New Faces

On the whole, I found the film disjointed and silly, BUT I'm giving it a high rating because it was so much fun to see the likes of Alice Ghostly, Paul Lynde and Eartha Kitt as young performers.

I never knew Ghostly had an actual, excellent singing voice! Always the comic, she also shines vocally in her rendition of "In Boston".

Later, Lynde and Ghostly play the parents of a disappointing son in a sketch that, while amusing, reveals one of the drawbacks of going from stage to film without coaching -- they shout as if they need to work to be heard in the back row. This is an interesting bit of history to be shared with young people today who primarily observe performers fully wired for sound.

For me, the best parts of the film were the several appearances by Eartha Kitt doing her unique and delicious vamping at a time most of us think of as uptight and way too tame. There is nothing uptight or tame about Kitt's performances here! They alone are worth the price of the DVD.

It's no wonder she was called "the most exciting woman in the world"-- she's certainly the most exciting person in this revue! As others have said, Alice Ghostley also shines and Paul Lynde has a couple of good moments; but the rest of the cast is either mediocre or downright awful, especially Clary and Graham. A big part of the problem is the dearth of good songs; most are forgettable or worse. The choreography is uninspired too, although the vaguely Latin number with Carol Lawrence is pretty good. I usually enjoy shows like this, so I was surprised as well as disappointed. How this became a big Broadway hit is a mystery.

I can't imagine anyone but Broadway babies much liking this film more than 50 years after its release, but it offers a unique slice of American theater history and I am glad it's been preserved. "New Faces of 1952" was the most successful of Leonard Sillman's Broadway shows and introduced a raft of talent - Eartha Kitt (who became an overnight sensation), Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Ronnie Graham, Robert Clary and Carol Lawrence (five years before "West Side Story"). Mel Brooks was one of the writers and Sheldon Harnick ("Fiddler on the Roof") contributed to the score. The skits on contemporary events (a spoof of hip music and the Senate, a sketch on "degenerate" Southern writers like Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams) are, naturally, pretty flat these days. But some of the musical numbers are very nice and it's great to see some old familiar faces when they were young and starting out. The show ran more than a year on Broadway and did a short tour to the West Coast. 20th Century Fox was still eagerly showcasing its CinemaScope format and decided to film the show, rather hastily, in Hollywood. The film is a rarity in that it is one of the few films made from a Broadway with its original cast intact and perhaps the ONLY revue ever filmed pretty much as it was on B'way, though shortened (and somewhat revised to play up Kitt's fame - she didn't sing "Santa Baby" in the original show but does here). Regrettable, Fox didn't preserve the film and let its copyright lapse a number of years ago. The present DVDs, and there are several, all seem to stem from a worn print discovered God knows where. The transfer, washed out and fuzzy but widescreen (at least), seems to have made with a camera photographing a screening (and not quite getting all of the image in). I saw the film when I was very young and don't remember it being this disjointed, leading to suspicions that some short pieces are missing.

I initially saw this on the stage in Chicago after the show left Broadway where it was quite successful for a revue. I remember enjoying it immensely. I then saw the Cinemascope release in 1954 and was pleased that my wife could enjoy it as well. When I found it many years later on VHS and DVD I bought it and have seen it many times. As a musical theatre lover I am delighted that it has been preserved. Of course it is dated and the technical aspects of the filming and copying defects are well brought out by the other reviewers. Eartha Kitt is well represented as is Paul Lynde in two skits, the best a spoof of "Death of a Salesman" and the African travelogue; Robert Clary in two charming songs; Alice Ghostley in "Boston Beguine, hilarious, and yes she can sing!; Ronnie Graham doing a young Truman Capote; several ensemble numbers the best of which is the Lizzy Borden trial. It is clearly apparent that this is a filmed version of the stage show with the added silly plot. Theatre lovers will enjoy a rare opportunity to view an original revue as they were so frequently done in the early twentieth century but are uncommon today. I highly recommend taking a look at it

Here is is 65 years later and I still find myself wandering around humming "Penny Candy, Candy for a Penny"!!! I was quite young when I saw this. I liked Eartha Kitt of course, and remembered Robert Clary when he turned up in "Hogan's Heroes". But I can never get Paul Lynde's performance as the poor chap recounting his trip to Africe. He tried so hard to be upbeat and positive about this absolutely horrible experience, it's to die for. They were all good, but those two performances have remained fresh in my mind lo! these 65 years later. Last night I was thinking about it and decided that even at this late date, I had to say something.