Hello, Dolly!

While some of the cast of "Hello, Dolly! leaves something to be desired, its sets, costumes, general production values, and choreography cannot be beat. Striesand is miscast, but nobody can fault her for that. She gives it her all, and frankly, I prefer her performance in this film, over her inexplicable star-making turn in "Funny Girl". Lots of money was spent on making this film, and every cent of it can be seen in the finished product. The film is leaps and bounds over almost everything made today. Every musical number is first-rate. This film should ONLY be seen in WIDESCREEN. To view a cropped video tape would be silly, since you would be seeing only half the film. "Hello, Dolly! is lots of fun, and a true testimony to the lost art of fine film-making.

Well, right off the bat, I will admit that I love this movie. I know it almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox and that the critics were lukewarm about it on release in 1969, but they were flat-out wrong. And the perspective afforded by the passage of time has seen this become one of the most-loved of the Hollywood blockbuster musicals.

The principals in the cast are all wonderful. Streisand is simply gorgeous and sings beautifully, as does Marianne McAndrew. Matthau is, well, typical Matthau: all wonderful hang-dog expressions of exasperation and a grouchy exterior hiding a warm-hearted soul. Michael Crawford, in an early role, doesn't quite have the voice he developed later in life, but it suits the part of the shy and nervous Hackl.

The music is fabulous. It is one of Jerry Herman's very best pieces of work, in my opinion. It's full of great songs and the finale set-piece, when Dolly returns to the Harmonia Gardens, is magnificent, along with Louis Armstrong's great singing.

Gene Kelly had Michael Kidd onboard as choreographer and he produced some superb set-pieces. The parade scene is incredible and required hundreds of extras. The story might be a bit thin, but the production values more than make up for it. The sets are remarkable, as are the costumes. The fact it was shot in 65mm Todd/AO means that it is a great visual experience, with tremendous detail visible.

This is a truly great musical movie. If you haven't seen it, you really, really, should. You'll been for a treat.

The miscasting of Barbra Streisand is an interesting topic of discussion regarding this movie. She's way too young, as everyone else has said; despite slight changes to the script and giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, it's silly to think that a woman in her mid twenties would have built up both the social contacts and worldly sangfroid that the character possesses. That said, however, she does about as well as anyone could ask playing a role she was 3 decades too young for. The animosity between Barbra and Walter Matthau is another problem--they have no chemistry together whatsoever. While his annoyance with her at the beginning is believable, the turnabout at the end comes across completely false. Fortunately, the movie has many other charms to make up for that central problem.

My favorite part of the movie, and the heart of the film, is the "courtship" of Cornelius & Irene and Barnaby & Minnie Fay. Michael Crawford and the late Danny Lockin are absolutely adorable as Cornelius and Barnaby. The "Dancing" and "Elegance" numbers and the dinner scene at the Harmonia Gardens are worth the price of admission alone. Barbra plays better with the rest of the cast too; she's more believable as a "woman of the world" when she's with the younger cast members. The production design is wonderful as well. While the movie was outrageously expensive for its time, just about every dollar is visible on screen. The claustrophobic musicals they've made since the Seventies really look deficient when compared to the wide-open dance scenes and crowd shots in classic musicals like this one.

All in all, Hello, Dolly has much to offer. It's not the best musical ever made by a long shot, but it's undeniably fun to watch. It would be fun to see Barbra play the role now that she's a more appropriate age for it. Unfortunately, she doesn't do musicals anymore. Maybe Tyne Daly would take the part.

Rip-snorting musical from 20th Century-Fox, turning its backlot into New York City, circa 1890 while telling the tale of widow Dolly Levi, an indefatigable meddler and matchmaker who hopes to deliver herself into the arms of an eligible storekeeper from Yonkers. Producer Ernest Lehman adapted his screenplay from the popular stage musical with a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" (itself filmed without music in 1958). Director Gene Kelly attempts a breathless pace right from the start, which leaves the early scenes feeling rushed and hyperactive. Professional critics in late 1969, perhaps put off by the unimaginable-for-its-time $25 million budget, complained that the picture was overblown; however, in hindsight, this is inconsequential, as the scenario begs for a huge presentation...and a huge star in the lead. Barbra Streisand (deemed too young to be portraying a widow) is a marvelous Dolly: a firebrand (and a firecracker) who knows nothing of subtlety, she goes for the gut, as the role requires. As her reluctant intended, Walter Matthau looks unhappy and seems stuffy, but repeat viewings reveal this to be the character and not necessarily Matthau's disposition at the time (he and Streisand failed to get along while filming). The song numbers, particularly "Just Leave Everything To Me", "Before The Parade Passes By" and the celebrated title tune, are joyous, and Michael Kidd's line-'em-up choreography is often stunning in widescreen. The film does run too long, and it loses some vitality whenever Streisand is busy and the pixilated juveniles take over, but Kelly is determined to give his audience a showcase--a slam-bang, old-fashioned musical parade with pearls and feathers and floor-length gowns. At that, he succeeded. *** from ****

This film was certainly beautiful to look at and listen to. I was lucky to see it in 70 mm during its initial roadshow release. It was one of the few movies to have the negative actually filmed in 70 mm, rather than having the standard 35 mm merely blown up to 70 mm for the roadshow. "The Sound of Music" was another picture originally filmed in 70 mm, and we all know how beautiful the cinematography was in that. Sadly, the high cost of 70 mm has essentially ended the use of that type of film format.

"Hello, Dolly!" deserved the Oscars it won, such as musical direction, sound, and art direction-set design. About 15 years ago I stopped in the riverside village of Garrison, New York, to see where it was partially filmed. The real building that was adapted into Vandergelder's Hay & Feed was still there at the time, and "Vandergelder" was etched on the window pane from its use in the film. The bridge over the railway tracks is still there.

As much as I like the film as a whole, it does have some problems that could have been easily corrected. The early scene with Walter Matthau and Tommy Tune arguing over Ermengarde is overly dramatic and simply too theatrical. It might have been fine on Broadway, but the genre of cinema requires a bit of toning down. I blame this purely on Gene Kelly, the director, who should have known better. He is the one who is supposed to sense the pacing and delivery of lines. I get the impression he was trying to speed things up, knowing that there is a lot to fit into the picture. The screenplay was naturally required to closely follow the original material, but it could have been simplified a bit without sacrificing anything important. An example of this is the endless number of times that the audience is reminded that the main characters are going "to New York" by train. Once was enough.

Still, the music and choreography are superb, and carry the picture. Not everyone in it can sing as beautifully as Barbra Streisand, but it succeeds nonetheless. The number "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" is one of Hollywood's golden moments in terms of production quality. I have seen Carol Channing do the stage version and she was great, but I also feel that Barbra Streisand was perfectly adequate here. She can sing better than Ms. Channing and has real star quality.

If you visit the interesting Hudson River area of New York state, you will be warmly reminded of the scenic beauty in "Hello, Dolly!" Drop by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to take the public tour and you will see the magnificent setting where the final wedding scene was done, minus the church of course.