A couple of comments here mention the superiority of the "Melvin" songs over those of "Singin"...and I would agree. In fact, I think "Singin's" famous title song is one of the most musically vapid, dull and uninteresting tunes I've ever heard (but its little introductory vamp is very nice). Then there's "Moses Supposes", with its fabulous staging but next-to-no melody, and "Make 'em Laugh", an outstanding slapstick tour-de-force, with a last-minute tune, obviously (and admittedly) a rip-off of Irving Berlin's "Be a Clown".
The Josef Myrow/Mack Gordon songs of "Melvin" are (from a musician's standpoint) more interesting...not necessarily great tunes,..but clever and appealing (the opening "The Lady Loves", however, is really terrific...a "high-society" type Broadway tune that the Gershwin brothers would have been proud of). Myrow, BTW, wrote the classic "Autumn Nocturne", one of music's most sophisticated, elegant, and alluring songs.
"Melvin" is great fun and thoroughly engaging; you can sense the MGM staff at work throughout, cleverly devising scenes, situations, characters, and dialogue (some of it very funny) to showcase Donald n' Debbie. Yes, the film has shortcomings, but not serious enough to impact the overall quality. Case-in-point: the big O'Connor showcase number (obviously intended to capitalize on his stunning "Make "Em Laugh") could have easily ended with Donald-as-Carmen-Miranda-jumping -out-of-the-cannibal-kettle. The Sherlock Holmes/mechanical horse stuff could have been saved for a future O'Connor extravaganza (though he sure is amazing to watch!) Too much of a good thing.
I'd like to mention two other leads in the film, the quirky Allyn Joslyn (always fascinating to watch) and 9-year old Noreen Corcoran, clearly one of the most natural, talented child actors of the day (and who barely gets mentioned anywhere).
Her solo number "Life Has It's Funny Little Ups-and-Downs", sung to cheer up Donald, is a charming number that nonetheless gets pretty complicated in its "bridge" (middle) sections, both in terms of the phrase lengths AND its harmonic move through different keys. Trust me on this. But this cute kid..largely unknown in the history of film (certainly compared to MGM's less-talented Margaret O-Brien) sings it EFFORTLESSLY and NATURALLY. Her subsequent onscreen delivery (lip-synching to her vocal playback) is FLAWLESS and, once again, totally natural and unaffected, a skill that many older, more seasoned professionals never quite mastered. Everything about her performance is first-rate.
In addition, her number with Donald at the gazebo is, in a way, the quintessential film memento of the innocent, cheerful 1950's that many of us still remember and treasure. All the more reason to give "Melvin" its due as one of MGM's true, undiscovered gems. LR.
The Josef Myrow/Mack Gordon songs of "Melvin" are (from a musician's standpoint) more interesting...not necessarily great tunes,..but clever and appealing (the opening "The Lady Loves", however, is really terrific...a "high-society" type Broadway tune that the Gershwin brothers would have been proud of). Myrow, BTW, wrote the classic "Autumn Nocturne", one of music's most sophisticated, elegant, and alluring songs.
"Melvin" is great fun and thoroughly engaging; you can sense the MGM staff at work throughout, cleverly devising scenes, situations, characters, and dialogue (some of it very funny) to showcase Donald n' Debbie. Yes, the film has shortcomings, but not serious enough to impact the overall quality. Case-in-point: the big O'Connor showcase number (obviously intended to capitalize on his stunning "Make "Em Laugh") could have easily ended with Donald-as-Carmen-Miranda-jumping -out-of-the-cannibal-kettle. The Sherlock Holmes/mechanical horse stuff could have been saved for a future O'Connor extravaganza (though he sure is amazing to watch!) Too much of a good thing.
I'd like to mention two other leads in the film, the quirky Allyn Joslyn (always fascinating to watch) and 9-year old Noreen Corcoran, clearly one of the most natural, talented child actors of the day (and who barely gets mentioned anywhere).
Her solo number "Life Has It's Funny Little Ups-and-Downs", sung to cheer up Donald, is a charming number that nonetheless gets pretty complicated in its "bridge" (middle) sections, both in terms of the phrase lengths AND its harmonic move through different keys. Trust me on this. But this cute kid..largely unknown in the history of film (certainly compared to MGM's less-talented Margaret O-Brien) sings it EFFORTLESSLY and NATURALLY. Her subsequent onscreen delivery (lip-synching to her vocal playback) is FLAWLESS and, once again, totally natural and unaffected, a skill that many older, more seasoned professionals never quite mastered. Everything about her performance is first-rate.
In addition, her number with Donald at the gazebo is, in a way, the quintessential film memento of the innocent, cheerful 1950's that many of us still remember and treasure. All the more reason to give "Melvin" its due as one of MGM's true, undiscovered gems. LR.