I saw this picture on first release. My memory told me that it was rather ponderous and heavy-handed. On the whole, I would have said, "The Best Things In Life" offered no more than moderate or even mediocre entertainment.
Now that I have seen the film again, I find that my memory assessment is largely correct. Particularly so far as the last half of the movie is concerned. There the story becomes hopelessly bogged down in an all-friends-together-once-more and dear-old-pals-through- thick-and-thin atmosphere of ridiculous sentimentality. And needless to say the on and off romance between MacRae and North finally wins out. Yes, all these sequences are rather heavy going, the only light touch provided by the somewhat uncomplimentary portrait of Winfield Sheehan (the Fox producer whom Zanuck sacked when he took over as production chief), played with amiable aggressiveness by Larry Keating.
What's more all the production numbers and almost all the good songs are in the first half too. The only decent one left for the second is "Sonny Boy", which starts life as a splendid joke but peters out somewhat in the half-strength hands of Norman Brooks' sadly diluted Al Jolson impersonation. Director Curtiz was actually working at Warner Brothers when Sonny Boy was in production, but he fails to make anything of the sequence. Maybe because he regarded Lloyd Bacon as a bum director anyway and wanted to show up his deficiencies? In any event, he disappointingly puts all the Hollywood episodes across as a nothing. On the other hand, Curtiz skilfully conveys the bustle and vitality of back-stage life, his fluid camera movement, allied with fine art direction and costumes, giving the movie an agreeably in-period flavor.
The songs are lively and pleasant. Borgnine is surprisingly agile in song and dance, while his full-bodied acting imparts plenty of dramatic zing, especially in such sequences as his confrontations with gravelly-voiced gangster Murvyn Vye. The support players are great too. Roxanne Arlen provides a rather delightful Barbara Nichols imitation, while Tommy Noonan and Tony Galento are equally adept at comic relief, the first as a harassed stage director, the latter as a pocket- frisking crim. Nice to see Julie Van Zandt (her only film so far as I know) in a sizable role as Sheree North's competition. As for Miss North herself, she puts across her usual Marilyn Monroe imitation — very noticeably in "The Birth of the Blues" number where she is made up and hair styled as an MM dead ringer.
The production numbers staged by Rod Alexander are undoubtedly the most appealing aspects of the movie. Not only do they take full advantage of John De Cuir's eye-catchingly smokey sets, but they feature the equally visual Sheree and company (including the energetic Jacques d'Amboise) prancing around in some vivid costumes. Alas, there are some dreary scenes of domestic bliss with Dan Dailey, Phyllis Avery and their two kids, but fortunately we don't have to contend with them for too long. All the same about twenty minutes of judicious cutting would make all the difference between middling entertainment and the most pleasantly lively. The film editing throughout is very smooth. It's obvious that the production numbers were shot by a second unit as they're photographed in an altogether different style: far glossier and sharper than the rather fuzzy, blotting-paper texture of the rest of the movie. And thank goodness for that fabulous 20th Century-Fox sound (heard to special advantage in "The Birth of the Blues" and "Black Bottom" production numbers).
Now that I have seen the film again, I find that my memory assessment is largely correct. Particularly so far as the last half of the movie is concerned. There the story becomes hopelessly bogged down in an all-friends-together-once-more and dear-old-pals-through- thick-and-thin atmosphere of ridiculous sentimentality. And needless to say the on and off romance between MacRae and North finally wins out. Yes, all these sequences are rather heavy going, the only light touch provided by the somewhat uncomplimentary portrait of Winfield Sheehan (the Fox producer whom Zanuck sacked when he took over as production chief), played with amiable aggressiveness by Larry Keating.
What's more all the production numbers and almost all the good songs are in the first half too. The only decent one left for the second is "Sonny Boy", which starts life as a splendid joke but peters out somewhat in the half-strength hands of Norman Brooks' sadly diluted Al Jolson impersonation. Director Curtiz was actually working at Warner Brothers when Sonny Boy was in production, but he fails to make anything of the sequence. Maybe because he regarded Lloyd Bacon as a bum director anyway and wanted to show up his deficiencies? In any event, he disappointingly puts all the Hollywood episodes across as a nothing. On the other hand, Curtiz skilfully conveys the bustle and vitality of back-stage life, his fluid camera movement, allied with fine art direction and costumes, giving the movie an agreeably in-period flavor.
The songs are lively and pleasant. Borgnine is surprisingly agile in song and dance, while his full-bodied acting imparts plenty of dramatic zing, especially in such sequences as his confrontations with gravelly-voiced gangster Murvyn Vye. The support players are great too. Roxanne Arlen provides a rather delightful Barbara Nichols imitation, while Tommy Noonan and Tony Galento are equally adept at comic relief, the first as a harassed stage director, the latter as a pocket- frisking crim. Nice to see Julie Van Zandt (her only film so far as I know) in a sizable role as Sheree North's competition. As for Miss North herself, she puts across her usual Marilyn Monroe imitation — very noticeably in "The Birth of the Blues" number where she is made up and hair styled as an MM dead ringer.
The production numbers staged by Rod Alexander are undoubtedly the most appealing aspects of the movie. Not only do they take full advantage of John De Cuir's eye-catchingly smokey sets, but they feature the equally visual Sheree and company (including the energetic Jacques d'Amboise) prancing around in some vivid costumes. Alas, there are some dreary scenes of domestic bliss with Dan Dailey, Phyllis Avery and their two kids, but fortunately we don't have to contend with them for too long. All the same about twenty minutes of judicious cutting would make all the difference between middling entertainment and the most pleasantly lively. The film editing throughout is very smooth. It's obvious that the production numbers were shot by a second unit as they're photographed in an altogether different style: far glossier and sharper than the rather fuzzy, blotting-paper texture of the rest of the movie. And thank goodness for that fabulous 20th Century-Fox sound (heard to special advantage in "The Birth of the Blues" and "Black Bottom" production numbers).