In the Good Old Summertime is the story of two clerks in a turn of the 20th century Chicago sheet-music store. They’re intensely antagonistic toward each other at work. But unknown to them, they’re getting very chummy as pen pals. It’s a musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner.
Spoiled heiress Connie Casey (Lucille Ball) goes off to college. Unknown to her, her father secretly sends along four Ivy League football stars as her bodyguards. In no time, they turn tiny Pottawatomie U into a gridiron powerhouse! Fast-paced and funny, Too Many Girls is celebrated for its George Abbott-produced Broadway roots, its buoyant Rodgers and Hart score, and the movie debuts of three talents from the original stage version: Eddie Bracken, Van Johnson and Desi Arnaz. It’s also where Desi met the film’s leading lady, Lucille Ball.
In Dancing Lady, a musical star is torn between a millionaire playboy and her stage manager.
Annie Get Your Gun stars Betty Hutton as backwoods sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Plucked out of obscurity by Buffalo Bill (Louis Calhern), the rough-edged Annie is groomed for a leading role in Bill’s world famous Wild West show. However, Annie has a rival in the form of rifleman Frank Butler (Howard Keel), a man she soon falls in love with.
A fun musical, that frequently had me asking, “When is Lucy coming back on screen?” Please understand, that even without Lucy on screen, it’s a fun musical farce. There are several nice musical numbers and some Wonderful music by the Harry James band. I was absolutely transfixed by their rendition of Flight of the Bumblebees. But there’s a definite decrease in the comedy, and in the pace of the film, when Lucille Ball is off-screen. With a few notable examples.
In short, Broadway Rhythm is a very enjoyable musical. It’s not the equal of Top Hat or some of the other great musicals — but it’s not trying to be. It’s a musical about a family of performers. The son has made it big — possibly too big for his britches. He’s chasing a girl who would be perfect for his play. A play that she’s not interested in. His father’s retired, although the father doesn’t think that he’s ready to be put out to pasture. And the younger sister is attending college, when she wants to be performing.
![Doctor Dolittle [1967] starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, Richard Attenborough, Peter Bull](https://family-friendly-movies.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/doctor-doolittle-cover-rex-harrison-e1543185769665.jpg)
Doctor Dolittle is a charming fantasy excursion. It creates a wonderful world of endless imagination through music, dance and special effects. Rex Harrison stars in the madcap adventures of a 19th Century English doctor. The doctor walks and talks and squawks with the animals. Based on the charming stories of Hugh Lofting, the good doctor gets himself into all sorts of funny predicaments in this fun family film. It earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It has terrific music, fine acting, lovable creatures and a joyous fantasy tale. Doctor Dolittle is a classic for young and old alike.
In Lady Be Good, married songwriters go through a series of ups and downs over the years, including divorce and remarriage.
In Gold Diggers of 1935, a socialite is bamboozled into producing a stage show in her home in this amusing musical starring Alice Brady and Adolphe Menjou.
Lucille Ball stars in Mame. Mame is a film of the blockbuster Broadway musical. It tells the story of the flamboyant, unconventional and, above all, glamorous Mame.
