DEDICATED TO MOVIES THAT FUEL DREAMS AND FEED IMAGINATION
Friday, May 6, 2011
THE BOY FRIEND 1971
The decision to use a still from Ken Russell's The Boy Friend as the representative image for this blog was an easy one. From the time I first saw this movie in 1971 at age 14 at the Alhambra theater in San Francisco, it has remained, unchallenged in all these years, the one film which epitomizes all the magic, artistry and creativity that lie at the core of cinema's unique capacity to inspire dreams and fuel the imagination.
Flights of Fancy Twiggy as the "Spirit of Ecstasy" hood ornament on a vintage Rolls Royce
A surprising, if not shocking, "G"-rated departure for the director who, during this time was making a name for himself (that name being “enfant terrible”) with his exuberantly impassioned, censorship-baiting, historical dramas; The Boy Friend is "based on" a 1954 musical comedy by Sandy Wilson that spoofed '20s theatrical fluff like No, No, Nanette. I place "based on" in quotations because, as imagined by Ken Russell, this adaptation of The Boy Friend bears but a scant resemblance to its source material. In fact, it's really like no musical I've ever seen.
Refashioning this precious little musical comedy (which afforded Julie Andrews her Broadway debut) into a scathingly trenchant commentary on show biz clichés, theatrical pretensions, thespian vanity, and Hollywood dream-weaving, Russell creates something akin to a cinematic Russian nesting doll: a spoof within a satire within a pastiche within an homage. A droll valentine to Hollywood musicals, it somehow manages to be terribly sweet and sprightly while also being howlingly bitchy.
Twiggy as Polly Brown
Christopher Gable as Tony Brockhurst
Glenda Jackson as Rita Monroe
Tommy Tune as Tommy
Antonia Ellis as Maisie
Barbara Windsor as Rosie
Max Adrian as Max Mandeville
Vladek Sheybal as Cecil B. De Thrill
The plot, as reworked by Russell is this: A seedy theater company in 1930's Portsmouth, England is putting on a somewhat threadbare production of The Boy Friend when they learn that the great Hollywood director, Cecil B. De Thrill (Sheybal), is in the audience. Onstage, amidst technical disasters large and small, members of the troupe attempt to sabotage and upstage one another for De Thrill's attention. Backstage, rampant egos, rivalries, and romantic intrigues compound the drama presented by the inexperienced stage manager (Twiggy) having to go on in place of the show's ailing star (Glenda Jackson!) who is laid up with a fractured ankle. Throughout (in large-scale set pieces), De Thrill imagines what his film version will look like, while, in turn, the cast members project their personal wish-fulfillment fantasies onto the material they're performing. Whew!
The striking of archly theatrical poses serves as a device to distinguish the stage acting from all the insincere play-acting going on backstage
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS FILM The Boy Friend just may be the first deconstructionist / auteurist musical. Ken Russell rather brilliantly takes an innocuous, sweet-natured musical — with nothing more on its mind than idealized nostalgia — and uses it as a vehicle through which to explore the themes of the demythologizing of popular art, the artifice of romanticism, and the passion of creativity. The very themes he returns to in film after film. The way in which Russell turns his lens on the glamour images of '30s Hollywood (as popularized in its musicals and the promise held forth in their romantic clichés) - and contrasts these with the shabby dreams and unglamorous realities of a tatty theater troupe, makes The Boy Friend a cheerier, but no less piercing , thematic companion-piece to those other Depression-era masterpieces of deconstructed Hollywood myth: The Day of The Locust & They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
In this musical sequence, Maisie (Antonia Ellis) attempts to convince movie director C.B. De Thrill that taking her to Hollywood with him would be no gamble...if you get my cruder meaning.
All in Fun? - The elaborate recreations of Busby Berkeley-style production numbers evoke the escapist entertainments of the past. When fantasy was king and Hollywood was known as the Dream Machine
The more humdrum reality
The Boy Friend is such a fun movie that it is easy to overlook the fact that Russell rather ingeniously uses Hollywood musical
clichés to comment on the way in which these Depression-era escapist fantasies fed (and mislead?) the penny-ante dreams and illusions of the populace. This is years before Dennis Potter would cover similar territory in the BBC TV drama, Pennies from Heaven.
PERFORMANCES
A true ensemble piece, The Boy Friend is one of those rare films (like Young Frankenstein) where everyone is so perfect in their roles that you can't single out an individual favorite performance. Like many directors in the '70s, Russell often worked with the same actors, creating a kind of film-to-film repertory company. The Boy Friend was my first exposure to Ken Russell so the pleasure of seeing gloomily dramatic actors from The Devils or Women in Loveexhibiting such gleeful dexterity in singing, dancing, and comedy, was a pleasure I had to experience in reverse. Quite deservedly, Twiggy received above-the-title billing and was promoted heavily on the film's release, but the movie is full of sensational actors and keenly delineated performances.
There's No Business Like Show Business: The entire cast of The Boy Friend
Standouts: Max Adrian as the beleaguered company manager; the wonderful Murray Melvin...looking as if he hadn't aged a day since 1961's A Taste of Honey; my personal fave, the beautiful Georgina Hale; that pint-sized, scene-stealer Barbara Windsor; and of course, the dynamo that is Antonia Ellis, who almost walks away with the film. Providing the film's splendid choreography and plenty of dreamboat appeal is former ballet dancer, Christopher Gable. He and Twiggy display a genuine likeability and chemistry together, which is welcome since their scenes are the anchors of sincerity necessary to stabilize all the cutthroat boat-rocking of the other characters.
THE STUFF OF FANTASY
Ken Russell's films rarely cease to dazzle the eye. In The Boy Friend the meticulous period detail of Shirley Russell's ingenious costumes and Tony Walton's witty and breathtaking set designs make for one eye-popping experience.
Sur Le Plage Jellyfish perform a sand-dance while starfish sway in rhythm! I'm sorry, but this is just brilliant. I don't know what kind of mind would think of such a thing, but I wish I had one just like it
Perfect Young Ladies- An example of Shirley Russell's keen eye for period costuming
Another peerless Tony Walton set design
The late Shirley Russell (Ken's first wife) designed the costumes for every Ken Russell film from Women in Love to Valentino
THE STUFF OF DREAMS
What played a significant factor in my early fascination with The Boy Friend was that I was unfamiliar with the work of Busby Berkeley at the time. Sure, I watched a lot of old movies on TV, but I had an elder sister who tended to monopolize the channel selector - she hated musicals and had a penchant for "black & white-shoe" pictures (her name for 50s teenage-delinquent movies. The "black & white shoe" sobriquet, a reference to the compulsory 50s accessory of saddle shoes). Consequently, I grew up with a vast awareness of the entire Mamie Van Doren oeuvre, but little knowledge of cinema choreography. I've since seen almost everything Busby Berkeley has had a hand in, and though I wouldn't have thought it possible... not after seeing Carmen Miranda cavorting amongst a sea of oversized bananas in The Gang's All Here... but in The Boy Friend Ken Russell, as some critic must have certainly noted, really manages to out-Berkeley, Berkeley.
