Anything Goes

'Anything Goes' has always been one of my favourite Cole Porter musicals. The songs are some of his most memorable and catchy and the lyrics some of his cleverest.

This screen adaptation is slightly disappointing but also with plenty to enjoy. It is not among the best screen adaptations of his work (i.e. 'Kiss Me Kate') but not one of the weakest either (i.e. 'Can-Can'). The story is very lightweight and even more flimsy, and the grand production finale is a little overblown, the more lavish production values not quite meshing with the slightly less cinematic look where some lacking-in-finesse editing can be seen.

Porter's songs are simply wonderful and brilliantly sung by Ethel Merman and Bing Crosby, but did deserve better treatment. There are some glaring omissions and lyric changes to accommodate the censors meaning that the risqué naughtiness that made Porter's lyrics so clever is swapped for tamer and safer writing and, as much as one tries to judge on its own feet, it just doesn't feel the same.

However, apart from the editing it is a good-looking film, not lavish but nicely photographed in black and white and attractive enough costumes and sets. The music is wonderful, even with the changes and not quite feeling like Porter, and the choreography is never cluttered or leaden. The script is clever and witty, with some pleasing humour, and it's all solidly directed.

Nothing to fault with the performances. It is very easy to see why Merman was a triumph in her role here on Broadway, belting out powerfully in the title song (one of Porter's most famous classics for very good reason), "You're the Top" and particularly "I Get a Kick Out of You", the latter being the highlight of the film. Crosby looks relaxed and is charming, while Ida Lupino radiates in beauty and charisma and Charles Ruggles enjoys himself enormously.

To conclude, so much to enjoy but full potential is not quite met. 7/10 Bethany Cox

In New York, 1936 Cole Porter was the toast of the town...in Hollywood he was just another songwriter. When RKO turned his "The Gay Divorce" into "The Gay Divorcée", "Night and Day" was the only original song kept in the film, but Fred and Ginger were given "The Continental" and "A Needle in a Haystack" to make into standards. "Anything Goes" unfortunately didn't have such luck. It was Cole Porter at his best but censorship was always going to be a problem in bringing his risqué songs to the screen. While the censors relented about the plot, an on the run gangster, Moon Face Martin, Public Enemy 13 disguising himself as a priest, the songs were scrupulously cleansed of any references to cocaine, burlesque dancers and "Holy Moses". The main songs left out were "All Through the Night", "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" and "Anything Goes" (amazingly!!) in which Ethel Merman sang a couple of lines over the opening credits.

She soon appears on a swing singing a very cleaned up version of "I Get a Kick Out of You" then confusion sets in. This is not Bing Crosby's finest moment. Charlie Ruggles is a riot as Moon Face Martin, Public Enemy No. 13 (although having seen Victor Moore in a couple of films I can imagine how funny he would have been). Crosby is mistaken for Snake Eyes Johnson, a fellow gangster - he has followed Hope Harcourt (luminous Ida Lupino) on to a liner, thinking she is being harassed by gangsters, but in reality her father has hired private investigators. There is a scene were Reno Sweeney (Merman) and Arthur Treacher start a conversation with "you do something to me" (from Porter's "50 Million Frenchmen" (1929)) - perhaps it was to convince the audience that this movie was based on a Cole Porter musical and they were in the right movie house!!! Mostly the film is filled with lack lustre, forgettable songs although "You're the Top" is sang with verve by Crosby and Merman. The finale "Shanghi De Ho" is a lavish number that looks as though it is filmed in a theatre and not on the docks as it is supposed to be. The film, to me, seemed to have a cheap look about it!!!

The closest you'll ever come to hearing a faithful recording of Cole Porter's original score is by listening to the faithful 1988 studio cast recording directed by John McGlinn, which uses (as much as possible) the original orchestrations of Robert Russell Bennett and Hans Spialak.

However, that doesn't mean you should ignore this revamped film version, which has historical interest because it preserves one of the few film performances of Ethel Merman. The Broadway show, which opened in 1934 and ran for 420 performances (quite a long run in those days), actually gets better treatment than other Porter musicals adapted for film. I have in mind "DuBarry was a Lady," the 1943 vehicle that stars Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly and Red Skelton, and "Something for the Boys" (1944).

"Anthing Goes," which was renamed "Tops Is the Limit" to prevent confusion with the 1956 remake, again starring Bing Crosby, is more of a vehicle for Crosby than anyone else, which is why outside songwriters were brought in to provide him with material more suited to his vocal skills.

Only three of Porter's songs are given anything resembling a full treatment (albeit with laundered lyrics): "You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "There'll Alway Be a Lady Fair." Other songs are used as background or underscoring (e.g., "All Through the Night," "Blow, Gabriel, Blow.").

