New Faces

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.

A 50s Broadway revue is filmed here with a backstage story about needing money to finish the show. The bill collector is locked in a closet and the show goes on.

Many of the new faces went on to stardom and solid careers. Others never made it. Surprisingly, this small show produced a couple of hit songs: "Santa Baby" and "Love Is a Simple Thing." The musical numbers come off better than the skits. The production looks incredibly cheap and the dancing is amateurish. Yet....

It's amazing to see Eartha Kitt sizzle in her musical numbers, using her patented growl to add oomph. She could sell a song with the best on them. Alice Ghostley is terrific (who knew she could sing?) in skits and her solo number "The Boston Beguine." Paul Lynde (looking very heavy) is funny is his skits. Carol Lawrence is mostly a dancer here and has great stage presence. Virginia DeLuce (also known as Virginia Wilson) does well with her ongoing "He Takes Me Off His Income Tax." June Carroll has a shining moment singing "Penny Candy." She also wrote many of the songs for this production. Rosemary O'Reilly get to sing "Love Is a Simple Thing." However, Ronny Graham is way over the top as the show's "star." He comes off as a cross between Jerry Lewis and James Whitmore. Robert Clary is just plain obnoxious and gets ways too much screen time. The rest of the cast gets little to do other than chorus work.

Unbilled and missing from the IMDb cast list are Henry Kulky as the bill collector and Robert Emhardt as the rich daddy.

The film was directed by two men and is pretty bad with static cameras and those annoying shots that show us backstage reactions when performers are singing and dancing.

Trivia: Mel Brooks was one of the writers. Robert Clary was married to one of Eddie Cantor's daughters. Grimes and DeLuce won the 1952 Theatre World awards. Kitt's rendition of "C'est Si Bon" was not in the original show.

The film opens with "Lebeau" from Hogan's Heroes (Robert Clary) running around for some reason, we're not quite sure, since the sound is so bad, although that might just be the copy I got from Amazon. Who knew he started out as a professional singer…? We see a very young Alice Ghostly and Eartha Kitt when they show the faces of the performers to come. June Carroll (the producer's sister…) sings Penny Candy, Alice Ghostly , who we all know from Bewitched, sings, and actually has a hell of a voice! And WHAT is with that dress on Virginia Wilson, who keeps popping in to introduce the next number? It looks like her top is about to drop down on a trap door.

A lot of this is very "okay"… many of the performers do their bits in a very serious manner, without expression or any emotion, so some of it is almost painful to get through. Clary, the "emcee" does several numbers, and E. Kitt does a naughty version of Santa Baby. Paul Lynde performs in a couple good "bits", but they would have been funnier if they had ended on a funny line about halfway through. The best number was the Lizzie Borden number "You can't chop your papa up in… Massachusetts" – some clever stuff. There's a very thin plot line…someone's father keeps promising to pay someone some money or something, but that very thin plot line seems to have been tacked on later. Interesting to see all these young actors before they hit the bigtime, but I'm glad I didn't pay to see this one in a theater.

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.

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.