Bye Bye Birdie

I am usually in the corner of those who complain about how Hollywood generally altered many classic Broadway stage musicals into something radically different when they were made into movies. Most of the time, the changes were ridiculous and weakened the property dramatically.

"Bye Bye Birdie" though, is the rare exception where the changes made to get it to the big screen were absolutely necessary. And nothing demonstrates this more than the fact that the faithful 1995 TV version is a lumbering, slow-moving mess that manages to demonstrate perfectly how what plays great on the stage does not always translate effectively to the film medium.

By contrast, the 1963 film version decided to make itself a bright, colorful film extravaganza that played to the strengths of the film medium. And the results in my opinion, worked wonderfully.

To a stage fan like "citybuilder" who rips the changes from the play, he needs to stop and think of how the structure of the stage version, which has the Sullivan show moment and the punching of Conrad as an Act I finale, would never have worked on film. It simply makes more cinematic sense to move that to the end. And the whole big deal over Rose's ethnicity, which was really done to showcase the talent of Broadway lead Chita Rivera, would have been a distraction as well because spotlighting Albert's mother as a racist would have gone against the whole tone of the movie (and truth be told "Spanish Rose" is not that great a song). Likewise, it's better to have Albert sing "Put On A Happy Face" to Rose rather than a nameless Conrad Birdie fan we never see again.

Dick Van Dyke and Paul Lynde offer the right amount of gravitas from the Broadway cast, Janet Leigh in her black wig gets to show off her dancing talent which she seldom got a chance to do (her singing is admittedly a bit thin, but she gets by), and of course Ann-Margret totally elevates the role of Kim McAfee into a star vehicle, and who can blame them for doing this? Her rendition of the title song written for the film is enough to leave one gasping for air, yet she still manages to be convincing as the wide-eyed teenager just the same.

Ultimately, stage fans can be satisfied that they got the version they prefer done on film (though it should be noted that the 95 version is not a pure rendition of the 1960 stage script, but rather the 1991 touring revival), but movie fans got the better end of things with this version in 1963. It will never be among the great movie musicals, but it is two solid hours of colorful early 60s fun.

Bye Bye Birdie which ran a most respectable 607 performances on Broadway was the second musical by the team of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. And though they've been responsible for such additional Broadway hits as Applause, Golden Boy, All American, not one other of their shows has ever been adapted to the screen.

Though Bye Bye Birdie contains a number of hit songs still performed frequently today, it's never been revived. Interesting in that Grease which was a satire of that pre-Beatles era of rock and roll is performed all the time. You'd think the real article would occasionally be revived.

The only ones who make the transition from Broadway to Hollywood from the cast are Dick Van Dyke and Paul Lynde. Probably because respectively they are so identified with the songs Put On A Happy Face and Kids that no one would see the film if they weren't in it.

Based on the great pop culture uproar when Elvis Presley got drafted, Bye Bye Birdie is about a contest thought up by production assistant Janet Leigh to the Ed Sullivan Show to help her struggling songwriter boyfriend Dick Van Dyke. He writes a song One Last Kiss and Janet puts the idea to Sullivan to have Conrad Birdie {Jesse Pearson) sing it on the show to a special Conrad Birdie fan selected at random and bestow one last kiss before Uncle Sam takes him.

The lucky girl is Ann-Margret of Sweet Apple, Ohio and wouldn't you know that she'd come from a town like that. The teen virgin roles Sandra Dee didn't get are the ones Ann-Margret got and unlike Dee, that girl could sing and dance. Her boyfriend is Bobby Rydell who was at the height of his teen idol popularity as well and they do make an attractive and charming couple.

The dynamic of the triangle of Birdie, boyfriend, and fan is a very big change from the Broadway show. Realize that Bobby Rydell's part was played on Broadway by Michael J. Pollard and you KNOW it has to be different. Rydell, Pearson, and Ann-Margret sing and dance A Lot of Living To Do.

Janet Leigh is not thought of as a musical performer, but she did acquit herself well, though she would never have classified herself in Chita Rivera's echelon as a dancer. Leigh was in Howard Hughes's earlier attempt at RKO for a big musical in Two Tickets to Broadway and she did well there as she does here.

