"Boss" William Marcy Tweed is a much maligned political figure of New York City's Tammany era, and in paintings and cartoons of him comes off as a rather gluttonous looking fat man, corrupt in every way, pear shape and form. He is one of several dozen notorious figures out of the big apple's history who is still talked about today and one which can be epitomized as the archetype of a style of government and attempted control that continues 140 something years after his time in power. For the film version of this hit Sigmund Romberg musical (one overdue for revival simply for its historical coincidences of the past as aligned with the present), Boss Tweed was presented as a suave and debonair man about town, played by that man of many horrific faces, the versatile Vincent Price who is ruthlessly charming, a phrase you never hear when Boss Tweed is talked about in a historical context today. Get past that lapse of historical accuracy and the much needed color for this period romantic musical and you have a film that is a slight let-down even if its entertainment aspects are clearly present.
Had this been done at MGM starring Walter Slezak as Tweed, along with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland (the three stars of "The Pirate" done the same year), you would have had a Technicolor musical that could have sumptuously presented the era of Currier and Ives which they had reflected in the same year's "Summer Holiday". But this was done at Universal, then a popular if second string movie studio, who ironically filmed two other stage musicals the same year ("Are You With It?" and "One Touch of Venus") that curiously lacked the stylish touch of MGM, Paramount or 20th Century Fox. As with many of the movie musical versions of hit Broadway shows at the time, much of the score has been greatly edited or completely cut out, and the famous ice skating ballet is only seen briefly, shown to star Deanna Durbin through the picture postcards presented with the fancy glass slide projector by the lecherously inclined Price.
What remains is the importance of the story, the historically proven facts of the graft manipulated by Price's Tweed, and how his empire of corruption falls due to the foibles of the fools around him. When you've got a no brain mayor like Hobart Cavanaugh under your thumb, you have to make sure you keep a close eye on him, and with blowhards like Thurstan Hall on your staff, it's only a matter of time before somebody blows the lid off. That's where the conflict comes in for newspaper reporter Dick Haymes who warns Irish immigrant Albert Sharpe and his daughter Durbin of Price's villainy. Price gets on Sharpe's good side by making him the head of the Central Park Zoo, and that leads Durbin into Price's clutches. I object to the casting of Price due to his total likability and obvious miscasting. An actor like Charles Coburn (who had played Tweed in a short film), Slezak or the original Broadway Tweed (Noah Beery Sr.) would have been much more appropriate, and having recently seen Coburn as another legendary New York figure (then New Amsterdam), Peter Stuyvesent, in "Knickerbocker Holiday", that lack of creative casting befuddles me. But for what this is entertainment wise, I am perfectly fine with what was done with it. Just the lack of reality in several ways and the bland black and white photography for a colorful setting make this one a missed opportunity, even if it does include a good portion of Romberg's sweet score which up until seeing this I was unfamiliar with.
Had this been done at MGM starring Walter Slezak as Tweed, along with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland (the three stars of "The Pirate" done the same year), you would have had a Technicolor musical that could have sumptuously presented the era of Currier and Ives which they had reflected in the same year's "Summer Holiday". But this was done at Universal, then a popular if second string movie studio, who ironically filmed two other stage musicals the same year ("Are You With It?" and "One Touch of Venus") that curiously lacked the stylish touch of MGM, Paramount or 20th Century Fox. As with many of the movie musical versions of hit Broadway shows at the time, much of the score has been greatly edited or completely cut out, and the famous ice skating ballet is only seen briefly, shown to star Deanna Durbin through the picture postcards presented with the fancy glass slide projector by the lecherously inclined Price.
What remains is the importance of the story, the historically proven facts of the graft manipulated by Price's Tweed, and how his empire of corruption falls due to the foibles of the fools around him. When you've got a no brain mayor like Hobart Cavanaugh under your thumb, you have to make sure you keep a close eye on him, and with blowhards like Thurstan Hall on your staff, it's only a matter of time before somebody blows the lid off. That's where the conflict comes in for newspaper reporter Dick Haymes who warns Irish immigrant Albert Sharpe and his daughter Durbin of Price's villainy. Price gets on Sharpe's good side by making him the head of the Central Park Zoo, and that leads Durbin into Price's clutches. I object to the casting of Price due to his total likability and obvious miscasting. An actor like Charles Coburn (who had played Tweed in a short film), Slezak or the original Broadway Tweed (Noah Beery Sr.) would have been much more appropriate, and having recently seen Coburn as another legendary New York figure (then New Amsterdam), Peter Stuyvesent, in "Knickerbocker Holiday", that lack of creative casting befuddles me. But for what this is entertainment wise, I am perfectly fine with what was done with it. Just the lack of reality in several ways and the bland black and white photography for a colorful setting make this one a missed opportunity, even if it does include a good portion of Romberg's sweet score which up until seeing this I was unfamiliar with.