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Ziegfeld GirlRating:
Release Date: 06 April, 2004 Retail Price: $19.98 OUR Price: $17.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
Ziegfeld Girl Reviews
Class A Suds
Okay, the plot is familiar -- three girls head for stardom in the Follies, one good (Garland), one bad (Turner), and one indifferent (Lamarr), with predictable results. But MGM threw all of its renowned studio craftsmanship into this film, and it makes for a wonderfully satisfying experience. Garland has moxie and talent, so her character makes it -- but only after proving her loyalty to her vaudeville Dad. That's MGM's (read: Louis Mayer's) take on the morality of show business, but it doesn't come across as hokey because Garland makes us believe in it, and her, all the way. Turner's character isn't really bad, just greedy, but she rejects James Stewart's offer of domestic penury and, in MGM's eyes, that's equivalent to Mortal Sin. So she lushes herself to the bottom. The part may be a stereotype, but Turner isn't. For those who've only seen her as a caricature of herself in later roles, this performance is a revelation. And Lamarr -- well, her character leaves her husband (justified, if you ask me; he acts like a jerk about her success) but runs back to him in time for the final number. I can't really get on Lamarr's case for her lack of acting skills since she was (a) drop-dead gorgeous and (b) an electronics wizard in real life, which is about all you can ask of one person. Still, one does get tired of MGM's insistence on pushing her into roles that could have used a real actress.
And yes, this movie is one that cries out for the visual joys of technicolor (The Sea Hawk is another). But perhaps Adrian's gloriously decadent costumes and Busby Berkeley's reliably loony production numbers would have been way over the top in color. In black-and-white they seem just right, an evocation of a bygone era. Ziegfeld Girl is a sudsy but terrifically effective fairy tale that retains its magic even today.
Last word: this may be the only Edward Everett Horton movie in which he doesn't plague the viewer with stupid double-takes, a real plus if you've seen him dithering in RKO movies. Plus his character's name (Noble Sage) is one of my all-time favorites.
WONDERFUL MUSICAL-DRAMA
.. with an all-star cast. The plot is not new(Stage Door, How to Marry a Millionaire and Valley of the Dolls to mention but a few), but Judy, Hedy and Lana do an admirable job. Never mind highbrow critcs; Hedy Lamarr wasn`t THAT bad and Lana does one of her best acting jobs ever. Judy is a tomboy and it`s sad that life eventually took her into the direction of Lana`s character Sheila.
The musical numbers are good, but sadly; footage from THE GREAT ZIEGFELD are edited in(note the finale). James Stewart are good as well - as are Edvard Everett Horton, Charles Winninger and Eve Arden. The film is filled with good 1-liners and there are even echoes of Garbo`s first sound-entrance in ANNA CHRISTIE.
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