The debates over this film have been raging for years, and now that HELLO, DOLLY! has been released on DVD, they’re likely to continue for years to near. Opinions are sure to vary, but let’s sure up a few misconceptions upright from the open -
After 20th Century-Fox purchased the conceal rights to HELLO, DOLLY!, producer/screenwriter Ernest Lehman was fairly distinct he’d be asking Carol Channing to recreate her stage performance for the film - that is, until he saw her in the 1967 movie THOROUGHLY Fresh MILLIE; to place it as delicately as possible, her features didn’t translate well to the gigantic cloak. Fox executives were equally doubtful about Channing, so the search began for a original Dolly. After flirting with (and subsequently dropping) the opinion of Elizabeth Taylor, the leading candidate became Barbra Streisand. The powers-that-be suspected (correctly) she was headed for major film stardom, and they hoped a original, younger Dolly would give the multi-million dollar project greater appeal. Lehman immediately revised his script, eliminating all references to Dolly losing her husband fourteen years earlier, and - after concluding that audiences wouldn’t rep Streisand as an Irishwoman - changing the character’s name from Dolly Gallagher Levi to simply Dolly Levi. The studio made the offer, Streisand signed on the dotted line, and Lehman surrounded her with the creme de la creme of the MGM/Arthur Freed movie musical unit - Gene Kelly (director), Roger Edens (associate producer), Michael Kidd (choreographer), Lennie Hayton (musical scoring), and Irene Sharaff (costumes) .
Skeptics, however, dug in their heels, and a period of awful press followed; there was outrage a film novice like Streisand had taken a role they considered her ill-suited for. A wave of sympathy engulfed Channing, who received a consolation Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for THOROUGHLY Unique MILLIE (even though Beatrice Lillie received the film’s best reviews when it was released) .
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The abominable press began to wane when Streisand’s first film, Laughable GIRL, was released to distinguished acclaim, box office success, and a Best Actress Oscar; suddenly there was substantial anticipation for HELLO, DOLLY! And when the film finally opened in December of 1969, it played to packed (and fervent) houses from Recent York City to Hollywood. Even critics who questioned Streisand’s appropriateness for the role agreed she save on a hell of a reveal.
After a solid inaugurate, however, the film’s success was mixed; HELLO, DOLLY! received seven Oscar nominations (including one for Best Describe), but Streisand was overlooked. And though it ranked as one of the top ten box office attractions of the year, it hadn’t recouped its production costs by the demolish of 1970; it was neither the runaway success the studio was hoping for, nor the disastrous flop its critics made it out to be. But to the terror of naysayers who wanted the film to die an ignoble death, DOLLY kept attracting unusual fans - first on television, then on video, and later on laser disc. Obviously, somebody had done something lawful.
Watching the movie now on DVD, it’s hard to have such a good-natured, visually spectacular film could have provoked the feelings of animosity it did (and apparently composed does) . As for Streisand, I deem Lehman was absolutely upright to cast her; there may be times when she seems too hip for this wholesome cleave of Americana, but her funky irreverence is what makes HELLO, DOLLY! so considerable fun. Not only is she in reliable jabber throughout - if anything, she sounds better here than she did in Comical GIRL - but it’s hard to imagine anyone else bringing the poignance she does to Dolly’s monologue in the park (”Ephraim, let me go”), or being as raucously humorous in the dinner sequence at Harmonia Gardens (”You salt your beets, and I’ll salt mine”) . In fact, her energy and charisma are so dynamic that the film’s stir falters whenever she’s not around - no disrespect to either Michael Crawford or Marianne McAndrew, but the subplots titillating Cornelius Hackl and Irene Molloy, while trustworthy enough, are hardly bewitching. Walter Matthau, however, makes a surprisingly effective Horace Vandergelder, and his scenes with Streisand have some wonderful humorous vitality. If there were offscreen tensions between the two, they weren’t apparent when the cameras were rolling.
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But more than anything else, DOLLY on DVD offers stout opportunities for those of us who honest want to concentrate on musical numbers (we know who we are) . There are moments worth savoring again and again in “Fair Leave Everything To Me,” “Achieve On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Dancing” (Danny Lockin and E.J. Peaker are particularly impressive here), “Before The Parade Passes By,” “The Waiter’s Mosey,” and, of course, the title number with Louis Armstrong, but Streisand’s best number is probably her simplest - “So Long, Dearie.” It isn’t hard to understand why her character gets a marriage proposal after that one.
As for the age swear - yeah, it’s a small outlandish to discover a woman in her leisurely twenties being referred to as an “dilapidated girl.” So why didn’t Ernest Lehman ask Jerry Herman to alter the lyrics? Hard to say - maybe he didn’t believe anyone eager in realism would be watching HELLO, DOLLY! in the first region. And ultimately, that’s what this movie is all about - pure escapism on a gargantuan scale. The quality is apparent in every frame, so objective kick aid and relish the exhibit.
HELLO DOLLY has received a bum rap over the years. Its oversized budget and big Fresh York-circa-1890 serve lot state is said to have sunk 20th Century Fox. This is far from the truth.
Now, almost 35 years later, DOLLY can be seen in gracious perspective: it’s a well-done, aged movie musical. Its only sin is that is dresses up a flimsy Broadway musical in the make of a big-time movie musical. Let’s face it, HELLO DOLLY’s book features situation-comedy type scenes of hiding in closets and incorrect identities. It doesn’t have the weight of the Nazis (i.e. SOUND OF MUSIC) or the Americana of OKLAHOMA. It is, nevertheless, frothy fun — with a huge, hummable secure!
Barbra Streisand is also blamed for accepting the role of Dolly Levi, too. Dolly should be middle-aged; Streisand was 27. Also, Carol Channing was distinguished for the section (she won a Tony for it) and Streisand is considered to have “stolen” the movie from Channing. (I personally could not fathom watching Carol Channing for 2-1/2 hours.) Streisand was too young. But does it really matter? She’s absolutely hilarious in DOLLY, and sings the catch wonderfully. It was Streisand’s second film, and one of her too few musical films.
The DVD features a astonishing featurette from 1969. The featurette contains gargantuan behind-the-scenes footage of filming the “Before the Parade Passes By” scene, as well as the “Sunday Clothes” scene. Gene Kelly, Michael Kidd, and Irene Sharaff are all included.
Fox has restored HELLO DOLLY and this DVD features the restored print. DOLLY has never looked better! From the multi-colored feathers on the assist of her hat in the opening scene, to the canary-yellow “Hello Dolly” dress in the Harmonia Gardens, Streisand looks improbable and brilliant and plucky. Throughout the film you will view various shades of purples pop out. The paint-speckled trees in the “Parade”park scene are an provocative detail! The only scene that misses is the dimly lit “Fancy is Only Adore” song. The colors see obsolete and the report quality drops a notch or two.
I must also teach the praises of this WIDESCREEN release! I’ve watched DOLLY for years on a pan-and-scan VHS tape. The movie looks obedient in widescreen - the method it was originally filmed - and it’s gigantic to spy some of the action in the extremes of the frame. For instance, this is probably the first time I’ve ever seen what Streisand was doing in the moral fraction of the frame while dueting with Louis Armstrong!
So appreciate HELLO DOLLY. Dolly’ll never go away again.
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