There's No Business Like Show Business

"There's No Business Like Show Business" was never intended to be great film-making or storytelling, so please do not watch it with those things in mind.

Sure, it was over-staged, over-produced, in some cases over-acted and any other "overs" you can think of, but it's just fun to relax and watch and listen to. I've seen the film maybe dozens of times (I own the DVD) and it's obvious to me that despite a few on screen gaffes and off-screen problems for at least a couple of the actors, Hollywood had a whale of a good time making it. Some of the characters are unrealistic and I'm sure if you could ask the actors, all would say it was by far not their best work.

Furthermore, if we didn't know it before, "Show Business" proved that Johnnie Ray, the part crooner, part rock belter of the era, couldn't act his way into or out of a paper bag. But so what?? This ain't Hamlet. Ray was cast to do here what he did best: sing the heck out of a couple of songs that were arranged precisely to suit his performing style. And he also just managed to pull off an unusual plot twist that I'm sure audiences of the era did not expect.

We're all asked to suspend temporarily all logic and reason when we turn on our TVs or go to the movies. Why stop with "There's No Business Like Show Business"? So grab the munchies, sit back and let Ethel Merman and Gang entertain you for a couple of harmless, gaudy hours.

This CinemaScope musical follows the lives and loves of the Donahues, a family of vaudeville performers: father Terrance (Dan Dailey), mother Molly (Ethel Merman), elder son Tim (Donald O'Connor), daughter Katy (Mitzi Gaynor), and younger son Steve (Johnnie Ray). They persevere through changing tastes, the stock market crash, and the start of WW2. Tim falls for co-star Vicky (Marilyn Monroe), while Katy finds romance with writer Charles (Hugh O'Brian), and Steve pursues a different calling.

The threadbare story merely serves to connect a series of elaborate musical numbers designed to make the best of the new widescreen CinemaScope format. Director Lang and choreographer Robert Alton turn in some excellent work, and Donald O'Connor reportedly called this his favorite of his films (over Singin' in the Rain?!?). I watched this for Monroe, who doesn't impress much here. She supposedly didn't want to appear in this, but did so in order to win the lead in The Seven Year Itch. This was one of Fox's most expensive productions to date, and despite selling a lot of tickets, it ended up being a money-loser. It earned Oscar nominations for (inexplicably) Best Story (Lamar Trotti), Best Score (Alfred & Lionel Newman), and Best Color Costumes (Charles Le Maire, Miles White, Travilla).

20th Century Fox was no match for MGM when it came to musicals. Daryl F. Zanuk decided to gamble with this film where the talents of a Broadway star, Ethel Merman, would be showcased. Ms. Merman in spite of being the toast of Broadway, never made it big in Hollywood. After all, she was not a radiant beauty, but oh, could she belt a song that could be heard at the top of the balcony! Phoebe and Henry Ephron were brought on board to write the screen treatment and Walter Lang directed.

The musical was also blessed in that Irving Berlin's music is heard throughout in all its glory. Ms. Merman was the perfect actress to interpret the songs written by Mr. Berlin. They made a perfect duo, even though, for some viewers not used to Ethel Merman's singing style, it might prove an uneasy combination.

The story is simple enough. It follows the Donahues from the early days of vaudeville through some glittering years after. Molly and Terence Donahue had two sons, Tim and Steve, and a daughter, Katy. As the children grow up, the parents' popularity began to recede. The film deals with Tim, as a young man, as he falls for Vicky Parker, a beautiful singer who makes it big on her own. Vickie, who is more interested in her own career neglects Tim. As a result, Tim goes on his own to find himself, away from his family and Vickie.

The best thing in the film is Ethel Merman. She was a legendary figure and as Molly Donahue, she is at her best. Dan Dailey was the perfect partner for Ms. Merman. Donald O'Connor is also seen doing some fine dancing. Marilyn Monroe was a lovely woman to look at. As a singer, she had a small voice, but she used it well making the songs her own. Mitzi Gaynor plays Katy. Johnnie Ray, a popular singer of that period is terribly miscast. His Steve is the worst thing in the movie.