In the original cast, Merman was joined by two big Broadway stars -- William Gaxton and Victor Moore -- as well as a lady named Vivian Vance, while the film gives us, besides Crosby and Merman, Charles Ruggles, Ida Lupino and the veddy, veddy English Arthur Treacher.

The plot, such as it is, hardly matters. In her autobiography "Who Could Ask for Anything More," Ethel Merman tells why:

" ...the writers who used to think up the books that were wrapped around Gershwin or Cole Porter scores, started from scratch, which only their bare cupboards and an unmanageable sense of humor to guide them. First a producer signed a cast; then he hired writers to rustle up some material for that cast to use. 'I've got Bert Lahr,' he'd say. Or 'I've got Victor Moore. Get going' buddy. Make with the Moore-type yoks.' " In the mid-1950s, Merman and Frank Sinatra performed in "Anything Goes" on television. The program was later released on a bootleg album. If enjoy the film, with a little research you'll even find it on DVD.

Enjoy the hijinks, singing and production numbers.

After so many years of knowing this was on YouTube, I finally decided to watch this initial film version of Cole Porter's musical Anything Goes. Ethel Merman reprises her Broadway role as Reno Sweeney and got to sing the Porter songs, "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "You're the Top" which she performed with the other film star, Bing Crosby, though both songs had some lyric changes either because of the Production Code or because Paramount didn't want to have stars not contracted to that studio mentioned in the latter song. Oh, and "Anything Goes" was only sung briefly by Merman at the beginning. Anyway, this was quite a funny farce though it takes a while before one gets what's going on and even then, you have to really pay attention to understand it! Charlie Ruggles is a hoot as someone disguising as a missionary man and Margaret Dumont is her funny dowager self sharing a scene with him. The non-Porter songs aren't bad, either, and Ida Lupino was a luminous leading lady here. So on that note, this version of Anything Goes is worth a look. P.S. The reason I decided to watch this now was because I've been reviewing the Our Gang shorts in chronological order as well as some films outside of the series that has some of those kid players in the same way. So it was that OG player Jerry Tucker has a part here doing some mischief between Crosby, Merman, and Ruggles and another man who's laying in a deck chair. And the version I watched on YT had the alternate title, Tops Is the Limit.

The trouble with filming Cole Porter shows is that the book and lyrics were normally, so naughty, so risqué that it was inevitable those sharp eyed censors feasted mightily on cuts.

This first version of Anything Goes was no exception. All the naughty lyrics and risqué situations and dialog were cut out to make this product G rated. It wasn't until Kiss Me Kate was done in the 1950s that a really successful adaption of one of Cole Porter's Broadway shows was done. The best success Porter had on the screen was when he wrote directly FOR the screen. Born to Dance, Rosalie, High Society, etc.

What this Anything Goes has to recommend it was the fact that this was only one of two instances where Ethel Merman reprised one of her Broadway successes for the screen. At that she sung some G rated lyrics for the title song and I Get A Kick Out of You.

The only thing that Bing Crosby got to do in the movie that was from Cole Porter was a duet with Ethel Merman with You're the Top. If I had to nominate a song in history that's had more lyrics done for it would have to be this one. The melody is eternal and the lyrics are constantly being updated. Someone ought to investigate the Cole Porter estate and see just how many verses he actually wrote to You're the Top. Surely there haven't been any since 1964, but you can hear versions of You're the Top even today with up to date topical lyrics:

You're the Top, you're Madonna's reinvention

You're the Top, you're Bush's stolen election

Now I just made that up, but it's a tribute to a great songwriter and an eternal melody.

A whole bunch of Hollywood songwriters gave Bing Crosby some serviceable tunes for him, but it ain't Cole Porter. I think this has to do with the family image that Crosby had even back then. No naughty Cole Porter lyrics for Der Bingle.

Yet he has some moments with songs. I particular like the number he does from the ship's crow's nest, Sailor Beware. Good song, but it's a typical example of the cheap production numbers that Paramount gave Crosby at this time. If you look at it, try to imagine what Busby Berkeley would have done. He also has a nice ballad to sing to Ida Lupino in My Heart and I. Finally there's a song called Moonburn which sold a few 78 rpm platters back in the day. On record Crosby sings it with just the accompaniment of jazz pianist Joe Sullivan. It's classic Bing.

Charlie Ruggles was never bad in anything he did, but I do kind of wish that Victor Moore reprised his part from Anything Goes. He was a big hit on Broadway as squeamish Public Enemy 13, Moonface Martin.

Ida Lupino gives very little indication of the classic actress she became on screen. But she's serviceable as Bing's love interest.

Look at the trio of sailors singing, They'll Always Be a Lady Fair and you'll recognize Chill Wills.

Add to that a badly butchered job in editing and you haven't got one of Bing Crosby's best films, but still enjoyable for fans of Der Bingle like your's truly.