How was this film received back in the day?
The 1968 Roger Ebert review was very positive, but I'm curious if this film was a hit. I saw it over the weekend and was by turns impressed and annoyed. 2 1/2 hours was too long, that's for sure.
shareActually from the post reviews, it tanked. Only songs from the soundtrack and the performances from legendary Astaire, Clarke, and Francks [Woody] were noted.
During its release, apparently movie fans were put off by the overdone racial tones of the plot; though its intended purpose was otherwise.
Reviews were generally mixed. The notoriously hard-to-please Pauline Kael called it one of the better big productions while the legendarily bitchy Rex Reed whined for years about not being able to see Fred Astaire s feet.
share