Sally (1930)

Marilyn Miller was Broadway's Queen of Musical Comedy in the 20s and it's all due to "Sally", which debuted at the New Amsterdam Theatre and clocked up a massive 570 performances. She wasn't a great singer or dancer but on stage everything came together and she was absolutely unforgettable. "Now the screen has robbed the stage of it's most prized possession". Fortunately when "Sally" was filmed people still wanted musicals with a capital M and apart from the omission of a couple of Jerome Kern songs, including "The Church 'Round the Corner", "Sally" was filled with the songs everyone remembered.Sally Bowling Green (Marilyn Miller), so named because she was found as a waif on the steps of that particular telephone exchange, is a waitress. She is watched from afar by wealthy Blair Farell (Alexander Gray) who has fallen in love with her and her happy disposition. Sally dreams of becoming a dancer and practices every moment she gets. O. Hemingway Hooper (T. Roy Barnes) comes into the diner. He is a theatrical agent, always on the lookout for dancers and Sally wows him with her swell dancing. Unfortunately Sally has stars in her eyes and when she accidentally tips a plate of spaghetti all over Hooper, she not only loses her job but Hooper wants his card back!!! When Sally finds another job at the Elm Tree Inn, Blair meets Sally again - he is there with a bachelor party. When she tells him of her hard life he advises her not to be discouraged but to always "Look For the Silver Lining". When his group gathers, he sings of his love for "Sally" (Alexander Gray is wonderful, very sweet and ruggedly handsome). Later that night the Grand Duke of Chekoslovenia - "Connie" (Joe E. Brown)is feeling down in the dumps.. (He has lost all of his money on "fast women and slow horses" and is working at the Elm Tree Inn as a waiter). Sally cheers him up by telling him to "Look For the Silver Lining" and together they do a comical, charming dance. When her shift is over Blair takes her for a drive and together they sing the beautiful "If I'm Dreaming, Don't Wake Me Too Soon".The next night, through Blair's intervention, Sally gets a chance to dance before the patrons. The clowning is left to Joe E. Brown and Ford Sterling - he is the restaurant manager and the only person who knows Connie's real identity. There is a very funny part involving Jack Duffy as an elderly gentleman who has a tantrum when his hat is stepped on - Connie gives him a couple of balloons to make him happy. Pert Kelton is pretty pert as Rosie, Hooper's unrefined mistress. Sally, looking adorable gives "All I Want to Do Do Do is Dance" her all. It is a wonderful example of just one of Miller's many eccentric dance steps - the "pluck and step", a style she originated. Hooper and Rosie also see her dance and Hooper, who has just found out that Madame Moskorova, a Russian dancer, is going to be a no-show at a ritzy society ball, thinks Sally will be a natural. She is and wows the crowd with her crazy accent."You are like a little primrose", "No I am not - I am like a wild rose". Then with the help of the chorus boys Sally goes into "Wild Rose" and after a bit the screen blazes with colour (even the sound improves) and you can see why Broadway just adored her. She is as light as a feather as she twirls and high kicks. Unfortunately Sally is ousted as an imposter but not before Ziegfeld arrives and wants her for his Follies. After Sally's broken heart is fixed, at the end of the film she has performed in Ziegfeld's "Ballet of the Butterflies" and is the toast of New York."Sally" really showed how wonderful some early musicals could be with the right songs and clowning kept to a minimum. Marilyn had a wonderful way of looking into the camera,just as she was finishing her dance, with a look that said "it's all a lark" and letting the viewers into the secret. It was probably a hold-over from the stage and another reason why audiences loved her.Highly, Highly Recommended.

