There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

(Flash Review)The story follows the Donahue family from the husband and wife song and dance act through to when they have three kids all part of the act. Some kids decide to leave as they want their own career and then Marilyn enters the act creating light strife. Anyway, as usual Marilyn commands ever scene she is in and even though Merman and the male lead sing more, and do a great job, tend to play second fiddle. The story is OK but there are so many songs that it feels choppy and many of the songs don't' advance the main story. I watched it because of the famous song (movie title) but overall the film is for those who like song and dance and lavish costumes (not me) and/or Marilyn.

I recently reviewed "Jack the Giant Killer", a blatant ripoff of "Seventh Voyage of Sinbad". I'd never seen "There's No Business Like Show Business", and wasn't aware it ripped off "Singin' in the Rain".The latter was inspired (if that's the right word) by Arthur Freed's desire to exploit the many songs he and Nacio Brown had written. Betty Comden and Adolph Green provided an amusing script about Hollywood's transition from silent films to talkies, and (as they say) history was made.Though MGM was the king of musicals (Freed headed its musical unit), Fox must have longed for the same kind of success. Why not a film tapping Irving Berlin's huge library of successful songs? Unfortunately, the story is nothing more than the usual romantic claptrap, with a young woman (MM) threatening to disrupt a show-biz family. Who cares?Unless you enjoy watching lavish production numbers featuring Berlin's songs, and/or hearing Ethel Merman (whose voice could crack titanium) belt 'em out, there's nothing of interest for most viewers -- then or now. The critics mostly panned it, and the production was so expensive "No Biz" didn't turn a profit. Whatever current respect it holds is probably based more on nostalgia than quality.* It's generally considered the best musical ever made. I find it a bit tedious. It's funny (Jean Hagen is hilarious as the silent actress with a silly voice), but there are too many songs. And Gene Kelly's athletic, self-conscious dancing has never appealed to me.

There are two main types of musicals--those where the emphasis is clearly on the music and others where the music is incidental to the story. While which style you like is up to you, for me, I much prefer those with less music--where the story is predominant. So, because of my personal preference, movies like "There's No Business Like Show Business" are NOT exactly my cup of tea, so to speak.The film is about a fictional show business family, the Donohues. When the film begins, the three children are young. But then through the miracle of movie magic, soon about 15-20 years pass--and the children are now grown (and include Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor). Oddly, the parents, Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman, didn't seem to age a day. Even more noticeable is Marilyn Monroe--you see her early in the film and after all those years she looks as if she hasn't aged a day. Even if it was only 10 years--still, she looked EXACTLY the same! While the film follows the family with their ups and downs (and the third child when he decides to become a priest), all of it seems to be there just to provide a chance to sing and dance...a lot. Many of the songs are very familiar. Overall, very glossy and enjoyable if all you want is lots of singing and dancing...which I didn't. Watchable for a guy like me, but only just, as the story didn't seem strong enough to handle all the songs.

White Christmas, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Cabaret are musical films with famous title songs to sing along to, and this another one I had heard about, from director Walter Lang (Cheaper by the Dozen, The King and I). Basically this is the story of the Donahue family, starting first with husband and wife Molly (Call Me Madam's Ethel Merman) and Terrance (Dan Dailey) the vaudeville team, and then their three children, Tim (Singin's in the Rain's Donald O'Connor), Steve (Johnnie Ray) and Katy (Mitzi Gaynor) to become The Five Donahues. Throughout we see some small dilemmas with the family members, including Molly concerned for her children, Steve wanting to become a priest, Katy is dating lyricist Charles Gibbs (Hugh O'Brian), and Tim meets and falls in love with up and coming stage sensation Victoria Hoffman (Marilyn Monroe). Victoria, now Vicky Parker, often shows up to be at certain family occasions and events, and without Tim the family have become The Four Donahues, and some other situations occur on and off screen with the family as they try and settle things. In the end, after worrying them, Tim returns, as do Katy and Steve to rejoin parents Molly and Terrance for a return performance as The Five Donahues, along with Vicky, to reclaim their fame. I will be honest, the story was rather patchy and I paid more attention to the songs and dances. Also starring Richard Eastham as Lew Harris. Merman does have some good dramatic style moments, and Monroe as always is beautiful but not quite as appealing as usual, the choreography for most scenes is really good, and one or two of the songs are catchy, especially the title song by Merman of course, I don't quite agree with the four stars from the critics, but it's not a bad musical. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Costume Design, Best Music for Alfred Newman and Lionel Newman and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. It was number 86 on The 100 Greatest Musicals. Good!