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• Fun Film, but they should have kept the score

  • Lloyd S.
  • 7/11/11

  I watched this on TCM tonight, seeing it for the second time in my life. The first time I saw it was as a kid, many years ago, and even then I wondered where all the music was, since it was called a musical. Though I recall liking what music there was. This time through, I really know what's missing. There was an excellent recording of the Broadway score made in the late 90s, which I acquired a few years back. It is a gem of a score - one of Irving Berlin's best. Unfortunately, the movie only used four songs, and one of them (It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow) almost as background by a chorus of black waiters. Another one (Apologia) had its chorus cut out. The others are heard only as orchestral music or underscoring. Even the gorgeous "Fools Fall In Love" is only heard this way. Believe me, what we didn't get to hear would have been as fine a score as any Hollywood ever had in a film. I guess I should just be grateful they didn't muck it up worse by throwing in inferior music from lesser composers (a la On the Town). Now, having finished my carping, I'll also say there's still a lot to like here. The perfomances of the cast members who were brought in from Broadway (Zorina, Moore, and Bordoni) are excellent. It's a chance to see on screen three major Broadway stars who made few (if any) other screen appearances, and worth seeing for that alone. Bob Hope is funny in his typical wisecracking way, and does a hilarious homage to Jimmy Stewart's filibuster scenes in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The overall satirical tone is often very funny, if occasionally dated. The technicolor is gorgeous. And yes, what we do hear of the score is good.

• The Louisiana Purchase (1941)

  • Jay Higgins
  • 9/28/09

  Very funny Bob Hope movie, filled with his unique brand of dry humor. Vera Zorina is a bland love interest, but the supporting cast is great, especially Victor Moore. Great costumes and fine sets.

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