Centennial Summer

1946, Movie, NR, 104 mins

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Otto Preminger directed this essentially lightweight material with his customary heavy hand, and the result was a fight between what was on the page and what was on the screen. MGM had made a fortune with MEET ME IN ST LOUIS, and Fox thought it could do the same with a musical based on the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. Fox was mistaken. Brennan and Gish live in Philadelphia with their two lovely daughters, Crain and Darnell. Brennan is sort of an early-day Lorenzo Jones (the radio inventor who, with his wife, Belle, charmed millions every afternoon) who invents clocks and other things that he wants to sell to the railroad for which he works. There's not much else to report plot-wise, but the film does boast a crackling good score by Jerome Kern (his last before his death) with lyrics by several collaborators. In the hands of another director, and with more attention paid to the dull script, this could have been the rival of the aforementioned MGM movie. With songs like "In Love In Vain" and "All Through The Day" (Oscar-nominated) and "Up With The Lark" it's too bad they didn't sing more and speak less. Other songs are "The Right Romance," "Cinderella Sue," and "Centennial." leave a comment
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Centennial Summer
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