Review of There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) by Brett C — 22 Sep 2014

Review In A Nutshell:

The title song of this film was one of those tunes that I simply knew due to other films or television series paying homage or make fun of it. I recall myself singing the song in my head, particularly during moments when I pretend to be like an actor or singer of some kind. It is too bad the rest of the film couldn't match the power that titular song was able to deliver.

The film mainly falls apart in its ability to prioritisation, it clearly wants to be a musical and they work it into the stories and background of its characters but it simply fails to bring anything significant. The bulk of the songs that are being performed, which are the ones that take place on a stage, lacked variation in personality and connecting very little to the personal lives of its characters. The audience almost gains no opportunity to see how this talented family develop their music or acts, we simply have to accept the fact that it flows out of their minds with no hiccups. The title of the film seems to draw its audiences in, thinking its story would reflect a somewhat accurate depiction of the profession and the personal life that comes with it, but the film goes around it by driving its core story with a romance and light drama. I would have honestly been content if the film simply told a romantic tale with Tim and Vicky, but the musical numbers of the film gets too much in the way, leaving me forgetful of the fact that it was actually trying to tell a story. Though in saying this, there were some that were entertaining, particularly the ones that takes place outside the stage and featuring Donald O'Connor; I am a sucker for musicals with spontaneous and unfathomable singing.

The film's costume design and set designs were marvellous, as expected from an Old Hollywood musical, and capturing it with Cinemascope made it all the more glorious. There were a couple of moments that felt too obvious that I was watching a set as backgrounds, during intimate and dumb-ed down scenes, were stripped off in detail, ultimately coming off as dull and lifeless. I think this is just me being a nit-picker and the fact that the film's story wasn't strong enough to completely immerse me into the characters and their problems.

So far it has been two films from Donald O'Connor that I have seen, and both of them are musicals. I feel that he is an underrated actor-singer-dancer, there were so many scene stealing moments in this film from him, leaving me confused on why the hell wasn't he nominated by the Academy; well at least for Singin' in the Rain. He brings life to his roles by injecting them with slapstick and quirkiness. His comedic timing feels ahead of its time, which I feel could still appeal to the audiences of today. Another I want to bring up was Marilyn Monroe's performance as Vicky Parker. It is always pleasing to watch the actress not play a character that is inherently shallow or clueless as watching her playing roles like that feels too easy and at times a bit lazy. Her role doesn't break any grounds like her role in River of No Return but it is a slight variation of the typical roles she play; her character here is not the centre of attention which helped significantly in making her performance feel effective. The chemistry that she and Donald bring together on screen is one of the key aspects that had me somewhat engaged with the romantic elements of the film. There was certainly a mismatch in physical appearances but the internal connection between them was established beautifully.

I could only recommend this film if one is a die-hard fan of Walter Lang, Irving Berlin or the film's cast.