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:
The Singing Nun (1966) – Musical #47
Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director:
Henry Koster
Starring:
Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalbán, Greer Garson, Agnes Moorehead, Juanita Moore, Katharine Ross, Chad Everett, Tom Drake, Ricky Cordell, Michael Pate, Charles Robinson, Monique Montaigne, Joyce Vanderveen, Anne Wakefield, Pam Peterson, Marina Koshetz, Nancy Walters, Violet Rensing, Inez Pedroza, Jon Lormer (uncredited), Dorothy Patrick (uncredited)
Themselves: Ed Sullivan
Plot:
A nun, Sister Ann (Reynolds), loves music and enjoys singing. Father Clementi (Montalban) thinks Sister Ann should make a record, and she writes a song which becomes a hit. The record sells well and she even appears on the Ed Sullivan Show. As she rises to fame, Sister Ann realizes that the popularity may conflict with the vows she took. The film is a fictionalized biographical musical on the life and career of Jeannine Deckers (who served in the church as Sister Luc Gabriel and known professional as Soeur Sourire), a nun who rose to fame with her hit “Dominque.”
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.
Starring:
Jane Powell, Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern, Virginia Gibson, Jane Fischer, Cecile Rogers, Nancy Kilgas, Dolores Starr, Evelyn Varden, Linda Christian, Ray Collins, Richard Sabre, Henry Nakamura, Steve Reeves, Kathleen Freeman, Bess Flowers (uncredited)
Plot:
The life of stuffy Massachusetts lawyer Adam Shaw (Purdom) is turned upside down when he meets Athena (Powell) and her family. Athena is a numerologist and lives with her grandparents and seven sisters. Her family believes in health, exercise and that life is directed by the stars. Athena finds that she and Adam are a love match through numbers and the stars and works to convince him.
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:
That’s Entertainment! (1974)
Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director:
Jack Haley, Jr.
Starring:
As themselves narrating: Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Lawford, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Fred Astaire, Liza Minelli, Bing Crosby
Plot:
A feature film documentary celebrating 50 years of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, featuring film clips from 1929 into 1958.
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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
This week’s musical:
Bundle of Joy (1956) – Musical #158
Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures
Director:
Norman Taurog
Starring:
Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Adolphe Menjou, Tommy Noonan, Nita Talbot, Una Merkel, Mary Treen, Melville Cooper, Bill Goodwin, Edward Brophy, Donald Gray, David Gray, Howard McNear
Plot:
After being fired from a department store, Polly Parish (Reynolds) discovers a baby (Gray, Gray) on the doorstep of an orphanage. No one will believe Polly that it’s not her baby and is forced to take responsibility for the baby. The orphanage gets Polly’s job back when they talk to the department store owner’s son, David Merlin (Fisher). David’s father and owner of the store (Menjou) takes an interest in the baby.
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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
This week’s musical: Hit the Deck (1955) – Musical #63
Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director:
Roy Rowland
Starring:
Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Russ Tamblyn, Walter Pidgeon, Vic Damone, Gene Raymond, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Anderson, Jane Darwell, Kay Armen, Alan King, Henry Slate, Alvin Greenman (uncredited), Dabbs Greer (uncredited)
Plot:
Three sailors go on leave — Bill Clark (Martin), Rico Ferrari (Damone), and Danny Smith (Tamblyn). Bill goes to find his girlfriend Ginger (Miller), Rico goes to find his mother (Armen), and Danny goes home to visit his admiral father (Pidgeon) and sister Susan (Powell). The sailors find that everyone is too busy to see them or uninterested in their visit. Danny finds out that his sister Susan is on a date in the hotel room of actor Wendell Craig (Raymond). Danny worries about Susan’s safety and he and his friends break into Wendell’s hotel room to beat him up and protect his sister. Because of this, they have to outrun shore patrol for the remainder of their leave.