My lasting favorite and the most beautiful sequence in the film is the number that takes place atop a giant gramophone turntable. It's a homage to a sequence in 42nd Street and it's an absolutely smashing piece of filmmaking. I've never forgotten it.
The Boy Friend ranks top among my "comfort movies": those films I return to time and time again for that feeling of familiar pleasure they always guarantee. Like a child who giggles anew at the same “knock-knock” joke endlessly repeated, there is something so delightfully soothing about revisiting a beloved film that has the power to always cheer you up. Every known line of dialog, each dependable laugh, all the recognized pleasures…they reignite my sense of nostalgia (which has really increased now that I’ve reached the age of having something to actually be nostalgic about) and invite me to surrender to the long-ago-discovered charms of an old acquaintance and friend.
BONUS MATERIAL
In 1977, The Boy Friend's scene-stealing Maisie (Antonia Ellis) danced and sang in this spectacular TV commercial for Sugar Free Dr. Pepper. In this ad choreographed by Arlene Phillips of Can't Stop the Music and Annie, Ellis plays the waitress at a diner and adopts a pretty nifty American accent. The oversized pinball machine set featured in the commercial wouldn't have been out of place in Ken Russell's own pinball opera, Tommy (1975).
Thanks so much for the comment and for visiting the blog! I've always thought that "The Boy Friend" was essentially misunderstood. It's fun, to be sure, but it's far from mindless escapism. It's a very smart movie built on some very clever ideas.
The DVD business is crazy...you can readily find the entire Adam Sandler library on DVD but you have to wait decades for a Ken Russell or Robert Altman film to make it to the format. Hope you enjoy "The Boy Friend"
thanks! i will! i've actually been searching for it since i first saw your blog (the sidebar). i've had the same gripes with the dvd business - not only can you NOT find some really great stuff (try finding cavani's 'beyond good and evil'), you CAN get 'the leprechaun 2' on DVD AND streaming. UGH!
To KathryNova I'd never even HEARD of "Beyond Good & Evil" but I loved (or was disturbed by) "The Night Porter." Also, Dominique Sanda was every film schoolboy's crush back in the 70s so I guess I have to start scouring ioffer for that film now. Thanks for the inadvertent tip!
I first saw this film in 1972 when I was a 14 year old boy sailing to Bermuda with my mother on a Cunard ocean liner. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. My first trip on a big ship - imagine watching movies in the middle of the ocean! The movie theater was packed when the film started, but by the end my mother and I were the only ones left. I've never forgot the thrill of seeing this movie - I've been in love with it ever since.
According to this http://youtu.be/3FSVwAudhkU its been remastered and is now available on DVD. Finally. (I just stumbled across this info. yesterday. I wore out my VHS several years ago.)
Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I envy you your first viewing of "The Boy Friend." Sounds pretty exotic! Glad to hear from someoen else who fell in love with this film in adolescence. Thanks for the link. I ordered my DVD copy the moment I heard it was available. It's about time!
I just happened to see The Boy Friend on TCM this weekend. I had never actually seen it, and had forgotten that I was obsessed with it when it came out. I guess I was 13 when it was released. I must have seen a Life magazine story or something with key images like the Rolls Royce hood, the overstuffed chair scene, the phonograph dance, the playing cards/ladder number. These were engraved in my head, but I had forgotten until Thursday evening. I don't know what would have happened if I had actually SEEN this film when it was released. I had been enamored with Twiggy from the beginning of her career. Seeing her again in this film, I was reminded of how I had merged her incredible face and physicality with idealized images of my 2 older sisters and at least 1 older cousin. And there they all were. I was also obsessed with the 20's and the Depression. I had almost forgotten about John Held, Jr. whose illustrations I could (sort of) imitate, and DID on numerous high school bulletin boards, posters and calendars. I had an argyle sweater (of dubious quality) that I wore happily for years. This was in upstate South Carolina in the mid 1970's. Again, I don't know what would have happened if I had actually SEEN this film in 1971 or 72. My best friend (and distant cousin) Nancy and I hosted a 1920's dance for the youth group at our Presbyterian church(!?) in maybe 1972, carrying obsession into the public realm and forcing it on other (mystified?) teenagers and adults. (We also hosted a 1930's Dance Marathon for the same group a year later.) So, finally seeing this film (I missed maybe the first 20 minutes) pretty much blew me away. I still love it all (as well as few other decades and centuries) and was happily astonished that it's such a good movie and so clever. It reminded me a lot of Mike Leigh's "Topsy Turvy" which everyone should also see. I could go on: the Erte references, Tommy Tune, the beautiful, smoky/flat cinematography, the mushroom scene. I have to stop, but thank you for your post and the opportunity to share.
Hi Anonymous (I know...this Google thing makes it difficult to leave your name)! Thank you so much for sharing your memories of "The Boy Friend." Your response to the film echoes my own, and speaks to what I love about all film: its ability to and inspire dreams and provoke an interest and fascination with the arts and self-expression. Your statement "I don't know what would have happened if I saw it at the time" is one I have used in many instances referring to films I currently love so much that they probably would have made my head explode had I seen them during my impressionable adolescent years when I first became fascinated with them. I really enjoyed your memories and appreciate so much your sharing them with me here. They are the sort that represent, 100% of what this blog is about. You're lucky you got to see "The Boy Friend" in it's resorted, 138 minute length. In 1971, the American theatrical version was shorter by almost 30 minutes. Your post made me smile. I can SO relate. Thanks for reading!
Ahh, my absolute favourite film [that no one has ever heard of]!
I was lucky enough to attend a screening of this in the theatre where it was filmed, and both Ken Russell and Twiggy came along and answered questions (such an amazing day).
I hope you don't mind, but I have saved these pictures (just for personal use) as it's difficult to find any online!
Thanks, "Little..." I am so jealous you had the opportunity to experience seeing "The Boy Friend" in that terrific theater and getting to see Twiggy and Ken Russell. Wow! I would have been so excited I'd have had a nosebleed or something. Always happy to hear from others who like this amazing film. As for the images, please feel free to use them on your blog. If it offers an opportunity for more exposure to this film, I'm all for it! Thanks for stopping by to comment! hope others visit your blog http://little-did-you-know.blogspot.com
I am a friend of both the young lady second from the left in photograph number 20 and her husband and I can tell you that she is just as lovely and charming today as she was in the film.
