La reine du Colorado

I don't know what it was, but I couldn't really get into this movie, be affected by it or enjoy it very much. Well, yeah, the society party scenes were a hoot, the scenery was pretty, the chereography of the "Friend" song was good, but that was about it. The rest was just... there, not horrible, but definitly not above average, either.

Debbie Reynolds should have been very well suited to the role of Molly Brown, but for all her teeth-gritting, yelling, and wailing, she just doesn't rise to the occasion. Why this is often considered her best role, and why she was nominated for an Oscar for it, I really couldn't tell you. Harve Presnell has a soaring voice, but again, just is average. The Merideth Willson score is rather pedestrian. (Apparently several songs were cut from the Broadway show; maybe they were better.) But really, this guy did The Music Man? And the Titanic sinking is done and dispensed with in maybe two minutes, if that. Come on! The one reason this musical was made was because of Mrs. Brown's legendary courage after that sinking. Not much evidence of that here. Oh, and yes, the musical is pretty accurate in terms of the many legends surrouding Margaret Brown, but not so faithful to the real person. (Many minute things: she was never rescued from a flood as a baby, she was actually born and raised in Hannibal, Missouri, her husband was always called J.J., never Johnny, they never really did reconcile, she actually had two children with him that were not mentioned, she never really was accepted by the Sacred Thirty-Six, her many contributions to the juvenile and suffrage movements were ignored as always, etc. and so forth. She was never even called Molly, always Margaret.) You get the point...

It simply wasn't anything special.

What a fun movie! Debbie Reynolds does a wonderful job portraying Molly Brown, a poor, uncultured country girl who "makes good," but then finds herself having to fight (none too successfully) for acceptance among the rich crowd she finds herself suddenly thrown into. Always rising when she's down (unsinkable in other words) there's also a sense of discovery involved for Molly, as she finally comes to understand in a wonderfully dramatic moment in an otherwise hilarious film that even among her wealthy and regal European friends she is accepted because they find her amusing, and not because she's really accepted as one of them. The title of the movie, of course, comes specifically from the real-life Molly Brown's experience in surviving the Titanic disaster, as she returns home after making this discovery.

Yes, the movie is undoubtedly full of tall tales. But it's full of wonderful songs (Harve Presnell as Johnny Brown has a marvellous singing voice), pretty good acting and just a general sense of fun. Well worth the watching.

One of my favorite shows with plenty of singin' and dancin' all the way from the simple countryside, to the big city, and over to the even bigger city life of Europe. Debbie plays a tomboy country girl who can't wait to leave the outback and live the high life in Denver. On the way to this better life she crosses paths with a prospector who changes her life and not always for her betterment as far as she is concerned. She finds that her dreams of wealth and a place in high society are not necessarily what will make her happy in the real world. This is a very delightful film with lots of beautiful scenery, props, and great performances by the entire cast.

Not without imperfections, but seeing 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' in tribute to the now late Debbie Reynolds still filled me with a lot of happiness.

Reynolds attacks her part with delicious gusto and energy, she sings like an angel and she dances with poise and brio. Subtle it isn't, but infectious? Yes, yes and a million times yes. Harve Presnell is a similarly splendid leading man, and the supporting cast sparkle, with the likes of Jack Kruschen, Ed Begley, Hermione Baddeley and Martita Hunt, Kruschen and Hunt especially revel in their characters with aplomb.

Production values are similarly top-notch, especially the exquisite Colorado scenery and the handsome cinematography and lavish colour do it no disservices. The script sparkles with wit, the musical numbers are staged with brio and pathos, the story has fun, charm and poignancy and Charles Walters makes the most of the material.

'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' is a little overlong however, with some of the second half dragging when the story gets thinner. Apart from Reynolds' exuberant rendition of "I Ain't Down Yet" the songs are not particularly memorable despite everyone's noble efforts in making them come alive.

In conclusion, doesn't completely float but in way does it sink without a trace. 7/10 (mainly for the cast and the production values) Bethany Cox

This is not a review, but an inquiry. Does anyone know who the real-life baby was that portrayed Molly as a baby in the beginning of the movie going over the rapids in a cradle? I saw a very old "filler" once on TCM which featured swim instruction for very young children, some as young as 12 months. The instructor had them swimming to the pool bottom to retrieve items as well as racing each other to see who reached the other side first. I believe early swim instruction had gained some measure of popularity in California during the 30s. Most of the footage of the rapids was of a dummy. Other footage was of the baby in a water tank on a sound stage with footage of rapids being shown in the background. The final few seconds of that scene show the cradle overturning very close to shore and spilling the baby out. The baby then swims to shore and crawls out - that part is real. I sure would like to know who that baby was. It was precious!