Debbie Reynolds in “Hit the Deck”
Trivia:
– The last film Jane Powell made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
– Russ Tamblyn was dubbed by two different people in the film: Rex Dennis and Clark Burroughs
– A version of Follow the Fleet (1936), which starred Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
– Kay Armen was billed as “introducing.”
Ann Miller performing in “Hit the Deck”
Notable Songs:
– “Why, Oh Why?” performed by Tony Martin, Russ Tamblyn and Vic Damone, and also by Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell and Ann Miller
-“Lucky Bird” performed by Jane Powell
– “The Lady from the Bayou” performed by Ann Miller
Jane Powell and Vic Damone in “Hit the Deck”
My review:
Coming off the high of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” singing actress Jane Powell thought she was going to start getting better and more adult roles. However, “Seven Brides” was the beginning of the end of her musical career.
And “Hit the Deck” was her last musical and film at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, just a year after “Seven Brides” was released.
“Hit the Deck” is fun and star-studded but it’s not the quality that she hoped for. The cast includes some of MGM’s many musical stars, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Russ Tamblyn, Walter Pidgeon, Vic Damone and Gene Raymond.
Jane Powell is the star of the film, but I do feel like her role takes a backseat to Debbie Reynolds and Ann Miller. They certainly get the better numbers than Powell. However, all three girls are charming.
With the exception of Russ Tamblyn, I’m not a fan of the romantic leads of Tony Martin and Vic Damone, simply because they aren’t my favorite crooners. I do love seeing Walter Pidgeon and Gene Raymond, which is a special treat. Kay Armen is built up with a big “introducing” in the credits. Armen sings a few songs but she didn’t have a large film career.
Along with the large cast, the film is very colorful. But the songs aren’t very catchy (except for “Why, Oh Why.”)
One odd thing is Russ Tamblyn is able to sing but is dubbed in the song “Hallelujah.” And the voice he’s given is ridiculous, especially when he has a high-pitched while performing that song.
While “Hit the Deck” isn’t my favorite musical or one of MGM’s best, but it is an enjoyable way to spend two hours.
Jane Powell and Vic Damone, Ann Miller and Tony Martin, and Debbie Reynolds and Russ Tamblyn
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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
Starring:
Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Debbie Reynolds, Dolly Sharp, Bob Fosse, Kurt Kasznar, Richard Anderson, Lurene Tuttle, Donna Martel, William Ching, George Chakiris (uncredited)
Plot:
When the star of a Broadway show walks out after a tiff with the show’s choreographer Ted Sturgis (Champinon), the show publicizes that they are looking for a newcomer to “give a girl a break.” Three girls with varying talents: professional Broadway dancer Madelyn Corlane (Champion), sophisticated ballet dancer Joanna Moss (Sharp), and young, inexperienced tap dancer Suzie Doolittle (Reynolds).
But none of them are quite like Debbie Reynolds’ 1983 “Do It Debbie’s Way.” Reynolds’ Hollywood career began when she was 16 in 1948 playing a bit role in the Bette Davis film “June Bride.” In the 1950s, Debbie became one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s top stars and she continued performing until her last film role in 2013. She passed away in 2016.
Debbie was unstoppable, energetic and unsinkable, and the fact that she jumped on the exercise video bandwagon isn’t all-together surprising. She was a dancer and was slim most of her life.
But her workout video isn’t quite the same as other videos you may be used to.
The always original and over-the-top Reynolds decorates her workout studio with a chandelier, a diaphanous pink backdrop curtain, and lights behind the curtain spelling “DEBBIE” in eight foot tall letters.
“My set, I hope you like it. Usually you would work out in a gym, but I was in MGM for years in musicals so I thought we would do it up sort of pink, not brown,” Reynolds said in the video.