Hello, Tonbridge guy Wow! You know Caryl Little (as Dulcie, Twiggy's mistaken rival for Christopher Gable's affections) in "The Boy Friend"? That's fabulous! It's nice that her character was one of the sweetest of that theater troupe, but to have worked with Ken Russell on a film that at last seems to be finding its audience...well, she must have some wonderful anecdotes to tell. To use one of her expressions from the film: "How perfectly ripping!" Please pass on to her that I've always thought she had the cutest smile, and I'm so jealous that she got to be a dancing jellyfish! Thanks so much for writing.
Watched 'The Boyfriend' the other night and was so happy to see darling Antonia Ellis. She gave me my first job after doing my apprenticeship in hairdressing. I worked for her in Maddox Street. Love to track her down. Kathy.
She is wonderful, isn't she? I suppose she remained pretty visible in the UK, but here in the states I've only seen her in Ken Russell's "Mahler" and some Tommy Tune TV special from the 70s where the adversarial pair from "The Boy Friend" disco danced. What I wouldn't give to see that show today!
This is great - thanks so much. I recorded The Boy Friend a while back and just got around to watching it and was horrified that (BBC4 of all people) showed it cropped to 4:3 - seeing your lovely grabs is showing me how much I missed (nearly half the frame!!) I really must get to see the full thing soon!
Oh, Andy...you need to see "The Boy Friend" on widescreen or at a theater. 90% of its appeal is visual! We in the US had a severely edited down TV version that literally cut about 50 minutes out of the film. It was like a commercial for "The Boy Friend." Thanks for writing!
Wow! So someone else who loves this brilliant film as much as I do!? Amazing write-up, you managed to touch on just about every aspect of genius in this movie, and there are so many!! Here's my very personal one, from a while back: http://retroactivecritique.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-alternate-reality-experience-with.html At the moment, I'm finishing up a 'condensed' edited version of the film, trying to bring it down to 20-30 mins because I've felt rather alone in my adoration of it, anyone I ever tried to share it with just did not have the patience to watch it all the way through for some reason. Since it is long (and I'm the one who can watch it over and over tirelessly) I figured this edit might at least allow more folks to see the sheer brilliance of Ken Russell's vision.
Hi Klara I just finished reading your wonderful piece on "The Boy Friend" and feel I've found a kindred spirit in this case. Our initial exposure to the film couldn't have been more different, but the impression the film made on each of us has been near-obsessive. You even mirror my desire to dedicate your entire blog to "The Boy Friend"! I had always thought I was the only one who thought the film's original 2-hour cut was too short, so I was thrilled with the lengthier director's cut that came out on DVD. But like you, when I try to expose others to "The Boy Friend" nearly everyone finds it an embarrassment of rices: overlong and exhausting in it's spectacle. Thus, I think it's a wonderful idea for you to try to create a Reader's Digest version to share with friends. "The Boy Friend" could be quite dazzling in a "best of" format. Thanks for sharing your personal fondness for this film. I always get a kick out of it whenever I hear of someone surrendering themselves over to a film experience and letting it enter your heart and imagination. It's rare...treasure it! Thanks for leaving a comment and sharing your link.
Thank you, Ken! It is great to find a kindred spirit when it comes to such a unique and under appreciated film. And I have an update: I just finished the video, I'm just in the process of uploading to my YouTube channel. It came down to just under 30 mins. Couldn't bring myself to cut it down any more, and I managed to keep almost all of the best moments. There are so many :)
Hi Klara When you upload your video, please share a link, won't you? I'd love to see it. It must have been hard to settle on just 30 minutes worth of images! Thanks
It WAS tough, Ken -- it's all so charming, silly and beautiful! So I hope you'll like what's there. I think the quality looks great, and that's a major plus for such a visual film. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBGffWmnleo
Bravo! I seriously don't know how you managed to do it, but you captured the essence of the entire film in a very seamless "best of" compilation that is sure to entice the uninitiated into exploring this marvelous film. In our ADD times, this might be the best advertising "The Boy Friend" could ever hope for. Very impressed, and not at all sure how you did it!
Wow, Ken, thank you so much! It was honestly more grueling than I'd expected! I'm so glad the effort proved worthy of a thumbs up from a such a genuine fan and devotee of The Boy Friend like yourself! Happy New Year!
I think I've already mentioned that Ken Russell is my favorite director. I could go on and on about this film, though not as eloquently as you. Great post!
Hi Thom I honestly don't think I knew about your liking Ken Russell, although, knowing your terrific taste, I would have taken it as a given. :-) I can't say enough good things about "The Boy Friend" and "Tommy"...Ken Russell was among the best! Thanks, as always!
I'm a bit of a fanatic about all of his films, so don't get me started! My faves are Salome's Last Dance and The Devils, followed by everything in between! Many years ago, when the internet was fresh and new, I had a website devoted to his work. These days, one of my favorite things to do is to introduce young people to his films. It always blows their minds!
I saw this film at an east side theater in New York during its initial release (and loved it).
I remember that the when the musical numbers came on the soundtrack went to STEREO. I have never again seen a version where this happened.
(A year or more ago it was screened at the American Cinematheque / Aero Theater in Santa Monica. It was in honor of art director Tony Walton who attended and talked about his work with Russell).
Anyway, does anyone else remember a stereo version?
Also, a British friend once took me Portsmouth to see the exterior of the Theater Royal where parts of the film were shot. So I'm a major fan.
Hi Rosscompose Although I saw the film in its initial run, I would have gone through the ceiling had the musical numbers shifted to stereo! That sounds amazing! Whenever I recall that happening in movies of the 70s (That's Entertainment comes to mind) I always remember it as making the film feel like an event. I missed the Aero Theater screening of "The Boy Friend" but would have loved to hear Walton talk about his (considerable) contribution to this film. And to have seen the Portsmouth theater...well, that must have been fantastic. I wonder if anyone else HAS seen a Stereo screening of the film? I'd love to find out. When it opened in SF, it was sort of dumped into theaters and not given a proper kickoff. Thanks a heap for sharing your memories of the film.Always great to hear from a fan of this movie.
Hello Ken, The Boyfriend is also a big favourite of mine. It always makes me smile. It's wonderful to see the actors really enjoying themselves performing the characters of the theatre troupe, especially the most selfish ones. I love Antonia Ellis in this. She's like a mad dancing Chechire cat.
I love how Ken Russell created a small world of nutty characters in the environment of that run down seaside theatre. I never get tired of the silly flapper dances, the costumes, the camp scenery and the very arch delivery of the lines.
I've seen the film in its various lengths. First in a long version and then, to my horror, in a much abreviated cut that also seemed to be the most available. The long version was impossible to track down for ages but I finally got my hands on the Warner Brothers edition which is complete with two of my favourite numbers: "Nicer in Nice" and "I got the you don't want to play with me blues"!
