You'll Never Get Away from Me
I watched the Special Edition DVD of Gypsy starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood last night. Obviously, you don't need to give this blog a passing glance to know just how much I freaking love this musical. So, here it is in all its Warner Brothers Golden Age Contract Player Technicolor glory, and I couldn't be more excited!
The Good:
That overture still has the power to give me chills. Funny story: They played the whole thing during a pre-show very recently, and my mom turned to me and asked, "What show was this from, again? Sound of Music or somethin'?"
Sure, they cut some of the best numbers, but look what they kept in! "You've Gotta Get a Gimmick"? "All I Need is the Girl"? "Everything's Comin' Up Roses"? "Some People"? Pure pop Heaven.
The colors. Such pretty colors.
Natalie Wood. 'Nuff said.
The Bad:
Were Tulsa and Miss Mazeppa the only people retained from the original Broadway cast? Seriously?
The screenplay by playwright Leonard Spigelgass (A Majority of One) does way too much to explain these very over-arch plot points that weren't in the play and didn't need to be incorporated anyway: Herbie is really Uncle Jocko because vaudeville died and shut down his show! Mama Rose stole random shit from her ex-husbands! Gypsy Rose Lee singlehandedly saved the Orpheum circuit! Dainty June didn't really elope with one of the Farmboys because the studio demanded a "Hollywood" ending! Oy.
Who cares if Roz doesn't do her own singing? The voice actress hired to dub her sounds remarkably alike. And "Rose's Turn" never fails to incite shivers with those set pieces, lighted lights, and orchestrations. Still...it's not like she's Merman.
But she brings her own interpretation to the role, and, come on, it is Rosalind Russell.
The So-Good-It's-Uncategorizable:
The Special Features: I'm a DVD Extras junkie, and the fact that these were unearthed and presumed to never be seen again is just too much to handle...
First off, we have the original trailer. And, man, with Screenvision and all that crap, they just don't make movie previews like they used to anymore. This probably accounts for why I watch Turner Classic Movies so much. Even the previews for movies that were downright horrible (Like I Love Melvin starring Donald O'Connor!) were so well-produced and full of juicy detail and utter showmanship, they were marketing genius and so worth watching for five-to-fifteen-minutes. The chyrons, the music, the happy-peppy-not-at-all-threating voiceovers that are less so "In a world..." and more like "Come join the parade, see!" And did you see that Angela Lansbury retrospective they had the other night? Man!
My favorite vintage movie trailer? The groovy one for Pal Joey where an obviously-drunk young Frank Sinatra explains Joey's "vocabulary" to the audience and pretends to sell everyone on Kim Novak's singing.
But in this trailer, we get a small glimpse of the deleted "Together Wherever We Go" number with the sound off. And, wow, that was a bold move.
Because even the most ignorant fan of this musical (is there such a thing? An ignorant fan?) will notice that Herbie does not sing in this version. Even Jack Klugman sang a little. Hell, even Sam the Pickle Man could sorta carry a tune. I mean, at least he tried.
And Karl Malden doesn't.
Wanna know why? Skip to the "Outtakes" section of the DVD Special Features, and behold, in all its glory...Karl Malden sings.
This really shouldn't have been cut. Granted, his voice isn't all that to behold. It is every bit as loud, off-key, and scratchy as an old record or his big scene in Patton. But he's so energetic! Look at him attempt that flat-footed choreography! Seeing Karl Malden sing and dance is oddly fascinating and endearing. I honestly don't know why, and would like to get a good answer out of him on why this was actually cut from the movie's wide release, according to the DVD Extras menu. And he's still alive; the fact that he was generous enough to authorize this footage for inclusion on the DVD proves that he cares about the preservation of non-singing actors attempting to do musicals for all posterity. But, man, even Julia Roberts' singing wasn't cut from Everyone Says I Love You. And I know she's, like, the most powerful actress in Hollywood, and an Oscar winner, but not only was Malden an Oscar winner, too - he was President of the freakin' Motion Picture Academy!!! The whole world needs to see this for itself. If that many people suffered through Julia pre-DVD, maybe seeing Karl attempt to do Sondheim-Styne will be a whole lot easier to swallow.
