Hello, Dolly! (1969)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Gene Kelly

Writers:

Michael Stewart (based on a stage play by)
Thornton Wilder (based on the book "The Matchmaker" by)

Release Date:

16 December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy | Musical | Family

Plot:

A matchmaker named Dolly Levi takes a trip to Yonkers, New York to see the "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire," Horace Vandergelder...

Plot Keywords:

Matchmaker | Broadway Musical | New York City | Widow | Niece

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 13 nominations

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Dolly Levi
Walter Matthau	...	Horace Vandergelder
Michael Crawford	...	Cornelius Hackl
Marianne McAndrew	...	Irene Molloy
Danny Lockin	...	Barnaby Tucker
E.J. Peaker	...	Minnie Fay
Tommy Tune	...	Ambrose Kemper
Joyce Ames	...	Ermengarde Vandergelder
Judy Knaiz	...	Gussie Granger / Ernestina Simple
David Hurst	...	Rudolph Reisenweber
Fritz Feld	...	Fritz, German waiter
Richard Collier	...	Joe, Vandergelder's barber
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Policeman in Park
Louis Armstrong	...	Louis Armstrong

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm prints) | DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Norway:7 | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Chenault Productions

Trivia:

During filming, Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau fought bitterly. He disliked her so intensely that he refused to be around her except when required to do so by the script. He is famously quoted as telling Barbra that she "had no more talent than a butterfly's fart". Interestingly, he is clearly seen in the audience at Barbra's One Voice (1986) (TV) concert at her Malibu ranch, where invitation-only guests paid $5,000 per couple to help establish the Streisand Foundation, which supports numerous charitable organizations. Apparently, Walter Matthau did not hold grudges.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Several times during the movie, Barnaby mentions seeing the whale at Barnum's American Museum. However, in the fourteenth street parade, there is a banner for Barnum and Bailey's Circus. The American Museum burned down in 1865 and Barnum & Bailey didn't become partners until 1881.

Quotes:

Horace: It takes a woman all powdered and pink to joyously clean out the drain in the sink!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1970)

Soundtrack:

Just Leave Everything To Me

Somewhat overblown musical, but still excellent and entertaining

This film was certainly beautiful to look at and listen to. I was lucky to see it in 70 mm during its initial roadshow release. It was one of the few movies to have the negative actually filmed in 70 mm, rather than having the standard 35 mm merely blown up to 70 mm for the roadshow. "The Sound of Music" was another picture originally filmed in 70 mm, and we all know how beautiful the cinematography was in that. Sadly, the high cost of 70 mm has essentially ended the use of that type of film format.

"Hello, Dolly!" deserved the Oscars it won, such as musical direction, sound, and art direction-set design. About 15 years ago I stopped in the riverside village of Garrison, New York, to see where it was partially filmed. The real building that was adapted into Vandergelder's Hay & Feed was still there at the time, and "Vandergelder" was etched on the window pane from its use in the film. The bridge over the railway tracks is still there.

As much as I like the film as a whole, it does have some problems that could have been easily corrected. The early scene with Walter Matthau and Tommy Tune arguing over Ermengarde is overly dramatic and simply too theatrical. It might have been fine on Broadway, but the genre of cinema requires a bit of toning down. I blame this purely on Gene Kelly, the director, who should have known better. He is the one who is supposed to sense the pacing and delivery of lines. I get the impression he was trying to speed things up, knowing that there is a lot to fit into the picture. The screenplay was naturally required to closely follow the original material, but it could have been simplified a bit without sacrificing anything important. An example of this is the endless number of times that the audience is reminded that the main characters are going "to New York" by train. Once was enough.

Still, the music and choreography are superb, and carry the picture. Not everyone in it can sing as beautifully as Barbra Streisand, but it succeeds nonetheless. The number "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" is one of Hollywood's golden moments in terms of production quality. I have seen Carol Channing do the stage version and she was great, but I also feel that Barbra Streisand was perfectly adequate here. She can sing better than Ms. Channing and has real star quality.

If you visit the interesting Hudson River area of New York state, you will be warmly reminded of the scenic beauty in "Hello, Dolly!" Drop by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to take the public tour and you will see the magnificent setting where the final wedding scene was done, minus the church of course.