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:
Song of Norway (1970) – Musical #764

Studio:
Produced by ABC Pictures Corp., distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corp.

Director:
Andrew L. Stone

Starring:
Toralv Maurstad, Florence Henderson, Christina Schollin, Frank Porretta, Harry Secombe, Robert Morley, Edward G. Robinson, Oscar Homolka, Frederick Jaeger, Henry Gilbert, Richard Wordsworth, Matt Mattox (uncredited)

Plot:
A biographical film on Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg (Maurstad).

Trivia:
• Though Florence Henderson had appeared in television projects since the late-1950s, this was her first feature film.
• Filmed in Super Panavision 70.
• This was Frank Porretta’s first feature film, and he was only in two feature films.
• No sets were built for the film, because everything was filmed as exteriors and the production crew was given access to historic buildings and museums, according to “Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s” by Matthew Kennedy.
• Edward G. Robinson reportedly accepted the role so he could visit art museums in Oslo, Norway, according to Kennedy’s book.
• Filmed on location in Norway and Denmark.
• Parts of the dialogue were lifted from Edvard Grieg’s letters, according to the credits at the start of the film.

Highlights:
• The travelogue-like scenery
• When it ended

Notable Songs:
• “Midsummer’s Eve” performed by the chorus
• “Rhyme and a Reason” performed by Florence Henderson

My review:
After reading several negative reviews and low ratings of SONG OF NORWAY, I went into the film hoping it was better than its reputation and that the poor reviews were exaggerated. Unfortunately, the naysayers were correct — it stinks.

The film is a biographical musical about the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and his struggles to succeed in the music world. Norwegian actor Toralv Maurstad plays Grieg with Florence Henderson as his wife, Nina, and Christina Schollin as a former lover who is bankrolling his career.

The film is based on a 1944 operetta of the same name. When the film was in production, ABC and Cinerama announced that they were collaborating to release 25 roadshow films in two years, starting with SONG OF NORWAY, according to “Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s,” by Matthew Kennedy.

Of the film, director Andrew L. Stone said:
“I tried to give it documentary accuracy, the ring of truth. What was most difficult was to contrast a straight documentary with the musical numbers — some of which are shot in realistic style and others in fantasy. It was daring, but fortunately it worked.”

It did? I was thoroughly confused throughout this very jumpy storyline.

When the movie began, I was entranced by the stunning scenery of Norway behind the credits. In short, this film is visually stunning and is like a travelogue. I was ready to pack my bags and head to Norway!

But then the movie continued, I wondered, “What is happening? Does this film work?” Elements felt very random and I only figured out what was happening after the fact. We leap from a conversation to a man fiddling in a field with singing children. This scene feels like a random fever dream until the audience realizes that Edvard Grieg is sitting on the side of a hill and watching the singing.

I thought, “Maybe it will improve once Florence Henderson appears.” Henderson’s character appears randomly, singing with children for the first time. We only figure out who she is after the fact.

Though Henderson had been on stage and television, this was her first feature film.

“The Song of Norway turned out to be a wonderful and totally unforgettable experience for what would turn out to be a totally forgettable movie,” Florence Henderson wrote in her autobiography.

She said it was a thrill to be in a film with classical music backed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Henderson also enjoyed spending time with Edward G. Robinson, and their friendship continued after the movie.

It’s appropriate that Henderson and Robinson became friends, because they are the only ones who appear to be acting in the film. The two are wonderful and when they separately appeared in the film I thought, “Oh thank goodness,” but unfortunately neither Florence Henderson’s sympathetic performance and sweet operatic voice or a Hollywood veteran like Edward G. Robinson could save this film — and he doesn’t appear until an hour and 25 minutes into the film.

Toralv Maurstad as Edvard Grieg, the lead in the film, just seemed to be existing. I honestly have little to say about Maurstad’s performance because even as our main character, he left little impression. Actress Christina Schollin plays Therese Berg, Grieg’s former lover and financial benefactor, and she seems to have the same expression throughout the film.

And then there’s Frank Porretta as Richard Nordraak. This was his first of two feature films, and isn’t it a blessing we didn’t have to suffer through more of his films? Porretta’s performance, in short, is awful. He’s irritatingly exuberant throughout, and when he’s in a scene, it feels like he is taking over the film.

Outside of the cast, even though the beauty of this film entranced me, I was starting to think, “This film doesn’t feel like it works.” It feels random and disjointed with scenes jumping haphazardly to unrelated scenes. Edvard Grieg was an incredible composer and it almost feels like an injustice to set words to his music. It would have been better if we had heard them without the words.

While watching this film, I had the rare urge to fast-forward through songs and scenes but I didn’t.

I did enjoy a festive and cozy Christmas scene and song, but even the filmmakers couldn’t let that be. There were carolers that I believe were supposed to be funny, but felt misplaced.

Then, when you didn’t think it could get any worse, as Edvard Grieg reads a story to children on Christmas day, we get a dream sequence with animated trolls appearing in the Norwegian countryside. That felt like the last straw.

When the film was released, it sold out at Cinerama theaters but otherwise largely did poorly.

“The movie is of unbelievable badness; it brings back clichés you didn’t know you knew,” wrote critic Pauline Kael. “You can’t get angry at something this stupefying.”

While the movie is terrible, and I was thankful when it ended, it is still stunning to watch, and the Kino Lorber BluRay, released a few years ago, is a beautiful transfer of the film. You can also note the Cinerama filming and how certain scenes would look attractive in a Cinerama theater.

It’s also unfortunate that this was Florence Henderson’s first film role. She is lovely in the film, but the material is not great. At least she landed on her feet after the movie with “The Brady Bunch,” but I would have loved to see her in more musical films.

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet, follow on Instagram or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com