This was Wyler’s first musical and though I am no musical officiando, I thought the film had a nice pace despite the length of it. It was a touching love story and a credit to Streisand’s wonderful voice and sense of humor. Something I wish she had stuck with instead of becoming more dramatic and reclusive. I wouldn’t have minded seeing her do more musical numbers onstage as “His Love makes Me Beautiful” and “The Swan” were hilarious.
As for the other characters in the film, Walter Pidgeon’s Ziegfeld was hardly seen enough to comment on. Omar Sharif was suave and gentlemanly and his singing wasn’t too shabby. Kay Medford was a delight as Brice’s mother and the film could have benefited from more of her one-liners. In comparison to Streisand however, all the other characters fall to the wayside.
Pet peeve: Streisand's nails. Oy vey! You want you should scratch yourself in the face with those things?
Tonight on TCM!
Gypsy (1962) A domineering mother pushes her two daughters to burlesque stardom.
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
I love this film... and Barbra of course!
ReplyDelete