Should you select the right effect you cannot miss

Ok! Here we go: back to it!

I want to get started with a compare/contrast post. Today, we're going to discuss:

Roberta (1935) and the remake Lovely to Look At (1952)

I have a funny double standard when it comes to remakes. If a storyline is recycled but was released in the 30's through the 60', I am much more accepting of it than if it was released recently.  

First, the original:

Roberta tells the story of a young football coach, John Kent (Randolph Scott) is traveling to Paris with his friend, Huck Haines (Fred Astaire) and Huck's band, "The Wabash Indianians." After some confusion with the band's booking, John visits his Aunt Minnie to see if she can get the band a job. Aunt Minnie owns a couture dress shop, Roberta's. John falls in love with his aunt's assistant, Stephanie (Irene Dunne) while Huck runs into an old sweetheart, a client of the shop, Countess Tanka Scharwenka (Ginger Rogers). After Aunt Minnie dies, John inherits Roberta's. Just when things are getting settled between John and Stephanie, John's ex-girlfriend, Sophie, shows up and adds a bit of mayhem to the plot. In the end, they decide to save the dress shop by combining talents and throwing a musical fashion show with Huck's band to showcase Stephanie's designs.

This is a storyline that I'm surprised has yet to be picked up in contemporary film. I feel like the story of a football coach inheriting a couture dress shop in Paris would provide filmmakers with all sorts of possibilities. I'm glad they haven't though; they'd probably fill it with crass humor and remove all of the charm and wit in the original.

The remake fascinates me because it keeps the basic storyline, sort of: unlikely American guy inherits a Parisian dress shop. However, characters are added and meshed together and everyone is a sort of combination of the original characters. I kind of like this approach because it makes it harder to compare the two. In Arlene Croce's The Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Book, she remarks that Marge and Gower Champion are "dizzy" as Fred and Ginger. When I watched Lovely to Look At, I remembered her criticism and walked into the movie with some wariness. But, as much as I love her book, I disagree with her critique: Marge and Gower Champion aren't Fred and Ginger. They get some of the songs that Fred and Ginger performed in the original and Gower Champion is somewhat like Huck Haines, but they're actually pretty new characters to the plot. 

Ok, so let me break down the remake for those who haven't seen it. Al Marsh (Red Skelton), Tony Naylor (Howard Keel), and Jerry Ralby (Gower Champion) are having difficulties in getting their show picked up by investors. Tony's showgirl girl friend, Bubbles (Ann Miller) offers to help them out, but Tony refuses her help. When Al receives word that he has inherited a dress shop from his aunt in Paris, the three pack up and head over to try and sell the shop and get on with their show. When they arrive, however, they discover that the shop is bankrupt and that the adopted daughters of Al's late aunt, Stephanie (Kathryn Grayson) and Clarisse (Marge Champion) have been waiting for Al to arrive and help them save the business. What follows is a great deal of mixed up love triangles, with Jerry and Clarisse being the only couple to come out uncomplicated: Al and Tony both fall for Stephanie, Stephanie falls in love with Tony, and when Bubbles shows up unexpectedly, and tries to win Tony back, Al starts to fall for her too. In the midst of all these romantic entanglements, the group decides to throw a musical fashion show (sound familiar?) and bring the shop back into the spotlight. Tony's love for Stephanie is put to the test when he finds a backer for the show and he must decide whether to continue with his own plans or stay in Paris to help with the fashion show.

a different approach to a musical fashion show

Again, this remake fascinates me. The songs and basic premise are the only things that really tie it back to the original. The additional complication of the show adds a different set of problems to the plot and the characters are all over the place compared to their original counterparts. The John Kent character is split into two by being Al, who inherits the shop, and Tony, who falls for Stephanie and has a girlfriend from back home who creates just the right amount of confusion to the budding relationship. Huck Haines is in part Tony, for being the friend of the heir, and Jerry, who's on the sidelines for a good part of the film. Stephanie is really the only character to stay consistent in name and role. But, Bubbles is a weird combination of John's girlfriend, Sophie, and Huck's nightclub performer girlfriend, Tanka. You see? When you start comparing all of the characters, it starts to get a little confusing. I like that! And I didn't even bring up Zsa Zsa Gabor who, I think, is a bit like Tanka as well.

I still like the original best. It's very funny and has a really cute storyline that is pretty uncomplicated. I love all of the characters in it. John Kent is very frustrating at times, but he's still pretty endearing. And Fred and Ginger are at their bantering best in this one. They never actually fight at all, which is a refreshing change in the pattern of mistaken identities and mixed up plot lines that they usually got. 

The remake is a really cute move with some great songs. I don't like Tony's character at all, so I have a hard time understanding why Stephanie would fall in love with him; she deserves so much better. I'm not a huge fan of Red Skelton's physical humor, either, so that's a factor too. I love Marge and Gower Champion in the movie and I didn't have a problem with them taking Fred and Ginger's songs - I think they made the songs their own pretty well. The biggest problem I have with the movie, really, is that I don't like one of the main characters and he gets the girl at the end. As far as remakes go, though, it's a creative take on an original story.

What do you guys think? Have you seen either of the movies? Both? How did they compare?

