Give a Girl a Break (1953)

For such a great cast (Debbie Reynolds, Gower and Marge Champion and Bob Fosse) and being directed by Stanley Donen, 'Give a Girl a Break' could have been a classic. Instead it was a modestly enjoyable film that could have been much better.Visually, although the budget apparently wasn't huge, 'Give a Girl a Break' still looks pleasing with handsome costumes and sumptuous use of colour. The songs have garnered indifferent reactions, sure there are better songs in musicals but the songs here are pleasant and fun enough, especially for Ira Gershwin's (brother of George) very clever lyric writing. "In Our United State" and "Nothing is Impossible" stand out.The best things about 'Give a Girl a Break' are the dance routines and the dancing. The choreography is nothing short of dazzling, especially in "In Our United State", "The Challenge Dance" and "Applause Applause". The dancing of it is even better, with electrifying work from the Champions, Fosse and Helen Wood.Debbie Reynolds' performance is the most consistent in the cast, whereas everybody else were most successful in the dancing but less comfortable everywhere else Reynolds excelled in every aspect of her performance and gives her character spunk and perky charm.On the other hand, the story is incredibly lightweight and too often so uneventful that the film does drag at times outside of the musical numbers. The dialogue has a tendency to be clumsy and some parts downright silly.As an overall performance, Reynolds comes off best while the acting is stiff from particularly the likes of Wood and Kurt Kasznar and the singing very much variable (Reynolds and Wood faring best). Donen's direction is not always involving and occasionally a bit gimmicky.In summary, modestly enjoyable musical that does enough right but it doesn't have much distinction and the wow factor comes in spades rather than as a consistent whole. 6/10 Bethany Cox

A good, not great, MGM musical, with the emphasis on dance. Story is: what happens when a star walks out on a Broadway show, and three girls compete for the part. The dances are so expert and entertaining, you may be able to forgive the drab quality of some of the rest of the film.The Champions were not really movie stars, and neither was Bob Fosse. (Debbie Reynolds became one later, and you can see why.) Gower plays the director fairly well, but I kept picturing Gene Kelly. The part needs a more dynamic actor.If you enjoy dancing, there's plenty of it, and it's excellent! Helen Wood is the third girl and while her acting is stiff, her dancing definitely isn't.The score by Burton Lane and Ira Gershwin contains no hits, but I was charmed by the tune, "In Our United State," performed by Fosse and Reynolds.

Interesting what another reviewer said here about this movie originally being written for Kelly, Garland, etc. I suspected it was intended for Kelly or Astaire, with Kazner part written for Oscar Levant, and Fosse part intended for Donald O'Connor. The screen writers were some of MGM's best, who usually wrote big budget films.I wonder if the entire film, or most obviously, the dance number the Champions do with all the vertical poles were shot in 3D. That dance seems smartly designed for 3D, and the film was made in 1953, the year Hollywood made something like 80 3D films.OK now my very brief review. This film is mostly a delight, as were several other early 50's, small scale MGM musicals. All that talent, in front of and behind the screen, make the slim and tired story, and modest production values irrelevant.

This movie that originally was going to include Fred Astaire, Gene Kelley, Judy Garland and Ann Miller was left with some great dancers such as Gower/Marge Champion and Bob Fosse.Some people insist that this is a gem - this fanatic of great musicals (flicks that include great dancing, singing and acting), this is just an innocuous adventure of entertainment performed by talented dancers.The Gower/Marge Champion numbers seemed to be the recipient of more time and money with more well-thought out production values. The Bob Fosse numbers seem surprisingly off-kilter that only suggests the great work that he will be doing in the future.One could attribute this to Gower's good fortune of dancing with a great dance partner that he can personally bond with. It was fun seeing a dance partnership providing some of the best highlights of the film. The Bob Fosse/Debbie Reynolds seem to suffer because Debbie couldn't fully realize the moves that Fosse was giving her - especially since she was much younger than him. (Note: Interesting seeing a "perky" choreographed dance numbers, especially considering the sharp/edgy/sexily-tinged/jazzy moves that Fosse give to the world).In addition, Stanley Donen didn't do Fosse any favors with the "backward" footage that looks "out-of-placed" and/or awkward - good ideas that didn't quite produce the desired effects.Note: Bob Fosse is not a singer - though he tries hard. His best works can be found in much of his latter work and/or in films where he's dancing with Dan Dailey, Gene Kelley and many others.It's too bad that Bob Fosse and Gower Champion couldn't get along - hence denied the general public of what would be created with these immensely talented dancer/choreographers. A dance showdown between Fred Astaire/Gene Kelley (seen in "The Great Ziegfield") and the team of Fosse/Champion would have been great to experience!! Wouldn't it be fascinating discovering why there were serious fractions that eventually had Bob Fosse/Stanley Donen vs. Gower Champion/Marge Champion/Debbie Reynolds.fyi: George Chakiris (of "West Side Story" fame) can also be seen in the movie btw: MGM didn't even release this film in New York, that demonstrated their "faith" in this flick. One can only imagine what would have resulted if this $2M film (a big amount for that time) had the originally intended cast of Gene Kelly, Fed Astaire, Judy Garland and Ann Miller - what can only have dream the magic from the Burton Lane/Ira Gershwin songs?!?!