Spoilers. Observations. Opinions.
Nice film. Williams is excellent. Melchior is superb. Witty is charming.
Orphans. Nora, Grandma and Deborah are all that's left of Nora's family. Durante is Nora's stand-in father. Dick only has a father. Dick's old fiancé only has a mother.
Grandma used to be a professional circus equestrienne. I wish we would have seen shots of her early days. That would have been wonderful, even if they were long shots of a quite young stand-in performer on the circus horses. I particularly like Nora's description of her grandma's detailed performing during the circus career. I could almost see Grandma jumping and twirling from one moving horse to another. I am thinking the circus acts in Water for Elephants. I have studied the history of the circus, for a long time.
Deborah is portrayed by one smart little actress; S. McManus. I saw her in Anchors Aweigh, with Gene Kelly. I think that Ms. McManus was a very talented little girl. She has a much larger part in this film than in the Gene Kelly one. In that film, I don't think that she even has any dialogue -- just dances a hat dance with Kelly. You always hear of Kelly dancing with the animated Jerry the Mouse, in Anchors Aweigh.
Durante never fails to amuse and entertain. He always has it together. He is always deadpan hilarious.
I always love technicolor musical films, and this one does not disappoint. The colors show up well.
I enjoyed seeing Mackinac Island, since I am a fan of Somewhere in Time. I had never seen this island portrayed in the snowy wintertime, so I was fascinated to see that season shown in this film.
Dame Witty passed away not along after release of this film. More is the pity. I enjoy her performance in this film.
I love the little Chihuahua doggie held in the arm of Cugat. Woof, woof. So doggone cute.
This Time for Keeps must mean that Nora and Dick finally settle down with each other. Dick dumps his old fiancé, and Nora rejects her two admirers of Gordon and Durante.
Time period: post-World War Two. Dick has spent several years in Uncle Sam's military service. He is home now. His father wants him to join the opera company, but Dick likes swing music. This is a transition from older to newer musical tastes, plus a conflict between older and younger generations. Later on, however, Dick would further have to switch to rock and roll, in order to keep up with changing popular musical times.
Wartime America, and post-war economic and social history: Did the opera slow down during the war? Same for the swimming shows? Why did Nora dump the circus for the aquatic career? There is a post-war economic recovery going on in real life. Do Nora and Dick get married and end up having 3.5 baby-boomer children? Do they all end up living in a ticky-tacky 1950s manufactured development house, complete with manicured lawn and black-and-white TV set? Shades of I Love Lucy.
The Chiquita Banana song is interesting. It reminds me of a certain TV commercial.
You will notice that the so-called Hollywood golden years took place pre-and-post-World War Two, including the major technicolor song and dance films plus the swimming movies and combinations of both. In the 1950s as these types of films were thinning out, studio heads were changing and top talent contracts were ending. Production budgets were not clearing the high profits intended. Audiences were ditching the movies in favor of that square little b/w box, where they could stare transfixed at home -- making their own popcorn. These beautiful musical films are now magical time capsules, of a bygone entertainment historical era.
I am a degreed historian, actress, singer, dancer, film critic and movie reviewer.
Nice film. Williams is excellent. Melchior is superb. Witty is charming.
Orphans. Nora, Grandma and Deborah are all that's left of Nora's family. Durante is Nora's stand-in father. Dick only has a father. Dick's old fiancé only has a mother.
Grandma used to be a professional circus equestrienne. I wish we would have seen shots of her early days. That would have been wonderful, even if they were long shots of a quite young stand-in performer on the circus horses. I particularly like Nora's description of her grandma's detailed performing during the circus career. I could almost see Grandma jumping and twirling from one moving horse to another. I am thinking the circus acts in Water for Elephants. I have studied the history of the circus, for a long time.
Deborah is portrayed by one smart little actress; S. McManus. I saw her in Anchors Aweigh, with Gene Kelly. I think that Ms. McManus was a very talented little girl. She has a much larger part in this film than in the Gene Kelly one. In that film, I don't think that she even has any dialogue -- just dances a hat dance with Kelly. You always hear of Kelly dancing with the animated Jerry the Mouse, in Anchors Aweigh.
Durante never fails to amuse and entertain. He always has it together. He is always deadpan hilarious.
I always love technicolor musical films, and this one does not disappoint. The colors show up well.
I enjoyed seeing Mackinac Island, since I am a fan of Somewhere in Time. I had never seen this island portrayed in the snowy wintertime, so I was fascinated to see that season shown in this film.
Dame Witty passed away not along after release of this film. More is the pity. I enjoy her performance in this film.
I love the little Chihuahua doggie held in the arm of Cugat. Woof, woof. So doggone cute.
This Time for Keeps must mean that Nora and Dick finally settle down with each other. Dick dumps his old fiancé, and Nora rejects her two admirers of Gordon and Durante.
Time period: post-World War Two. Dick has spent several years in Uncle Sam's military service. He is home now. His father wants him to join the opera company, but Dick likes swing music. This is a transition from older to newer musical tastes, plus a conflict between older and younger generations. Later on, however, Dick would further have to switch to rock and roll, in order to keep up with changing popular musical times.
Wartime America, and post-war economic and social history: Did the opera slow down during the war? Same for the swimming shows? Why did Nora dump the circus for the aquatic career? There is a post-war economic recovery going on in real life. Do Nora and Dick get married and end up having 3.5 baby-boomer children? Do they all end up living in a ticky-tacky 1950s manufactured development house, complete with manicured lawn and black-and-white TV set? Shades of I Love Lucy.
The Chiquita Banana song is interesting. It reminds me of a certain TV commercial.
You will notice that the so-called Hollywood golden years took place pre-and-post-World War Two, including the major technicolor song and dance films plus the swimming movies and combinations of both. In the 1950s as these types of films were thinning out, studio heads were changing and top talent contracts were ending. Production budgets were not clearing the high profits intended. Audiences were ditching the movies in favor of that square little b/w box, where they could stare transfixed at home -- making their own popcorn. These beautiful musical films are now magical time capsules, of a bygone entertainment historical era.
I am a degreed historian, actress, singer, dancer, film critic and movie reviewer.