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Then I discovered musicals and fell in love with Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Jane Powell, Betty Grable, Alice Faye, John Payne, Carmen Miranda and so many others. I was lucky enough to be around when movies were the nation's prime entertainment. It was wonderful to see beautiful prints Hollywood's major films, first run and in 3-strip Technicolor. To this day there's nothing like it. So bright, solid and vivid. If you've never seen it there's no way to describe it. America loved it.
The first Garland film I saw was For Me & My Gal followed by Girl Crazy. The summer's that followed include DuBarry Was a Lady, Best Foot Forward, Lady in the Dark, Pin-Up Girl, Coney Island, Springtime in the Rockies, Thousands Cheer, Zegfield Follies (to this day I think This Heart of Mine & Limehouse Blues are two of the most beautiful numbers ever filmed. Donald O'Connor thought the same of the former) and many more
It's wonderful to have DVD's & to be able to see so many films like taking a book off a shelf.
I LOVE MOVIES (all kinds) and serious film lovers are those I appreciate the most. It's fun to care & share.
Reviews
Luxury Liner (1948)
Delightful, entertaining fun. What's wrong with that?
"Luxery Liner" was a showcase for young Jane Powell who had scored a box-office smash in her MGM debut film "Holiday in Mexico." It was pure Technicolor musical entertainment geared for the mass audience in the 1940's. "Pap" is a crude word and a choice for those trying to dismiss something they don't understand or want to enjoy. "Luxery Liner" wasn't meant to be Gone With the Wind, just the kind of entertainment audiences enjoyed. Jane Powell is charming and (at that young age) a very gifted singer. (Anyone remember another box-office bundle-of-talent named Deanna Durbin who Louis B. Mayer let slip through his fingers?). Like Miss Durbin, Jane Powell could handle a variety of selections (ballads, operettas, rhythm tunes). In "Luxery Liner" her rendition of "The Peanut Vendor", accompanied by Xavier Cugat's orchestra, is something to hear as she literally "glows with talent." Lauriz Melichor (who she refers to has "my Sinatra"), was discovered by movie audiences in "Thrill of a Romance" (more pap?) couldn't resist her either. At the film's conclusion he pick's her up, like a delicate flower, and glows as they sing and waltz till the end title appears. Some may consider "Luxery Liner" "pap" but, enjoyed for what it is, it's lovely pap. For the record both "Thrill of a Romance" and "Holiday in Mexico" are on Variety's list of all-time box-office rentals. All they did was make a pile of money for MGM and big stars of Esther Williams, Van Johnson and Jane Powell.