laureatedvd.com

[A.Sandersfield]

Of all the DVDs that my family and I have played over the Christmas holiday, HOLIDAY INN is the one we most enjoyed.

The movie itself is always a delight ( at ANY time time of the year )but the extras and the audio commentary all help to make this DVD a repeatable delight. The care, research and enthusiasm that went into this project are a text book example of what DVDs should be. Please let's have more like this.

Happy New Year to all at Laureate.

Alan Sandersfield and family.

[Michael Prosser]

Dear Ken Barnes,

I would just like to echo the praise that has been directed at your production of Universal's DVD of "Holiday Inn."

With the increasing popularity of the DVD, there should be - in fact, there MUST be - a growing market for classic films and I mean dramas as well as musicals. I recently read a market report that 80 per cent of the disposable income in the U.K. is in the hands of people over 50. I am 59 and would love to spend some of my disposable income on more DVDs as good as "Holiday Inn." I'll be checking regularly with the Laureate website to see what future titles are in store for 2003.

Keep up the good work

Michael Prosser.

[N. Connor]

Congratulations on a truly terrific DVD of "Holiday Inn."
It's good to know that at last we are getting UK DVD productions that are the equal of the American Criterion label.

I've been enjoying Laureate's out put for the past 10 months but "Holiday Inn" is by far the most outstanding to date.

Looking forward to more.
Neil Connor

[David Finch]

As someone who visits the Laureate website quite frequently, I couldn't believe all the raves over the Holiday Inn-DVD. I'm not really a fan of musicals but I decided that I ought to have at least one vintage musical in my collection so I bought it. And guess what ? I liked it. Crosby and Astaire are both terrific and the film itself is really entertaining. The DVD production and the Ken Barnes audio commentary are outstanding.

I think maybe I should add some more musicals to my collection. I think "Singing in the Rain" will be next.

Thanks to everyone at Universal and Laureate.

D.Finch.

[Dominic McHugh]

Let me recommend the 2-disc version of 'Singin' In the Rain' that was released in the UK in December. It is stacked full of goodies which really do enhance viewing, and the documentary on the Arthur Freed musicals is BOUND to whet your appetite for Gigi, Meet Me in St Louis, and most especially The Band Wagon. (A shame the latter is not yet released on DVD). The commentary is also quite good.

Dominic

[Ken Barnes]

Hi Dominic,
I agree with your enthusiasm for the Singin' In The Rain-Special 2-disc edition. The extras and the audio commentary are fine - although there are a good many stories surrounding the production that were not covered.

When I worked with Gene Kelly in 1976, he told me that he did the "rain" dance routine with a temperature of 103. MGM would brook no excuses. The film had to be finished on schedule because the stage was needed for another production.

Another example would be the massive power surge caused by the many lights used in the "Broadway Ballet" sequence which sapped the electricity in Culver City causing a lack of power to the surrounding community.

Also, in the party scene after the "Royal Rascal" premiere when a girl asks Donald O'Connor if he could get her into movies and he tells her he can. That girl was Mrs Donald O'Connor.

If you look carefully in the " Make 'em Laugh" number you can see that O'Connor is wearing loose-fitting clothes. This is because he was padded underneath to protect him from carpet burn in the finale of the number.

There are several other stories that could have gone into the audio commentary. But I guess it's too late now. Still this is a terrific DVD and well worth adding to any collection.

K.B.

[Dominic McHugh]

When watching 'Hello, Dolly' today it struck me what a disappointment it is. Although there are a few terrific numbers, the whole thing is overlong and overdone. There is no chemistry between the leads, Barbra Sreisand is visibly pregnant, and the ending - when we eventually get there - seems unbelievable. Dolly and Horace Vandergelder have hardly spent two minutes together - one would almost expect them to part, considering their ever-antagonistic encounters. I believe there was much off-screen tension between everyone involved - Matthau, Streisand, Ernest Lehmann and Irene Sharaff.

All of which is leading up to the question: did Gene Kelly direct a really good film 'on his own'? Singin' in the Rain is a superb film - but one would imagine that Stanley Donen was an enormous help.

Any thoughts?

Dominic

[Jim Patterson]

I must disagree with Dominic McHugh on his comments re. Gene Kelly and Hello Dolly. The film is a delight from start to finish and is full of wonderful directorial touches. The main fault with Streisand is that she was too young for the role of Dolly. But on the credit side, the film features her best-ever on-screen singing. Check out "Love is Only Love."

