The Belle of 14th Street

As someone who really likes Barbra Streisand's voice, The Belle of 14th Street, done like a vaudeville revue, on the most part was a treat. It does though start off on a fairly weak note with You're the Apple of My Eye, Jason Robards does what he can with it but he does look stiff, the number is too cutesy and goes on for far too long and some of the choreography is repetitive, the throwing apples gimmick did get tiring. The Tempest segment is absolutely hilarious, the dialogue is fabulous(of course it would be it's Shakespeare after all) and Barbra and Robards perform the heck out of it but it also feels a touch overlong and will go over the heads of those who have never seen The Tempest. Some of the in-between segments could have had more zip in the pace and more to the point. However, the special looks great with the standout being the editing in the Mother Machree number, very clever stuff, Barbra's black dress is also a knockout. The sets and period detail are sumptuous and authentic, and it is all beautifully photographed. The music ranges between the rousing and the sublime, not so more apparent in the medley in the third act, and everybody watching will be guaranteed to love the nostalgic and witty quality The Belle of 14th Street has. The highlights of the special were the operatic-like Liebestraume which had great entertainment value and had plenty of surprises, including Barbra's remarkably strong high register and in particular the medley, all the songs are wonderful, some also sadly rare, and Barbra sings them with spirit, impeccable vocal control and heartfelt soul. She takes on numerous roles and is wonderful, the medley is the standout but her matriarch in We're Four Americans, her Schmausen Schmidt, her dual role in The Tempest and the striptease for Alice Blue Gown are very well played as well. Put Your Arms Around Me Honey aided by the charming animation(the opening credits are similarly well animated and amusing) is also beautiful. Robards proves a better actor than a singer but like Barbra he takes on multiple roles and shows that he is far from ill-suited. John Bubbles is very entertaining too, and that is including his very odd half-chicken costume. Overall, very good on the whole but the middle and last acts fare better than the first. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Barbra Streisand's 3rd television special uses turn of the century vaudeville for a filmed stage show, complete with curtain, stage cards, and a period-costumed audience.

As if evolving from her 1965 My Name is Barbra where the entire hour was centred on her, and the 1966 Color Me Barbra where she included circus animals, here she is the title performer who is only one of the acts. Streisand is also one of The Dancing Duncans, where she sings and dances with Jason Robards and Lee Allen using an odd Irish accent; with Robards as the acting couple The Mongers who do a scene from The Tempest where she plays Arial and Miranda; and Madame Nuremburg Nightingale (her german name escaped me) who sings an operatic Liebestraum, then duets with Streisand as a boy in the audience singing Mother Macree. Streisand-less acts are Robards as Alf Yates with the Beeftrust Girls, and John Bubbles.

The 3 act structure from the first 2 shows is loosely copied, with the final act again devoted to Streisand (as the Belle) in concert. The opening and closing credit sequences, where cut-out images of Streisand in period clothes and backdrop dance to her singing, tells you that director Joe Layton is having fun, as is the reaction shots of the audience (sometimes not pleased) and the backstage views - this is most evident when we see the mechanics behind The Tempest.

Streisand too plays for camp appeal, with her drag queen make-up including Cleopatra eyeliner, being stripped of her clothes in Alice Blue Gown, the androgyny of the Mother Macree boy who has her trademark long fingernails, her southern accented Mrs Monger with big hair, and the Mae West style feather boa and matching feathered large hat she wears as The Belle. The period look pre-empts primarily her Dolly Levi in the 1969 film of Hello, Dolly!, and also the period clothes of the 1968 Funny Girl she had yet to make.

Streisand's singing also indulges in vocal virtuosity in I Don't Care and Nobody But Me, that demonstrate her boredom with performing in a `straight' fashion. However, her best moments are the display of her upper register in Liebestraum, her rendition of My Buddy/How About Me, and the freshness of her Shakespearean Miranda, perhaps funnier because she plays opposite Robards.

At the time this special was released, the use of the Beefttrust Girls created a stir, as they are a chorus of fat ladys. However arguments of exploitation seemed to ignore the fact that these girls are shown to be good singers and dancers, and that the fuller figure was politically correct for the period.

After revolutionizing the art of the musical variety television special with MY NAME IS BARBRA and COLOR ME BARBRA, Barbra Streisand decided not reuse the demanding one-woman format for her third CBS special - the unfairly mangled vaudeville-tribute THE BELLE OF 14th STREET. Deciding instead on featuring guest stars to share the spotlight, the special would still contain three acts and include another mini-concert as the final segment. Respected actor Jason Robards, vaudeville-era song-and-dance man John Bubbles, and FUNNY GIRL co-star Lee Allen all make appearances in this salute to early 1900's entertainment, which also features authentic period wardrobe (even for the audience members) and song selections appropriate to the era. Critics unanimously regarded the show as an artistic failure, however, it is, in truth, extremely enjoyable when taken as a whole.

