jromanbaker

I have to confess I have avoided this film for years, and I have no desire to see the musical. It is true that some of the songs are lyrical, and some are very rousing, especially when calling for a much needed revolution. In this case a French one, and no spoilers but it is a bloodbath. I was heartbroken when the very talented Aaron Tveit found himself hanging upset down outside a window. With due respect to Eddie Redmayne he should have played Marius. I also liked Samantha Barks, who sang beautifully and acted with total conviction. Hugh Jackman played Jean Valjean, Valjean in Victor Hugo's great book is the heart of the whole thing and most of the time he was excellent. The holy climax made me wince and even Puccini would have not gone that far. As for the rest of the cast very good to semi-good. As for the songs they moved me often to tears and I hated having a cry over them. The lyrics are sometimes profound, and with the sweep of overwhelming emotions who could resist not being swept along. As for the special effects I was just a little underwhelmed but the opening scenes were tremendous visually. I give it a 7 as I did not quite believe in the revolution, despite wanting to, and the acting in the main variable.

I have no idea how ' romantic ' the auditions were to get into Hollywood, and this film charming though it is left me just a little doubtful. Walter Lang directed and directs it with a lot of expertise and charm. Linda Darnell plays the very young woman who wants to get on the screen, and nearly all of the running time is spent on the various ways she tries to achieve her goal. I like Darnell, and she shows the promise of being an even fine actor in films like ' Fallen Angel. ' Charlotte Greenwood in one of her best roles is excellent, and Roland Young the talent scout who finds Darnell is equally good. The one flaw for me was John Payne and in my opinion he had a slight talent but no more in the films I have seen him in. George Montgomery has a brief scene, and again in my opinion he should have had the lead role. All in all it is a good film from 1940 and can be found on YouTube, I enjoyed every likely and unlikely minute of it. It also has a charming train scene where Young looks out for new potential ' stars. ' It is near the beginning of the film, and sets the pace of movement that does not let up. Worth seeing.

The basic plot of this film is simple. Roadworks need doing in a fictitious street in Soho and once that fantasy fact is accepted a quite charming story unfolds. John Gregson ( miscast in my opinion ) is one of the workers and a sexual philanderer. Every new job a new woman, and in this street he sees Belinda Lee ( an actor of great beauty and talent who was never given much chance to show it in British films ) is his next conquest. No spoilers but to say that a ' miracle ' does take place in the street and if that ' fact ' is accepted by viewers the film is very enjoyable to watch. I must mention too Brian Bedford's character, who is clearly in love with Belinda Lee, and when he is on screen he puts Gregson in the shade. Gregson was talented, but again not in my opinion as a Don Juan who can attract every woman that he wants. Viewers to choose if I am right about this, and sadly because of that my rating for the film falls from 9 to 7 out of 10. An underrated film and if this vision of Soho can be accepted ( and why not ? ) it almost reaches the status of being a lovable and enjoyable cinematic experience.