I am always amazed and bewildered that there are people who don't love this film. I try to understand why this can be. The film might be a bit too much but it can never be enough for me.
Why wasn't it a hit?? Why didn't Twiggy's career take off after it? She is so sweet in and dances rather well in it, don't you think? Wille
Hi Wille That description of Antonia Ellis is PERFECT! I really enjoy this film a great deal as well, but some I have shown it to have expressed a feeling of being overwhelmed and worn down. So many musical numbers, so many of them full-on spectacles...I guess a little of Ken Russell can be a bit much, but a LOT can be hard to take. The version of "The Boy Friend" first released theatrically in the US was about 20 minutes shorter than the version released in the UK. When it aired on TV, they cut so much out of the already shortened film, i couldn't watch it. The version available on DVD today is so much different (and better) that the one I saw in 1971. More is not too much in this case.
I've always considered Twiggy such an underappreciated screen talent. She certainly had a good run of theater projects, but I wonder, too, why she didn't take off after this. Some years later she appeared in an absolutely dreadful Tommy Smothers movie in which which she played a 20s flapper named Polly (as she is here), and she danced in that as well...but as I said, it was dreadful. it was shelved and eventually showed up on bargain bin DVDs. Happy that we have this wonderful record of her singing and dancing debut! Thanks, Wille!
Yes, you are right about the musical numbers being "full-on spectacles". That's why I love them!
It's a shame that this isn't universally loved but most of Ken Russels films are an aquired taste. It's better sometimes not to show films like these to people who can't appreciate them...
I had never heard of that Smothers film and I thought it couldn't be that bad -Twiggy's in it! But I suppose some films are impossible to watch for even the most open minded people! Wille
Well, if you ever get a chance to see the film it's titled (at least her in the US) "There Goes the Bride" and was released in 1980. Twiggy is the best thing in it, but she's hardly used at all. A real waste!
Thank you for this great article. I first came across The Boy Friend on Turner channel, looking for my usual dose of old MGM musicals, and the first time I was totally confused. Do they still make big tap musicals in the 70s? Without watching the first act of the movie, I didn't know how to string together all the scenes --- where is the audience, why doesn't Polly know her lines, where is the line between acting and regular dialog... But I could not change the channel, the movie was just charming enough to suck me in. It had a mad vibe of familiarity and crazed logic at the same time, like Alice in Wonderland and the over-the-top of the movie Brazil. Catching the movie again for the second time, I was able to finally understand the plot and characters -- this is a movie that you need to jump around the POV point of view of each character rapidly, as every lavish dance number happens entirely in that POV moment. So I guess the main reason why this fail to catch the mainstream is that it relied too much on a focused, intelligent audience with long attention span, the kind that are probably extinct. Anyway I enjoyed it very much, I am searching for more musicals done post MGM in the same homage style, and love to find more.
This is my favourite musical & 1 of my faves of all films. It's divine, it's gear, the cat's whiskers, the cat's pyjamas. The script is clever ( with lots of examples of double-entendre, eg, after a reference to the other girls' boyfriends, they chant ' We'll all be happy when Polly gets hers ! ' ) The music is fab. The musical sequence in DeThrill's ( a send-up of DeMille's ) mind atop the giant gramophone record upon the giant turntable is easily my all-time-favourite musical number ( I could be happy with you, if you could be happy with me ... ) : the slow drifting glide of the camera through the chorus-girls' legs till we reach the divine Twigs & her film beau -- perfection ! Barbara Windsor was the maid in the play's intro : she is famous for Carry on film performances in the UK, especially & particularly Carry On Camping of circa AD 1968 ( also the last Carry On which I liked -- they really collapsed in quality during the 1970s & one even put me to sleep literally ) . The chorus girls in this film have the biggest eyes which I have ever seen in my life. I was sitting only a few metres from the screen in 1971 or 1972 & they were gigantic. In one scene, the girl which is the 3d in Your Perfect Young Ladies' photo faces us directly whilst enthusing about DeThrill : her eyes must have been 4 metres long & 2 metres high on the screen : her eyes have recurred in nightmares of mine through the decades ( seriously, several nightmares ! I can't purge them from my memory ! ) : they're like alien spirit-stealing eyes : they should have separate billings of their own.
This is probably the best re-creation of the Golden 20s/Roaring 20s which I have seen. ( The 1990s Jeeves & Wooster show is also excellent : the Brits have an intuitive knack or ability to re-create different eras, an ability which Hollywood normally lacks. ) They even have the rouged knees & vo-vo-de-oh-doe. I love the restored DVD intermission : when did they disappear ? I always use the DVD ones to brew some tea & walk round for several minutes : the whole point is to take a break. 1971 &1972 were not kind years for sweet films like this & Willy Wonka. More's the pity ...
In the event, let's salute the slowly-collapsing MGM ( a decade later, they had to sell this & all of their pre-1984 films to Ted Turner & Warner Bros in order to survive as a company, ) for this beautiful swan song which evokes their glory days. Thank you for your site.
PS : anyone interested in seeing an example of true Golden 20s/Roaring 20s films should check out the recently-rediscovered classic of 1929 titled ' Why Be Good ' , starring the original flapper, & best Charleston dancer, Colleen Moore. The 1st-National/Vitaphone film was lovingly restored by Warner Bros & released last October.
Hello Pearl! I'm so late in responding to this...I sometimes miss comments to older posts. I agree that this is a wonderful recreation of the look of a 20s film. the costumes and sets and somewhat shabby, backstage feel is terrific. I also love your noting that somewhat terrifying, fish-eye lens close-up of that chorine with the big, BIG eyes! Oh my god! Seeing that on a big screen was positively surreal. I have a screencap of that very shot that I was going to use in this post. Taken out of context, it's rather hilarious. The film was anything but a hit here in the US, which made me so grateful for a fully restored (with intermission) version when it came out on DVD. This movie is so much fun that it always surprises me that in books about Ken Russell and this films, he always cites this as one of the more problem plagued productions he was involved in. Twiggy was a dream, apparently, but egos and temperament seemed to guide everyone else. Thanks, Pearl, for sharing your personal thoughts and impressions of this favorite. And I'm going to keep a lookout for the 1929 film you recommend. I never heard of it!
Dear Ken: Hi! I recently re-watched this one and wanted to share my thoughts/relevant(?) trivia with you.
I first saw "The Boyfriend" back in high school in the 1980s. My best friend, Meg, and I were both big musical theatre/movie nuts, and we both especially loved anything with Julie Andrews. So we were crazy about the original Broadway cast album of "The Boyfriend" (which remains a favorite, including for its wonderfully witty faux 1920s orchestrations). When we watched the movie (late at night on public TV), we were aghast, to say the least. The whole thing seemed looney and overblown. Our ultimate reaction was that director Russell "must have been on drugs" (said the two sheltered, squeaky-clean kids who had never even tried pot!).