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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
This week’s musical:
“I Love Melvin” (1953)– Musical #167
Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director:
Don Weis
Starring:
Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor, Una Merkel, Allyn Joslyn, Richard Anderson, Jim Backus, Noreen Corcoran, Les Tremayne, Barbara Ruick, Steve Forrest (uncredited), Robert Fuller (uncredited as acrobatic cheerleader), Ned Glass (uncredited)
Themselves: Robert Taylor
Plot:
Judy Schneider (Reynolds) is a struggling actress with dreams of becoming a Hollywood star. In the mean time, she’s playing a football in a musical number in a Broadway show. Melvin Hoover (O’Connor) is a Look magazine photographer’s assistant. The two bump into each other in Central Park ,and Melvin exaggerates the importance of his job to impress Judy and her family, who want her to marry Harry Flack (Anderson). Melvin’s exaggerations go too far when he promises to put Judy on the cover of Look magazine. All the while, Judy is daydreaming about her fame.
Trivia:
-The “Lady Loves” number was originally supposed to be performed with Debbie Reynolds in a farm setting, according to “That’s Entertainment III” (1994). It was re-shot with Debbie Reynolds dressed as a sophisticated lady.
-Howard Keel was originally supposed to be the star cameo in Reynolds’ dream, rather than Robert Taylor.
Highlights:
-Robert Taylor’s cameo
-The Football Ballet
-Noreen Corcoran’s song and dance with Donald O’Connor
-Dancers in Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly masks and costumes
Notable Songs:
-A Lady Loves performed by Debbie Reynolds
-Saturday Afternoon Before the Game performed by a chorus
-Where Did You Learn To Dance performed by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor
-We Have Never Met, As Yet performed by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor
-Life Has Its Funny Little Ups and Downs performed by Noreen Corcoran and Donald O’Connor
My review:
“I Love Melvin” (1953) is an adorable and joyous little movie. It isn’t a big, serious award-winning extravaganza like “Singin’ in the Rain” or “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” but it’s a simple story that’s plain fun.
In his April 10, 1953, review, New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther doesn’t call the film bad or good, but “chromium-plated spun-sugar” and that it lacks substance. Crowther isn’t incorrect. “I Love Melvin” is pure escapism and there’s nothing wrong with that.
And while this isn’t a serious film, the cast is excellent. Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds are on-screen together two years after “Singin’ in the Rain” (1951). The two dance and perform with energy and professionalism. They are wonderful to watch and Reynolds and O’Connor have wonderful chemistry.
The outstanding supporting cast is rounded out by Una Merkel, Allyn Joslyn, Richard Anderson, Jim Backus, and Noreen Corcoran. For fans of the TV show “Emergency!,” actor Robert Fuller dances in the football ballet.
Mr. Crowther also wrote, “The music, while undistinguished, is sufficient to get them around and the decor is in the most splendid and expensive Metro style.”
Debbie Reynolds dressed as a football, showing how much she is struggling in her dancing and acting career.
Many of the songs are forgettable but fun. The only real memorable song is “A Lady Loves,” which sometimes gets stuck in my head. The other performances include Noreen Corcoran and Donald O’Connor skating together and Debbie Reynolds is tossed around like a football among dancing football players. The football ballet may be one of the most creative and odd dance numbers I have ever watched. While goofy and bizarre, the football number is meant to be weird to show that Judy is far from fame.
A note to North Carolina football fans: the uniforms, colors and initials of the purple and gold team are similar to East Carolina University in North Carolina. I haven’t been able to find any facts to see if this was intentional.
Along with the football ballet, there are other hilariously goofy scenes as Judy daydreams such as Robert Taylor as her love interest and dancers dressed in Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire costumes.
Debbie Reynolds dreaming that she’s in a film with Robert Taylor
Debbie Reynolds in a daydream with dancers dressed as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire
While this movie is fun, it is a little sad to watch now. Both child star Noreen Corcoran and actress Debbie Reynolds passed away in 2016. Both are delightful in this movie. This may be one of my favorite Debbie Reynolds films (at least in my top 5).
