Film Review
A lavish tribute to the work of Irving Berlin,
There's No Business Like Show Business
is one of those films that you either love or hate. It received
mixed reviews when it was first released in 1954 and failed to recoup
its enormous production cost, and today it is generally regarded,
perhaps unfairly, as one of the poor cousins of the great Hollywood
film musicals.
On the face of it, the film has a great deal going for it. It
features the legendary Ethel Merman, who was one of the biggest stars
in musicals on Broadway from the 1930s to the 1960s. There are
several classic Irving Berlin numbers, including the famous title
number, taken from
Annie Get Your Gun.
And Marilyn Monroe stars in one of her sexiest roles, her erotically
charged rendition of the song
Heat
Wave being the film's artistic highpoint.
Unfortunately, it is also a film with many notable flaws. The
plot is the most egregious compendium of clichés you can
imagine, the characterisation is virtually non-existent, and the pace
is painfully uneven. After an exuberant beginning, the film
quickly loses momentum and peters out towards the end - although it
manages to come back in style with its grand finale number. The
overly theatrical performances merely add to the film's stale
artificiality, which weighs things down badly towards the end.
There's No Business Like Show Business
may not be perfect but it is, overall, an enjoyable piece of escapist
fun. Merman's presence alone is enough of a draw, but add Monroe
into the mix and the film is virtually irresistible, certainly for any
aficionado of film musical. The appropriate use of
Cinemascope conveys a sense of scale and energy that the earlier
musicals generally lacked, transmuting the flat cinema screen into a
convincing semblance of the Broadway stage set at its most lively and
colourful.
© James Travers 2008
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Film Synopsis
In the 1920s, Molly and Terry Donahue begin their musical vaudeville
act. They are a hit and play to packed houses. Some
years later, they are joined by their three children, Tim, Katy and
Steve, and
The Five Donahues
becomes one of the biggest acts in America. But then things start
to fall apart. Steve announces he wants to become a priest, Katy
decides to marry a songwriter and Tim falls madly in love with an
aspiring singer named Vicky. As the Donahues' career begins to
decline, Vicky's takes off, and Tim and Katy join her new show on
Broadway. When Tim's infatuation for Vicky is not reciprocated,
he suddenly disappears...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.