fall of a popular African-American 1950s singing aggregation. The story is told from the point of view of one of the "Heartbeats," played by Robert Townsend (who also co-produced, directed and co-wrote the script with Keenan Ivory Waynans). The film is an amalgam of anecdotes drawn from real-life experiences: the long struggle upward, the first rush of success, the dishonest record-company executives, the hard-nosed but nurturing managers, the sex, the drugs, the isolation and the precipitous downward slide. The film begins and ends in the 1990s, as the middle-aged "Duck" (Townsend) ruminates on the past and makes the best of the present. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Built around the premise of a Big Stage Show, Stormy Weather affords rare "mainstream" leading roles to some of the era's greatest African-American entertainers Lena Horne, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Dooley Wilson, Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller, and the Nicholas Brothers. The thinnish plotline -- dancer Robinson has an on-again-off-again romance with Horne -- is simply an excuse for lively, well-staged performances. Of the fourteen musical numbers, the most memorable is Lena Horne's rendition of the title song, artfully staged by director Andrew L. Stone. Keep an eye out for uncredited contributions by jazz greats Zutty Hamilton, Coleman Hawkins and Taps Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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