If you are feeling down, give “I Love Melvin” a watch. The plot is silly and it’s not a serious film, but what does that matter? It’s pure joy.
Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds in “I Love Melvin”
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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
This week’s musical:
“Meet Me In Las Vegas” – Musical #151
Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director:
Roy Rowland
Starring:
Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Agnes Moorehead, Paul Henreid, Lili Darvus, Jim Backus, George Chakiris, Betty Lynn, Sammy Davis Jr. (voice only), Robert Fuller (uncredited) As themselves: Lena Horne, Frankie Laine, Pier Angeli, Vic Damone, Debbie Reynolds, Peter Lorre, Tony Martin, Dewey Martin, The Four Aces, Steve Forrest, Jeff Richards, Frank Sinatra, Elaine Stewart, Jerry Colonna
Plot:
Ballet dancer Maria Corvier (Charisse) is performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Gambling rancher Chuck Rodwell (Dailey) makes his yearly visit to Las Vegas and is notorious for poor luck with gambling. Chuck finds that he has consitent luck winning big every time he holds Maria’s hand.
Trivia:
-Composers George Stoll and Johnny Green were Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.
-Filmed in Las Vegas.
Highlights:
-Cameos by Lena Horne, Frankie Laine, Pier Angeli, Vic Damone, Debbie Reynolds, Peter Lorre, Tony Martin, Dewey Martin, Steve Forrest, Jeff Richards, Frank Sinatra, Elaine Stewart, Jerry Colonna
-The “Frankie and Johnny” dance number narrated by Sammy Davis, Jr.
-Dan Dailey dancing and singing with Mitsuko
Notable Songs:
-“Frankie and Johnny” sung by Sammy Davis Jr.
-“The Girl with the Yaller Shoes” sung by Dan Dailey
-“If You Can Dream” sung by Lena Horne
-“My Lucky Charm” sung by Dan Dailey and Mitsuko Sawamura; also performed by Jerry Colonna
My Review:
“Meet Me in Las Vegas” has a simple and nonsensical plot: holding the hand brings good luck while gambling.
But while the plot is silly and simple, this is a charming musical, and the cast has a lot to do with that.
Cyd Charisse is stunning with beautiful clothes and impressive dances, as always, and Dan Dailey always feels like an old friend in his films.
As an added bonus you get 13 cameos from other MGM players throughout the film from Charisse’s husband Tony Martin to actress Debbie Reynolds.
While the songs aren’t terribly memorable, the dancing is outstanding. Charisse has the opportunity to exhibit both her classical ballet style with Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Ballet and her modern dance with the “Frankie and Johnny” number.
This brightly colored Technicolor musical is one that keeps me smiling throughout.
Cyd Charisse and Dan Dailey in “Meet Me in Las Vegas” (1956).
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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
Starring:
Jane Powell, Ricardo Montalban, Ann Harding, Louis Calhern, Debbie Reynolds, Carleton Carpenter, Phyllis Kirk, Tommy Retting, Gary Gray
Plot:
In the early 1900s, the Robinson family takes their annual summer vacation to Kissimee in the Catskills. It’s a coming of age story as 17-year-old Patti (Powell) is ready to grow up and wear corsets and date men but her mother (Harding) and father (Calhern) still thinks she is too young. That summer a handsome young Cuban named Demi (Montalban) visits the resort. While Patti swoons, her older friend Valerie (Kirk) works to keep Demi’s attention on her. In the background, Patti’s younger teenage sister Melba (Reynolds) has a crush on Billy (Carpenter) who is chasing Patti.
Patti’s rival Valerie is always making it hard for Patti and Demi to be alone. (Kirk, Montalban, Powell) (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen Cap by Jessica P.)
Trivia:
-Debbie Reynolds wrote in her memoir “Unsinkable,” that her mother packed her lunch of ground up bologna and pickle juice sandwiches every day. Louis Calhern’s lunches were prepared for him by the studio, but he usually traded with Debbie for her sandwiches.
