Applause

APPLAUSE, the Broadway musical based on the classic ALL ABOUT EVE, was hastily filmed for television in 1973. The show first appeared on Broadway in 1970 and won Lauren Bacall a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. The story definitely lacks the bite of the original, obviously because it's a musical, but it's still the same story of Broadway star Margo Channing (Bacall) taking a star-struck fan (Penny Fuller) under her wing who pays her back by trying to take over her life. This production seems to have been thrown together in sort of a hap-hazard fashion and Bacall and company deserve better. The score by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse (BYE BYE BIRDIE) includes "But Alive", "The Best Night of My Life", "Backstage Babble", "One of a Kind", and the classic title tune. Bacall works hard at making Margo likable as does Larry Hagman as Bill Sampson, Margo's much younger boyfriend. A curio to be sure, but worth a look if you can find it.

This may not be really good, but it is fascinating to see if only for a 'legendary' performance, that being of Lauren Bacall as Margo Channing. I never found Bacall the least bit sexy in film, and although she came along some in the late 1940s and 1950s, I always thought she was a near-A star with a B- talent. I recall the discerning but often nasty critic John Simon once stating that there were certain stars, Bacall being one of them, who were simply naturally 'big' personalities and were able to demonstrate that much better on the stage than on the screen. Well, she does that here, and in spades. You cannot watch Bacall in KEY LARGO or TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT and get any idea that she has a personality and 'largeness' of aspect so totally on exhibit in this film. That being said, several reviewers here have somewhat denigrated this TV performance of hers, but they should remember that it is a THEATER performance basically filmed for the small screen. (Bette Davis, in ALL ABOUT EVE, gave a THEATER performance on the screen and got away with it, but she always gave THEATER performances on the screen, somewhat in the manner that Eleanor Parker and Faye Dunaway also did, and they all got away with it, sometimes gloriously well.) As for the rest of the TV show, it is quite updated to include not only some language that would have been verboten on the screen in 1950, but also in changing the Thelma Ritter role to that of a gay man, having an entire scene take place in a gay club, and changing the critic played by George Sanders to a show producer played by Robert Mandan. The producer isn't nearly as nasty and caustic (and funny) as is the Sanders character, but he is in the same position as is the critic to help Eve's upcoming career, and in the end, he gets that particular girl (poor guy), while Margo goes off to the domestic life with a good, but not grainy enough (in comparison to Gary Merrill) Larry Hagman. The songs for this show were so-so at best, but quite effective in putting over why people dedicate their lives to the theater (actually, this is done better than in the movie) and also why Margo has done so. And as iconic as Davis may have been in the movie, she is a big part of a great ensemble, whereas in the musical, Margo is 80% of the show. Whatever the outcome, and it is pretty good, this viewing just moved me to think of all the great stage performances that have not been preserved - like Andrews in MY FAIR LADY, Merman in GYPSY, Alfred Drake in just about everything he did, March and Eldridge in LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, etc., etc. Anyway, even as only a historical curiosity, this is well worth viewing.

"Applause" was made as a TV movie in 1973 from the Broadway musical of the same title that ran for 896 performances from 1970 to 1972. The adaptation included most of the original Broadway cast, but Larry Hagman replaced Len Cariou in the role of Bill Sampson. The show and film are a musical version of the 1950 film, "All About Eve," that had an all-star cast and won six Academy Awards. It's a familiar plot which has been adapted a few times in other films over the decades.

The Broadway show won four Tony awards out of 11 nominations, including best musical, best direction of a musical, best choreography and best leading actress in a musical. It was Lauren Bacall's first of two Tony awards as best actress on Broadway. Although all of the cast are good, Bacall is the main reason to see this show, if one can find it. I saw it on DVD that was taped from its TV showing. The copy quality is very poor and the character images are not clear and crisp.

While Bacall and others of the cast can carry a tune, they are not professional singers. Ergo, this play and film don't have the punch and power of the great musicals that have featured professional singers or their voices. The music and dance numbers are good, and the choreography is very good. But, again, this film has the feel of a stage production and the star quality of performers doesn't match that of the great musicals that were made into movies.

Applause was a fun, sharp, sophisticated & very successful Broadway musical. What we are reviewing here is the tv version which is less successful. Some shows don't translate well to television. Applause is one of them. To have seen it in person & felt the joy of a live performance & then have to compare it to this version is slightly sad. It's still a tight show & Bacall is magnificent. (in spite of the nasty queen's insulting review here. He apparently has no taste. Just a viscous tongue & poor eyesight) But it's all we have & if we can stretch our imagination, we can still see how thrilling it must have been on Broadway. It won several Tony awards including Best Musical & Best actress for Bacall which it deserved. We have no other version left for us other than a cast album and so I am grateful for this flawed time capsule video version. Flawed? Yes but still, I love it.

I always wondered what this show was like.The musical version of "ALL ABOUT EVE" I have heard the Original Broadway cast album and was excited to see on the IMDB that there was a video version taped in 1973. I recently found a copy of it. I can now understand why this is never seen. The quality of the sets is like a cheap soap opera, the actors project as if they are acting to the last row of a huge arena. Lauren Bacall has never seemed so insincere. The "choreography" is sloppy, the Greenwich Village gay bar number is a blast, men throwing Lauren around while she sings, and trying to make it look like she is a dancer. At times I am reminded of Mae West in "SEXTETTE" The lip-syncing is obvious. But I love this show I wish they would put this on DVD with DTS sound and hours of extras. But this will most likely be shown no-where and never released on home video. The production was probably taped in a few days and it shows. I am sure the stage production was a lot better. But this is the only version of this musical around. It is a great record of the show if you can imagine the better production it must have been. The songs are stuck in my head. The dramatic lovers quarrels with Lauren and Larry Hagman are unbelievable. The ending is very strange with Margo (Lauren) giving up her career as an actress so she can be a real woman for her man. But that is all part of the fun. The "APPLAUSE" number is a real hoot with the cutesy "gypsies" doing parodies of "Cabaret," "Fiddler," West Side Story," "Hello Dolly," "Oklahoma-Oh Calcutta." among others. Highly recommended!