The Girl Next Door

As of this writing, the IMDb user rating for this unpretentious musical is an amazingly high 8.3 - higher than The Band Wagon also released in 1953. So what accounts for such a rating? Most of the songs are awful ("I'd rather have a pal than a gal, anytime" is an example), and the choreography is just so-so. But despite these deficiencies, The Girl Next Door is one of the most amiable entertainments from the '50s. The slight story is played with humor and warmth by the entire cast. The dialog is bright. The modest fashions and decor make this a fascinating time capsule - closer to early 50s suburbia than the highly stylized productions from MGM.

Although it's not about to supplant The Band Wagon from a critical standpoint, this film does weave a particular magic and has obviously won its way into a lot of hearts - mine included!

This obscure film was a treat for me, a classic film buff; it's a rare musical from Hollywood's golden age that's I've never seen nor even heard of. The Girl Next Door is not only very well made and entertaining, but in 1951 this was cutting edge both in story and in the way it's musical numbers are staged.

Plotwise, it's a mild domestic drama, coupled with a conventional romance. Innovative is that the story portrays a warm, friendship-based father-son relationship which functions very well without a mother or other woman being around. When the father falls for the professional singer-dancer woman next door, the son is resentful.

The dance numbers are not only well staged and performed, but refreshingly creative. The standout is a film-noirish number, shot with highly stylized camera angles, stark lighting, highly effective use of contrasting colors, and slinky jazz dance moves. The capper is that the number is supposed to be a nightclub performance with Dan Daily in the audience; mid-number, he imagines himself into the number, first as a shadow and then as the primary male dancer (a la "The Purple Rose of Cairo", decades later). The film's opening is remarkable for it's time; credits are superimposed (very unusual for the time) on the first of a three song extended musical number which immediately set's up the story and gives us a lot of information about June Haver's character.

Dan Daily is likable, charming, masculine, believable, as well as being a good enough dancer and singer. June Haver is sexy in a very wholesome way, has a great body, moves well, but is somewhat bland in the personality-acting department. Her singing is dubbed. The only weakness in the film are that Denis Day is barely mediocre as a comic second banana, though his singing is beautiful, if you like old fashioned Irish tenor vocalizing. Cara Williams is radiant and sassy in the typical role of wisecracking friend of the heroine, but she's given little screen time and the zingers she's given to say are bland. Otherwise the dialog is far above the norm for musicals of it's era.

The DVD includes 3 documentary featurettes; 2 are very informative and well done, one is about the film and the other about Dan Daily. The third is about Billy Gray (Bud of "Father Knows Best"), it's hampered by not having any footage from non-Fox films he made, nor from the classic TV show.

Candy-colored, candy-coated musical comedy from Fox with lots of effervescence and wiseacre pizazz. June Haver plays globe-trotting musical starlet who buys her first (rather beautiful) home in Scarsdale and, despite some reservations ("Frankenstein slept here!"), she moves right in and throws a party; the widower next door quickly becomes the main attraction in her life, but his young son isn't so happy about having to compete with this female interloper ("I'd rather have a buddy than a female fuddy-duddy anytime," his dad lies to him). Surprisingly funny, lively, studio-set suburban shenanigans has more songs than "Tommy", yet the choreography is rather intricate and the cast is full of joshing good cheer. Haver's new beau Dan Dailey soft-shoes through with a big goofy grin; Cara Williams is June's tippling best friend who pairs off (rather unconvincingly) with tenor Dennis Day, who sings to the rafters (literally); Billy Gray is Dailey's son, who has an excellent dramatic scene at the police station. Notable for two animated sequences (courtesy UPA), as well as a lovely fantasy number where Dailey is forced to choose between his son and his new sweetheart. Not quite in the same class as MGM's musical entries from this era, but a lot of jovial fun. **1/2 from ****

I just won the DVD of The Girl Next Door as part of a gift box raffle from a party. Not a film I was particularly acquainted with it was fascinating to watch this partly animated film from 20th Century Fox.

Only two things lack in making this a classic. Had The Girl Next Door been done at Disney, Warner Brothers or MGM the studios that had the most acclaim for their animation The Girl Next Door might be better known. Also the score from Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon was lacking in anything other than serviceable songs for the plot. Hardly anything as memorable as what you would get in some of Disney's animated features.

June Haver has the title role, she's an acclaimed musical star who has taken possession of a house in Scarsdale, then as now a place with a reputation for easy suburban living. During a party she's interrupted by the noise and antics from next door and finds out it's a bachelor pad for Dan Dailey and his son Billy Gray.

Gray's perfectly happy as things are as he hasn't reached puberty yet to appreciate what females have to offer. But Dailey sure becomes interested and that's driving a wedge between him and his son.

The animation comes in with Dailey who makes a living by being a comic strip artist. His is a family script based on the doings he and his son have in real life. About a quarter of the film is in animation.

The animated sequences fit nicely into the story and Dailey and Haver are likable performers. Also featured are second leads Dennis Day and Cara Williams from Haver's musical comedy world and also note the performance of Clinton Sundberg as a snooty butler, a part he has down as good as Arthur Treacher.

The Girl Next Door is nice family entertainment and I wish it were better known.

The Girl Next Door is a surprising and fascinating film, partly for what it delivers, and partly because of what it indicates the future could have been for its star. The film opened quickly, and disappeared just as quickly, in New York, because its start June Haver had already entered a convent (she, of course, didn't stay there long). Not expected to be box office, the film, though, has some extraordinary moments, and the most surprising element of all is the work of June Haver. Although her voice is dubbed, her dancing is a complete revelation. Her work with Dan Dailey is superlative and shows maturity that she had never shown before. Indeed, her torch song indicates a Haver never seen before...and never to reappear. The cartoon networking is fun, and the dish number between Dailey and Billy Gray is a joyous scene. Haver also displays a wide range of emotions that indicate she had matured as an actress and was no longer the perennial ingenue. Even her figure is more eye-watchable than in previous vehicles -- including The Dolly Sisters. The film sags badly whenever Dennis Day is at hand, and even more sadly because he sings the one number that had a brief bit of fame - If I Love You a Mountain. His voice allows no emotion, and his expressions are devoid of any acting. His vis-a-vis, Cara Williams, is totally wasted. It's nice, though, that the film has hit DVD, because its merits are commendable. Certainly, it is professional work - with the sad exception of the scenes with Dennis Day.