Famous stars in the 1930s, Ann Harding and Louis Calhern play Horatio and Katherine Robinson in “Two Weeks with Love.” (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen Cap by Jessica P.)
-Jane Powell says this is one of her favorite movies, according to her autobiography “The Girl Next Door and How She Grew.”
“I loved making ‘Two Weeks with Love’ because it was a very special experience,” Powell wrote in her book. “The cast was so wonderful, I feel happy even now when I think about the film.”
-Debbie Reynolds plays the French horn during the song “That’s How I Love You.” Whether she is really playing the horn in the film or not, Reynolds played the French horn in high school.
-Louis Calhern once said he was miscast as playing the father of Debbie Reynolds and Jane Powell. “Me, with my long nose, and being as tall as I am, playing the father of two little button noses like Janie and Debbie,” Powell quoted in her book.
-Phyllis Kirk’s third movie.
-Debbie Reynolds fourth movie.
-The hotel where the family is staying in “Two Weeks with Love” is the same hotel in the first scene of “Annie Get Your Gun” (1951).
-The dances in the film were choreographed by Busby Berkeley, who was known for his kaleidoscope shots in 1930s films such as “42nd Street.”
Highlights:
Patti’s mischievous little brothers hide fireworks under their bed, and father (Calhern) accidentally lights a fuse. (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen cap by Jessica P.)
-The two youngest boys hide hundreds of firecrackers under their bed. They accidentally get lit when their father unknowingly lights it with his cigar. Chaos ensues.
-Powell has a few dream sequences where she imagines Montalban is fawning over her. Both are hilarious and adorable. One is when she is alone in a canoe. She imagines he proposes to her and he tells her that she is full of “latent fire” and then is outraged that she doesn’t wear a corset.
-The second dream sequence is Powell glamorously dressed in only a corset, hat and umbrella. Everyone at the hotel is admiring her. Then, everyone’s outfits turn to royal wear and Montalban and Carpenter have a sword fight over Powell. Powell sings “My Hero” as she waltzes with Montalban.
-Calhern tries to help Powell and buys her a corset in the film, not knowing what he’s buying, he gets a surgical corset. During a dance with Montalban, it locks.
Patti (Powell) dreams of being a grown up lady who wears a corset in this dream sequence. (Comet Over Hollywood/Screen Cap by Jessica P.)
Notable Songs:
-“Abba Dabba Honeymoon” sung by Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter. This is the most notable song in the movie. Carpenter and Reynolds fast, energetic singing style is what makes it memorable. The song made the Hit Parade and Reynolds and Carleton went on tour to promote the song and the film.
-“By the Light of the Silvery Moon” sung by Ann Harding and Louis Calhern. They don’t have great voices but it’s a very sweet moment.
-“My Hero” sung by Jane Powell during the corset dream sequence.
Patti (Powell) dances the tango with Demi (Montalban) in the resort’s talent show. (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen Cap by Jessica Pickens)
My Review:
“Two Weeks With Love” is a joy to watch. It has an excellent cast, is fun and colorful with it’s Technicolor. But not only is it lighthearted, it’s hilarious. There are so many jokes in the movie that keep me laughing, keeping it charming and witty. It’s wonderful to see Ann Harding and Louis Calhern later in their career if you know them more from their 1930s role. In the 1930s, Harding usually played intellectual women with lose morals and Calhern played cads with gun. But later in their career, they fill the role of loving parents perfectly. Jane Powell was an established star by now and is 21 in the film, and is delightful as always. In her first major role, Debbie Reynolds energy and enthusiasm that made her famous is already shining. If you haven’t seen “Two Weeks with Love,” I highly suggest it. It may not be as famous as other 1950s MGM films, but you will remember it once you watch it.
This week’s musical:
This week’s musical:
This week’s musical:
This week’s musical:
Comet Over Hollywood 