Gypsy, vénus de Broadway

This is a terrific filmization of the 1959 Broadway show which starred Ethel Merman. Although some may argue that Rosalind Russell is not effective in the role of Mama Rose, I can't see how anyone could complain. Russell is excellent in the role, she's funny, entertaining, and sincere. Although I understand her singing voice was dubbed, it still sounds more pleasant to me then the loud, brash singing of Merman that I heard from the Broadway soundtrack album.

As for the others, Karl Malden is great in his role, as is Ann Jillian as June. The real star here, to me, is Natalie Wood who is both believable in her role as the neglected Louise, and stunning in her transformation to Gypsy Rose Lee. The moment where she looks in the mirror prior to her first solo performance ("I'm pretty!"), is one of the best screen moments ever.

The songs and musical scenes here are all wonderful too, "If Mama Was Married" is a great duet between June and Louise, "Everything's Coming Up Roses" is terrific too, as is "Rose's Turn" and most of the others. If there is one complaint to be made about this film, it's that the wonderful "Together, Wherever We Go" number was cut out. Worse then that, no prints with that number intact seem to exist on 35mm. Other then that, though, it is a great film with excellent Technicolor photography and excellent music. If you love musicals, see it, and be sure to see it in the wide screen version.

"Gypsy" is a very difficult movie to have achieved from a writer's standpoint. As is true of "Dr. Zhivago" and "The Searchers", much of the film is told from the point of view of a younger person, who serves as the viewer's alter ego within scenes while the central character does little. This book, play and film was the result of Rose Louise Hovick's biography of herself and her mother before and at the beginning of her celebrity as "Gypsy Rose Lee", burlesque icon. The film is filled with famous songs and comedy scenes, alternating with moving confrontations that for once gain by having been real ones. Among the songs are "Some People", "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "All I Need is the Girl" and "You Gotta Have a Gimmick", "Small World" and more. The memorable comedic scenes involve the repetition of Dainty June and her boys coming onstage in various guises, with a two-person cow dancing behind her; the three strippers who try to teach Louise how to succeed; the children singing, "Momma Get Married"; and "Please Mr. Goldstone" in gratitude to the producer who inexplicably likes their corny act. The moving scenes are Herbie, Mama's boyfriend, trying to convince her to give up her hard-minded pursuit of show business fame, Louise realizing the girl a young boy dancer says he needs is not she; her realization just before she goes onstage at a burlesque theater at her mother's insistence that she has one talent--she is a pretty girl, etc. the songs by Jule Styne all work, but only some are classics. the direction of the film by Mervyn LeRoy is very good, economical, and only occasionally look staged the device of theatrically closing out a scene by artificially dimming the lights for me works in this fictionalized biography; we get as viewers the feeling we are seeing glimpses of an interesting life, partly because of this device. Costumes by Orry-Kelly, Howard Shoup and others, the cinematography of Harry Stradling, Sr., excellent period sets, art direction and more are major assets to this colorful but never-splashy musical success. not the last of director LeRoy's here is that we see theatrical scenes and scenes in a theater as well or better handled than in any other film I know. The actors including the three strippers, Faith Dane, Betty Bruce and Roxanne Arlen are wonderfully funny; Benny Lessy as Mr. Goldstone, Louis Quinn, Guy Raymond and Harry Shannon get all they can out of their small parts. the children who play Rose's girls are all good, particularly Ann Jillian as June. As Herbie, Karl Malden is energetic and first-rate at conveying his love and his desire for a normal life, for the children and himself. Natalie Wood is too thin-voiced to be great but she is a seasoned performer and underplays Louise intelligently. As Rose, Rosalind Russell occupies the active center of almost every scene. There is another way to play Rose other than as someone coldly obsessed with fame; I saw Giselle Mackenzie do the role onstage as a caring obsessive, one who would not be denied justice for her children as she was for herself. But Rosalind Russell is alternately brassy and wheedling, working everyone for exactly what she needs while pretending to be pushing for the sake of her daughters. She is intelligent, always interesting and frequently epic in her hunger for what has eluded her in her own performing career. And in "Rose's Turn" we see that her extraordinary charisma and courage were indeed something special. This is a show business biography of unusual believability and intelligence for all its laughter. And a memorable musical biography that works differently on film, but does work very effectively.

After seeing many productions and the remake, I have to say Roz was my favorite Rose. My biggest disappointment comes from the foolish excising of "Together" from the film.

Even though the "lost" footage is added as an extra after the film on the DVD and Video, there is a verse missing. I was told that there are no more 35 mm prints in existence of this film but, I do not have statistics or proof to back this up but, I am sure there must be a copy of this film with the entire song in tact and Karl Malden's Verse in "You'll Never Get Away From Me." I have no clear reason as to why "Together..." was cut and I would like to know why but, I am in hopes it can be found somewhere and added in another video release undamaged.-Tony

It's been nearly 50 years since I first saw this film, and at the time I thought it was good. Over the years since, many criticisms have been hurled at this film version, and it has suffered a bad reputation. Yes, it would have been great to have a film record of Merman performing one of her most famous roles, but Merman was not as good on film as on the stage. In subsequent years, I have seen the Bette Midler TV version (Midler was much more miscast than Roz Russell! And Midler seemed to really struggle vocally in the part). I have also seen Tyne Daly on stage (great acting, vocally a stretch for her), and most recently, Patti LuPone's Tony winning, mesmerizing performance on stage. LuPone had both the acting and singing ability required and then some - it would be interesting to see how she would fare in a film version. So, when TCM recently showed this, I thought it was time to revisit the film and see what my view was after nearly 50 years. My verdict is that Rosalind Russell is not that bad really, she really acts the part, and as for Lisa Kirk dubbing some of her songs, I think it is a good fit and not at all distracting. All of the supporting roles are excellently played, too, especially my favorite Paul Wallace as Tulsa. In short, I think Russell deserves a lot more credit than she is often given for her performance!

During the roaring 1920s, domineering Rosalind Russell (as Rose Hovick) pushes her two young daughters successfully onto the vaudeville stage. But, when star Ann Jillian (as "Dainty" June) hits puberty and runs off with a chorus boy, Ms. Russell is left with relatively untalented Natalie Wood (as Louise). Undaunted, Russell alters the act for Ms. Wood, who makes it a burlesque show. When she becomes a strip-tease star (as "Gypsy Rose Lee"), an ungrateful Wood leaves her Mama in the wings. Russell receives moral support from agent and lover Karl Malden (as Herbie Sommers), who wants to be her fourth husband...

Everything's Coming Up Roses...

The main problem, here, is that the terrific score, by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, is given a relatively lesser treatment, when compared to Ethel Merman's Broadway version (available on CD). Russell was dubbed well by singer Lisa Kirk - but, instead of rendering her own version of the classics, she was apparently hired to sound similar to Russell. The benefit is that you don't get raspy Russell suddenly singing like soprano Marni Nixon. While perhaps not ideally cast, Russell and Wood possess enough star power to make an already great show pass muster. Thankfully, Paul Wallace (as Tulsa) retains his stage presence.

Sing Out, Louise!

******* Gypsy (11/1/62) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace