User Reviews

Anyone miss Bing Crosby playing a priest? It's been almost fifteen years since The Bells of St. Mary's. Good news everybody, he plays a man of the cloth again in Say One for Me. In the opening scene, he and Debbie Reynolds sing the title song while preparing the church for his 2am sermon, but unfortunately she tries her best to destroy his pious image. Why is she swinging her hips and dancing suggestively to her priest? I have no idea, but later on in the movie, when she gets a job in a sleezy nightclub, he's surprised. He should have seen it coming.

Instead, he insists on literally seeing it, and he goes to see her show where she gives table dances in a swimsuit, and gives her a wonderfully disappointing glare. Then, with wonderful timing, Debbie asks him to promise not to tell everyone she's in show business, and he says, "Don't worry, you're not."

Robert Wagner is such a creep! He comes to Debbie's apartment late at night with wine and a pizza, tells her, "Wine is good for the resistance. It helps break it down," then tells her he's not hungry and they can save the pizza for breakfast. She tries to get him to leave but he says he doesn't have any cab fare; when she tries to give him some bills, he says, "I've never taken money from women, even if I've earned it. Baby, tonight's a free ride." Isn't he disgusting? If he were the last man on the planet, I'd be a bachelor. If all men in the 1960s were like him, I'd lock and bar my door-which is what she should have done! If she's stupid enough to let him into her apartment, she's stupid enough to fall for those lines.

Needless to say, I couldn't stand Say One for Me. I can't stand Debbie Reynolds's insincerity, I cant stand Robert Wagner's "cool cat" conceit, and I can't stand their ridiculously unrealistic romance. If you share my sentiments on the cast, you won't like this one either.

This film is one of the entries in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfus. Oddly, I have made it my life's work to see all 50 of these abominations and this film marks the 43rd film from this list I have seen (a dubious distinction, I know). I like an occasional bad film--mostly because they are so entertaining for their ineptitude. However much I love this book (it is brilliantly written), the list is horribly outdated--there have been many horrid movies since the book was written. Plus with the greater availability of films (Medved did his list back in the 1970s--even before videotapes were available to the general public) many monstrosities now on video, DVD or cable were never considered for inclusion. While I am sure many of the films on this list STILL would remain if a new list were created, many (like this film) would not. Now I am NOT saying that "Say One For Me" is a good film--it's god-awful. But it just doesn't rise (or sink) to the level of awfulness to be included in any worst of list.

As far as this film is concerned, I assume it did more to help the cause of worldwide atheism than any other--it was that terrible. It's the sort of film that Hollywood often did in the guise of an inspirational film but it was so jam-packed full of schmaltz and irrelevance that today you wonder why it was made in the first place. My guess is that its creation can be attributed to two things. First, the success of Bing Crosby in "Going My Way" and "The Bells of St. Mary's" had to get executives to consider a sequel...of sorts. But, after a decade plus, the magic just wasn't there. Second, the 1950s was a decade for religious spectacles and religion was, in a cynical way, quite bankable at the time--even if many of the films really had nothing to do with spirituality or God.

In this film Crosby plays, what else, a priest. However, this time it finds him serving in the entertainment district in New York--and many of his parishioners are show people. And, being so tragically hip himself, he, too, is a crooner and gave up a career in lights for a career hanging out with choirboys. But, to show that he can relate to his people, Bing often gives them lessons on singing and dancing as well as life.

One of these entertainers who Crosby mentors is the nice girl, Debbie Reynolds. But when (gosh) her father takes ill, it's up to Crosby to not only mentor her but become her godfather. But when she becomes a dancer at a club with a lecherous boss (Robert Wagner), Crosby knows he needs to inject a healthy dose of social gospel and begin his meddling. Can Crosby save the evil Wagner? Can he also save the alcoholic pianist (Ray Walston) who works for Wagner? Can he do all this without injecting numerous platitudes and using dialog that make your skin crawl? The answers are yes, yes and definitely NO!

In addition to this god-awful dialog, the film suffers greatly from way too many song and dance numbers, way too many forgettable songs and Robert Wagner singing. Now I don't think Wagner had a horrible voice (it's a lot better than mine), but considering he was supposed to have a GREAT voice and be a professional entertainer (the role originally was intended for Sinatra), he came up very, very short. As for Walston, he was a walking cliché and plot device...period. And, as for Crosby and Reynolds, they were 'nice'....and nothing more.

Imminently skipable unless you are a bad movie freak or you are using the film to torture detainees at Guantanimo!

Believe it or not, Robert Wagner steals the picture as a slick song and dance man, who can con his way to just about anything until he meets up with Father Conroy.

Yes, Bing Crosby dons the priestly garb once again and is most effective in his third role as a priest.

Wagner can be cunning, vicious and Lord knows what else as he tries to bed down as many women as possible. Forced to take a job at his seedy nightclub, Debbie Reynolds nearly falls for the ways of this smooth talking gigolo. Both she and her father are devout parishioners at Conroy's church, which is in the heart of the theatrical district.

Wagner even tries to turn the tables on the Good Father Conroy, until he learns some humility and respect for mankind.

Most surprising is that Wagner carries the song and dance routines with Reynolds. She is amazingly weak in them, but the film is an absolute joy to watch.

The wonderful Ray Walston appears as an alcoholic song writer, who is in Tony's (Wagner's) orbit.

"Say One for Me" is saying something real good.