Hello, Dolly!

This gargantuan musical was the last of its kind. It's like a dinosaur ear-marked for extinction and yet it's highly entertaining. Parts of it are terrible, (mostly those scenes in which Babs doesn't appear), and Gene Kelly's direction is never as light on its feet as his dancing used to be but when the aforementioned Miss Striesand is on screen, the movie soars. Critics complained that at 27 she was much too young for the part of Dolly Levi but she's a bona-fide star, so what the heck; her Dolly is ageless and as musical-comedy performances go this is one of the best.

The Jerry Herman score is decidedly old-fashioned Broadway. Sondheim may be the greater composer but Herman gave us tunes we could hum and the production numbers here are terrific, in particular the title song which gives us Striesand, high-kicking waiters and Louis Armstrong. Purists will always prefer the Joseph Anthony version of Thornton Wilder's original play "The Matchmaker" but this is no disgrace, so put on your Sunday clothes and let's have a whale of a time.

Forget the stories about miscasting and squabbles on the set. This production of HELLO, DOLLY! is big and bright and brassy with Barbra Streisand taking center stage as Dolly Levi, the matchmaker with a mind to marry a crusty "half-a-millionaire" from Yonkers.

The story line is familiar. The musical is based on Thornton Wilder's play THE MATCHMAKER and was a Broadway sensation for Carol Channing in 1964. This film version trims the story, drops a couple songs, and adds a new one ("Love Is Only Love"). Directed by Gene Kelly and choreographed by Michael Kidd, the film makes good use of location shooting around New York State.

Streisand, in only her second film, is in great voice and shows a nice comic touch. Yes, Dolly is supposed to be "middle aged," but it really doesn't matter. And with those turn-of-the-century hair styles and clothes, you can't tell anyway.

Walter Matthau is good as crusty Horace (though his accent wanders) and Michael Crawford makes for a delightful Cornelius Hackl. Marianne McAndrew is Irene, E.J. Peaker is Minnie, and Danny Lockin is Barnaby. Others in the cast include Judy Knaiz as Gussie, Tommy Tune as Ambrose, Joyce Ames as Ermengarde, David Hurst as Rudy, and Louis Armstrong as the bandleader.

The songs by Jerry Herman are wonderful and have witty lyrics. Two huge production numbers dominate the film. In the first half, "Before the Parade Passes By" is a stunner, sung by Streisand, it turns into a gigantic parade beneath a summer sky and it's as big and brassy a musical number as you'll ever see.

Of course the title song is a show stopper and well staged in the Harmonia Gardens on 14th Street. Streisand makes her famous entrance (and return to life after a period of widowhood) down a grand staircase. She wears a glittering gown of gold as she sings and dances with a battery of waiters. She also does a memorable duet with Armstrong (in his final film appearance).

Yes, it's old fashioned. But the film is so bright and tuneful, it never lags. It was the #4 box-office hit of 1969.

Bottom line: Streisand makes for a great Dolly, and this is a great film musical.

Possibly more enjoyable (needed) today than even in the 60s HELLO DOLLY has aged very well and now has the respect it deserves. The astonishing budget was almost a record breaker at the time and the 70mm production certainly gives the audience a spectacular serving. The 60s musicals are getting a new audience because of the fantastic and very welcome DVD transfers... and I am pleased to see a new generation find them and be very happy and delighted. Criticism is easy if so inclined and I have always disliked the Cornelius Hackl nonsense, but 35 years later and happy to sail along with the sheer hilariousness of the tone and the massive and quite thrilling spectacle, I am glad the film exists. The absolutely gigantic and detailed parade and the restaurant scenes are simply unforgettable... especially the Waiter's gallop stunt dancing and very funny contrivance of the choreography. HELLO DOLLY is a great production, a very good comedy, sensational orchestrations and a genuine spectacular musical. Kids would love it if you encouraged them to see it. Yes it does look like Imogen Coca or Carol Burnett or even Barbra Eden in the sub roles but as we know it isn't. The opening sequence is so wonderful, with the city coming to life and rhythm and the rail journey thru the credits is just sublime. It was a big hit in Jan 1970 and ran for months in Australia in huge 70mm cinemas. I saw it that way then and love the DVD now which gives equal effect for those not around in the 70s. Matthau is hilarious.

