There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

Phoebe Ephron (screenplay) and
Henry Ephron (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 December 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.

Plot Keywords:

Hat Check Girl | Fountain | Irving Berlin | Backstage | Nightclub

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Ethel Merman	...	Molly Donahue
Donald O'Connor	...	Tim Donahue
Marilyn Monroe	...	Vicky
Dan Dailey	...	Terence Donahue
Johnnie Ray	...	Steve Donahue
Mitzi Gaynor	...	Katy Donahue
Richard Eastham	...	Lew Harris
Hugh O'Brian	...	Charles Biggs
Frank McHugh	...	Eddie Dugan, Vicky's Agent
Rhys Williams	...	Father Dineen
Lee Patrick	...	Marge
Eve Miller	...	Hat check girl
Robin Raymond	...	Lillian Sawyer

Also Known As:

Irving Berlin's There's No Business Like Show Business (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (magnetic prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #17074) | West Germany:12

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Marilyn Monroe was promised the lead role in The Seven Year Itch (1955) if she appeared in this film to boost its box-office potential. The role of Vicky was written especially for this purpose, and songs such as "Heatwave", originally intended for Ethel Merman, were assigned to her.

Goofs:

Continuity: On the billboard on opening night the Donohue daughter's name is spelled "Katie"; on the poster for "34th week" it is spelled "Katy".

Quotes:

[Molly is dunking Tim's head in a sink full of water to try to sober him up]
Tim Donahue: Ma!
[she dunks his head under water]
Tim Donahue: Ma! You're drowning me!
[Molly dunks his head again]
Molly Donahue: Don't put any ideas in my head

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)

Soundtrack:

Alexander's Ragtime Band

Good, Could've Been Great

Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think of this film, my biggest complaint with it is Marilyn Monroe. The studio shoehorned her into this film in their attempt to make the biggest musical extravaganza ever, and she just doesn't fit. She's so out of sync with the other characters that she might as well be from a different planet.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a huge Marilyn fan, but she was good (and well-cast) in "Some Like It Hot". She's just all wrong for "No Business Like Show Business", and she looks and sounds ridiculous.

To be fair, Johnnie Ray often doesn't hold up well before modern audiences, either, when he sings. It's not that he's bad; it's that his style has come and gone and hardly been seen since. Everything in this movie tends to be at least a little overdone, and asking Johnnie Ray to exaggerate his singing does not produce flattering results.

Still, Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor are as brilliant and exuberant as you could hope. Ethel Merman is, well, Ethel Merman, and exactly right for her part. Dan Dailey is like a reliable locomotive that never disappoints.

The story is a bit plodding at times, but it only exists to set up one gala musical number after another. It only really bogs down when it gets caught up with Marilyn's character. If the studio had just left Marilyn out of it, perhaps giving Mitzi Gaynor the love interest role, and toned down the general effort level just a hair, this would've been one of the all-time greats.

It's still absolutely worth seeing -- in widescreen format, if you possibly can.