★ 7 / 10
Mama Rose" (Rosalind Russell) is a bit of
CinemaSerf
"Mama Rose" (Rosalind Russell) is a bit of a musical snob. She is determined that her two daughters are going to succeed her on the stage, but she draws the…
"Mama Rose" (Rosalind Russell) is a bit of a musical snob. She is determined that her two daughters are going to succeed her on the stage, but she draws the line at the bawdier elements of Burlesque. Her elder daughter "June" (Ann Jillian) duly obliges proving a Vaudeville success and then marrying. Younger daughter "Louise" (Natalie Wood) is much more of a free spirit and she is also less fussy about how she gets her name in lights, and so naturally her path leads to some consternation from her mother and with "Herbie" (Karl Malden) who seems omipresent as a support for a "Rose" who steadfastly refuses to marry him. Now Ethel Merman she isn't, but I thought Russell played her role with a human conviction that exposed her maternal side both vulnerably and determinedly and I'm not sure the powerfully-voiced Merman could have done that so well. When it came to belting out the songs, Russell seems to have wisely taken a back seat and left Lisa Kirk to do the work, but that worked well enough for a slew of other performers who knew their own limitations and so Kirk combines well with Wood, Jillian and even Malden in delivering some of Stephen Sondheim's best lyrics set to Jule Styne at his own best with the score. Along the way, we get a glimpse of just how competitive and fickle the world of showbiz could be and of how hand-to-mouth the existance of it's players was as they aspired for the ever elusive mink coat. It's in the blood, blood is red - and so are these prickly roses.
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★ 7 / 10
Let Them Entertain You
wes-connors
During the roaring 1920s, domineering Rosalind Russell (as Rose Hovick) pushes her two young daughters successfully onto the vaudeville stage. But, when star…
During the roaring 1920s, domineering Rosalind Russell (as Rose Hovick) pushes her two young daughters successfully onto the vaudeville stage. But, when star Ann Jillian (as "Dainty" June) hits puberty and runs off with a chorus boy, Ms. Russell is left with relatively untalented Natalie Wood (as Louise). Undaunted, Russell alters the act for Ms. Wood, who makes it a burlesque show. When she becomes a strip-tease star (as "Gypsy Rose Lee"), an ungrateful Wood leaves her Mama in the wings. Russell receives moral support from agent and lover Karl Malden (as Herbie Sommers), who wants to be her fourth husband...
Everything's Coming Up Roses...
The main problem, here, is that the terrific score, by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, is given a relatively lesser treatment, when compared to Ethel Merman's Broadway version (available on CD). Russell was dubbed well by singer Lisa Kirk - but, instead of rendering her own version of the classics, she was apparently hired to sound similar to Russell. The benefit is that you don't get raspy Russell suddenly singing like soprano Marni Nixon. While perhaps not ideally cast, Russell and Wood possess enough star power to make an already great show pass muster. Thankfully, Paul Wallace (as Tulsa) retains his stage presence.
Sing Out, Louise!
******* Gypsy (11/1/62) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace
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