Those interested in learning who Ethel Merman was could do worse than stop right here. "Call Me Madam" is the movie version of a Broadway show for which Merman won a Tony Award a couple of years before. Principally a stage star, many of Merman's best vehicles, such as "Panama Hattie", "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Gypsy", were brought to the screen by other stars. In this case, however, Merman was given the chance to do the job herself. She gives it everything she has which, in her case, is a lot.
Don't expect any subtlety. Ethel Merman was primarily a stage performer and was accustomed to playing to the customers in the cheap seats in the back of the theater. Her voice, although completely untrained, was enormous and, in the days before microphones were invented, she could easily make herself heard in the back of the largest theaters. Singing a duet with Merman must have been like trying to sing a duet with the ship's whistle on the Queen Mary, you simply weren't going to be heard over her. For that matter, the lady herself was such a huge presence on stage that everybody around her seemed to shrink to insignificance. All of those qualities come through in "Call Me Madam".
On the other hand the greatest songwriters of the day, including Irving Berlin, all wanted to write musicals for Merman because they knew that she could "sell a song" like nobody else. Berlin not only wrote the songs for "Call Me Madam", he also wrote the songs for her previous hit show, "Annie Get Your Gun". Berlin's songs for "Call Me Madam" are a perfect fit for Merman's inimitable style, and she belts them out as only she can.
One other odd bonus here is a rare opportunity to see George Sanders in a musical. That really is his voice, and it's not at all bad. It makes one wonder whether, had he ever wanted to go that way, he could have become an opera singer rather than a film actor.
Don't expect any great subtlety of characterization or acting here, or unexpected complications of plot. However, as a showcase for the considerable talent of the legendary Ethel Merman, "Call Me Madam" is definitely worth a look.
Don't expect any subtlety. Ethel Merman was primarily a stage performer and was accustomed to playing to the customers in the cheap seats in the back of the theater. Her voice, although completely untrained, was enormous and, in the days before microphones were invented, she could easily make herself heard in the back of the largest theaters. Singing a duet with Merman must have been like trying to sing a duet with the ship's whistle on the Queen Mary, you simply weren't going to be heard over her. For that matter, the lady herself was such a huge presence on stage that everybody around her seemed to shrink to insignificance. All of those qualities come through in "Call Me Madam".
On the other hand the greatest songwriters of the day, including Irving Berlin, all wanted to write musicals for Merman because they knew that she could "sell a song" like nobody else. Berlin not only wrote the songs for "Call Me Madam", he also wrote the songs for her previous hit show, "Annie Get Your Gun". Berlin's songs for "Call Me Madam" are a perfect fit for Merman's inimitable style, and she belts them out as only she can.
One other odd bonus here is a rare opportunity to see George Sanders in a musical. That really is his voice, and it's not at all bad. It makes one wonder whether, had he ever wanted to go that way, he could have become an opera singer rather than a film actor.
Don't expect any great subtlety of characterization or acting here, or unexpected complications of plot. However, as a showcase for the considerable talent of the legendary Ethel Merman, "Call Me Madam" is definitely worth a look.