The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady

Although color would not become the standard for all movies (except for a few BW for artistic purposes) until the mid-1960s, Hollywood musicals were a general exception. By 1950, the major studios were making most musicals in full color. As this 1950 Warner Brothers film shows, the brilliant colors of costumes especially added to the glamor and appeal of the song and dance of musicals.

"The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady" is a very good musical that is a combination of review and play. It's setting is the review format with numbers produced for the stage within the story. But, a couple of numbers happen also within the story. And, it has a very good plot. This also is one of the best films ever made about vaudeville and that has examples of the types of acts that played on the vaudeville stages of the late 19th and earth 20th centuries.

The core of this film is set around a vaudeville theater in New York, Tony Pastor's. There was a real Tony Pastor who was known for cleaning up the risqué nature of variety shows of the mid-19th century, to make them appealing to women as well. He became known as the king or dean of vaudeville. His theater changed locations three times, and was called Tony Pastors Opera House. MacRae's Pastor talks about his theater and profession as the "variety" stage. At the film's end he says his shows are for families. And so they were and are.

While singing and dancing acts were the usual headliners and core that theaters operated with, a variety show on any given night or place would include just that - a variety of types of acts. Indeed, the term, "act," was what those in the vaudeville circuit used to describe the various talent or entertainment skits and performances. Most shows would include one or more acrobatic acts and one or more comedy routines. Then, there may be animal acts, magicians, and any number of things one might see in carnivals - knife throwing, snake charming, etc.

Only those vaudeville theaters in larger populated areas might have their own chorus lines for performances and working with singers and dancers. The latter, of course, were called hoofers, and the former sometimes were called crooners - if they were male.

Well, this film has a decent plot with a splendid portrayal of the vaudeville stage in a local setting in New York. The cast are all fantastic. Gordon MacRae and June Haver have the male leads. Gene Nelson (that "other" Gene of dance fame) is in the top supporting role as Doug Martin, and he gives his usual dazzling dance performances.

It's Debbie Reynolds' first credited film in a very good comedy role, but sans any singing or dancing. Two top supporting actors of the day lead the rest of a very good cast. S. Z. Sakall plays Miklos Teretzky, and Jane Darwell is Mrs. Murphy. James Barton, who performed on the vaudeville circuit in the early 20th century, plays Dennis O'Grady - the father of Haver's Patricia ("The Daughter), Reynold's Maureen, and Marcia Mae Jones' Katie O'Grady.

While the music and dancing are superb, the comedy is very good as well. This is a period film, set in 1898 at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. The movie opens with troops returning to New York in a parade, while Dennis O'Grady and Miklos Teretzky take their lunch break from operating their horse-drawn trolley cars.

Besides the song, dance and comedy entertainment, this film has a nice educational aspect in its portrayal of that time in history. Here are some favorite lines.

Patricia O'Grady, "Isn't it wonderful? Now there are so many men in New York, even papa won't be able to keep them away from us."

Miklos Teretzky, "Your daughters met some sliders and they got you r lunch. This could be happening. Dennis O'Grady, Aw, suspicion - nothin' but suspicion." Miklos, "As sure as my name is Miklos Teretzky - when daughters forget their father, one answer only then - M-A-N, man. In Budapest is learned in kindergarten."

Patricia O'Grady, "We'll go right by Tony Pastor's." Maureen O'Grady, "Papa says never to. We'd be contaminated." Patricia, "Oh, he doesn't know the meaning of that word any more than you do. Come on. Let's get good and contaminated."

Tony Pastor, dressed as a down-and-out guy in the theater alley, "Oh, how I wish I had my life to live over." Patricia O'Grady, "I should think once would be enough."

Ed Powers (Pat Flaherty, uncredited), "How are you, Dennis?" Dennis O'Grady, "About how long would it take a man to drink himself to death?" Ed Powers, "With our whisky, just a matter of minutes."

Dennis O'Grady, "There's enough starch in this shirt to make it bullet proof."

