It took seemingly forever for the first Broadway musical teaming of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein to make it to the screen. The Broadway production lasted 7 years, and the touring production, which would later come back to Broadway, kept the anticipation for the movie version at a great height. New York has been revisited by the musical numerous times, through brief City Center revivals in the 1950's and 60's, a Lincoln Center production in 1969, a successful production in 1979 and as recently as 2002, a revival based upon a successful London revision which was filmed for BBC and PBS starring Hugh Jackmann. I saw that brilliant Broadway production which only increased my admiration for the film, one of the very first movie versions of a Broadway musical I saw in my youth.
It is ironic that the play, "Green Grows the Lilacs", has pretty much disappeared other than as a script since the first production of the musical in 1943. A folksy reminder of home, family, friendship and the power of the land, it was the definitive Broadway show for the era of World War II. While the movie opened long after the war had ended, it was greeted with cheers and has remained a favorite among connoisseurs of Broadway musicals, praised for remaining faithful to the original book. The film has perfect casting with Gordon MacRae as the cowboy Curly, Shirley Jones as the sweet but feisty Laurie, Charlotte Greenwood as the leggy Aunt Eller, Gene Nelson as good ole' boy Will, Gloria Grahame as the flirty Ado Annie (as far from her film noir roles as you can get!) and Rod Steiger as the misunderstood Jud, a villain you empathize with.
MacRae and Jones are as memorable a team as Jeanette and Nelson, Judy and Mickey, Kathryn and Howard, and of course, Gordon and Doris. It is sad that their teaming came towards the end of the big movie musical era with only one other pairing ("Carousel") and that Jones is more remembered as a mother on a TV sitcom than for her musical talents and dramatic abilities which won her an Oscar for the powerful "Elmer Gantry". MacRae is masculine without being macho, rugged without being a bully, and confidant without being egocentric. Greenwood utilizes her trademark kick in the big "Kansas City" production number, still able to do this 30 years after her success as a singing and dancing Broadway comic. Grahame manages to instill Ado Annie with heart as well as feistiness, and while maybe a tad too old for the part, is still convincing.
As for the songs, it is one of the most sung Broadway scores in history, but some of these songs ("Many a New Day" and "All Er' Nuthin'" to name a few) have been lost in the success of the score. "Many a New Day", in particularly, has been beautifully filmed, and is one of my favorite moments in the film. Of the songs cut from the original score and not utilized in the film, their absence doesn't take anything away from the movie and has helped speed it up a bit as well. Director Fred Zinneman gives the film a perfect pacing, and the entire ensemble pitches in to make this a rousing classic that will remain legendary while other films will fade into obscurity.
It is ironic that the play, "Green Grows the Lilacs", has pretty much disappeared other than as a script since the first production of the musical in 1943. A folksy reminder of home, family, friendship and the power of the land, it was the definitive Broadway show for the era of World War II. While the movie opened long after the war had ended, it was greeted with cheers and has remained a favorite among connoisseurs of Broadway musicals, praised for remaining faithful to the original book. The film has perfect casting with Gordon MacRae as the cowboy Curly, Shirley Jones as the sweet but feisty Laurie, Charlotte Greenwood as the leggy Aunt Eller, Gene Nelson as good ole' boy Will, Gloria Grahame as the flirty Ado Annie (as far from her film noir roles as you can get!) and Rod Steiger as the misunderstood Jud, a villain you empathize with.
MacRae and Jones are as memorable a team as Jeanette and Nelson, Judy and Mickey, Kathryn and Howard, and of course, Gordon and Doris. It is sad that their teaming came towards the end of the big movie musical era with only one other pairing ("Carousel") and that Jones is more remembered as a mother on a TV sitcom than for her musical talents and dramatic abilities which won her an Oscar for the powerful "Elmer Gantry". MacRae is masculine without being macho, rugged without being a bully, and confidant without being egocentric. Greenwood utilizes her trademark kick in the big "Kansas City" production number, still able to do this 30 years after her success as a singing and dancing Broadway comic. Grahame manages to instill Ado Annie with heart as well as feistiness, and while maybe a tad too old for the part, is still convincing.
As for the songs, it is one of the most sung Broadway scores in history, but some of these songs ("Many a New Day" and "All Er' Nuthin'" to name a few) have been lost in the success of the score. "Many a New Day", in particularly, has been beautifully filmed, and is one of my favorite moments in the film. Of the songs cut from the original score and not utilized in the film, their absence doesn't take anything away from the movie and has helped speed it up a bit as well. Director Fred Zinneman gives the film a perfect pacing, and the entire ensemble pitches in to make this a rousing classic that will remain legendary while other films will fade into obscurity.