Kelly's staging of "Put on your Sunday Clothes" and "Before the Parade Passes By" are among the greatest routines ever put on film.

As to the question, did he ever direct a really good film on his own? I would say yes. "Hello Dolly" Allso "The Cheyenne Social Club" isn't bad for a comedy Western and "Guide For The Married Man" was a fine comedy and a
huge commercial success. But by the end of the '60s, Hollywood was changing and offered few opportunites for directors of Kelly's calibre.

Had he directed the Sinatra-Rat Pack musical "Robin and the Seven Hoods" ( which was the original intention ), it would have been a much more stylish film. But Hollywood - and Kelly - were already heading for the end of an era.

J.P.

[Dominic McHugh]

I still enjoy 'Hello, Dolly!' and it does have some good moments, but many of these derive from the stage show and the entire film could have been better. The title song is deservedly a standard - but it was made popular before the film (by Louis Armstrong, which is why he was brought in from his verse in the eventual release.)

As your email seems to affirm to me, the best features of the film are perhaps nothing to do with the director at all. Kelly was not the choreographer. In fact, the dances and musical numbers were staged by Michael Kidd, whose exceptional choreography also graces 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.' Therefore it was NOT Kelly's staging of 'Put On Your Sunday Clothes' and 'Before the Parade Passes By'. Indeed, if one is to believe Streisand's biography - which is of course biased in her favour, but the quote is from Ernest Lehman - Kelly stormed off on the day of shooting when Lehman said the parade scene should end the way it does: with Dolly in the middle of the shot, and a pan out to show the whole street. So perhaps the successful elements of the film are not thanks to Gene Kelly?

As for it being Streisand's best on-screen singing, I find that this film finds her somewhat uncomfortable in many of the songs. 'Love Is Only Love' and 'Just Leave Everything to me' are the two songs that suit her best, but they were added to the film specially for her and are absent on the stage show. In the Sunday Clothes number her attempt at doubling the chorus part an octave higher towards the end of the song does not come off (she misses out a note and wavers on many of the others: she cannot stay for long in this tessitura). She is rather visibly pregnant in the title number, not aided by the costume design, which caused a similar level of distress as the famous Ginger Rogers dress which had too long a train. I believe that costume designer Irene Sharaff also walked out of the film as a result of an argument on this subject, and the relationship between Streisand and Matthau off-screen was strained. I feel this is apparent on-screen as well. Compare it to Funny Girl, where Streisand's relationship with Omar Sharif is clearly enthusiastic and her thorough knowledge of and suitability to the role are the film's greatest characteristics.

My other criticisms (although I'm sure you won't agree) are that the film is too long, Michael Crawford overplays the buffoon constantly (and what is the attraction of him?), the development of the secondary couples' relationships receives more attention than that of Dolly and Horace, the dubbing of Marianne MacAndrew is poorly done, and frankly, in the words of Leonard Maltin, the whole thing is 'overblown and overdone.'

The film is certainly enjoyable, and memorable in some respects, but poor quality in far too many. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was made for a tenth of the money - but give me that any day.

Dominic

[Ken Barnes]

Wow - what a debate. Talk about controversy. Did Kelly do the staging of the big musical numbers in "Hello Dolly" or not ? Well, actually he did. True, Michael Kidd did the choreography ( it was Kelly who chose him )but the camera angles, helicopter shots, etc. were all Gene's staging. He had the concept for these numbers before Kidd came aboard - and he later worked with Kidd on the choreography. This notion that he simply stood on the sidelines is simply not true.

Yes, there were clashes on the film, partly due to the precocious Streisand and acerbic Matthau. But also Ernest Lehman who, in addition to writing the screenplay, was also the producer. He was seeking to emulate the success of his triumph with "The Sound of Music " and, as a result, was more than a little overbearing. For some proof of this man's vanity, catch his audio commentary on Hitchcock's "North By Northwest." ( which admittedly has a brilliant script)

Anyone who knew Gene Kelly, as I did, will tell you that he was a dedicated worker and a team player and certainly not given to temperamental outbursts without good reason. "Dolly" provided him with a host of reasons.

As for Michael Crawford, I couldn't agree more. His singing is a joke and his irritating body language is something far better suited to "Some Mothers do 'ave 'em." What was he doing in this film anyway ? Well, this is something for which Mr. Kelly, I'm afraid, must be blamed. It was he who selected him. God knows why. So more controversy.

My thanks to both Dominic and Jim for some stimulating fare.

K.B