Although predictable, this film has some great things going for it. Some of the musical numbers are well staged and will not disappoint. On the whole as the camaraderie expressed by the title of the film is evident in the musical.

this is a film for people who love big song and dance numbers (as well as Marilyn Monroe and Mitzi Gaynor fans). it almost is 'pre- reminiscent' of Bollywood in how it moves from one song to the next, with only the most meager connections between song and storyline. the storyline itself is thin enough, that in slow moments i was struck by how contrived the plot was. the purpose of this movie seemed to be to have several Irving Berlin songs choreographed into vaudeville-like song and dance numbers. what better way to do this than by following the lives of a couple of old vaudeville stars who met, married, had babies, and stayed on the road all the while. it all leads to the climactic scene (here's the spoiler, if this film can be said to have one) of ethel merman paying homage to herself and her role as Annie Oakley by singing 'there's no business like show business'. pay attention to how they managed to jigger the storyline such that ethel got her solo for that number (remembering that the family had five members plus a confounding love interest at that point, and the script writers had to somehow get all of them but ethel off the stage). another number, where johnny ray sings a gospel tune, has 'vehicle' written all over it. and as mentioned by the reviewer above, Marilyn Monroe was hot enough property that she was given two 'vehicle' numbers--although her character does not appear to have been penciled into an otherwise completed script, as suggested above. Marilyn's character is critical to the unfolding of the plot, such as it is. notice also how the script writers cleverly played upon Marilyn's reputation for a breathy, contrived diction.

so if you like BIG musicals with huge song and dance production numbers and little plot, this is for you (9 or 10 stars). if you do not, skip this one (1 or 2 stars, this is a bomb). averaged out to about a 6, but really more likely a 'love it' or 'hate it' movie. but then again . . .

there was something in the 'exposed ducts' construction that made me curious enough about how and why it was made the way it was, that i looked up the answers to many of my questions. were the songs composed specifically for this, or a jumble of odds and ends? (the latter). why was ethel merman given the climatic solo? (as mentioned, she was reprising a big number from her signature role as Annie Oakley in 'Annie Get Your Gun', which was one of the most successful Broadway shows ever at the time). who was that guy who played Steve Donahue, and please explain the strange juxtaposition of his commanding stage presence when singing, and that effete concealment of androgyny when not--as well as the 'cast-to-type' plot twist that sends him into the clergy . . . ? (look up a biography of johnny ray). so, if you want a peek into the movie-making process at the tail end of the studio-system era, this movie has a barely concealed super-structure that reveals how a hoped-for 'blockbuster' was constructed in those days.

Two scenes surprise, both with Marilyn Monroe: her singing of the "After You Get What You Want..." number in a ultra-tight, combination flesh-colored/white gown. It's obvious that the image portrayed is that she could be nude, with the frilly white covering her talents. The second is the famous "Heat Wave" number, in a skimpy outfit, with her navel appropriately covered, yet below is a flesh-colored "window" for more erotic symbolism. In 1954 nudity could NOT be shown, but those scenes probably BARELY squeaked by the censors. The film depicts the traveling, singing/dancing Donahue Family, headed by brassy Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey, with sons Donald O'Connor, Johnnie Ray (who wants to be a priest), and daughter Mitzi Gaynor. It's obvious the Monroe character was an afterthought to boost the film's success; the actress really didn't want to do the part, the studio allegedly counteracted by upping her salary and promising her the lead in "The Seven Year Itch" (1955). Nevertheless, Monroe looks great and is unforgettable, comedically, dramatically and musically. O'Connor is great fun and Gaynor is a knockout dancer. Between some slow stages, musical numbers are expertly staged, with magnificent sets and superb color schemes all throughout. The finale is surprisingly touching with a rousing title tune reprise by all; only way to watch this is on the pristine-restored widescreem (2:55 to 1) DVD.