Quadriglia d'amore

In 1956 Bing Crosby wound up his 25 year old contract with Paramount pictures. It remains the second longest contract for any star with any studio, only exceeded by Robert Taylor with MGM. This second version of Anything Goes was his farewell film for the studio.

Bing should have quit with White Christmas.

Again, Hollywood under the Code was to squeamish about filming any of Cole Porter's musicals. As they did in 1936 with that version of Anything Goes, it was censored heavily. Cole Porter's original score did not make it intact to the screen again. Other Porter songs were used and a few numbers written by James Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn.

As for the plot the only similarity is that it takes place on an ocean liner. In this one we have recent partners Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor each signing a leading lady for their new Broadway show. Both of their finds, Zizi Jeanmaire and Mitzi Gaynor are on the ocean liner with them. Mix the inevitable romantic complications and if you're any kind of a movie fan you'll figure what the result will be.

Phil Harris is also on hand as Mitzi Gaynor's father. One of the little known facts of Hollywood was that Harris was one of Bing Crosby's best friends in the motion picture capital. Harris had appeared with Bing previously in Here Comes the Groom, but that was only in one musical number. He has a nice turn here as a professional gambler that the IRS is looking to nail.

Usually Bing Crosby movies are just that, Bing is normally partnered with non-musical talent. Here he has three talented performers to share the spotlight with. All have some good numbers. I particularly liked Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor singing and dancing to It's DeLovely.

This was a reunion film for Crosby and O'Connor. Donald O'Connor got his first big break as a child actor in Bing's Sing You Sinners back in 1938. But that one was a far superior film.

If you like the talented performers involved, this is a good film. But Paramount should have done better by Bing in his farewell film for them.

One of the most polarizing Best Picture winners I can think of is "An American in Paris". Some adore it, some hate the very long modern dance portion that seems to go on and on. How much you like modern dance will also play a big part in whether or not you love or dislike "Anything Goes". The dancing doesn't go on as long...but there is a ton of it and it's very much unlike a musical of the 1930s or 40s.

Speaking of 1930s, I should point out that this 1956 film has very little to do with either the 1936 film or the Broadway musical...apart from the music. The plots are completely different...though Bing Crosby stars in both films.

When the film begins, you see that Bill (Bing Crosby) is a bit singing star. When he's introduced to newcomer Ted (Donald O'Connor), Bill is very taken with him and wants to partner up with him for a show. After agreeing on this, Bill is supposed to find a leading lady for their show and he finds Patsy (Mitzi Gaynor) and signs her. At about the same time, Ted discovers Gaby (Zizi Jeanmaire) and signs her as well. Ted knows this is Bill's job but KNOWS Bill will love Gaby!! Now, with two leading ladies, the partnership is in for some rocky times!

This film is well made and the dance numbers are fine. But it's all a matter of taste...and I prefer older fashioned musicals without the modern dance numbers. For me, I'd give it a 6 but perhaps your reaction will be quite different.

It's easy to understand why they took their time getting around to releasing a DVD of this one. As can be seen from other comments, the 1956 film version of "Anything Goes" will generally disappoint those who love the stage version. Other than some of Cole Porter's songs and a setting on a cruise ship there is no similarity between the two productions. The very entertaining (and still frequently performed) Cole Porter musical has been transformed into a pretty lame film, and three songs by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn have been inexplicably added to the production. Even worse is the loss of most of P.G. Wodehouse's clever script, which was rewritten by a Hollywood hack into this dumbed-down version.

This doesn't make "Anything Goes" unwatchable. The choreography is mostly first rate. Most of the musical numbers are entertaining and several are excellent. The performances are typical of each cast members career work (both good and bad) and the film has some interesting Hollywood cinema history aspects.

You know almost immediately that this will not be a rousing bit of entertainment, instead of a high-energy opening number the film begins with a back stage party scene that is about as lively as an abandoned railroad track.

Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor play Broadway co-stars who go to Europe to recruit a leading lady for their upcoming show. Each brings their discovery aboard a cruise ship for a transatlantic voyage. Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmaire play the girls. Since there is only one role the remainder of the film is about determining which one will be featured and keeping it secret that both were already promised the role. There are two romances, with the two actors falling for each other's girl during the ocean crossing. Suspense and comedy are in short supply.

