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Reviews
I Love Melvin (1953)
Great talent - confusing and bizarre plot
I did enjoy this film, especially watching the talent of Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds. When looking at this film, one has to take into account the talent of the screen performers as well as the plot/storyline etc.
Overall I don't know why people are saying these musical numbers in this film aren't as good as 'Singin' in the Rain.' In my opinion, while the melodies aren't quite as memorable, the way the music is constructed(harmonies etc) is far superior to that of it's more famous cousin.
There are plenty of strange moments throughout the movie, however. So strange that they create unexpected humour. For one, Donald's solo dance number while cleaning the studio only made sense after I read about it. When watching it, I couldn't understand what was going on. Furthermore, the football scene with Debbie in it was so bizarre that you had to laugh. I think this unintended humour made things a little better, but knowing it was unintended put a little downer on things.
What the story does well is create an emotional investment in the characters - I felt for Debbie's character as I knew how much she wanted to be on the cover of the magazine. I also felt for Donald's character as he tried to set things right. However that's about the only thing I liked about the plot.
Debbie and Donald are both great here - Donald already well established, and Debbie trying to make her break since Singin in the Rain. It's obvious these two have more chemistry than the Reynolds/Kelly combination, probably due to age differences and things(Debbie would have been around 20 and Donald around 27, whereas Gene was already 40)
While the film is short, the ending seemed extremely rushed to me, and could have benefitted from a few extra minutes of footage. What happened afterwards? A lot of unanswered questions were left. Furthermore, the very end shot of Debbie frantically fondling Donald didn't leave a great taste to end. Something more calm would have made the ending seem less frantic and rushed.
Also, there are plenty of script moments which seem very strange to a modern viewer(this is all part of historical relativism I assume) - such as a random man approaching Debbie and asking her if he could walk her places, which she just calmly responds 'No, thank you.' whereas today, this would seem extremely bizarre. Similarly, the 50's housewife persona is capitalised here - e.g. 'I'll cook just like my mother taught me'(Debbie) contrasting with the more dominant male persona(her father) is very apparent here. There is nothing necessarily wrong with this, it's just a point that I noticed.
Some of the script was extremely unconvincing - a mere 30 minutes in, Donald confesses his love for her in a car, and then says 'if you marry this other boy, I'll be very frank, I'll kill myself.' I have to commend Donald for selling such an unconvincing piece of dialogue barely a third of the way through.
It has been said that both Debbie and Donald did not enjoy the process of making this film, and it's easy to see that the plot, narrative and script were not as well thought out as it could have been. However, the talent of the two main actors show how much of a triple threat they both were.
Overall, this film has some very bizarre moments, with a few plot holes, unconvincing scriptwriting and a rushed conclusion. To save it, the talent of the two main actors plus the great musical numbers and the emotional story help out.
There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
A good movie - inconsistencies in many areas
This movie works well and has plenty of great musical numbers in it. Oddly enough, I really enjoyed the 'Lazy' song as it really was diverse in a lot of ways and showcased Mitzi and Donald's talent for dancing. The plot works well, and I don't find it boring to watch in any regard. With such a star cast, the talents are used fairly well.
Ethel is great, I don't mind her voice too much in this(it was before the days of the extreme wobble!) and she's not actually that bad of a dancer which I wasn't expecting. Her acting is superb, as to be expected. Same can be said for Dan as well. He portrays your average wartime father extremely well.
Marilyn is pretty good, though not quite up to the standards of the Five Donahues(minus Johnnie). Her voice is alright, and her acting is definitely better than her singing. I don't know why but her eternally soft voice confuses me and at climax points (like when she says 'Get out! Get out of here!' at Donald) her voice still sounds pretty much the same as any other point in the film. She does have good facial expressions and body movement though, so that makes up for it. Her dancing is pretty much non-existent but that was expected - I can absolutely see why she didn't like the character she had to portray. The character is not particularly profound in any way - and it's easy to see she knows that. No wonder she had her struggles in the rehearsals.
Donald is great here - however even though he is great in his dancing, and his singing, it's easy to see(when comparing him to his earlier films) the strain that he was under at the time. Not sure whether this is a placebo affect or not, but the spark in his eyes, the glow and the boyish charm he had(in his earlier films) doesn't seem to exist much here. Obviously his divorce, having his child being taken away and the fact he had to work with his ex-wife's boyfriend wouldn't have helped anything. He made a few small uncharacteristic errors (e.g messing up one of the steps in 'Lazy'), and in the reprise of 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' he looks a great deal worse than he does when performing the song the first time(this could be a director's choice however). Of course these are minor things and they don't really detract from his incredible talent.
Mitzi is also fantastic - really underrated in my opinion. I've listened to some interviews of her(recent) and she is rightly confident in her skills that she had back then. She was a true triple threat in my opinion, and there isn't really anything in this movie that she doesn't excel in. Obviously this guy seemingly immediately marrying her(and then her having a child) seems extremely strange to me(as a modern watcher) but she sells it off normally. Plus, the scene at the beginning where she pulls the prank on the guy is truly funny. (plus, she can actually fake laugh!)
Johnnie, obviously being more of a singer than an actor is the weak link here. I think he did do well for someone who hadn't really acted in any substantial way(correct if wrong) before. It's clear, especially in the 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' at the beginning, that he is a little bit of an outsider. You can tell that the other 4 actors are born entertainers through their movements and the way they present themselves(especially Donald and Mitzi). However, Johnnie looks nowhere near as comfortable and while he tries, he's not able to really look as natural as the others. This scene really sets the tone for him in the whole movie. However his presence was needed, and he did a good job considering he's not really an actor in any regard.
Overall, the plot, musical numbers and the acting(mostly) are fantastic and to be expected. Yet the characters themselves are a little uneven and some are far more developed than the others. I would still recommend this movie though.