Una viudita de París

I love this movie. After seeing it on the Disney Channel back in the eighties I wished I had taped. I feel that Jeanne Crain and Linda Darnel are great rivals over Cornel Wilde. I know that people have said that it is a poor remake of Meet me in St. Louis. But feel it has it own merit. I hope that someday they put it out on dvd so everyone can enjoy it.

Jeanne Crain passed away recently and I had hoped that they would show it in tribute. But they didn't and I felt kinda of cheated. The timelessnes of the movie would have been a great tribute to her and all the cast

If remembered at all, "Centennial Summer" is generally dismissed as 20th-Century-Fox's failed attempt to copy "Meet Me in St. Louis."

I'd like to set the record straight, and urge Fox to release this neglected treasure on VHS, DVD, cable-TV, whatever, so today's movie-lovers can savor one of the most endearing, original, lovingly crafted musicals ever made.

This lavish Technicolored production is indeed a visual knockout, but what truly matters is so much more than its dazzling visuals. Set against the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition, this exquisitely designed valentine to a bygone era focuses on a suburban middle-class family's troubles and turmoils, highlighted by Jerome Kern's final (and one of his finest) scores.

Jeanne Crain and Linda Darnell are the daughters of railroad/laborer aspiring/inventor Walter Brennan and his understanding wife, the lovely Dorothy Gish in one of her rare film appearances. Their humdrum lives are sparked by the arrival of a glamorous Parisian relative (the dazzling Constance Bennett)and a dashing young French man (Cornel Wilde) in charge of setting up his country's exhibition at the Centennial.

That's the plot, and it's a more-than-sufficient frame for a charming, low-keyed, often surprisingly moving dramatization of a family in crisis. Ms. Crain & Ms. Darnell are heartbreakingly beautiful as the sibling rivals in romance; Otto Preminger's direction is subtle and refreshingly modest; and though none of Kern's songs became hits, the underrated score includes some of the loveliest ballads ever written--Listen closely to the melodic "The Right Romance," "In Love in Vain" and "All Through the Day." "Up with the Lark" is as captivating, tuneful, brilliantly photographed and sung a showstopper as one could wish for. And the rousing "Railroad Song," plus an unexpected diversion "Cinderella Sue" (performed by Avon Long and several black children, sans one iota of the racial condescension typical of films of its era) are two more rousing highlights.

The cast is uniformly superb (Ms. Crain's plaintive beauty and heartfelt sincerity set the screen aglow; William Eythe, a talented, appealing actor whose life and career were tragically short, adds a special poignancy as Ms. Darnell's spurned suitor), the production design exquisite, and the screenplay (based on a long-forgotten novel) will touch you in ways you wouldn't expect from a movie musical.

"Centennial Summer" deserves stature as one of the finest musicals of all time. That few people have even heard of it, much less seen it, is sad indeed. It deserves to be revived, re-evaluated and cherished for the work of art it most certainly is.

Despite the setting, the story really focuses on two sisters--nice sister Julia (Jeanne Craine) and her B****y sister, Edith (Linda Darnell). When Aunt Zenia (Constance Bennett) arrives from France with her step-son, Philippe (Cornel Wilde), Julia falls for the guy. Seeing her sister is smitten, Edith decides to try to steal him away for herself. What follows are some mistakes where both Julia and Philippe assume the worst and you wonder if by the end of the film they'll end up together. Along for the ride are her parents (Walter Brennan and Dorothy Gish).

The film has quite a few songs--mostly which are pleasant and forgettable. But unlike the very similar "Meet Me in St. Louis", instead of one person doing most of the songs, everyone gets in on the act, though a few of them have weak voices. In fact, in many ways this is like Twentieth Century-Fox's answer to MGM's "Meet Me in St. Louis" (both coincide with a huge exhibition in town)...though in pretty much every way the Fox effort is inferior. I especially disliked Darnell's character--she was awful. In the other film, the family loved and cared about each other...and this was not the case with Edith. It's not a bad film but by comparison it suffers significantly. Enjoyable but nothing outstanding.

Perhaps the best thing about Centennial Summer is it's story and the way it's acted; it's just a light family drama-comedy and a love triangle, but the characters and plot have a bit of novelty and bite that keeps them fresh rather than cliché.

In the acting department, what's most interesting is Walter Brennan and Dorothy Gish. Rather than his usual crusty old man and/or comic sidekick, Brennan convincingly plays a husband, father, working man. Sometimes I like to conjecture about might-have-been casting choices. I suspect that his role was written with Don Ameche in mind, but Ameche had recently left Fox in a contract dispute. This is the only sound film role in which I've seen Dorothy Gish; she shows she has the acting chops, gravitas, and a nearly identical voice as her film-great sister, Lillian.

What's disappointing about this musical is that most of the songs seem unimaginatively inserted into the plot, rather than integrated as part of the story. After well integrated musical films like "Meet Me In St. Louis" and Fox's "State Fair" this is a backward thing. And Centennial Summer seems about 3 songs short; I noticed a couple of obvious places in the script where songs would be expected but were not there. The song "I Woke Up With The Lark This Morning", used in the early part of the film where it belongs, is also used to end the film, where a more appropriate song is called for. Apparently, Jerome Kern was not able to provide a full complement of songs (due either to poor health or his death) but the filmmakers ought to have adapted and used appropriate songs from his very large catalog.

This was the film that introduced me to the world of classic movies. Jeanne Crain has since been one of my all-time favorite actresses.

This is a great musical and represents Jerome Kern's last creative effort before his untimely death. It's set around the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. When the Rodgers family receives a visit from their Aunt Zenia who is accompanied by Philippe (a dashing Frenchman who arrives to set up the French Pavilion for the Centennial), the excitement of the exposition is heightened. Edith decides to forget her engagement to Ben, in order to pursue Philippe, but Philippe actually has eyes for Julia. When Edith tells Philippe that it is Julia who is actually engaged to Ben, he loses hope. Julia and Ben then play out a make-believe romance to make Philippe jealous and bring Edith back to Ben.

All the while, the Rodgers mother is having troubles of her own...keeping her husband out of the romantic whirl of Zenia's man collection.

A fun, romantic, musical-comedy, with gorgeous costumes and a nice soundtrack. This is one that needs to be released on video!