Here is a delightful musical comedy movie that should be put out on DVD so everyone can enjoy viewing it during the Christmas holiday season. If nothing else, it should be released in a box set of Christmas movies. In our opinion this film is drastically underrated by other critics. This is June Haver's best movie and Gordon Macrae is also outstanding and in excellent voice. Debbie Reynolds, in her film debut, and Gene Nelson are also very good. All of the songs are well done and memorable and we would like to see a CD soundtrack release, also. It has a strong plot that takes place during the 1890's. Some of the characters may have come from real life, but the plot, I am sure, is pretty much fiction. This movie is very entertaining all the way through to the wonderful grand musical and comedy finale. We try to watch it every year around the holiday season.

Irish James Barton is a widower with three daughters: Marcia Mae Jones, who is secretly married to a cop and expecting twins, June Haver, who wants to go on the stage with singer/impressario Gordon MacRae, and Debbie Reynolds. Barton used to be a big noise on the vaudeville stage in a singing act with his wife (played in flashbacks by Miss Haver), but she died, and he now hates show business.

It's a pleasant movie, originally planned for Doris Day in the role played by Miss Haver. Like many of the Warner Brothers movies of the period, it uses the Warner Brothers song catalogue for Gay Nineties and Mauve Decade songs; Gene Nelson plays a dancer in MacRae's troupe, and S. Z. Sakall and Jane Darwell appear.

MacRae plays Tony Pastor, and as often happens, it's a very anhistorical performance. The real Tony Pastor was born in 1837 and died in 1908. He entered show business about 1846 as a singer, and became a producer about 1865, taking part in the evolution of vaudeville, and always pushed for his shows to be family-friendly. Even as the industry became centralized in various circuits, he remained through the end as a small player with usually a single theater.

Nobody can sing a song like Gordon MacRae. If you like nothing else about the movie it is worth the time just to hear him sing. I think the movie was really good. It takes you back to a time that no longer exist and it has a good story line too. June Haver is beautiful and one of the best for song and dance. She and Gene Nelson trip the light fantastic in several numbers. I think they are just fun to watch. I may be a little over the top for some of you but one of my passions are the old musicals. Then you add in Debbie Reynolds as the cute innocent little sister and the movie just keeps getting better.

I have never seen a movie that S.Z. Sakall was in that wasn't very funny. He is without a doubt one of my very favorite actors. He made appearances in so many of the old musicals and as always was great. He and James Barton who played Dennis O'Grady were really good together. All in all if you like old musicals you should love this one. I just wish they would blow off the dust and get this one out on DVD, soon!

When GORDON MacRAE and JUNE HAVER are kicking up their heels in song and dance or GENE NELSON is demonstrating his talent as a hoofer, THE DAUGHTER OF ROSIE O'GRADY comes alive as musical entertainment of the fluffiest kind. But not too much plot-wise differentiates this one from a strong of Hollywood musicals with a backstage plot. Indeed the wisp of a plot is just about forgettable once the film is over.

Despite this, there's a good performance from JAMES BARTON, as the father of three girls (June, Debbie Reynolds and Marcia Mae Jones), an Irisman who doesn't want his girls to have anything to do with show business. Of course, the irony is that daughter June is such a natural talent that it would be criminal neglect to keep her away from a stage door and prevent her from performing.

JUNE HAVER demonstrates a talent for song and dance that has rarely been shown to such advantage in even some of her better known films (as, for example, the Marilyn Miller role in LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING). She keeps up with GENE NELSON step for step with professional poise and ease and has a pleasant way with a song, too. She retired from films much too soon once she married Fred MacMurray.

Some old-fashioned tunes get nice treatments from the cast and David Butler's direction keeps things moving at a fairly good pace. A little too much time is given to the fumbling shenanigans of S.Z. SAKALL in one of his stereotyped roles as a Warner contract player.

Passes the time pleasantly although it's strictly a routine backstage musical, the kind done a zillion times during the '40s and '50s.