Flash forward several decades, and I saw "The Boyfriend" again on TCM around 2004. This time, I got what Russell was doing, and I truly enjoyed the movie. As you note, Russell gets the Busby Berkeley imitation thing correct in a way no other director really has. One moment in particular sticks out for me: in the title number, the camera cuts from a close-up of a wig or fur hat (I can't remember which) to a tracking shot of the female performers lounging in lingerie in a huge fur rug. That kind of imagery, which has a peculiar twisted logic and flow, is exactly the kind of thing Berkeley did so well.
Russell also comes up with charming sequences that are all his own. The whole cast frolicking around as elves among giant trees and mushrooms in the "Room in Bloomsbury" number is just delightful!
Not all of the film works for me, though. The back-and-forth contrast between the tacky stage show (which seems to grow more lavish as the film goes on) and DeThrill's elaborate minds-eye visions could be clearer at times. And that extended sequence where Polly (Twiggy) imagines all the actors in a Classical Greek mythological fantasy strikes me as WTF?
But the movie still is loads of fun. And there's a real sweetness to it, too. I loved that moment at the end, after Maisie (Antonia Ellis) realizes DeThrill is NOT interested in discovering her, and she trudges back to the theatre. She looks up and catches sight of Fay (Georgiana Hale) in a window, who, after a moment of blank face, suddenly gives Maisie a smile. And Maisie smiles, too, letting us know that she'll be OK.
I read somewhere that MGM purchased the rights to "The Boyfriend" right after the 1954 Broadway engagement. Their plan was to film it with Jane Powell as Polly and Debbie Reynolds as Maisie. I'm sure that film would have been fun. But somehow I'll bet back in the 1950s, MGM would have fudged on the 1920s atmosphere and also would have tampered with the score. Whereas Russell uses every song from the original production except for one instrumental dance number.
Hi David What a delight your comments are. I laughed to myself imaging what a teenage musical theater maven would make of what Ken Russell "did" to THE BOY FRIEND. There's nothing quite like being young, very much into a particular show (especially via its OBCR) and coming across the various changes that occur with a film adaptation. Speaking from experience, it's a kid's first experience of fandom disappointment. I'm glad you gave the film another try, and I agree with you; Something about Russell's lunacy matches very well with Berkeley's. He's the perfect director for this kind of thing. Your clear awareness of what does and doesn't work for you reflects your familiarity with and affection for the genre. I actually laughed out loud with your description of the Greek mythology sequence! I don't know if you remember how brief that sequence was in the original release, but I have to say when I saw the current cut (which is the only one that seems to exist now) I was a bit taken aback by its length and departure from studio/stage bound fantasy. And it was with that awareness that I've come to look at it: that it's so unlike the show biz fantasies of DeThrill, Max, and the others because Polly has no show biz ambitions and is hopelessly old-fashioned in her romantic fantasies. That's the only way it works for me...a conscious deviation from the others to signify Polly being unconcerned with fame and going to Hollywood.
By the way, I also love the Original Broadway Cast LP of THE BOY FRIEND. For the longest time after the film came out it was the only one available to me. I played it endlessly. And what news that is about potentially doing this film in the 1950s with Powell & Reynolds. I'm glad it didn't happen. Like you, I think they would have pulled something like they did with GOOD NEWS...a movie set in the 1920s that has 1950s arrangements. I love that Russell used every song and featured so much dancing. Watching it makes me long for the days when people knew how to film dance. As I said, I got a big kick out of reading your comments, it was very much like a conversation. Thank you for sharing with us!
YESSSSSS This is wonderfully insightful and brings out what I think are the film's rather brilliant qualities.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the comment and for visiting the blog! I've always thought that "The Boy Friend" was essentially misunderstood. It's fun, to be sure, but it's far from mindless escapism. It's a very smart movie built on some very clever ideas.
ReplyDeleteanother hard to find movie!! but the good news is we'll soon be able to find it on amazon - may 27! can't wait to watch it....
ReplyDeleteThe DVD business is crazy...you can readily find the entire Adam Sandler library on DVD but you have to wait decades for a Ken Russell or Robert Altman film to make it to the format.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy "The Boy Friend"
thanks! i will! i've actually been searching for it since i first saw your blog (the sidebar). i've had the same gripes with the dvd business - not only can you NOT find some really great stuff (try finding cavani's 'beyond good and evil'), you CAN get 'the leprechaun 2' on DVD AND streaming. UGH!
ReplyDeleteTo KathryNova
ReplyDeleteI'd never even HEARD of "Beyond Good & Evil" but I loved (or was disturbed by) "The Night Porter." Also, Dominique Sanda was every film schoolboy's crush back in the 70s so I guess I have to start scouring ioffer for that film now. Thanks for the inadvertent tip!
I first saw this film in 1972 when I was a 14 year old boy sailing to Bermuda with my mother on a Cunard ocean liner. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. My first trip on a big ship - imagine watching movies in the middle of the ocean! The movie theater was packed when the film started, but by the end my mother and I were the only ones left. I've never forgot the thrill of seeing this movie - I've been in love with it ever since.
ReplyDeleteAccording to this
http://youtu.be/3FSVwAudhkU
its been remastered and is now available on DVD. Finally.
(I just stumbled across this info. yesterday. I wore out my VHS several years ago.)
Thanks for your great post.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I envy you your first viewing of "The Boy Friend." Sounds pretty exotic! Glad to hear from someoen else who fell in love with this film in adolescence. Thanks for the link. I ordered my DVD copy the moment I heard it was available.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time!
