|
The springboard is a bunch of high-schoolers slogging through a rendition of "The National Emblem," the bored lad in the back (Mickey Rooney) injects some pep into the beat and is promptly chastised by teacher. "You are not Cab Calloway!" A dance orchestra is the dream, his definition of a musician paraphrases Lubitsch's view of the comedian's internal circus: "When you start playing anything, you gotta be hopping inside." Thinking out loud, he envisions a symphony on the tablecloth composed of tiny tuxedoed marionettes with apples and pears and grapes for heads, reportedly a Vincente Minnelli idea realized via George Pal puppetry. His melodic inspiration leaves little time for noticing the romantic yearning of his classmate (Judy Garland). "You know, it does something to a girl's spirit to keep on fighting a losing battle with a snare drum." Busby Berkeley in the cozy MGM suburbia, spiking the homogenized milk with droplets of eccentricity. "La Conga" kicks off with an accordion keyboard filling the screen and glides through a procession of long shots, medium shots and close-ups in a single mobile take, capped then by a montage of sock-hoppers gyrating across the gym floor. Lovelorn Judy at the library, peeved at colleagues swooning over Romeo and Juliet: "Hans had Gretel by his side / And Dr. Jekyll had Mr. Hyde / But I ain't got nobody / And nobody's got me." The centerpiece is a theatrical burlesque of Victorian melodramas, complete with maidens tied to train tracks and cherubs swooping on wires. The militaristic medley of the grand finale is a warm-up for the war effort, "silly headstrong youth" leads the way with the blessing of Paul Whiteman and Orchestra. With June Preisser, William Tracy, Larry Nunn, Margaret Early, Ann Shoemaker, Francis Pierlot, Virginia Brissac, and George Lessey. In black and white.
--- Fernando F. Croce |