SHOW BOAT (1951) A vivid and vibrant saga of riverboat lives and loves has glorious stars (Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Marge and Gower Champion) in Technicolor radiance, timeless Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II songs and an equally timeless outcry against racial bigotry. Like Ol’ Man River, its delights just keep rollin’ along. ANNIE GET YOUR GUN Betty Hutton (as Annie Oakley) and Howard Keel (as Frank Butler) star in this sharpshootin’ funfest an Oscar winner for adaptation scoring based on the Broadway smash boasting Irving Berlins beloved songs, including Doin’ What Comes Naturally, I Got Lost in His Arms and the anthemic There’s No Business like Show Business. SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS The perfect marriage of song and dance! Backwoods boys inspired by romance and the lure of hot biscuits raid the local town for brides. Un-uh: The would-be brides insist the fellas first become respectable! Howard Keel and Jane Powell head a leaping whoop for joy in this exuberant Oscar winner. KISS ME KATE When squabbling ex-married’s Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel are cast as squabbling Renaissance romantics in a musical The Taming of the Shrew, life imitates art, art imitates life and it all proves no musical comedy imitates this backstage/onstage delight from the Broadway hit with 14 peerless Cole Porter songs. It’s all Too Darn Hot!Turner Classic Movies’ Greatest Classic Films Collection: Broadway Musicals collects four movies on two double-sided discs, with top picture quality and the bonus features that appeared on disc 1 when one of those films was released on a two-disc set, or the features that appeared on the single discs of the other three. The four films here aren’t really Broadway musicals, but rather movies that were (with one exception) based on material originally created for the Broadway stage. Show Boat was one of the earliest shows in the modern-musical era, and this 1951 adaptation (the third, following versions in 1929 and 1936) stars familiar MGM players Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, and others in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein’s Southern epic, featuring “Ol’ Man River,” “Can’t Help Loving That Man of Mine,” and more. Annie Get Your Gun (1950) stars Bettie Hutton (in a role intended for Judy Garland) as a spunky Western gal who gives Howard Keel all he can handle, and features such Irving Berlin standards as “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Anything You Can Do,” and “Doin’ What Comes Naturally.” Grayson and Keel return again in Kiss Me Kate (1953), as life imitates art in a production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, and the Cole Porter songs include “Wunderbar” and “So in Love.” The exception is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), one of MGM’s greatest original creations that was itself adapted for the stage years later. Keel woos Jane Powell to become his wife–and mother figure for his six brothers. Hilarity and much dancing ensue (especially in Michael Kidd’s rousing barn number), and the Gene de Paul-Johnny Mercer songs include “Bless Yore Beautiful Hide,” “Wonderful Wonderful Day,” and “Spring, Spring, Spring.” Bonus material on the two-sided discs is relatively plentiful for the TCM Classics series since only one of the movies had been released on a two-disc set: you lose Seven Brides for Seven Brothers‘ alternate cut and some supplemental material, but you still get director Stanley Donen’s commentary track plus some trailers, shorts, and other material for the other three movies. –David Horiuchi
Buy “TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Broadway Musicals “ For Only $16.25
January 24, 2006
#1
Each year around Mother’s Day WB release a set of the great MGM musicals of the past. This year they have opted to only re release already released prints (I dont think you will find this “Showboat”is the upgraded version at all). Why????? This is a real disappointment when there are still many great MGM musicals that have never been released on DVD. Yes I think we shall soon see “Showboat”in all 3 versions and that will be great, but what about “The Student Prince”, “The Great Carouso”, “Athena”, “Give a Girl a Break”(with Fosse doing all that great dancing), “Invitation to the Dance” to name a few, that would have made a perfect set this year????
January 24, 2006
#2
It is odd that Warner Home Video chose “Broadway Musicals” instead of some other category of musicals for a collection. This is TCM/WHV’s attempt to bring the classic films to DVD cheaply, and it’s a noble cause. The one film in this bunch I don’t care for is “Annie Get Your Gun”. I’m not going to blame Betty Hutton for this one. She actually got the part and I don’t think Judy Garland would have done a better job. Actually, the problem is Howard Keel, who is the leading man in all four of these films. He was a real disappointment here. For those who like all of the trimmings there is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Two-Disc Special Edition) versus the plain version here. WHV owns all of the versions of Showboat on film, and in my opinion the 1951 version you get here is weaker than the 1936 version – not currently on DVD – mainly because Howard Keel’s character is supposed to be a tower of Jello, and it is just too much of a suspense of belief to believe Howard Keel as such a character. Finally, “Kiss Me Kate” is a fantastic musical that plays to all of Howard Keel’s strengths. It already exists in the Classic Musicals Collection – The Cole Porter Gift Set (High Society / Kiss Me Kate / Les Girls / Broadway Melody of 1940 / Silk Stockings), again for those of you who like all of the trimmings and extras.
For those of you who buy WHV classics on a regular basis I’m going to tell you why I’d hold off on this one. It’s a suspicion of mine. TCM is scheduled to show the 1929 version of Showboat in April. They have been showing an upgraded version of the 1951 version, which I assume you get here versus the older rather washed-out one. In December 2007 TCM aired the 1936 version of Showboat (the best version in my opinion) and the voiceover introduction mentioned that there was a commentary track embedded in the film. WHV has been promising the 1929/1936/1951 versions of Showboat for two years now. Nobody – not even TCM – shows a 1929 part-talkie musical (1929′s Showboat) for the fun of it. Nobody installs a commentary track in a 73 year old film for the fun of it either. I suspect WHV is getting ready to announce the long-awaited trilogy of Showboat movies. That is worth waiting for.
January 24, 2006
#3
Received in record time but the quality of the DVD was very poor. Would not recommend purchasing this product. Rent the movies instead.
January 24, 2006
#4
If you like Gene Kelly and musicals, you cannot go wrong with this set of his most popular musicals.
January 24, 2006
#5
I picked up this collection for Show Boat and Seven Brides, but
was pleasantly supprised to find that Kiss Me Kate and Annie Get Your
Gun were terrific! I never realized how good and appealing Betty Hutton was. This is a lot of entertainment for the money.