THE DVD SHELF: "Studio One" Hits, Columbia Oscar Winners, "Wall-E" and "Dolly!" and Three From WWII
By Steven Suskin
01 Dec 2008
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Wall-E [Disney] is one of the very highest-rated films of the year. The animated film from Pixar — which is in the running for the mantle of the finest animated film ever — has grossed about a quarter-billion-worth of dollars so far. That's in less than five months, without any DVD money in the hopper yet. So let's call it wallopingly successful. The Disney release brings "Wall-E" to the small screen, where you can savor it repeatedly. (The three-disc special edition, one of the several choices available, contains a digital copy so that you can transfer it to an even smaller screen.) Musical theatre fans are well aware that "Wall-E" has unexpectedly put a spotlight on Jerry Herman, interpolating two numbers from the motion picture version of
Hello, Dolly! Not including the "Hello, Dolly" number, mind you; rather "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes a Moment" (which is, shall we say, an unexpected candidate for such treatment). Given the popularity of "Wall-E" on film, and the to-be-expected DVD bonanza, these two songs are now — presumably — Mr. Herman's greatest hits. While
Hello, Dolly! remains well known to theatre fans, I'd have to guess that the show is relatively unknown to the public-at-large today in America and across the globe. So "Wall-E" might, by the spring of next year, be what Mr. Herman is best known for.
Hello, Dolly! [Fox] itself received a problematic reception when it was first released in 1969. There were some, it seems, who didn't exactly cotton to the choice of the 27-year-old Barbra Streisand playing the role of the "look-at-the-old-girl-now" matchmaker. Fox has seized the initiative of re-releasing the film now, so all those fans of "It Only Takes a Moment" can see it in context. (This seems to be the 2003 DVD, with no alteration.) To those of us who saw Ms. Channing or one of her myriad followers in the role, Barbra Streisand's Dolly ain't quite the same thing. But there is a far greater market out there than just those of us who saw Ms. Channing or one of her myriad followers. And for "Wall-E" fans, what could be better than watching Wall-E's favorite musical numbers?
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This crowded month of films is even more crowded with the addition of the Warner Bros.
Homefront Collection [Warner]. This consists of three World War II patriotic musicals, with more stars than you can shake a Victory Bond at. Toplining is Irving Berlin's "This Is the Army," starring George Murphy, Ronald Reagan (or Lt. Ronald Reagan, as billed), Kate Smith, and Mr. Berlin himself. Irving started the piece as a stage musical, opening on the Fourth of July (1942). The troupe interrupted their tour to make the 1943 film, although a Hollywood story was grafted atop what was actually a revue. "Hollywood Canteen" (1944) took Joan Leslie, from "This Is the Army," and surrounded her by all the stars Warner Bros. could round up, from Bette Davis and Joan Crawford to Roy Rogers and Trigger. All right; we left out the Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Kitty Carlisle, John Garfield, Peter Lorre, Joan McCracken, Alexis Smith, Barbara Stanwyck, and Jane Wyman. My favorite of the "Homeland" box has always been "Thank Your Lucky Stars," by virtue of some wonderful songs from Arthur Schwartz and Frank Loesser. "How's your love life?" Loesser asks in the melodious title song. "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," that self-same Ms. Davis complains in the song of the same name. "The Dreamer" and "How Sweet You Are" are immensely likable, while I've always had a soft-spot for "Ice Cold Katy." The stars in this 1943 effort are varied and many, including Humphrey Bogart, Eddie Cantor, Olivia De Havilland, Errol Flynn, Dinah Shore and more. "Army" has long been available in numerous DVD editions; the others seem to be making their DVD debuts. Warner has lavished their typical care on this release, with the three DVDs loaded with extras from the archives. These are headed by a documentary, "Warner at War," narrated by Steven Spielberg, and a passel-full of vintage shorts (including delicious cartoons like "Confusions of a Nutsy Spy," "Fallen Hare," and "Herr Meets Hare").
(Steven Suskin is author of "Second Act Trouble," "Show Tunes," and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached at Ssuskin@aol.com.)
