I was disappointed. I still think it's worth watching, because the cast members are always worth watching. But I'll explain below why I would only recommend it to fans of those stars:
1. The movie spends WAY too long setting up its dream-sequence premise, and once we're in the dream it doesn't stay with that premise long enough.
2. Skelton's bits have not aged as well as in his subsequent films. He's too corny here, even for him.
3. I thought the opening number was ghastly, but Gene Kelly made up for it with a superb dance number later.
4. Virginia O'Brien comedic talent is underused--as it was in most of the films she was in.
5. I first heard Cole Porter's "Do I Love You" number on the 1990's pop-rock compilation album red hot + blue, and I was happy to see Kelly did it justice here. If only the character played by Lucille Ball were worthy of it!
6. There was only one truly funny line made me laugh out loud, and that line was delivered by uncredited Clara ("Auntie Em") Blandick on the World's Cleanest Subway.' The "Double-Header" sign made me laugh too, but that was about it. The rest of the humor is cheezy.
7. The "Friendship" finale seemed rushed int--in a "let's wrap this up" sort of way, and not very splashy as a finale should be. I enjoyed the song more when Ball "borrowed" it for an episode of I Love Lucy. (She also borrowed August's Vargas girl Eve Whitney for the "charm school" episode, to great effect.)
As a whole it's a pleasant enough diversion, but I'd read in several "Lucy" bios that this was one of her bigger hit movies. Knowing that, and with Gene Kelly on board, the bar in my mind was set for a lot higher that what I got. But it does pick up it you're willing to stick with it.
"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns
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J. Spurlin
17 years ago
Luckily I had fairly low expectations for it. Lucille Ball's movies never fully utilize her talents; I never hope much from her films but glimpses of what's to come. I wasn't even in the mood for a musical, but I had the DVD (from the public library) for so long I thought it was time to watch it.
The movie is a mess; but I enjoyed all the individual pieces more than you did. It's been a little while since I posted this, but I can't remember anything I disliked. I also saw Best Foot Forward around that time, and I thought that was fun, too. Neither belongs on a list of great musicals, but Lucille Ball fans will want to see them.
Incidentally, I saw Dark Passage a couple years ago. That was a real treat, seeing her in her only film noir. I'm glad she never got stuck in those roles, but a single outing is irresistible.
... Justin
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Clothes-Off
17 years ago
I haven't seen Dark Passage, or a lot of her early work. But ever since I saw Far From Heaven I've been dying to see Lured to see what director Douglas Sirk did for her.
Of her dramatic films, the best one I saw on TCM was Five Came Back, although it seems silly today to think that back then people would take just one look at her character and know she was a "girl who made mistakes."
After seeing DuBWaL, I kept wondering how Ethel Merman was as May on Broadway. (I'll bet SHE didn't have to sit through those Oxford Boys!) Then I thought of someone who would have been perfect: Dolores Gray
She does an outstanding comedic role in It's Always Fair Weather, could sing, and would have jumped at the chance at playing a character like May because she always complained that the roles she was given had no sex appeal. She may have been only 19 at the time, but Debbie Reynolds was just a year older when she made Singin' in the Rain. (But she would've had to have had more credits by then.) If only the film had been made later...
Anyway, I don't think the stage version was ever revived (or maybe resuscitated is the word) on Broadway, so that should have been a sign that it hadn't aged well. I think the Lucy fans who wrote the bios remembered it a little more glowingly and hadn't watched it recently when they wrote their books!
"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns
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J. Spurlin
17 years ago
I had never heard of Lured. And it's a film noir! Happily, my library has it; I've placed an order for it.
I loved Tom Haynes's Far from Heaven. It was better than the two actual Douglas Sirk films I've seen: All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life. They're good movies, but Haynes's movie made defter use of the soap opera material. I was very moved by Far from Heaven.
... Justin
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chingchong_azn
13 years ago
Lucille Ball isn't in Dark Passage? That's a Bogie and Bacall film.
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J. Spurlin
13 years ago
Lucille Ball isn't in Dark Passage? That's a Bogie and Bacall film.
Sorry, I meant
Dark Corner.
...Justin
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collin-reid
13 years ago
Yes, Lucille Ball was in Dark Corner in which she was good but not memorable.
That Du Barry was a complete dud to me because the best part, Gene Kelley, was extremely limited to one dance number and one singing. Otherwise, it was a Red Skelton vehicle all the way with a few musical group cameos. (To it simple it was like Skelton/Esther Williams "B" musical MGM was churing a couple times a year.) Otherwise, this was one of Lucille Ball weaker roles that did not use much of her comedic talents which really underwhelmed the film.
I can imagine this more of Ethel Merman with slightly more risque musical number being a big hit on stage.
CR
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J. Spurlin
13 years ago
I liked it well enough to rate it 7/10 for the database, but in the few years since I saw it and started this thread, I've forgotten most of it. I do remember that it was about on the level of the Red Skelton/Esther Williams vehicles, as you say, which for me means it's good enough to watch as long as you're not expecting Singin' in the Rain. And I do remember Lucille Ball's comedic talents were not fully exploited—but then they never really were until her TV series.
...Justin
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dmnemaine
13 years ago
I always find it strange that some people call Esther Williams' films "B" movies. They were anything but. They were big budget technicolor extravaganzas, and were hugely popular with the public.
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