Movin' with Nancy

Nancy Sinatra's TV special (originally aired on the night of Dec. 11, 1967) has arrived on DVD in immaculate condition. It has built up such a mystique over the years that most people probably expect GENIUS. Well, there's a touch of genius in it. It's campy, most of all, and could benefit from better pacing, but if you love Nancy Sinatra you'll love "Movin' With Nancy". To review it is to review her. She wears a variety of wigs and outfits, incredible eye make-up, she shakes her groove thang with Sammy Davis, Jr., cuddles up with father Frank (who is delightfully loose, warm and paternal), and trades stiff quips with so-droll-he's-drifting-off Dean Martin. My favorite part of the show is Nancy singing "This Town" to a host of mannequins. I enjoyed "Younger Than Springtime" and the tribute to Ol Blue Eyes. The RC Cola commercials from 1967 are included as well, and are wonderful (Nancy in the white "cell" is breathtaking--striking poses like Mariah Carey's big sister). But the show just doesn't MOVE! There's no urgency in her singing, no passion in the staging of the songs, odd and/or awkward touches and cut-aways, variety-show choreography. The songs play well on CD, but coupled with the visual, you ache for more excitement in both. It's a mixed-bag. Nancy-fanatics will just rate it a '10' and end the argument.

Nancy Sinatra stars in a TV special produced and directed by Jack Haley Jr. And written by Tom Mankiewicz.

All individuals of indeniable talent. Miss Sinatra had had a massive hit the previous year with "These Boots Are Made For Walking", and RC Cola was glad to get her to headline this special -- and to get her father and his friends, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. As guests. Miss Sinatra sings well in a variety of popular genres of the era. I was put off by the obvious use of process photography, but that's not something that would have been noticeable when it aired more than half a century ago.

I bought this dvd for my dad as he is a devoted Dean Martin fan. Dean Martin sings one or two songs on this show. But what really surprised me was the stunning performance of Nancy Sinatra. This dvd really has some great songs. Everything is filmed in that typical 60's style with a bit of psychedelic atmosphere. Great to watch and a must buy for Nancy fans.

Long before MTV started, Nancy Sinatra walked right ahead of the pack with a wonderful TV Special containing videos of her hit songs with imaginitive scenery and precise staging. This special will soon be re-released I am told and would be a welcome addition to video collectors world wide. Top rating to a talented performer!!

When this Emmy Award-winning NBC-TV special first aired back in 1967, another part of the entertainment industry was celebrating its 40th anniversary: Warner Bros.' "The Jazz Singer", the first "talking" motion picture starring Al Jolson had its premiere in 1927. Unfortunately, that slice of cinema history held up at the time like a lead balloon. But with "Movin' With Nancy," the reaction today is quite different. The show actually looks better in the present and reflects what we are seeing in the current musical front, fitting in surprisingly well. At the time of it's original airing, a well-known film and television critic lambasted the show, accusing Ms. Sinatra of looking like a pizza waitress and describing her talent as a performer as "a hash slinger slumming it up in an Andy Warhol movie." So, her voice didn't measure up to Barbra Streisand; maybe not even Petula Clark. But her own particular style was certainly pleasant enough and she (lip-synced) quite well to many of her hits including "Sugar Town", "Friday's Child", "Jackson" and "Some Velvet Morning" (the latter two with the legendary Lee Hazlewood). My only regret was that she didn't perform her biggest hit "Boots" on the special, a decision that she also later regretted. Alas, maybe when this DVD gets a well-deserved re-issue, she'll include the sparkling video she made of the song back in 1966 as one of the "extras." The Swinging Sixties never looked so good!