Sigmund Romberg and Dorothy Field's mid-tier score (Decca recorded eight numbers but only used two of the four leads on their "cast album") but first tier wartime Broadway hit (504 performances at the New Century and Broadway Theatres from 27 January 1945 to 13 April 1946, which the movie trailer inflated to "a thousand") made an unusual but surprisingly pleasing transfer from stage to screen under the banner of Universal International.
Because the stage show blended a tale of Irish immigration and crusading reporting with the graft and corruption of New York political boss William Marcy Tweed (made infamous by editorial caricaturist Thomas Nast, who more or less invented the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey) and "improvements" to New York's "big back yard," Central Park, Universal promoted one side of the central love triangle between the reporter (Dick Haymes), the female lead (an Irish colleen, Rosie, played by Durbin) and one of Tweed's nefarious henchmen (who on stage MARRIED Rosie only to desert her when the inevitable scandals came, but died in a street brawl to free Rosie to marry her true investigative reporter love) to an affair between Rosie and the already married TWEED (played with suave assurance by Vincent Price at his best - but looking *nothing* like the famous Nast caricatures.
While the trailer proclaims the movie boasts "ALL THE SPECTACLE AND SONG OF BROADWAY'S HAPPIEST MUSICAL," the claim is typical Hollywood hyperbole. Much of the best known music from the show has been omitted. Although the biggest hit from the show, "Close As the Pages In A Book," is prominently played through out the Overture under the opening credits, it was cut from the film itself - apparently the robust seduction song for the rich baritone of Wilbur Evans on stage was felt wrong for the lighter instrument of big band singer Dick Haymes who was wrapping up a mid-level 40's film career. Because of video releases, he may be best remembered for the films of STATE FAIR and ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, but he does a nice enough job with Evans' other hits, "Carousel In The Park" and "When You Walk In The Room," here.
The casting of the still satisfying Durbin (in her last filmed role - if next-to-last released) in the lead was another minor problem. Romberg was a fine composer for her, and added an excellent opening number for her character, the proto-patriotic "I Like What I See," as her ship enters New York Harbour, but the film ALSO adds an aria for the colleen with operatic singing ambitions (Tweed will open the door for her in addition to getting her father - Albert Sharpe, "star of the Broadway stage hit, FINIAN'S RAINBOW"; a decade later, Sharpe was "Darby O'Gill" for Disney - a job as his henchman had on stage). The number is there to show off Durbin's excellent voice, and it does, but since Rosie is dramatically supposed to be unready for a big opera break, Durbin's obviously BEING ready undercuts Haymes' plot important contention that we need to earn what we receive.
On another level however, UP IN CENTRAL PARK preserves a significant part of the hit stage production it rarely gets credit for: Universal International hired famed Broadway choreographer Helen Tamaris to recreate some of her Broadway staging and to judge from the production photographs of the original production, she did that admirably. Tamiris is only credited on two Hollywood films; this and 1952's JUST FOR YOU, a Bing Crosby piece based on a Stephen Vincent Benet story. Veteran of 16 Broadway shows (UP IN CENTRAL PARK was her fourth), this film probably represents her best preserved work. While the delightful stage song "Currier & Ives" (as Tweed puts the moves on Rosie) is reduced to a mere song cue in the film, it still introduces Tamiris' excellent "Skaters' Ballet," one of the highlights of the show, and her energetic (occasionally to the point of silliness - as at Boss Tweeds' party near the end) stage based dances are well woven all through the film.
At barely 88 minutes, Universal International and screenwriter Karl Turnberg found it surprisingly easy to trim down a two plus hour stage story for the screen merely by cutting the main comedy subplot (Rosie's social climbing friend who sang about "The Fireman's Bride" is nowhere to be seen) and the time needed to dispose of the husband Rosie doesn't acquire in this version - the ever suave Price/Tweed frees her with gracious honor when the scandals come. What remains is a surprisingly pleasant, even satisfying postcard to a past not as much more "innocent" than today as we might like to think.
One last interesting note in the film's trailer included in the VHS release: there is a brief clip of an audience supposedly applauding the stage show just before the original Broadway Playbill cover is shown, and most audiences will assume it is merely a stock film clip of a generic audience and theatre, but if you look closely at the clip and surviving photos of the New Century Theatre, the undoubtedly staged clip appears to be of that long vanished Broadway house where UP IN CENTRAL PARK played the first six months of its New York run! It's a nice touch.
