Call Me Madam (1953)
Once in a while a movie comes along that is so delightful and perfect, there’s literally no one who can find fault with it. Call Me Madam is one of those movies—and I have proof! My brother, who seldom likes old movies, doesn’t really like musicals, and has little tolerance for dance numbers, loved it! He couldn’t stop laughing, he actually paid attention during the songs, and he even commented on how pretty Vera-Ellen was—when she’s the absolute opposite of his usual type. Therefore, everyone on Earth will love this movie!
Well, there is one group of people who won’t like this movie: feminists who refuse to have a sense of humor. Ethel Merman stars as an unqualified female ambassador who knows nothing about politics or foreign relations. The audience is supposed to laugh at her ignorant remarks, but also admire her courage, strength, optimism, kindness, and common-sense intelligence and solutions. If you don’t think you can be entertained by someone like that, you won’t like this movie. I have confidence that the number of people who fall under that category is very small and still maintain that this a perfect movie.
One of the greatest dance numbers in cinema history comes from Call Me Madam. No, it’s not the graceful, beautiful, charming duet of “It’s a Lovely Day Today”. And no, it’s not the incredibly impressive spins during “The Ocarina”. It’s Donald O’Connor’s drunken balloon dance while he sings “What Chance Have I with Love?” If you’re a dance lover and you’ve never seen this number, you haven’t fully lived.
I love Ethel Merman, but I especially love her in this movie. She’s so hilarious, she’ll snap you out of the worst mood with just a three-second one-liner. “I want you to call me August,” Walter Slezak says as he puts his arm around her and tries to get on a first-name basis. “That’ll be soon enough,” Ethel quips as she wriggles away. Later in the same scene, George Sanders asks if he can take her home. “Sure, where do you live?” she answers. See, she’s totally adorable, charming, funny, and guaranteed to put you in a good mood. There’s a particularly funny scene where she makes her assistant Billy De Wolfe—in the only role I don’t find him terribly annoying—promist not to leave her alone with George Sanders. When she changes her mind and has romance on her mind, Billy still won’t leave!
So, if you love the songs “The Hostess with the Mostest” and “You’re Just In Love”, or you want to see George Sanders pull off playing a good guy, or if you want to see some of Irene Sharaff's most beautiful costume designs, or if you think Vera-Ellen is exquisite and you want another peek at her astonishing legs, or if Ethel Merman reminds you of your mom and you want to hear her sing, or if you think Donald O’Connor reminds you of your ex-sweetie pie you still think fondly of, or if you love political jokes, you need to watch this movie. Since all those reasons apply to me, I think I know what I’m watching tonight—good thing I own a DVD copy!
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Meringue in Sugartown USA" for posting!
More Donald O'Connor movies here!
Well, there is one group of people who won’t like this movie: feminists who refuse to have a sense of humor. Ethel Merman stars as an unqualified female ambassador who knows nothing about politics or foreign relations. The audience is supposed to laugh at her ignorant remarks, but also admire her courage, strength, optimism, kindness, and common-sense intelligence and solutions. If you don’t think you can be entertained by someone like that, you won’t like this movie. I have confidence that the number of people who fall under that category is very small and still maintain that this a perfect movie.
One of the greatest dance numbers in cinema history comes from Call Me Madam. No, it’s not the graceful, beautiful, charming duet of “It’s a Lovely Day Today”. And no, it’s not the incredibly impressive spins during “The Ocarina”. It’s Donald O’Connor’s drunken balloon dance while he sings “What Chance Have I with Love?” If you’re a dance lover and you’ve never seen this number, you haven’t fully lived.
I love Ethel Merman, but I especially love her in this movie. She’s so hilarious, she’ll snap you out of the worst mood with just a three-second one-liner. “I want you to call me August,” Walter Slezak says as he puts his arm around her and tries to get on a first-name basis. “That’ll be soon enough,” Ethel quips as she wriggles away. Later in the same scene, George Sanders asks if he can take her home. “Sure, where do you live?” she answers. See, she’s totally adorable, charming, funny, and guaranteed to put you in a good mood. There’s a particularly funny scene where she makes her assistant Billy De Wolfe—in the only role I don’t find him terribly annoying—promist not to leave her alone with George Sanders. When she changes her mind and has romance on her mind, Billy still won’t leave!
So, if you love the songs “The Hostess with the Mostest” and “You’re Just In Love”, or you want to see George Sanders pull off playing a good guy, or if you want to see some of Irene Sharaff's most beautiful costume designs, or if you think Vera-Ellen is exquisite and you want another peek at her astonishing legs, or if Ethel Merman reminds you of your mom and you want to hear her sing, or if you think Donald O’Connor reminds you of your ex-sweetie pie you still think fondly of, or if you love political jokes, you need to watch this movie. Since all those reasons apply to me, I think I know what I’m watching tonight—good thing I own a DVD copy!
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Meringue in Sugartown USA" for posting!
More Donald O'Connor movies here!