After the amusing animated opening credits, Act I of the show opens with the weakest number of the entire special. Jason Robards stumbles through an uninspired performance of "You're the Apple of My Eye," while he and the "Bevy of Beefy Beauties" throw apples into the audience. The number is simply not very entertaining and drags on for far too long. Much better is Barbra's coy rendition of "Alice Blue Gown," which becomes a sexy burlesque striptease as strategically-placed wires begin to remove portions of her clothing. John Bubbles makes his only appearance in the special delivering a fine version of "I'm Going South," although the reason he is wearing a chicken costume is left unexplained. Streisand, Robards, and Lee Allen then perform the spirited novelty song "We're Four Americans" as an Scottish-American singing family (sort of an Irish take on the Von Trapp family), all in a thick Irish dialect.

Act II opens with one of the show's high points. Streisand appears as the heavily-accented German opera singer Madame Schmausen-Schmidt (known as the Nuremberg Nightingale), and sings a rousing semi-comedic rendition of "Leibestraum" in a shockingly strong operatic voice. Through some clever editing, Streisand as Schmausen-Schmidt then duets with a young boy in the audience (also played by Streisand) on a touching version of "Mother Machree." Next, Streisand and Robards play southern Shakespearean actors the Mungers, who deliver a selection from THE TEMPSTt. Robards portrays both Prospero and Caliban, while Streisand appears as both Miranda and Ariel. Although both Streisand and Robards give a respectable presentation of the material, it will probably be totally incomprehensible to viewers who are unfamiliar with the play.

The following third Act concert is really just as exceptional as the closing concert segments of MY NAME IS BARBRA and COLOR ME BARBRA. This time, Barbra, while dressed in a slinky black dress and over-sized hat, sings gorgeous period standards such as "My Melancholy Baby" and "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows." The highlight of highlights is a stunning melody of "My Buddy," "How About Me," "A Good Man is Hard to Find," and "Some of These Days" that will send chills up even the most cynical viewer's spine. Also of special note is rousing "Everybody Loves My Baby," which Streisand has never performed anywhere else. Ending the special on a high note, the closing "Put Your Arms Around Me Honey" (set to animation that corresponds with the show's opening credits) concludes the delightful hour with just the right touch.

Barbra's 3rd television special was trying to be something totally different than her first two. It succeeded. I think the choices of material could have been better in certain parts of the special, that's all. The best part was at the end, when Barbra, as The Belle Of 14th street,sang for us several songs. I thought the Madame McCree number in the 2nd act, using Barbra as both Madame McCree and the little boy in the audience was quite good. I also liked the way the special opened, with the use of animation with Barbra singing the song, "I don't care". I applaud "The Belle Of Fourteenth Street" for being original and different, and for not trying to repeat the exact same formula as Barbra's first 2 specials. For that alone, it was refreshing. On a scale of 1-10,(10 being the best), I give "The Belle Of Fourteenth Street" a 7.

Following two successful solo specials for CBS, Barbra Streisand returned in 1967 with a new concept: a vaudeville revue culled from the 1920s, with Barbra (in several different guises) joined by guests on-stage in front of a live audience (who were also in character). Reportedly, 50 hours of footage were filmed and edited down to just over 51 minutes. This may explain why the attempts at humor are scattershot and never come to bloom, while comedic ideas such as Streisand portraying a Shakespearean actress with a flagrant Southern drawl aren't pointed enough to make much of an impact. Streisand singing "I Don't Care" over the opening credits (animated with cut-out, paper doll-style photos of Barbra) is endearing...though the special nearly peaks here. Jason Robards is an ill-suited musical partner for the star, and his would-be lascivious opening number about apples is excruciatingly 'cute'. Streisand (as a stripteaser, a German soprano, a patriotic Duncan Dancer, and as a singing boy seated in the audience) hasn't a truly wonderful moment until the second half of the program, when she transforms herself into the title creation. The leaden show finally comes to life with Barbra singing, among others, a lovely medley of "My Buddy" and "How About Me?". Still, it's a videotaped showcase which misfires, although fans of the multi-talented Streisand will enjoy the final twenty minutes, which thankfully isn't comprised by novelty gimmicks.