I just happened to see The Boy Friend on TCM this weekend. I had never actually seen it, and had forgotten that I was obsessed with it when it came out. I guess I was 13 when it was released. I must have seen a Life magazine story or something with key images like the Rolls Royce hood, the overstuffed chair scene, the phonograph dance, the playing cards/ladder number. These were engraved in my head, but I had forgotten until Thursday evening. I don't know what would have happened if I had actually SEEN this film when it was released. I had been enamored with Twiggy from the beginning of her career. Seeing her again in this film, I was reminded of how I had merged her incredible face and physicality with idealized images of my 2 older sisters and at least 1 older cousin. And there they all were. I was also obsessed with the 20's and the Depression. I had almost forgotten about John Held, Jr. whose illustrations I could (sort of) imitate, and DID on numerous high school bulletin boards, posters and calendars. I had an argyle sweater (of dubious quality) that I wore happily for years. This was in upstate South Carolina in the mid 1970's. Again, I don't know what would have happened if I had actually SEEN this film in 1971 or 72. My best friend (and distant cousin) Nancy and I hosted a 1920's dance for the youth group at our Presbyterian church(!?) in maybe 1972, carrying obsession into the public realm and forcing it on other (mystified?) teenagers and adults. (We also hosted a 1930's Dance Marathon for the same group a year later.) So, finally seeing this film (I missed maybe the first 20 minutes) pretty much blew me away. I still love it all (as well as few other decades and centuries) and was happily astonished that it's such a good movie and so clever. It reminded me a lot of Mike Leigh's "Topsy Turvy" which everyone should also see. I could go on: the Erte references, Tommy Tune, the beautiful, smoky/flat cinematography, the mushroom scene. I have to stop, but thank you for your post and the opportunity to share.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous (I know...this Google thing makes it difficult to leave your name)!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your memories of "The Boy Friend." Your response to the film echoes my own, and speaks to what I love about all film: its ability to and inspire dreams and provoke an interest and fascination with the arts and self-expression. Your statement "I don't know what would have happened if I saw it at the time" is one I have used in many instances referring to films I currently love so much that they probably would have made my head explode had I seen them during my impressionable adolescent years when I first became fascinated with them. I really enjoyed your memories and appreciate so much your sharing them with me here. They are the sort that represent, 100% of what this blog is about. You're lucky you got to see "The Boy Friend" in it's resorted, 138 minute length. In 1971, the American theatrical version was shorter by almost 30 minutes. Your post made me smile. I can SO relate. Thanks for reading!
Ahh, my absolute favourite film [that no one has ever heard of]!
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to attend a screening of this in the theatre where it was filmed, and both Ken Russell and Twiggy came along and answered questions (such an amazing day).
I hope you don't mind, but I have saved these pictures (just for personal use) as it's difficult to find any online!
Thanks again for this post!
:)
Thanks, "Little..."
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous you had the opportunity to experience seeing "The Boy Friend" in that terrific theater and getting to see Twiggy and Ken Russell. Wow! I would have been so excited I'd have had a nosebleed or something. Always happy to hear from others who like this amazing film. As for the images, please feel free to use them on your blog. If it offers an opportunity for more exposure to this film, I'm all for it! Thanks for stopping by to comment! hope others visit your blog
http://little-did-you-know.blogspot.com
I am a friend of both the young lady second from the left in photograph number 20 and her husband and I can tell you that she is just as lovely and charming today as she was in the film.
ReplyDeleteHello, Tonbridge guy Wow! You know Caryl Little (as Dulcie, Twiggy's mistaken rival for Christopher Gable's affections) in "The Boy Friend"? That's fabulous! It's nice that her character was one of the sweetest of that theater troupe, but to have worked with Ken Russell on a film that at last seems to be finding its audience...well, she must have some wonderful anecdotes to tell. To use one of her expressions from the film: "How perfectly ripping!" Please pass on to her that I've always thought she had the cutest smile, and I'm so jealous that she got to be a dancing jellyfish! Thanks so much for writing.
DeleteWatched 'The Boyfriend' the other night and was so happy to see darling Antonia Ellis. She gave me my first job after doing my apprenticeship in hairdressing. I worked for her in Maddox Street. Love to track her down. Kathy.
ReplyDeleteShe is wonderful, isn't she? I suppose she remained pretty visible in the UK, but here in the states I've only seen her in Ken Russell's "Mahler" and some Tommy Tune TV special from the 70s where the adversarial pair from "The Boy Friend" disco danced. What I wouldn't give to see that show today!
DeleteThis is great - thanks so much. I recorded The Boy Friend a while back and just got around to watching it and was horrified that (BBC4 of all people) showed it cropped to 4:3 - seeing your lovely grabs is showing me how much I missed (nearly half the frame!!) I really must get to see the full thing soon!
ReplyDeleteOh, Andy...you need to see "The Boy Friend" on widescreen or at a theater. 90% of its appeal is visual!
DeleteWe in the US had a severely edited down TV version that literally cut about 50 minutes out of the film. It was like a commercial for "The Boy Friend." Thanks for writing!
Wow! So someone else who loves this brilliant film as much as I do!? Amazing write-up, you managed to touch on just about every aspect of genius in this movie, and there are so many!! Here's my very personal one, from a while back: http://retroactivecritique.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-alternate-reality-experience-with.html At the moment, I'm finishing up a 'condensed' edited version of the film, trying to bring it down to 20-30 mins because I've felt rather alone in my adoration of it, anyone I ever tried to share it with just did not have the patience to watch it all the way through for some reason. Since it is long (and I'm the one who can watch it over and over tirelessly) I figured this edit might at least allow more folks to see the sheer brilliance of Ken Russell's vision.
ReplyDeleteHi Klara
DeleteI just finished reading your wonderful piece on "The Boy Friend" and feel I've found a kindred spirit in this case. Our initial exposure to the film couldn't have been more different, but the impression the film made on each of us has been near-obsessive. You even mirror my desire to dedicate your entire blog to "The Boy Friend"!
I had always thought I was the only one who thought the film's original 2-hour cut was too short, so I was thrilled with the lengthier director's cut that came out on DVD. But like you, when I try to expose others to "The Boy Friend" nearly everyone finds it an embarrassment of rices: overlong and exhausting in it's spectacle.
Thus, I think it's a wonderful idea for you to try to create a Reader's Digest version to share with friends. "The Boy Friend" could be quite dazzling in a "best of" format.
Thanks for sharing your personal fondness for this film. I always get a kick out of it whenever I hear of someone surrendering themselves over to a film experience and letting it enter your heart and imagination. It's rare...treasure it!
Thanks for leaving a comment and sharing your link.
Thank you, Ken! It is great to find a kindred spirit when it comes to such a unique and under appreciated film. And I have an update: I just finished the video, I'm just in the process of uploading to my YouTube channel. It came down to just under 30 mins. Couldn't bring myself to cut it down any more, and I managed to keep almost all of the best moments. There are so many :)
DeleteHi Klara
DeleteWhen you upload your video, please share a link, won't you? I'd love to see it. It must have been hard to settle on just 30 minutes worth of images! Thanks
It WAS tough, Ken -- it's all so charming, silly and beautiful! So I hope you'll like what's there. I think the quality looks great, and that's a major plus for such a visual film. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBGffWmnleo
ReplyDeleteBravo! I seriously don't know how you managed to do it, but you captured the essence of the entire film in a very seamless "best of" compilation that is sure to entice the uninitiated into exploring this marvelous film. In our ADD times, this might be the best advertising "The Boy Friend" could ever hope for. Very impressed, and not at all sure how you did it!
DeleteWow, Ken, thank you so much! It was honestly more grueling than I'd expected! I'm so glad the effort proved worthy of a thumbs up from a such a genuine fan and devotee of The Boy Friend like yourself! Happy New Year!
