(Gene Kelly, USA, 1969, 148 minutes)
Monday, June 12, 6:30pm
Harvard Exit
Reception at the DAR, 5pm
Despite being a 20th Century Fox production, Hello, Dolly! is a wonderful throwback to the great MGM musicals. Gene Kelly who starred in and wound up co-directing films at the great studio directed it. The director of photography, associate producer, choreographer, the costumer designer and the set designer had all worked at MGM. The film shows it. Shooting in Todd-AO and De Luxe Color add to the lavishness of its look.
In this enchanting musical farce Dolly Levi, matchmaker, played by Barbra Streisand, aids a pair of young couples in their romantic pursuits while attending to her own ambition of landing the successful (and cantankerous) hay and feed merchant Horace Vandergelder played by Walter Matthau. Producer and writer Ernest Lehman actually improved the script from the book of the original stage version, filling out the characters and tying up loose ends.
At the time, controversy did surround the casting of Barbra Streisand in the lead role. One, Carol Channing had created the role brilliantly on stage and some felt she should play it. Two, Streisand was too young for the part.
Channing, while astounding on the stage, especially as Dolly, has never come across well on film. Her performance style and personality simply do not work on the big screen. And while, Streisand was too young, her voice and performance are first rate and the audience forgets their age objection within the first few moments. Plus, she had believable chemistry with co-star Matthau which not a lot of women do. Glenda Jackson and Sophia Loren come to mind. He needs a diva, and Streisand delivers.
The supporting cast includes Michael Crawford and Tommy Tune, who both went onto greater things. Also in the cast, and a standalone reason to see the film, is Louis Armstrong's brief role. His guest appearance is worth the price of admission.
This classic will be screening tonight, hosted by Seattle gourmand and restaurateur Tom Douglas and will be preceded by a reception across the street at the DAR starting at 5pm.
Image (Barbra Streisand) from Library of America.
I'm not a big 'Babs' fan, but I do like the Vincente Minnelli picture she did, and Funny Girl has one of the greatest musical numbers ever produced for a motion picture.
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