La meneuse de jeu

This is the film that "Hello Dolly" strives to be but can't. Everything about this film is so sweet and Shirley Booth gives a performance that is just hilarious. I also like the way the actors talk to the audience every now and then. At least Miss Booth is more convincing as a middle-aged widow than Miss Streisand was. I wonder what "Hello Dolly" would have been like if they gave the part to Shirley Booth?

Some of Thornton Wilder's ironies about love and money get mangled in the dumbing-down of his stage material, and the theatrical conceits (characters constantly breaking down the fourth wall) probably worked better in the legit theater. And then there's that damned toy train, too cutesy by half. Nevertheless, this is a handsome and diverting little comedy with a great cast. Shirley Booth conveys some of the magnetism that made her a stage favorite; it's not necessarily great acting, but a warm and whimsical performance. Anthony Perkins and Shirley MacLaine are young love personified; I'm not sure either of them was ever this appealing again. Compliments, too, to Adolph Deutsch, who wrapped the whole thing up in a terrifically evocative waltz theme.

It's a trifle, but a tasteful and well-paced trifle. I notice that whenever AMC shows it, I watch it, so that says something.

This movie is a truly funny comedy. I'm not sure why it isn't more well-known. The entire cast is great, particularly Shirley Booth and Anthony Perkins. The dialogue is hilarious, and it's interesting how the major players "break the fourth wall" throughout the film. The basic premise: Shirley Booth is a professional matchmaker who decides she wants to marry her latest client (Paul Ford) herself. Meanwhile, Anthony Perkins is interested in Shirley MacLaine, who is simply interested in getting married. The result is a lot of deception, but the characters are all so nice and likeable that you can't help but root for them all. The next time you're in the mood for a classic comedy, try this one.

After a lifetime of arranging couplings for others Dolly Levi has decided it's time that she settle down with somebody. Her target in her sights is merchant Horace Vandergelder in turn of the last century Yonkers, New York. Of course Horace the old goat is looking at young Irene Molloy. What to do, especially since his young clerk Cornelius Hackl has eyes for her also.

Shirley Booth who originated many parts on the Broadway stage, but had few screen credits up to that time takes over the role that Ruth Gordon played on stage in the 1955-1957 season for 481 performances. Another Shirley named MacLaine with few screen credits at that point to her name plays young Irene.

And the object of all this fuss is potbellied old Paul Ford giving one of his patented bellowing performances. It was interesting to read how Ford had come to the acting profession rather late in life. He certainly is ham enough that you wonder why didn't do this all of his life. Ford had just completed a four year run as the harried and harassed Colonel Hall, object of many of Sergeant Bilko's con games in the Phil Silvers Show. For most of his career Ford was a blusterer whether here or in The Music Man or Never Too Late. He looked a lot like Edgar Kennedy, but his boiling point was always quickly reached.

Anthony Perkins who really did other things besides Norman Bates in Psycho is just fine as the wistful young clerk at Ford's mercantile and he's partnered in his adventures by young Robert Morse who repeated his stage role as Barnaby Tucker.

Of course most know The Matchmaker as the basis for Hello Dolly and seeing it now is like seeing Shaw's Pygmalion which for better or worse is now known as My Fair Lady without the songs. Still The Matchmaker is fun to watch for the nostalgically inclined.

Do you like situation comedy? How about clever dialogue? Do the elements of classic farce make you laugh? Many a film has sustained itself on one of the foregoing. In "The Matchmaker," you get all three. The picture is perfectly cast, with the peerless (though by now, nearly forgotten) Shirley Booth as a sly but gentle, voracious but sweet, determined yet vulnerable Dolly. Paul Ford huffs and puffs in his characteristic manner, without overplaying. Anthony Perkins reminds us of his versatility with this twinkle-in-the-eye triumph in romantic comedy. A young Shirley MacLaine is simply adorable. Too bad the talented Robert Morse has so little to do, but with such a strong cast in more prominent roles, he had to save his elfin hijinks for another day.