DeleteI think I've already mentioned that Ken Russell is my favorite director. I could go on and on about this film, though not as eloquently as you. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Thom
DeleteI honestly don't think I knew about your liking Ken Russell, although, knowing your terrific taste, I would have taken it as a given. :-)
I can't say enough good things about "The Boy Friend" and "Tommy"...Ken Russell was among the best!
Thanks, as always!
I'm a bit of a fanatic about all of his films, so don't get me started! My faves are Salome's Last Dance and The Devils, followed by everything in between! Many years ago, when the internet was fresh and new, I had a website devoted to his work. These days, one of my favorite things to do is to introduce young people to his films. It always blows their minds!
DeleteI saw this film at an east side theater in New York during its initial release (and loved it).
ReplyDeleteI remember that the when the musical numbers came on the soundtrack went to STEREO. I have never again seen a version where this happened.
(A year or more ago it was screened at the American Cinematheque / Aero Theater in Santa Monica. It was in honor of art director Tony Walton who attended and talked about his work with Russell).
Anyway, does anyone else remember a stereo version?
Also, a British friend once took me Portsmouth to see the exterior of the Theater Royal where parts of the film were shot. So I'm a major fan.
Hi Rosscompose
DeleteAlthough I saw the film in its initial run, I would have gone through the ceiling had the musical numbers shifted to stereo! That sounds amazing! Whenever I recall that happening in movies of the 70s (That's Entertainment comes to mind) I always remember it as making the film feel like an event.
I missed the Aero Theater screening of "The Boy Friend" but would have loved to hear Walton talk about his (considerable) contribution to this film. And to have seen the Portsmouth theater...well, that must have been fantastic. I wonder if anyone else HAS seen a Stereo screening of the film? I'd love to find out. When it opened in SF, it was sort of dumped into theaters and not given a proper kickoff.
Thanks a heap for sharing your memories of the film.Always great to hear from a fan of this movie.
Hello Ken, The Boyfriend is also a big favourite of mine. It always makes me smile. It's wonderful to see the actors really enjoying themselves performing the characters of the theatre troupe, especially the most selfish ones. I love Antonia Ellis in this. She's like a mad dancing Chechire cat.
ReplyDeleteI love how Ken Russell created a small world of nutty characters in the environment of that run down seaside theatre. I never get tired of the silly flapper dances, the costumes, the camp scenery and the very arch delivery of the lines.
I've seen the film in its various lengths. First in a long version and then, to my horror, in a much abreviated cut that also seemed to be the most available. The long version was impossible to track down for ages but I finally got my hands on the Warner Brothers edition which is complete with two of my favourite numbers: "Nicer in Nice" and "I got the you don't want to play with me blues"!
I am always amazed and bewildered that there are people who don't love this film. I try to understand why this can be. The film might be a bit too much but it can never be enough for me.
Why wasn't it a hit?? Why didn't Twiggy's career take off after it? She is so sweet in and dances rather well in it, don't you think?
Wille
Hi Wille
DeleteThat description of Antonia Ellis is PERFECT! I really enjoy this film a great deal as well, but some I have shown it to have expressed a feeling of being overwhelmed and worn down. So many musical numbers, so many of them full-on spectacles...I guess a little of Ken Russell can be a bit much, but a LOT can be hard to take.
The version of "The Boy Friend" first released theatrically in the US was about 20 minutes shorter than the version released in the UK. When it aired on TV, they cut so much out of the already shortened film, i couldn't watch it. The version available on DVD today is so much different (and better) that the one I saw in 1971. More is not too much in this case.
I've always considered Twiggy such an underappreciated screen talent. She certainly had a good run of theater projects, but I wonder, too, why she didn't take off after this. Some years later she appeared in an absolutely dreadful Tommy Smothers movie in which which she played a 20s flapper named Polly (as she is here), and she danced in that as well...but as I said, it was dreadful. it was shelved and eventually showed up on bargain bin DVDs.
Happy that we have this wonderful record of her singing and dancing debut! Thanks, Wille!
Yes, you are right about the musical numbers being "full-on spectacles". That's why I love them!
DeleteIt's a shame that this isn't universally loved but most of Ken Russels films are an aquired taste. It's better sometimes not to show films like these to people who can't appreciate them...
I had never heard of that Smothers film and I thought it couldn't be that bad -Twiggy's in it! But I suppose some films are impossible to watch for even the most open minded people!
Wille
Well, if you ever get a chance to see the film it's titled (at least her in the US) "There Goes the Bride" and was released in 1980. Twiggy is the best thing in it, but she's hardly used at all. A real waste!
DeleteThank you for this great article. I first came across The Boy Friend on Turner channel, looking for my usual dose of old MGM musicals, and the first time I was totally confused. Do they still make big tap musicals in the 70s? Without watching the first act of the movie, I didn't know how to string together all the scenes --- where is the audience, why doesn't Polly know her lines, where is the line between acting and regular dialog... But I could not change the channel, the movie was just charming enough to suck me in. It had a mad vibe of familiarity and crazed logic at the same time, like Alice in Wonderland and the over-the-top of the movie Brazil. Catching the movie again for the second time, I was able to finally understand the plot and characters -- this is a movie that you need to jump around the POV point of view of each character rapidly, as every lavish dance number happens entirely in that POV moment. So I guess the main reason why this fail to catch the mainstream is that it relied too much on a focused, intelligent audience with long attention span, the kind that are probably extinct. Anyway I enjoyed it very much, I am searching for more musicals done post MGM in the same homage style, and love to find more.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favourite musical & 1 of my faves of all films. It's divine, it's gear, the cat's whiskers, the cat's pyjamas. The script is clever ( with lots of examples of double-entendre, eg, after a reference to the other girls' boyfriends, they chant ' We'll all be happy when Polly gets hers ! ' ) The music is fab. The musical sequence in DeThrill's ( a send-up of DeMille's ) mind atop the giant gramophone record upon the giant turntable is easily my all-time-favourite musical number ( I could be happy with you, if you could be happy with me ... ) : the slow drifting glide of the camera through the chorus-girls' legs till we reach the divine Twigs & her film beau -- perfection ! Barbara Windsor was the maid in the play's intro : she is famous for Carry on film performances in the UK, especially & particularly Carry On Camping of circa AD 1968 ( also the last Carry On which I liked -- they really collapsed in quality during the 1970s & one even put me to sleep literally ) . The chorus girls in this film have the biggest eyes which I have ever seen in my life. I was sitting only a few metres from the screen in 1971 or 1972 & they were gigantic. In one scene, the girl which is the 3d in Your Perfect Young Ladies' photo faces us directly whilst enthusing about DeThrill : her eyes must have been 4 metres long & 2 metres high on the screen : her eyes have recurred in nightmares of mine through the decades ( seriously, several nightmares ! I can't purge them from my memory ! ) : they're like alien spirit-stealing eyes : they should have separate billings of their own.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the best re-creation of the Golden 20s/Roaring 20s which I have seen. ( The 1990s Jeeves & Wooster show is also excellent : the Brits have an intuitive knack or ability to re-create different eras, an ability which Hollywood normally lacks. ) They even have the rouged knees & vo-vo-de-oh-doe. I love the restored DVD intermission : when did they disappear ? I always use the DVD ones to brew some tea & walk round for several minutes : the whole point is to take a break. 1971 &1972 were not kind years for sweet films like this & Willy Wonka. More's the pity ...
