Hello, Dolly! (1969)

One of the last of the lavish Old Hollywood musicals. The performances are all fine, with Streisand the obvious standout, vocally and otherwise. Michael Crawford is a little goofy but I guess he's supposed to be. He's a little Dick Van Dyke-ish at times. Your mileage may vary on whether that's a good thing or not. I was less interested in his plot than the one involving Streisand and Walter Matthau. Pretty much anytime Babs is on screen things are much more lively. I say this as someone who isn't her biggest fan, but she really does own this film. The direction from legend Gene Kelly is solid and appropriately old-school for its time. It really feels like a throwback to the MGM musicals of the 1940s and 50s, with great sets and costumes and big production numbers. The cinematography is also very beautiful. So it's a great-looking movie with an upbeat tempo throughout and some very nice songs. The length is the biggest negative, and I did find myself checking my watch during a couple of the lengthy Crawford segments. But it's still a good movie with a lot to recommend, especially for fans of older musicals.

Well, right off the bat, I will admit that I love this movie. I know it almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox and that the critics were lukewarm about it on release in 1969, but they were flat-out wrong. And the perspective afforded by the passage of time has seen this become one of the most-loved of the Hollywood blockbuster musicals.The principals in the cast are all wonderful. Streisand is simply gorgeous and sings beautifully, as does Marianne McAndrew. Matthau is, well, typical Matthau: all wonderful hang-dog expressions of exasperation and a grouchy exterior hiding a warm-hearted soul. Michael Crawford, in an early role, doesn't quite have the voice he developed later in life, but it suits the part of the shy and nervous Hackl. The music is fabulous. It is one of Jerry Herman's very best pieces of work, in my opinion. It's full of great songs and the finale set-piece, when Dolly returns to the Harmonia Gardens, is magnificent, along with Louis Armstrong's great singing.Gene Kelly had Michael Kidd onboard as choreographer and he produced some superb set-pieces. The parade scene is incredible and required hundreds of extras. The story might be a bit thin, but the production values more than make up for it. The sets are remarkable, as are the costumes. The fact it was shot in 65mm Todd/AO means that it is a great visual experience, with tremendous detail visible.This is a truly great musical movie. If you haven't seen it, you really, really, should. You'll been for a treat.

I agree mostly with the poor casting of roles in this film. But knowing some of the background of the casting woes and battles on the set, everyone in the film appears to be trying their best.The things that I admire most about this film, as it is one of the last great Hollywood musicals, first is the musical scoring. Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman are the credited Oscar winners among 5 or 6 others who worked on the musical side of things. If you can ignore the spoken scenes and just concentrate on the orchestral parts of the songs and dance numbers, you will hear the lush scoring and great playing of Fox orchestra--the great Fox music department and orchestra that for many years previously headed by the great Alfred Newman! The two big dance sequences (Dancing and The Waiters gallop), plus the big parade number and all the numbers have great accompaniments. The sound quality of the recordings also are top-rate. High commendations to all the players.The second thing is the tremendous art direction,production design and costumes. Obviously here is where a lot of money went. Great period detail, yes a bit over the top sometimes, but this was done all before the modern tech of CGI and the visual effects used today. This was 1968-1969, so all the sets, props, etc. were done by the great art directors of the time.Thirdly, Michael Kidd's choreography is stunning. Roger Edens is also credited here as consultant for musical numbers.As for the cinematography, it is the great veteran of musicals, Harry Stradling. Cameras have to follow the dances (not the opposite) and all this is handled quite well by the cameras. The parade sequence is also impressive.So if you can put all the casting problems aside, and watch a great visual film with a great musical score, it's well worth it.

For her second movie, Barbra Streisand wisely or unwisely (you decide) picked the most plum stage musical of the 1960's (still running on Broadway at the time after almost 6 years) and made a true spectacle of it with director Gene Kelly's help. What is now Century City was remade by 20th Century Fox into both Yonkers and various parts of Manhattan for probably the most awaited movie musical since "The Sound of Music". More than forty years later, people argue over the success or failure of the movie, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle, an elephantine epic of audacity, but one that surprisingly still charms in spite of its weaknesses.The Ruth Gordon (Broadway) and Shirley Booth (Movie) Dolly Levi of "The Matchmaker" got a bit campier when given Jerry Herman songs and a splashy Gower Champion staging (overseen with great authority by producer David Merrick) for its 1964 Broadway premiere. Carol Channing took the character player out of Dolly to make her a fabulous broad, one certainly not past her prime, but certainly not the flower of youth anymore either. Glamour girls like Betty Grable, Ginger Rogers and Dorothy Lamour also got to add their talents to Dolly, while funny ladies like Martha Raye, Eve Arden, Molly Picon and Phyllis Diller and individual personalities like Pearl Bailey and Ethel Merman also took the role of the century on.So where does the 20-something Barbra Streisand fit into this mix? She's obviously a very young widow and there's no disguising that in her feathered hats and beaded dresses. Streisand is instantly apparent to be wise beyond her years, and that makes a perfect fit for Dolly. She's as zany as Channing, as brassy as Merman, yet as vulnerable as Grable. The hatred allegedly felt between Streisand and her Vandergelder (Walter Matthau) is invisible on-screen, and they play perfectly off of each other. Matthau is the obvious choice for the cantankerous but lovable storekeeper, and if you listen to David Burns' Broadway Horace, you can see why Matthau is a perfect fit for the part. He is a non-singing actor who is even more convincing in his songs than Rex Harrison was in "My Fair Lady".Future "Phantom" Michael Crawford gets to steal "Put on Your Sunday Clothes", and Broadway audiences will instantly recognize the lanky Tommy Tune as the admirer of Matthau's niece. Marianne McAndrew doesn't have the name value for the secondary female lead of Irene Malloy (Ann- Margret was the original choice) but she has charm and beauty, and it is truly shocking that after this, she was never heard from again.There's so much to comment on here, but to cover the most important point, you must focus on the songs. This is a heavy dancing show, from the Currier and Ives look of "Dancin'" to the big Fifth Avenue Parade of "Before the Parade Passes By" and finally, the Harmonia Gardens set title song where Streisand shares the screen momentarily with the legendary Louis Armstrong who had made a hit out of the title song even before the show opened on Broadway. He's not just a flash in the pan with a needless cameo here; His presence adds much needed pizazz, and it was a wise decision to include him. So while "Dolly" apparently went on to loose money in the very cynical late 60's (audiences were tiring of these big road show musicals), it has stood the test of time. In fact, "Dolly" hasn't made it back to Broadway except for touring productions in which both Channing (three times!) and Bailey repeated the role, and like "Funny Girl", the reason could be is that it is difficult to find anyone who could erase the memories of the previous actresses (in this case, the original set of veteran stars and its film lead) to play the role now.