I've seen your pictures in the paper and I've wondered what you looked like.

Spotlight on a scene!!

Do you know something depressing? Every time I write a post, I think this is it. I'm going to get back into circulation. And then I don't write anything again for weeks. What's weird is that I don't know why. I'm busy. But I was busy at the beginning of the year and I wrote a lot then. Ever since I started this blog I've been busy but that hasn't stopped me from writing in it. So I don't know what the deal is. I intend to crack the case and figure out what is going on. Maybe I just need to get back into the swing of things. Anyway, we'll see.

So, spotlight on a scene. Last night I watched The Awful Truth with my sister. I love that movie. It was neat watching it with my sister because it gave me a whole new perspective on the movie. When I was a kid, I'd watch the movie and relate to Cary Grant's character because... well, it's Cary Grant. Then as I started watching it when I grew older, I began to relate to both characters a bit more. Well, last night, the whole movie changed. It wasn't about Cary Grant and how he tries to win Irene Dunne back after their divorce. It was about Irene Dunne and how spunky and spirited she is throughout the film. It tells about how her husband wants to divorce her even though she hasn't done anything (and even though he has) and how she eventually shows him that she was right all along. Watching through my sister's eyes was fascinating because she'd say, "Oh, that poor girl!" Her attention was entirely focused on Irene Dunne and, consequently, so was mine.

Anyway, for my spotlight I want to focus on quite possibly my favorite scene in the film: the scene where Lucy pays Jerry back for ruining her engagement by ruining his. It's side-splitting hilarious. I may have shown it on this blog previously but that's okay.



I hope you enjoyed the scene! Do any of you have movies that you've begun to see in a different light?


P.S. I'm always getting that silly "My Dreams Have Gone With The Wind" song stuck in my head. It's been in my head all morning!!

Oh, it sets your senses in a whirl

So, my themed list for this month is going to be: favorite actresses who sing in movies. Note: not favorite singers, but favorite singers in the movies. Thus, some people may be lower on the list because they're not in many movies or I don't like the songs they sing in the movies they're in, etc. I'm still debating whether or not singing in the credits count. I haven't decided yet.

In the meantime, here is 16-20 in my list:

The Sopranos
I love these singers, but I don't always enjoy listening to their songs. I appreciate the fact that they made the movies more high high brow and I appreciate their contribution to film, but I'm just often not in the mood to sit through their numbers. However, I want to include them because they were a significant contribution to the musical genre and were immensely talented. Besides, I do like some of their songs. It's just that when we get into the long, lyrical ballads I get a little immature and skip forward. Ironically, my favorite songs of theirs are often the less classical sounding pieces.

Kathryn Grayson
Favorite song: "I Hate Men" from Kiss Me Kate

Ann Blyth
Favorite song: "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads" from Kismet (song clip starts at 1:42)

Shirley Jones
Favorite song: "Many A New Day" from Oklahoma

Jane Powell
Favorite song: "Goin' Cotin'" from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Irene Dunne
Favorite song: "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" from Roberta

Deanna Durbin was amazing as well, but I've only seen in her one film. I am working on that!

You are out of your continental mind!

Last night, I made brilliant plans to get started on my new project. I pulled my Busby Berkeley collection off of my shelves, settled down in front of the tv... and got completely distracted by Errol Flynn in The Prince and the Pauper, which happened to be airing on TCM. Oh, Errol!


He really is not in the movie very much, which is kind of sad because he is (in my opinion) the best part of it. It turned out to be a good thing for me, though, because I was able to get through the special features on The Gold Diggers of 1933. The documentary on 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage was particularly interesting. I highly recommend it. I'd already watched the FDR documentary for class. Anyway, this is hardly fascinating so I will skip ahead to my movies count-up:


#20 The Awful Truth (1937)



The basic plot is as follows: when Jerry Warriner (Cary Grant) suspects his wife, Lucy (Irene Dunne) has had an affair, the couple decides to get a divorce. Only two problems remain: who gets the dog, Mr. Smith? and are they really still in love with each other? When Lucy gets custody of the dog and her aunt (Cecil Cunningham) pushes Lucy into the arms of Texan Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy), both problems seem inclined to be solved. However, Jerry is determined to prove to Lucy that Dan isn't right for her and when Jerry gets himself engaged to a wealthy heiress (Molly Lamont), Lucy is determined to return the favor.

I'm really quite terrible at nutshelling. I always want to include all the details because they're all important! For those of you who have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Grant and Dunne have delightful chemistry and they are hilarious to watch together. I think Irene Dunne is completely adorable in this movie. For years, I didn't consider her a comedic actress because I associated her with Penny Serenade, I Remember Mama, and what I used to consider the more serious parts of Roberta (although I've lately realized that there really are no serious parts to Roberta). But she has a wonderful talent for comedy. And Cary Grant, well, he's one of my favorite actors of all time. Even when he's being frustrating, he's still loveable ("Hello, Twinkletoes").

Here are a couple of my favorite scenes from the film that I found on YouTube. There are sadly few clips from the film online but I chose these two because you get to see Jerry messing up Lucy's romance and Lucy messing up Jerry's. Here's the first one and then here's the second.