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Till the Clouds Roll ByRating:
Release Date: 30 June, 1998 Retail Price: $7.98 OUR Price: $7.98 You SAVE: $0.00! Cast: Complete Cast (18 total) |
Till the Clouds Roll By Reviews
A Beautifully Restored Surprise
"Till the Clouds Roll By," was an M.G.M. musical that seemed to fall from favor with the studio as it has been released in pirated editions by many companies other than M.G.M. It was therefore a wonderful surprise to find the movie in mint condition in this outstanding technicolor DVD release. Although the story of Jerome Kern suffers from Hollywood-ization, it was much better than I remembered and the musical numbers (which is what it's really all about) are magnificent.
MGM Stars In Their Glory
TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY has never been considered one of MGM's greatest musicals. The film is a somewhat syrupy biographical account of the life of Jerome Kern. In some ways this cannot be seen as a criticism. The film begins with the opening night of SHOWBOAT. After the performance Kern gets in a taxi and tells the driver his life story. Of course if he's telling the story it's going to be a nice account. And Robert Walker, who plays Kern, presents Kern as a likable guy and a hero we want to root for and hope will succeed.
More than likely MGM didn't release this film to tell the story of Jerome Kern. If anything, it was just an excuse to showcase it's stars and as viewers have discovered, it is a showcase of MGM's great talent. Musical numbers include Judy Garland as Marilyn Miller performing on of Garland's showpieces "Who?" The SHOWBOAT sequence at the beginning is probably one of the film's greatest moments and includes Kathryn Grayson as Magnolia, a role she'd reprise a few years later when MGM released a newer version of SHOWBOAT. It's interesting to note that the staging of SHOWBOAT in this film is less stereotypical than the later version released by MGM and has Lena Horne as Julie Laverne, a far more accurate casting (no offense to Ava Gardner). Dinah Shore and Angela Lansbury appear as well as do MGM favorites June Allyson, Virginia O'Brien, Gower Champion, Lucille Bremer and a young Cyd Charisse. It also has a finale that showcases the talents of many of the major players and includes an appearance by Frank Sinatra.
My guess is that most people who purchase this film will watch it in its entirety once or twice, but it will not sit on the shelf and get dusty. With remote in hand, people will put this film in the player and watch their favorite clips over and over again and will be entertained time and time again. Sat least that's what I've done and I'm sure will continue to do.
Enjoy!
More Customer Reviews (21 total)
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