Anyway, I bring it up mainly because, to me, it has one of the most charming musical numbers in it that I have ever seen. I have had the memory of this number in my head for years, and couldn't wait to see it (and hear it) again today. It was just as good, if not better than I remember it. And as I watch, I realize that the number is very representative of this musical as a whole. It is infectious, silly, extremely well orchestrated and staged, and it reminds me why I love MGM. In fact, the whole movie, though not considered great, has a certain.... well..... charm is the only word for it.
The number I am talking about is the title one, Till the Clouds Roll By. I have always liked rain songs, ones that mimic the sound of falling rain in the music - from Bambi's April Showers to Singin' in the Rain. I just love the way the number starts out. The music begins with our eyes on the playbill, and then we look up to see the grand and gargantuan "down home" set. The action moves inward until we are in the middle of the number ourselves, and oddly enough, it works.
I really love the way Ray McDonald sings. Something about his plain, homey voice against the lush MGM arrangements thrills me. Add to it the really sweet little dance number he and June Allyson perform in the middle of the rainstorm, and you get a lovely slice of Americana - just like apple pie.
This is a dancer's number, which is probably why I like it so much, but there is nothing fancy about it. The chorus comes in and does some light stepping, and we are treated to a lively color scheme of white, gray, blue and the brightest, cleanest looking Schiapperelli pink you've ever seen in the costumes. June is wearing a raincoat and umbrella of shocking pink. The girls hold umbrella, too - they have white ones with a cherry blossom branch (or something) embroidered on each. The girls wear clear slickers with flowered print underneath, and have their hair piled up into 1940's style curls, under their clear head scarves. The boys wear light blue slickers and really goofy rain hats a la the Gortons of Gloucester fisherman. There are three couples featured before the windup. The girls end up the number by tossing their umbrellas in a Rockettes style diagonal line (how they did this in one take I'll never know), and June Allyson and her impossibly big smile, and Ray McDonald with his boyish voice come back to sing the plaintive refrain once again. The bookend stage framing is back, as the camera pulls away from the two stars, and we see the lovely tableau as if it were all done on stage.
I don't know why this number moves me the way it does. Maybe it's because it was made in 1946, just as the war was over and there was such a feeling of relief in the air. I swear, every time I see or hear it it makes me weep for a lost innocence... a time when audiences actually enjoyed slight musical numbers like this one.
The movie is a treat, as long as you forget the irritating plot. Just watch or listen to the really beautifully orchestrated musical numbers - especially Lena Horne singing Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man and Why Was I Born, or the Dinah Shore numbers. As long as you avoid the plot, this really is one of the best tributes to a composer - the songs are all knockouts. Don't watch poor Frank in his big suit... he's really good as long as you don't look....
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