Mr. Malden, we love you.
Malden!
The Good:
That overture still has the power to give me chills. Funny story: They played the whole thing during a pre-show very recently, and my mom turned to me and asked, "What show was this from, again? Sound of Music or somethin'?"
Sure, they cut some of the best numbers, but look what they kept in! "You've Gotta Get a Gimmick"? "All I Need is the Girl"? "Everything's Comin' Up Roses"? "Some People"? Pure pop Heaven.
The colors. Such pretty colors.
Natalie Wood. 'Nuff said.
The Bad:
Were Tulsa and Miss Mazeppa the only people retained from the original Broadway cast? Seriously?
The screenplay by playwright Leonard Spigelgass (A Majority of One) does way too much to explain these very over-arch plot points that weren't in the play and didn't need to be incorporated anyway: Herbie is really Uncle Jocko because vaudeville died and shut down his show! Mama Rose stole random shit from her ex-husbands! Gypsy Rose Lee singlehandedly saved the Orpheum circuit! Dainty June didn't really elope with one of the Farmboys because the studio demanded a "Hollywood" ending! Oy.
Who cares if Roz doesn't do her own singing? The voice actress hired to dub her sounds remarkably alike. And "Rose's Turn" never fails to incite shivers with those set pieces, lighted lights, and orchestrations. Still...it's not like she's Merman.
But she brings her own interpretation to the role, and, come on, it is Rosalind Russell.
The So-Good-It's-Uncategorizable:
The Special Features: I'm a DVD Extras junkie, and the fact that these were unearthed and presumed to never be seen again is just too much to handle...
First off, we have the original trailer. And, man, with Screenvision and all that crap, they just don't make movie previews like they used to anymore. This probably accounts for why I watch Turner Classic Movies so much. Even the previews for movies that were downright horrible (Like I Love Melvin starring Donald O'Connor!) were so well-produced and full of juicy detail and utter showmanship, they were marketing genius and so worth watching for five-to-fifteen-minutes. The chyrons, the music, the happy-peppy-not-at-all-threating voiceovers that are less so "In a world..." and more like "Come join the parade, see!" And did you see that Angela Lansbury retrospective they had the other night? Man!
My favorite vintage movie trailer? The groovy one for Pal Joey where an obviously-drunk young Frank Sinatra explains Joey's "vocabulary" to the audience and pretends to sell everyone on Kim Novak's singing.
But in this trailer, we get a small glimpse of the deleted "Together Wherever We Go" number with the sound off. And, wow, that was a bold move.
Because even the most ignorant fan of this musical (is there such a thing? An ignorant fan?) will notice that Herbie does not sing in this version. Even Jack Klugman sang a little. Hell, even Sam the Pickle Man could sorta carry a tune. I mean, at least he tried.
And Karl Malden doesn't.
Wanna know why? Skip to the "Outtakes" section of the DVD Special Features, and behold, in all its glory...Karl Malden sings.
This really shouldn't have been cut. Granted, his voice isn't all that to behold. It is every bit as loud, off-key, and scratchy as an old record or his big scene in Patton. But he's so energetic! Look at him attempt that flat-footed choreography! Seeing Karl Malden sing and dance is oddly fascinating and endearing. I honestly don't know why, and would like to get a good answer out of him on why this was actually cut from the movie's wide release, according to the DVD Extras menu. And he's still alive; the fact that he was generous enough to authorize this footage for inclusion on the DVD proves that he cares about the preservation of non-singing actors attempting to do musicals for all posterity. But, man, even Julia Roberts' singing wasn't cut from Everyone Says I Love You. And I know she's, like, the most powerful actress in Hollywood, and an Oscar winner, but not only was Malden an Oscar winner, too - he was President of the freakin' Motion Picture Academy!!! The whole world needs to see this for itself. If that many people suffered through Julia pre-DVD, maybe seeing Karl attempt to do Sondheim-Styne will be a whole lot easier to swallow.
Mr. Malden, we love you.
Malden!
posted by Gypsy at 10:32 AM
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