The Silver Screen Oasis

HI Fossy,
Office Blues (1930), the movie you mentioned, is a one reel short seen here in its entirety. It's pretty cute. Check out the giant typewriter!
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Enjoyed that short with Ginger Rogers. thanks,Moira

Vienna wrote:Enjoyed that short with Ginger Rogers. thanks,Moira

I'm happy you enjoyed it, Vienna. I love movie shorts from the '30s & '40s, don't you?

Wish that TCM would do another entire day of them!

I was kidding about The Darkroom. Another of my bedraggled attempts at humor!

Last night, I watched the Fox musical The I Don't Care Girl starring Mitzi Gaynor as vaudevillian Eva Tanguay. Wow, what a mess. First of all, it's one of those Hollywood bio-pics that completely invents the subject's life. They actually made Tanguay's life boring. Tanguay was known for her famous song "I Don't Care" (covered by Judy Garland, incidentally, in In the Good Old Summertime), and she was a HUGE star. She was wild and provocative. The film invents a silly romance with a completely forgettable baritone, and posits that Tanguay was discovered waiting tables by another vaudeville singer and dancer looking to replace his former partner. Tanguay was already acting in stock and on Broadway as a child.

The film has a few positives--the lovely Mitzi Gaynor's dancing and choreography by Jack Cole. Oh, and Oscar Levant plays piano. Of course, the musical numbers are SO 1950's in terms of costuming and movement. And there is no attempt to make them look like they are happening on a stage in a theatre.

The film starts with a scene in which Gaynor as Tanguay becomes ill while performing, and then NEVER gets back to it! Who edited this mess?!

oh, well, I liked the choreography.

Sandy K

Sandy, don't you think that there might be a wonderful movie story to be told based on real theatrical history of the 19th century? This movie might have been so interesting if the period details were explored in the movie. Though I can see how talented a choreographer Jack Cole certainly was, you're right about the '50s styles overwhelming the more interesting aspects of the tale. Can anyone think of movies that did a better job of recreating 19th century theatrical traditions?

The only ones that occur to me are Nana (1934) with Anna Sten as Zola's "actress" in Paris, Prince of Players (1955) with Richard Burton as Edwin Booth, b]Heller in Pink Tights[/b] (1960) with Sophia Loren wandering the West with a ragtag troupe, and The Incredible Sarah (1976), about Sarah Bernhardt as played by Glenda Jackson.

moira finnie wrote: Can anyone think of movies that did a better job of recreating 19th century theatrical traditions?

Moira, I'm thinking of something with W.C. Fields. I think it's called "The Old Fashioned Way" (?) It's about a theatrical troupe, the plays they put on, and their life on the road. I always thought that the melodramas presented in this one must be very true to how such things actually were staged in the 19th century, and that the lifestyle was probably also accurately portrayed (with Field-ish exaggerations). Do you know the one I mean?

THE OLD FASHIONED WAY is riotously funny! I think the play they present is "Peck's Bad Boy."

Though maybe it's a tad more modern as far as the time period you are discussing, I've always thought that Yankee Doodle Dandy portrayed stage shows from the earlier era particularly well - and oooh that lighting! Love the uplighting as if there were actual footlights at the front of the stage.



I know there are more movies, but I can't think of them right off....

There is nothing I love more than a great musical with a couple of fun filled dance numbers to seal the deal. One of my favorites is West Side Story which used to be the movie of choice every time the choir/band used to go to FL for their competitions. The teacher would make us fill out a worksheet to make sure we payed attention. I loved that it took me minutes to fill it out and I got to enjoy the movie.

Going back to my original point (lol), tonight I watched "Daddy Long Legs" (1955) with Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. The dancing captivated my heart. I am such a fan of ballet and was pleased to see all of their different styles of dance. The costumes were sublime and I only wish that I could wear one of her dresses for a special occasion. My boyfriend even watched the rest of the movie with me and enjoyed the part Fred Astaire played. He also commented during her day dream, that Julie was "showing a lot of leg for that time". I think my favorite thing about this particular movie was how personable the characters were even though she was a foreign exchange student and he was a billionaire. Their emotions were so pure and that first kiss they shared at the end of the film was so sweet. I definitely will keep this amoung my Dvr collections.

I too enjoy ballet. Ballet in the movies is good, but on stage it is even better. Last weekend the Australian Ballet visited Cairns with the ballet Cinderella and of course I was there. It was just magic. In the last 12 months the Russian Ballet has visited Cairns twice, the first time with a selection from several ballets, and the second time with Don Quixote. I couldn`t help myself, I just had to go.

Mo, if you like Leslie Caron and "Daddy Long Legs" and if you haven't seen it then "An American In Paris" is the film for you. (I think Comcast has it on OnDemand.)

Fossy, how wonderful that must have been. Though I've not been to the ballet I did have regular subscriptions for a while to the symphony. Having the recordings is one thing but being there is quite another. Best memory - Yo Yo Ma playing Elgar's Cello Concerto.