One of the last of the lavish Old Hollywood musicals. The performances are all fine, with Streisand the obvious standout, vocally and otherwise. Michael Crawford is a little goofy but I guess he's supposed to be. He's a little Dick Van Dyke-ish at times. Your mileage may vary on whether that's a good thing or not. I was less interested in his plot than the one involving Streisand and Walter Matthau. Pretty much anytime Babs is on screen things are much more lively. I say this as someone who isn't her biggest fan, but she really does own this film. The direction from legend Gene Kelly is solid and appropriately old-school for its time. It really feels like a throwback to the MGM musicals of the 1940s and 50s, with great sets and costumes and big production numbers. The cinematography is also very beautiful. So it's a great-looking movie with an upbeat tempo throughout and some very nice songs. The length is the biggest negative, and I did find myself checking my watch during a couple of the lengthy Crawford segments. But it's still a good movie with a lot to recommend, especially for fans of older musicals.

The strange history of the making of Hello Dolly could make a fine motion picture itself. The feuding between Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau during the filming is well known and documented. The incredible costs of the thing has also become an object lesson for movie producers who are not operating in the days of the studio system and actually have to pay the talent involved what they're worth. It's the biggest reason why musical films are now so few and far between.

But I read a fascinating story in the Citadel Film series book on the films of Gene Kelly who directed Hello Dolly. It seems as though 20th Century Fox after scoring so big with The Sound Of Music decided on buying other big budget Broadway musicals hoping for lightning to strike twice. They bought the rights of Hello Dolly from producer David Merrick with the proviso that the film not be shown until the Broadway run concluded.

So Fox made the film with huge production costs with borrowed money from bankers who wanted their loans paid back as soon as possible. What Merrick did and certainly the demand was there was to keep the show running. Hello Dolly wrapped in early 1968 and was over a year sitting on the shelf not earning a dime. In the meantime the finance boys had to be repaid and with heavy interest.

Fox went to court to get out of the contract and release the film and Merrick did for some hefty financial consideration. By the time Hello Dolly sold its first ticket there was no way it could ever payback the cost. In fact it was the fifth highest grossing film of 1969 and still Fox lost big money on it. In the words of Barnaby Tucker, "Holy Cabooses".

Well they spent big money on it and it shows. The production numbers are expensive, the entire town of Garrison, New York was made up to look like Yonkers at the turn of the last century. The New York scenes were lovely to look at and expensive to the bean counters. And what the biggest musical star of her time commanded in salary ate a lot of that budget as well.

It's a great film that Kelly put together however and certainly Gene Kelly was a man who knew his way around the musical film. Between Streisand and Matthau feuding he must have felt like a referee. But both were professional enough to turn in good performances though the chemistry isn't quite there.

Louis Armstrong's record of the title song is an American classic and it was almost mandatory that he appear in the film. His duet with Barbra Streisand is a piece of cinematic musical history. A fitting end for a man who brought the joy of living to his art and shared it with a grateful world.

Besides the immortal title song Jerry Herman's score has some other gems in it as well. Streisand has one of the best numbers in her career with When The Parade Passes By and young Michael Crawford and Danny Lockin as Matthau's employees sing and dance a storm in It Only Takes A Moment.

I can't finish this review without a word about Danny Lockin who left this earth way too soon the victim of a brutal murder. His performance as Barnaby Tucker is so winning that you can't help a tear coming to your eye when you read about his fate. His dancing reminded a whole lot of Donald O'Connor, I'll bet Donald O'Connor thought so as well if he saw Hello Dolly. He lived a life that convention dictate as a gay man he could not be open about it. The closet eventually killed him, but he left us this wonderful performance to remember him by.

And to you, the late Danny Lockin this review is respectfully dedicated to. Holy Cabooses Danny, I'll bet you're giving Terpsichore a lesson in high stepping.