Possibly Minnelli's worst screen musical. Confined to an MGM soundstage, this adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe Broadway hit desperately needs air, creatively stifled as it is in practically every department. New Yorkers Jeff and Tommy (Johnson and Kelly) get lost in the Scottish
highlands and stumble onto the village of Brigadoon on the one day every 100 years that it appears from out of the mists. The villagers, who sport the garb and manners of antiquity, are in a merry mood, and the Americans happily join in their dancing and festivities. Tommy is particularly
enchanted when he falls for bonnie lass Fiona (Charisse). He then must decide whether to return to New York or remain with his love in the land of long ago. Tommy and Jeff do go back to their urban existence, but eventually Tommy returns to Scotland, and such is the power of his love that the
village materializes long enough for him to join Fiona in fantasyland forever.
One would like to see more dancing in BRIGADOON, though what's there is generally fine (especially a spirited routine to "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean"). Praise should also go to Johnson for doing a good job with his cynical, wisecracking role. Other than that, though, the pleasures of BRIGADOON
are as fleeting as the village's centennial appearances. The sense of whimsy crucially needed to make this thing fly is nowhere to be found, and Minnelli seems to enjoy the stylized scenes of an obnoxious Manhattan more than the heather of the highlands. Kelly's patented good cheer is meagerly
doled out and his exuberant energy seems to vanish into the Scottish ether. The somber, remote Charisse dances exquisitely but otherwise has all the appeal of plywood. Even the legendary score sounds a little flat. Nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Sound Recording, Best Costume Design and,
inexplicably, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. leave a comment