To say Bye Bye Birdie is from a more innocent time is to belabor the obvious. But if Grease can be continually revived, why can't Bye Bye Birdie?

The vitriol below from fans of the Broadway original is absurd. Yes, this is not a filmed version of the stage play - GET OVER IT! What we have is a funny, smart, classic film musical that gets virtually everything right. Dick Van Dyke reprises his Broadway role while at the peak of his career, Paul Lynde gives his best film performance, Maureen Stapleton milks her part for all it's worth, and Ann-Margret is simply astounding! The only casting error is Janet Leigh - but they needed a name, since everyone else in the cast was unknown at the time. While Leigh gives a solid performance, songs had to be cut since she could sing only with difficulty. But this is a minor flaw - everything else about this film is spot on, as demonstrated by the sad effort to redo it for TV in 1995. It captures the era perfectly - of course, it's dated: it's about America in the early 60s! If it wasn't dated, it wouldn't work! So if you haven't seen it, get it - I just watched in in NYC's Bryant Park with thousands of jaded New Yorkers, and it won over that audience completely. Enjoy!

I really mean it. On the surface, it appears to be a funny, innocent, slap-happy musical. And it is - at least during the first half of the movie. Then it starts to wink at itself. I was ten when I first saw it, and though I enjoyed it a lot of it went way over my head. Watching it now, ten years later, I realize that BYE BYE BIRDIE is actually a smart, sophisticated satire that's not for kids.

The title character is Conrad Birdie, a vain, oily rock-'n'-roll star who's been drafted by the army. In fact, the movie focuses not so much on him as it does on the other characters - a songwriter and producer (Dick Van Dyke), his girlfriend (Janet Leigh), and a teenage girl named Kim (Ann-Margret). Forget Jesse Pearson, who plays Conrad; it's Van Dyke and Margret's movie all the way.

As I said, this film is actually a satire. There are so many in-jokes and jabs at the 1960s that watching it is almost like reading an issue of MAD or CRACKED magazine. In particular, the Cold War comes in for some heavy ribbing (this movie was made during 1962, the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis); the Soviets are made to look like pompous buffoons, with one guy even whacking himself in the head with his shoe (hint, hint). It's still pretty funny nearly four decades later, but I can imagine how much more of a punch it would have packed back during those foreboding times. In other scenes, the movie predates the style of John Waters by poking some fun at suburbia.

Lots of satire - and most of it decisively adult. You can bet that kids simply won't understand the scathingly sarcastic remarks delivered by Kim's Archie Bunkeresque father (Paul Lynde), or Kim's budding sexuality. And of course they're not going to be familiar with Ed Sullivan (himself). Still, there are lots of joyfully kinetic dance numbers and memorable songs (most notably "Going Steady," "Got a Lot of Livin' To Do," and the tune everybody remembers: "Put on a Happy Face"). Kids will want to fast-forward the VCR to the musical numbers, and also the funniest moment in the picture, which involves a glass of drugged milk and a ballet conductor.

An excellent, well-made, highly underestimated comedy, and infinitely superior to the made-for-TV version from 1995. So get a bowl of popcorn and check out this classic piece of popular culture. Just be prepared to explain a lot to the kiddies...

I tend to agree with Alice from Orlando regarding this film. While "Bye Bye, Birdie" is a terrific film with terrific performances, viewed today, it's also a tribute to an era that we'll never get back. I completely agree with those historians who feel that 1953 - 1963, the ten year period between the end of the Korean War and that dark day in Dallas, was the last real "Era of Good Feeling" in American history. By and large, we knew who we were, what we were, and where we were going. Then came political assasination, the "Summer of Love," Viet Nam, Watergate, et. al., and we have a society that's not sure of anything anymore. Happily, there are films like "Bye Bye, Birdie," made during the apex of the 1953-63 period, to remind those of us who came of age during that era what we've lost, and to show those who weren't there what it was like. Would that we all had a Sweetapple, Ohio, to go back to again.