Gaynor manages a pretty good performance; she gets one very hot feature number (the title song-although Porter's original four letter word lyrics are toned down) and duets with O'Connor in the film's best number "It's De-lovely". O'Connor is also featured in a very original dance routine with children and a lot of bouncing balls. In this he dances to Van Heusen's "Bounce Right Back," not much of a song but a good excuse for using him in another unique routine.

Jeanmaire was a French ballet star ("Carmen") who briefly tried her stuff in mid-50's Hollywood. She was a Leslie Caron clone complete with the same hairstyle. Her two solo numbers "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Dream Ballet" are surprisingly good, at least the dancing portions.

Bing Crosby of course is well known to old movie buffs but others will be somewhat puzzled by his popularity. Nothing he does in "Anything Goes" sheds light on this question. He was a "popular" extremely bland singer and a horrible actor with some comic ability. In "Anything Goes" even his comedy stuff is pretty awful. Paired with Bing, O'Connor has about the same chance for success as someone trying to sneak through a balloon shop wearing a porcupine overcoat.

The Technicolor and VistaVision completely overpower the cheap production design as well as Sidney Sheldon's (the hack writer mentioned above) weak adaptation.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Another reviewer stated that no one goes to musicals for the story. Think of The Band Wagon, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Meet Me In St. Louis, State Fair (1945), Singin' In The Rain. Did you really enjoy those musicals just for the songs and dances, and ignore the story, dialog, and situations? I doubt it.

Some reviewers have criticized the screenplay by Sidney Sheldon. It's not great, but I think the direction is really the problem here. Robert Lewis was an accomplished theatre director and teacher (The Actors Studio), as well as an occasional Hollywood actor, but this was his first and last feature film as director.

There's some originality and wit (think of the two French sailors who appear periodically - a well-done bit), but the tone of the whole picture is off, the pace is off, the director doesn't know the tricks to brighten and even out the screenplay's banalities.

Disagreeing with some other reviews here, I think Jeanmaire has a surprisingly good, strong singing voice for a non-singer She was a professional ballet dancer, not a singer. And she was a pretty good actress - watch carefully and you will see her emotional responses are real. You can even see her breath come fast when she tells Crosby how much she loves him.

I disagree with the reviewer who criticized the number Donald O'Connor did with the kids. Please look at this number carefully and see exactly what an amazing dancer and athlete this guy is. Notice how he dances with that small ball, and the larger ones. How he's able to make the ball bounce exactly right, off of opposing walls, to match his turns, etc. It's amazing.

The song itself - like all the interpolated Cahn-Van Heusen songs - is so completely different in style from the old Cole Porter tunes, it just sounds out of place. Like Neil Simon had written some new scenes for a Kaufman-Hart play. It isn't that Cahn and Van Heusen aren't great, they just aren't the same style of songwriter as Porter, so their songs up against his are jarring.

Mitzi Gaynor, as usual, gives her all. I saw her stage show, once. Though she's very good on film, she was phenomenal onstage.

I could watch Bing in anything.

I really enjoyed this movie. Typically, I hate remakes, but this one isn't so bad. Was Bing Crosby a better actor in the 30's and 40's? You bet your boots. Then again, I've never liked him in anything he's done, ever, and at least in 'Anything Goes' he doesn't try to act, and sticks to the crooning instead.

Also, I love Donald O'Connor, and he is at the top of his form here. I didn't know who Mitzi Gaynor was, but now that I do, I really like her. She's a good dancer with a pleasant screen persona. Jeanmaire is okay. I liked her wardrobe.

The art direction is good (I especially like the number where Donald and Bing sing the same song from two adjoining rooms) and the film hasn't been 'overproduced', as was the somewhat comparable 'White Christmas'. I hate it when musicals take themselves too seriously! The story is silly, but worrying about that sh*t is missing the point entirely.

Don't believe these over-critical snobs. They're missing out, and they don't even know it.