normpoyser

For MGM, this was a sadly deficient movie "biography" (Bwahahahaha) of the Richard Rogers/Lorenz Hart writing team. I don't mind so much that it was totally dishonest - that's the way things were done back then and had to be done. And usually the stories don't matter in these things - but this one was totally distracting.

The script was poor, the acting not much better, and there was little continuity. Just words (most of which never happened) which meant little between scenes from Broadway shows.

The Rogers and Hart Music selected for inclusion was fine, and the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue jazz ballet scene choreographed by, and featuring Gene Kelly was movie making at its best. But while he has his moments on the screen in some movies, Mickey Rooney playing Hart was not one of them. The rest of the featured cast was mostly the MGM "B" team - Tom Drake, Perry Como, Cyd Charisse and Ann Southern.

Even the superstars added to make this look good, were pretty much limited to the aforementioned Kelly, Judy Garland who sang 2 songs, June Allyson (who sang one song) and the amazing Lena Horne. The rest of the "playing themselves" group were has beens or never to bees.

6 for the songs. And 3 more for Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. Take away 2 for the "story" and 1 for the totally miscast Mickey Rooney.

6/10 Norm

A pretty well acted docu-drama but I thought it was rather jerky in places, and could have done with some additional filling. Probably, the show would have done better as a two part 4 hour mini-series, as it did not seem to fit well into such a short time frame (under 2 hours including ad breaks).

For those who do not know of the legacy of Graham Kennedy's incredible contribution to Australian television this made for TV movie will not mean a whole lot, simply because there was not enough of the on screen personality that was Graham to really let strangers know why he was so revered in Australia. They will walk away wondering what the fuss was all about.

Perhaps the "warts and all" approach (his homosexuality, backstabbing of others, and eventual reclusiveness)was over emphasised, which left less screen time for the TV personality that was GK. I don't honestly know, but I would have liked a bit more than what we got of the public persona, at the expense of the expose, in such a brief movie, or more of both - a longer show. It just all happened to quickly.

9/10 for the acting, the quality of the rendition of, particularly 1950's, Melbourne and the TV industry at the time. 5/10 for what I felt was choppy editing, and huge gaps in his career not being even alluded to. And 10/10 for the footage of the real Graham shown at the end. At least for a minute or so, the true abilities of the man shined out on the screen.

7/10 Norm