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."

The men are returning after the Spanish American War. Patricia O'Grady (June Haver) is the daughter of Irish Vaudeville performer Dennis O'Grady (James Barton). He fears that his wife legendary star Rosie was lost to the rigors of performing. He doesn't want any of his three daughters to follow in her footsteps. Despite that, Patricia falls for star performer Tony Pastor (Gordon MacRae). Debbie Reynolds plays younger sister Maureen O'Grady.

I'm only watching this to catch glimpses of Debbie Reynolds in one of her earliest roles. It's a side character, but it's still a main side. The movie itself is a rather standard musical. It's light drama and slightly charming. It's very harmless and perfectly nice. The dancing and songs are all fine if not excelling. This is fair for what it is.

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.

Pleasant, light headed nonsense still has its pleasures. Chief among them is Gordon MacRae singing beautifully and so handsome. He really should have been at MGM with the Freed unit to take advantage of his gifts, Warners never had the quality productions his talent deserved.

Even though made on loan-out to Warners this was made at the height of 20th Century Fox's big push to make June Haver the new Betty Grable. June had a pleasing way about her, sang and danced adequately but didn't have the punch of Grable nor the vulnerability or flesh impact of the girl who would replace her within a couple of years, Marilyn Monroe. She's serviceable in the lead but not memorable.

Debbie Reynolds in her first featured part is pert and bursting with her special brand of energy. Her role is small but even with that she registers on screen in a way Haver never does. A good illustration of star quality and the lack of it in one film. Gene Nelson stands out in the dance department although he is made to look ridiculous in some awful costumes but his footwork compensates.

The rest of the cast all perform well and the film is loaded with color but it's all a bunch of malarkey.

After Look For The Silver Lining Gordon MacRae and June Haver were teamed again for The Daughter Of Rosie O'Grady another period musical. This one is set in 1898 the year of the Spanish-American War and MacRae plays the real life vaudeville entertainer and impresario Tony Pastor who falls for one of the daughters of Rosie O'Grady.

MacRae looked remarkably well I have to say because in 1898 the real Tony Pastor was 61 years old and the objections of James Barton the husband and father of the daughters of Rosie O'Grady might well have been understood as cradle robbing.

June is only one of the daughters, but she's the one with the stage ambitions. Marcia Mae Jones is the oldest and is secretly married to returning Spanish American War veteran and policeman Sean McClory. But they're keeping it a secret from Barton though something is on the way that will blow the secret wide open.

Barton plays your blustering Irish American father, the part usually reserved for Barry Fitzgerald. He's got some objection to McClory so Jones and McClory are trying to work up nerve to tell him. Barton and his late wife were a vaudeville team back in the day, but her early death has soured him on show business. He has forbidden his daughters to even think about the stage and wants them to make marriages to men of substance.

The youngest daughter is Debbie Reynolds who is her usual perky self, but really hasn't a whole lot to do in this film. It might have been nice to team her with Gene Nelson who is one of the performers at Tony Pastor's. Nelson of course shows again why he came along just a tad too late to musicals.

Nothing special in The Daughter Of Rosie O'Grady, but the cast performs well and there's a nice Christmas finale to the film.