SALLY (First National Pictures, 1929), directed by John Francis Dillon, from the Florenz Ziegfeld musical-comedy, introduces stage star Marilyn Miller (1898-1936) to the screen in a role for which she's most principally linked. Although Miller originated "Sally" on Broadway in 1920, it was Colleen Moore who originated the role on screen in the 1925 silent comedy for First National with Leon Errol (who appeared opposite Miller on Broadway) and Lloyd Hughes. For Miller's motion picture debut, her introduction comes with a close up of her feet doing ballet steps before the camera follows them walking over the next table where Sally (in full focus) is seen carrying a tray of food to her next customer. Produced in two-strip Technicolor, with choreography by Larry Ceballos, SALLY is a prestigious start to Miller's short-lived Hollywood career.The story revolves around Sally Green (Marilyn Miller), a young woman raised in an orphanage now earning a living as a waitress at a crowded New York City restaurant, whose one ambition is to become a dancer. After Sally makes an impression on Otis Hooper (T. Roy Barnes), a theatrical agent dining with Rosie (Pert Kelton - almost unrecognizable as a brunette), she loses her chance as well as her job when she accidentally spills a tray of food all over him. Sally acquires another job waiting on tables at the Elm Tree Inn managed by "Pops" Shendoroff (Ford Sterling), with Connie (Joe E. Brown), formerly Constantine, Grand Duke of Checkercovinia, working as a waiter. Sally soon makes the acquaintance of Blair Farell (Alexander Gray), the son of an aristocratic father (E.J. Ratcliffe) who arranged for him to marry socialite Marcia Ten Brook (Nora Lane). Blair, who had earlier noticed Sally through the window of the restaurant, takes an interest in Sally and arranges to have Schendorff dance for the customers, one of them being Otis Hooper. Hooper later encourages Sally to perform at Mrs. Ten Brook's (Maude Turner Gordon) garden party, which she does, under the guise of Madame Noskerova, the famous Russian dancer, at the same time Connie makes his grand entrance as the Grand Duke. When Schendorf gives away their identities, Mrs. Ten Brook orders Sally to leave, which she does after hearing Blair's announced engagement. Although Sally achieves stardom dancing for the Ziegfeld Follies, she finds she's unable to forget about Blair.  With music and lyrics by B.G. DeSylva, Al Dubin, Joe Burke, Clifford Grey and Jerome Kern, the musical program is as follows: "Look For the Silver Lining" (sung by Alexander Gray and Marilyn Miller); "Sally" (sung by Alexander Gray); "Look For the Silver Lining" "Sally" and "Look For the Silver Lining" (danced by Miller and Joe E. Brown); "If I'm Dreaming, Don't Wake Me Too Soon" (duet by Miller and Gray); "Walking Off These Balkan Blues" (danced by Joe E. Brown); "All I Want to Do Do Do is Dance" (sung by Miller); "Wild Rose" (sung by Miller and male chorus); "If I'm Dreaming, Don't Wake Me Too Soon" (reprise by Miller and Gray); Russian dance number performed by the Albertina Rasch Ballet; and "Broadway Follies" instrumental ballet/ dance numbers (performed by Miller).With SALLY available in black and white format, only the "Wild Rose" dance sequence survives in its original, yet slightly fuzzy, Technicolor form. The song, "Look for the Silver Lining," most associated with Miller, was used as the title to a Warner Brothers 1949 bio-pic starring June Haver as Marilyn Miller. If the score to "If I'm Dreaming" sounds familiar, it was used for a dance sequence between Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Glenda Farrell in the gangster classic, LITTLE CAESAR (1930) starring Edward G. Robinson. Alexander Gray, a deep voice baritone, notable for his screen teaming with Bernice Claire in early Warners musicals of 1929-30, is acceptable as the leading man, though wasn't quite the type to survive the movie medium to the next decade. Joe E. Brown, still early in his career before starring in his own comedies, has little opportunity being funny but does provide some highlights, including a comedy dance with Miller, and another as a waiter escorting an old man (Jack Duffy) and his young date (Ethel Stone) up a latter to their table with a view, proving to be troublesome for all.  As for Marilyn Miller, she would follow SALLY with more singing, dancing and romancing with SUNNY (1930) and HER MAJESTY, LOVE (1931) before returning to Broadway. Of the three, SALLY is most acceptable mainly for being a recorded document of her stage play, while SUNNY, another screen adaptation, disappoints for anyone who had seen the stage version to find much of the original score missing from the final print. HER MAJESTY, LOVE, intended to be something original, offered nothing new in the genre of sophisticated director, Ernst Lubitsch.With so many 1929-30 musicals currently lost or incomplete, SALLY was fortunate to have survived intact at 100 minutes, even without the color. Unavailable for viewing since its initial theatrical release, SALLY made it to television on Turner Classic Movies in August 1994, where this and other Marilyn Miller musicals enjoyed occasional revivals for the next few years. (***)

TCM seems to state that it was shot entirely in 2C, but that they've only recovered a dance review 5 min. scrap in color. The rest was in B&W. Interesting period piece of Ziegfeld work. I've saved it.Marlilyn Miller certainly had talent, was very pretty and had a washboard figure, which was probably popular in those days. Seems that you could get a photo of her from the film. Joe E. Brown & she seemed to have fun making this picture. Alexander Gray had a very good voice.Amended 8/06 - I bought a DVD of this flick and watched it again. It was without a doubt the best movie of its type made at that time. I feel that "A.I.", "Days of Heaven" and this flick are the best movies I've ever seen. It was superb at every level. To bad penicillin was not invented 15 yrs. earlier. The loss of Marylin Miller & Janis Joplin were the 2 greatest losses to showbiz of the 20th century. Marilyn would have gone on to be one of the great stars of the 30s' Ginger Rogers has a lot to be thankful for with the death of Miller. Can you imagine her with Astair???

Sally, with Marilyn Miller, was the first movie shown at the Chatham Capitol Theatre in Chatham, Ontario Canada - on April 11, 1930. It was originally shown in color, however all the color sequences have been lost. It only survives in Black & White.Sally appears to be a bit dated, as we make our way through this new millennium, but serves as a tribute to the beauty and youth of Marilyn Miller. Miller is a fantastic dancer and gives the role 100%.The film is hard to find, but worth watching if you locate it. Thanks to MGM/UA and Turner for finding the merit to release it on laser disc back in 1993.