It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Sincerely Yours (1955) – Musical #683

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Gordon Douglas

Starring:
Liberace, Joanne Dru, Dorothy Malone, William Demarest, Alex Nicol, Lori Nelson, Lurene Tuttle, Richard Eyre, James Bell, Ian Wolfe (uncredited), Ed Platt (uncredited), Guy Williams (uncredited)

Plot:
Anthony Warrin (Liberace) loses his hearing unexpectedly. Depressed that he can no longer play the piano due to his hearing loss, Anthony learns to lip-read and begins watching people from his penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park. He learns about their problems by lip-reading and helps strangers.

Trivia:
• A remake of The Man Who Played God (1932), starring George Arliss, which was a film version of the play “The Silent Voice.”
• “Sincerely Yours” was the first film of a two-picture deal that Liberace had with Warner Bros. But the film did so poorly, Liberace was paid out of the contract and did not make a second film.

Highlights:
• When the movie ended.

Notable Songs:
• “Rhapsody in Blue” performed by Liberace on the piano
• “Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie” performed by Liberace on the piano

My review:
In 1955, Liberace was one of the highest paid performers in the United States and had a successful television show and night club act. But this success and personality did not translate well to leading a feature film.

Liberace is a great pianist … but a terrible actor.

In a remake of THE MAN WHO PLAYED GOD, Liberace plays Anthony Warrin, who loses his hearing unexpectedly. Depressed that he can no longer play the piano due to his hearing loss, Anthony learns to lip-read and begins watching people from his penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park. He learns about their problems by lip-reading and helps strangers.

THE MAN WHO PLAYED GOD (1932) is a brisk 80 minutes feels heartfelt and sweet. Somehow SINCERELY YOURS stretches this plot out to two hours, and brother, how you FEEL that two hours. Perhaps this is because romance is a central plot of SINCERELY YOURS, while it’s a mere footnote in the original. In SINCERELY YOURS, Liberace romances both Joanne Dru and Dorothy Malone.

I remember the first time I saw this film thinking, “Oh! Liberace! This should be fun.” While portions are entertaining and laughingly silly, it is largely a slog. Even so, it’s an interesting curio since the film held Liberace’s only film role as a leading man (he played a supporting character previously and later on, and made several film appearances as himself).

The audience gets a taste of Liberace’s nightclub act as he plays piano and delights a table of nearby elderly ladies.

If you love Liberace’s piano playing, you certainly get your fill. Liberace plays 10 songs in the film. For example, just when you think the movie is nearing the end with the piano concert finale, Liberace plays on and on and on, going from a medley of “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” to the “Notre Dame Victory March.” It’s like you’re trapped in a piano concert and can’t escape. And then when you think it couldn’t go any longer, Liberace begins to DANCE across the stage. I found myself shouting at the TV for the movie to end.

Despite the fact the film is much longer than it need to be, Liberace is charming—and while being filmed in vibrant WarnerColor.

“I feel there is a public which will awaken to the film’s theme, which is based on my philosophy of life: to bring happiness to people,” Liberace said in 1956.

Despite his charm, I think this film would’ve been better if it stared Jose Iturbi.

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