In the event, let's salute the slowly-collapsing MGM ( a decade later, they had to sell this & all of their pre-1984 films to Ted Turner & Warner Bros in order to survive as a company, ) for this beautiful swan song which evokes their glory days. Thank you for your site.
Ciao ! --Pearl
PS : anyone interested in seeing an example of true Golden 20s/Roaring 20s films should check out the recently-rediscovered classic of 1929 titled ' Why Be Good ' , starring the original flapper, & best Charleston dancer, Colleen Moore. The 1st-National/Vitaphone film was lovingly restored by Warner Bros & released last October.
DeleteHello Pearl!
DeleteI'm so late in responding to this...I sometimes miss comments to older posts.
I agree that this is a wonderful recreation of the look of a 20s film. the costumes and sets and somewhat shabby, backstage feel is terrific.
I also love your noting that somewhat terrifying, fish-eye lens close-up of that chorine with the big, BIG eyes! Oh my god! Seeing that on a big screen was positively surreal. I have a screencap of that very shot that I was going to use in this post. Taken out of context, it's rather hilarious.
The film was anything but a hit here in the US, which made me so grateful for a fully restored (with intermission) version when it came out on DVD. This movie is so much fun that it always surprises me that in books about Ken Russell and this films, he always cites this as one of the more problem plagued productions he was involved in. Twiggy was a dream, apparently, but egos and temperament seemed to guide everyone else.
Thanks, Pearl, for sharing your personal thoughts and impressions of this favorite. And I'm going to keep a lookout for the 1929 film you recommend. I never heard of it!
Piccadilly is another great 1929 film.
DeleteAlso, a surviving reel of Colleen Moore's 1923 film Flaming Youth can be viewed for free on-line.
DeleteCorrection : the pre-May 1986 films were sold to Turner.
ReplyDeleteDear Ken: Hi! I recently re-watched this one and wanted to share my thoughts/relevant(?) trivia with you.
ReplyDeleteI first saw "The Boyfriend" back in high school in the 1980s. My best friend, Meg, and I were both big musical theatre/movie nuts, and we both especially loved anything with Julie Andrews. So we were crazy about the original Broadway cast album of "The Boyfriend" (which remains a favorite, including for its wonderfully witty faux 1920s orchestrations). When we watched the movie (late at night on public TV), we were aghast, to say the least. The whole thing seemed looney and overblown. Our ultimate reaction was that director Russell "must have been on drugs" (said the two sheltered, squeaky-clean kids who had never even tried pot!).
Flash forward several decades, and I saw "The Boyfriend" again on TCM around 2004. This time, I got what Russell was doing, and I truly enjoyed the movie. As you note, Russell gets the Busby Berkeley imitation thing correct in a way no other director really has. One moment in particular sticks out for me: in the title number, the camera cuts from a close-up of a wig or fur hat (I can't remember which) to a tracking shot of the female performers lounging in lingerie in a huge fur rug. That kind of imagery, which has a peculiar twisted logic and flow, is exactly the kind of thing Berkeley did so well.
Russell also comes up with charming sequences that are all his own. The whole cast frolicking around as elves among giant trees and mushrooms in the "Room in Bloomsbury" number is just delightful!
Not all of the film works for me, though. The back-and-forth contrast between the tacky stage show (which seems to grow more lavish as the film goes on) and DeThrill's elaborate minds-eye visions could be clearer at times. And that extended sequence where Polly (Twiggy) imagines all the actors in a Classical Greek mythological fantasy strikes me as WTF?
But the movie still is loads of fun. And there's a real sweetness to it, too. I loved that moment at the end, after Maisie (Antonia Ellis) realizes DeThrill is NOT interested in discovering her, and she trudges back to the theatre. She looks up and catches sight of Fay (Georgiana Hale) in a window, who, after a moment of blank face, suddenly gives Maisie a smile. And Maisie smiles, too, letting us know that she'll be OK.
I read somewhere that MGM purchased the rights to "The Boyfriend" right after the 1954 Broadway engagement. Their plan was to film it with Jane Powell as Polly and Debbie Reynolds as Maisie. I'm sure that film would have been fun. But somehow I'll bet back in the 1950s, MGM would have fudged on the 1920s atmosphere and also would have tampered with the score. Whereas Russell uses every song from the original production except for one instrumental dance number.
Hi David
DeleteWhat a delight your comments are. I laughed to myself imaging what a teenage musical theater maven would make of what Ken Russell "did" to THE BOY FRIEND. There's nothing quite like being young, very much into a particular show (especially via its OBCR) and coming across the various changes that occur with a film adaptation. Speaking from experience, it's a kid's first experience of fandom disappointment.
I'm glad you gave the film another try, and I agree with you; Something about Russell's lunacy matches very well with Berkeley's. He's the perfect director for this kind of thing.
Your clear awareness of what does and doesn't work for you reflects your familiarity with and affection for the genre. I actually laughed out loud with your description of the Greek mythology sequence!
I don't know if you remember how brief that sequence was in the original release, but I have to say when I saw the current cut (which is the only one that seems to exist now) I was a bit taken aback by its length and departure from studio/stage bound fantasy.
And it was with that awareness that I've come to look at it: that it's so unlike the show biz fantasies of DeThrill, Max, and the others because Polly has no show biz ambitions and is hopelessly old-fashioned in her romantic fantasies. That's the only way it works for me...a conscious deviation from the others to signify Polly being unconcerned with fame and going to Hollywood.
By the way, I also love the Original Broadway Cast LP of THE BOY FRIEND. For the longest time after the film came out it was the only one available to me. I played it endlessly.
And what news that is about potentially doing this film in the 1950s with Powell & Reynolds. I'm glad it didn't happen. Like you, I think they would have pulled something like they did with GOOD NEWS...a movie set in the 1920s that has 1950s arrangements.
I love that Russell used every song and featured so much dancing. Watching it makes me long for the days when people knew how to film dance.
As I said, I got a big kick out of reading your comments, it was very much like a conversation. Thank you for sharing with us!