The Worst Film Ever

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This film starts out like gangbusters with a colorful dramatic opening in technicolor with great musical numbers from Show Boat, whose musical numbers were written by Jerome Kern - the subject of the film . The first 20 minutes are lovely.The film gradually starts to slow down into a rather bore. The acting is excellent from everybody including the now forgotten Robert Walker, the always capable Van Heflin, and many others including the great Tony Martin, Angela Lansbury, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne and Lucille Bremer. Judy Garland is almost unrecognizable and excellent.Perhaps the greatest actress in the movie is the young Joan Wells, who is absolutely startling and for some reason had a very short film career. I can't find out anything about her online.The movie also misses greatness by its failure to connect the central conflict in the movie in a logical way.The ending is magnificent with a classic MGM song and dance sequence choreographed by the out-of-this-world Busby Berkeley. A young Frank Sinatra brings the house down at the end.Berkeley's arrangements alone almost turn this into a great movie but for me, this is a just-miss classic but one that is worth seeing.

Musical direction: Lennie Hayton. Orchestrations: Conrad Salinger. Uncredited orchestrator: Roger Edens. Vocal arrangements: Kay Thompson Musical numbers staged and directed by Robert Alton. An MGM picture, copyright 4 December 1946 by Loew's Inc. MGM production number: 1369. Shooting over approx. 5 months from 8 October 1945 to 23 May 1946. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 5 December 1946. U.S. release: 3 January 1947. Australian release: 27 May 1947. Copyright length: 120 minutes. U.S. release length: 137 minutes. Australian length: 12,586 feet. 140 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Jerome Kern searches for the daughter of an old friend, eventually finding her as the star of a Hollywood musical based on his life.NOTES: Negative cost: $2,841,608. Domestic gross $6¾ million. Preview date: 2 July 1946.COMMENT: The songs are great - no doubt about that. And we're not going to cavil about their singing either (except to mention that MGM 's typically abrasive sound doesn't treat Miss Grayson kindly). And few could complain about the vigorous and beguiling staging (even if some of the color tones are garish and over-synthetic). But that story - that concoction of tired clichés laced with the dullest dialogue this side of an election manifesto - and so boringly told by those masters of tedium, Robert Walker and Van Heflin - that impossibly vapid and excruciatingly wearisome story is something else again! This movie just aches for the film editor's shears. True, Harry Stradling has tried to dress it up a bit with occasionally atmospheric lighting (for example, the red neon flashing on and off in the exchange between Kern and Victor Herbert), but his efforts are wasted on such a determinedly colorless script.Kern's real life was supposedly too uneventful - just one smash musical hit after another - MGM couldn't resist jazzing it up with the usual stock characters such as the devoted music teacher friend (a figure also included in Rhapsody In Blue, but at least drawn there with a bit more interest), the admiring wife, friend's adoring daughter and assorted obsequious producers, chauffeurs, colleagues and stars. Bah!Aside from Hammerstein (who wrote his own scenes and approved of the casting of Paul Langton), the script also follows Hollywood's usual convention of assuming that its idol wrote lyrics as well as music. In fact, we are actually shown Kern effortlessly cudgeling his brains for the words to "They Didn't Believe Me" - no mention whatever of Herbert Reynolds.If we could throw away the story and just keep the music, the film is great - from its potted Act One "Showboat" to its platformed Finale with a pink-suited Sinatra effectively reprising "Ol' Man River". In between are such delectables as Van Johnson's surprisingly agile "I Won't Dance", Allyson's delightfully witty "Cleopatterer", and Garland's magic "Look for the Silver Lining" and vivacious "Who?" (Of course, this is really only to be expected - Minnelli, Alton and even Sidney are far more sprightly directors than the dull, ploddingly pedestrian Richard Whorf.)As for the actors in the straight "story" - Walker, Heflin, Bremer, Patrick, Langton and company - we will do them the kindness of assuming their earnest efforts were thwarted by script and director.

Robert Walker stars as composer Jerome Kern in this biopic Till the Clouds Roll By, sadly released the year after Kern's death. We learn of his early compositions, his collaboration and lifelong friendship with James Hessler, played by Van Heflin, and his romance and marriage to Eva, played by Dorothy Patrick. The biographical portion is really only half the film—or less—with the remainder of the two hour fifteen minute running time filled in with performances of Kern's songs.Usually, I wouldn't balk at the idea of an all-star singing extravaganza, but this film isn't nearly as fun to watch as That's Entertainment. I actually turned this movie off the first time I tried to get through it. It's terribly boring, and even though Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Kathryn Grayson, Van Johnson, June Allyson, Angela Lansbury, and Dinah Shore lend their talents, the songs are hardly entertaining.The first part of the movie is basically a taped version of the stage musical Show Boat. Of the five songs are showcased, two are sung too fast and two are sung without any feeling at all. Even though Kathryn Grayson was in the film remake of Show Boat five years later, in this movie she gives an entirely different interpretation to the songs, and not for the better. Her costar in the songs, Tony Martin, wears a dead pan expression on his face the entire time. Where was Howard Keel? As if the filmmakers knew to save one of only well sung songs for the end, Frank Sinatra sings a repeat of "Old Man River", hoping to distract the audience from the previously torturous two hours.

This is a flawed but underrated biopic on the life of musical genius Jerome Kern, who penned some of the best songs in the history of musicals.Although it is two and a quarter hours long, its length isn't the problem. For my liking, I found the story rather creaky and sometimes pedestrian, and while a lot of attention has gone into making the dancing, style and singing perfect, less is done perfecting the script, which felt a little underdeveloped. Also, while his final scene with Van Heflin was very touching, Robert Walker was a little bland in the title role.All that said though, there is a lot to enjoy, particularly the truly marvellous songs. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Ol' Man River", "Can't help lovin' dat man" and "How'd you like to spoon me?" really do stand out. The choreography is efficient and often dazzling, and the colourful sets and costumes are fabulous. With the exception of Walker, all the other performances were top-notch, though I do think everyone has done better. Van Heflin is great as James, Cyd Charise shows off her wonderful dancing(and legs) to perfection, Angela Lansbury is another definite highlight, and Judy Garland is a delight. Plus Dinah Shore is sublime in a rare treat. The real surprise though was Frank Sinatra, I know some have complained of "Ol' Man River" not being sung by a black person, like in Showboat, but Sinatra's crooning and spontaneous charm more than compensates in a knockout performance.All in all, has its flaws, but it is underrated and worth the look. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox