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:
There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) – Musical #52

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Walter Lang

Starring:
Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, Donald O’Connor, Marilyn Monroe, Johnnie Ray,
Richard Eastham, Hugh O’Brien, Frank McHugh, Rhys Williams, Lee Patrick, Eve Miller, Robin Raymond, Dorothy Abbott (uncredited), Dorothy Adams (uncredited), George Chakiris (uncredited), Matt Mattox (uncredited)

Plot:
Molly and Terry Donahue (Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey) are vaudeville performers. As their family grows with three children – Steve (Ray), Katy (Gaynor) and Tim (O’Connor) – so does their act, becoming The Five Donahues. However, at one point, their children are ready to move on and away from the family.

Trivia:
• Only feature film of Johnnie Ray
• Irving Berlin signed a deal with 20th Century Fox and wrote two new original songs for this film: “A Man Chases a Girl Until She Catches Him” and “A Sailor’s Not a Sailor ‘Till a Sailor’s Been Tattooed.”
• This was the first time Irving Berlin’s song “If You Believe” was seen onscreen. Prior it was only performed in churches.
• 20th Century Fox publicity announced that “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” was to be performed by Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O’Connor and Mitzi Gaynor. It was filmed but cut from the film.
• Betty Grable and Fred Astaire were originally considered to star in the film, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
• Irving Berlin specifically requested that Marilyn Monroe be in the film, even though she was on suspicion from 20th Century Fox.

Highlights:
• Mitzi Gaynor

Notable Songs:
• “When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam’” performed by Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey, reprised by Mitzi Gaynor and Donald O’Connor
• “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” performed by Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Johnnie Ray, and chorus
• “A Sailor’s Not a Sailor (‘Til a Sailor’s Been Tattooed)” performed Ethel Merman and Mitzi Gaynor
• “There’s No Business Like Show Business” performed by Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Johnnie Ray, and chorus

My review:
Nearly 70 years after the release of THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS (1956), I’m upset. Mitzi Gaynor does not get one single solo in this film and this is a crime.

It’s the story of one actress getting the shaft in an effort to build up another, but more on that shortly.

In the film, Molly and Terry Donahue (Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey) are vaudeville performers. As their family grows with three children – Steve (Johnnie Ray), Katy (Gaynor) and Tim (O’Connor) – so does their act, becoming The Five Donahues. However, at one point, their children are ready to move on and away from the family, with Steve seeking an entirely different career, Katy going on dates, and Tim falling for a performer, Vicky (Monroe), who is rising in fame.

When the development of this film began, a story was developed by Lamar Trotti about the Donahues were set to have two sons in which one falls in love with a “Mitzi Gaynor type,” according to musical and film historian Bernard F. Dick. However, Trotti died and the project was transferred to Phoebe and Henry Ephron. During this time, Marilyn Monroe was under suspension at 20th Century Fox for refusing to do a film, because it was a musical and she wanted something more serious. When Irving Berlin wanted Monroe in the film, she was promised that she could work with Billy Wilder in The Seven Year Itch. Thus, the love interest was adapted to Monroe and Gaynor was moved to become a Donahue child.

Key musical numbers in the film, like “Heatwave” were taken from Gaynor and transferred to Monroe. While Monroe has two solos in the film (the same number as Ethel Merman), Gaynor has none, only performing in duets or ensembles. However, she does get one plumb number with Merman, “A Sailor’s Not a Sailor (‘Til a Sailor’s Been Tattooed).”

It’s interesting, because in the film, Monroe’s character “Vicky” performs “Heatwave,” which is the same number that the Donahue family had planned to perform. It feels symbolic to what happened behind the scenes.

While of course, none of this casting or padding out of the character in the plot was Monroe’s fault, it does feel especially unfair to Gaynor. I first watched this film in 2003 or 2004 and was upset that Mitzi Gaynor wasn’t more prominently featured, and she wasn’t happy either.

“I hated her, wouldn’t you?” Mitzi Gaynor said in a 2013 Hollywood Reporter interview. While she laughs good naturedly in the interview, you can tell the sentiment is genuine, as she notes she herself had a better figure and more talent.

While making the picture, she received a letter that by the end of the film, she would be released from her 20th Century Fox contract, she said in the 2013 interview.

IT’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS (1954) is colorful with great tunes by Irving Berlin. However, the story feels disjointed and somehow doesn’t work.

“Marilyn essentially has the Janis Paige or Nina Foch part only padded to hell and gone,” said film historian Farran Nehman. “I enjoy the movie, but they did our girl Mitzi dirty.”

I believe it’s because the film is positively bloated with the romance between Donald O’Connor’s Tim and his half-requited half-unrequited love for Vicky. Even Ethel Merman attributes some of the film’s issues to this.

“There was a love interest between Donald and Marilyn Monroe. But with all due respect to Marilyn, no one could understand this combination,” Merman wrote in her autobiography. “Mitzi and Donald would have made much more sense, but Marilyn was too much glamour for Donald. It was like Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor in real life. The chemistry wasn’t right.”

However, Merman sang the praises of Mitzi Gaynor, who called her Mom on and off screen. Mitzi and her husband even stayed with Merman for premiere, and Gaynor would throw parties for Merman when she was in California, according to Merman’s autobiography.

As for the rest of the cast, Merman and Dan Dailey are really the only ones who seem well cast. Merman does best in her comedic scenes and his hilarious when she says “That girl who steals everyone’s material is on the phone.” After this, Merman didn’t make another film for 10 years.

Dan Dailey is always great as a hoofer or vaudevillian, but it feels he has little to do here.

I adore Donald O’Connor and thought it was interesting that his character abuses alcohol. But his romance isn’t very believable. It would have made more sense if he had unrequited love throughout.

Johnny Ray in his first film is fine, but his character is whatever. Merman also felt that Johnny Ray “as the son who entered priesthood didn’t ring true either.”

I felt the ending also could have been more emotional than it was, especially with the World War II era setting.

I actually went into this film know I’d be disappointed by the lack of Mitzi Gaynor, I thought I would still give this a glowing review and have a blast watching it. But somehow everything fell flat, especially the numbers and how the roles were written. I’m sorry and surprised that I left this film revisit feeling lukewarm.

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