He was really good in this underrated movie. However, I never noticed how short he was. I looked him up here and it didn't have his height but I noticed Vera Ellen had on flats in the scene at the ball where they were in the gardens. They looked to be the same height so I looked her up. Said she was 5ft 4in tall meaning O'Connor must have been really small. I'm always surprised how short actors are!!
shareHe's quoted as saying he was 5'10 in heels.
shareHe must have been in 6 inch stilletos then coz he was the same height as Vera-Ellen in this movie.
shareVera-Ellen wore flats in most of her films - she's in flats throughout all of On the Town, The Belle of New York and Call Me Madam. I just think it was her "thing", and she was probally more comfortable in them.
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R u looking for other musicals you might like or other DOC movies?
shareAs someone who considers herself a HUGE Donald O'Connor fan, I am apauled that no one has thrown you any ideas yet.
If you like the lighter side of O'Connor, I'd check out Anything Goes. His numbers/romance with Mitzi Gaynor are totally cute.
More of a drama fan? There's No Business Like Show Business is a wonderful one. It has a good mix of dancing and a great story (warning: it's a tiny bit depressing at times). My two favorite Donald O'Connor dance numbers are in this one; A Man Chases a Girl (until she catches him) and Lazy (with Mitzi Gaynor and Marilyn Monroe.
For pure comedy You MUST rent Out to Sea. Mr O'Connor only has a bit part but he really shines in his scenes. Matthau and Lemmon's finest movie if you ask me.
Hope that helps!
The world belongs to the meat eaters, Miss Clara, and if you have to take it raw, take it raw.
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His films always put a smile on my face.
Looks like breakfast, smells like your auntie!share
This is the best performance I have ever seen Donald O'Connor give. I have to confess his character is a little too wise-ass in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN for me but he is excellent in the musical numbers in it. He's kind of bland in THERES NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS but here, however, he gives a sweet performance and holds his own with Merman. (I still think of that joke in DIE MOMMIE DIE about the son collecting glossy photos of Donald O'Connor - he really does seem about the least likely movie star, not handsome or charismatic, but he is actually quite talented with a good singing voice, excellent comic dancing and a good comedian, and I think more appealing that the similiar but bigger star Danny Kaye.)
I can't believe no one has mentioned I Love Melvin, in which he was re-teamed with Debbie Reynolds; an underrated MGM musical.
shareI've just watched CALL ME MADAM for the umptieth time, and marvelled all over again at O'Connor's versatility - I do the same every time I watch SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as well - I really think he and Mickey Rooney were two of the screen's greatest "triple-threat" natural talents - they made it look effortless.
O'Connor's role in CALL ME MADAM was expanded to include his dancing abilities, and he gets to shine here perhaps even more than in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, because he's not in Gene Kelly's shadow - he has a couple of nice "Fred-and-Ginger" style dances with Vera-Ellen, and a terrific solo (added for the film) called "What Chance Have I With Love?" - its antics may owe a bit to "Make 'em Laugh," but it's great fun, and those balloons must have been as carefully placed as Kelly's puddles in "Singin' in the Rain" were, yet the result appears spontaneous and effortless. His singing is clear as a bell throughout, and of course the Merman/O'Connor duet "Your Just in Love" is a highlight of the film.
"I don't use a pen: I write with a goose quill dipped in venom!"---W. Lydecker
I love both Call Me Madam and Singing in the Rain. I can't count how many times I've seen them both and they never pall.
As for other Donald O'Connor films, if you ever have the chance (and its not out on either tape or DVD as far as I know) one of his best is Curtain Call at Cactus Creek. Talk about underrated films! Its filled to the brim with top players (Walter Brennan, Vincent Price, Eve Arden), has fantastic musical numbers and is absolutely hilarious to boot. Don't miss an opportunity to see it.