For a film of a significant Broadway hit, UP IN CENTRAL PARK doubtless should have been in color and more respect should have been given to the real hits in the score (little though they may be remembered by many today), but the film remains an enjoyable curio and well worth a look - especially for fans of any of the four leads.
Because the stage show blended a tale of Irish immigration and crusading reporting with the graft and corruption of New York political boss William Marcy Tweed (made infamous by editorial caricaturist Thomas Nast, who more or less invented the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey) and "improvements" to New York's "big back yard," Central Park, Universal promoted one side of the central love triangle between the reporter (Dick Haymes), the female lead (an Irish colleen, Rosie, played by Durbin) and one of Tweed's nefarious henchmen (who on stage MARRIED Rosie only to desert her when the inevitable scandals came, but died in a street brawl to free Rosie to marry her true investigative reporter love) to an affair between Rosie and the already married TWEED (played with suave assurance by Vincent Price at his best - but looking *nothing* like the famous Nast caricatures.
While the trailer proclaims the movie boasts "ALL THE SPECTACLE AND SONG OF BROADWAY'S HAPPIEST MUSICAL," the claim is typical Hollywood hyperbole. Much of the best known music from the show has been omitted. Although the biggest hit from the show, "Close As the Pages In A Book," is prominently played through out the Overture under the opening credits, it was cut from the film itself - apparently the robust seduction song for the rich baritone of Wilbur Evans on stage was felt wrong for the lighter instrument of big band singer Dick Haymes who was wrapping up a mid-level 40's film career. Because of video releases, he may be best remembered for the films of STATE FAIR and ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, but he does a nice enough job with Evans' other hits, "Carousel In The Park" and "When You Walk In The Room," here.
The casting of the still satisfying Durbin (in her last filmed role - if next-to-last released) in the lead was another minor problem. Romberg was a fine composer for her, and added an excellent opening number for her character, the proto-patriotic "I Like What I See," as her ship enters New York Harbour, but the film ALSO adds an aria for the colleen with operatic singing ambitions (Tweed will open the door for her in addition to getting her father - Albert Sharpe, "star of the Broadway stage hit, FINIAN'S RAINBOW"; a decade later, Sharpe was "Darby O'Gill" for Disney - a job as his henchman had on stage). The number is there to show off Durbin's excellent voice, and it does, but since Rosie is dramatically supposed to be unready for a big opera break, Durbin's obviously BEING ready undercuts Haymes' plot important contention that we need to earn what we receive.
On another level however, UP IN CENTRAL PARK preserves a significant part of the hit stage production it rarely gets credit for: Universal International hired famed Broadway choreographer Helen Tamaris to recreate some of her Broadway staging and to judge from the production photographs of the original production, she did that admirably. Tamiris is only credited on two Hollywood films; this and 1952's JUST FOR YOU, a Bing Crosby piece based on a Stephen Vincent Benet story. Veteran of 16 Broadway shows (UP IN CENTRAL PARK was her fourth), this film probably represents her best preserved work. While the delightful stage song "Currier & Ives" (as Tweed puts the moves on Rosie) is reduced to a mere song cue in the film, it still introduces Tamiris' excellent "Skaters' Ballet," one of the highlights of the show, and her energetic (occasionally to the point of silliness - as at Boss Tweeds' party near the end) stage based dances are well woven all through the film.
At barely 88 minutes, Universal International and screenwriter Karl Turnberg found it surprisingly easy to trim down a two plus hour stage story for the screen merely by cutting the main comedy subplot (Rosie's social climbing friend who sang about "The Fireman's Bride" is nowhere to be seen) and the time needed to dispose of the husband Rosie doesn't acquire in this version - the ever suave Price/Tweed frees her with gracious honor when the scandals come. What remains is a surprisingly pleasant, even satisfying postcard to a past not as much more "innocent" than today as we might like to think.
One last interesting note in the film's trailer included in the VHS release: there is a brief clip of an audience supposedly applauding the stage show just before the original Broadway Playbill cover is shown, and most audiences will assume it is merely a stock film clip of a generic audience and theatre, but if you look closely at the clip and surviving photos of the New Century Theatre, the undoubtedly staged clip appears to be of that long vanished Broadway house where UP IN CENTRAL PARK played the first six months of its New York run! It's a nice touch.
For a film of a significant Broadway hit, UP IN CENTRAL PARK doubtless should have been in color and more respect should have been given to the real hits in the score (little though they may be remembered by many today), but the film remains an enjoyable curio and well worth a look - especially for fans of any of the four leads.