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Rose Marie

1954, Movie, G, 115 mins

Rose Marie: Review

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Although technically a remake, this film differs greatly both from the original operetta (by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Rudolf Friml, and Herbert Stothart) and from the 1936 Eddy-MacDonald film based on the operetta (see above). The first musical to be shot in color and CinemaScope, it uses the big screen to good advantage, making the most of its Canadian Rocky Mountain locations, but when one's eyes stray from the mountains to the people in front of them, the film is in trouble. Ann Blyth plays Rose Marie, a French-Canadian backwoods woman who loves James (Fernando Lamas), a mean trapper being pursued by Mike Malone (Howard Keel), the Mountie beloved of Indian maid Wanda (Joan Taylor). Although Keel projects more sex appeal than Eddy, and Lamas is believable as the trapper, Blyth is no MacDonald. The film suffers further because Bert Lahr, who provides ROSE MARIE's comic relief and some of its best moments, isn't on screen nearly enough. Busby Berkeley came in to stage the dances and his touch is instantly evident, but it's not nearly enough to save the dreary reworked script. Tunes from the original score include: "Rose Marie" (Rudolf Friml, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, sung by Keel), "Indian Love Call" (Friml, Harbach, Hammerstein II, sung by Keel, Blyth), "Totem Tom Tom" (Friml, Harbach, Hammerstein II, Herbert Stothart, sung by chorus), "The Mounties" (Friml, Harbach, Hammerstein II, Stothart, sung by Keel, chorus). Friml teamed with Paul Francis Webster to add three more songs: "I Have The Love," "The Right Place For A Girl," and "Free To Be Free." George Stoll and the brilliant Herbert Baker wrote a special tune for Lahr called "The Mountie Who Never Got His Man." leave a comment
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