| re: FOLLIES-- the 1972 MGM Film Version!! | |
| Posted by: bicoastal 04:00 pm EDT 04/22/24 | |
| In reply to: FOLLIES-- the 1972 MGM Film Version!! - RonnieWeho 06:03 pm EDT 04/21/24 | |
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| I'm compelled to reply that this is an extraordinary bitter article. There's no evidence that Jack Haley, Jr (the producer of That's Entertainment!) stole the idea of a nostalgic collection of clips from having seen Follies. Referring to Fred Astaire as "doddering" when what he was was 74 years old is unkind, and discounting Ann Miller's contribution to MGM musicals while at the same time dismissing her massive success in "Sugar Babies" was very petty. (And that "doddering" Astaire danced with Gene Kelly the next year in "That's Entertainment! 2".) There's certainly no argument that folks grew old and their once-youthful charms weren't relevant to a generation teethed on Vietnam and the sexual revolution, but author Weinstock doesn't even want to celebrate their actual successes. I literally just attended a screening of That's Entertainment! over the weekend, and it was preceded by the premiere party footage and those stars for the most part look happy to be together and grateful to be remembered. There's no doubt that a 1970s film version of FOLLIES could have captured that generation in their aging glory and even made horrors of them as the play skirts with doing, and it could have been great but in a way, it's probably better that it never happened. (IMHO the best movie Sally would have been Doris Day, who at 49 was a perfect age for the role--though I have my doubts that she would have allowed herself to truly shine a light on the dark corners of Sally's persona. Maybe Debbie Reynolds would have been better; indeed, that year she made "What's The Matter With Helen?" in which she showed some solid dramatic chops.) I once read a screenplay of "Follies" and I cannot remember who wrote it but I seem to recall that it was written for Paramount studios. All I clearly remember from it is that Sally was literally taken away to a mental hospital at the end of the movie. So yea, probably good that version never happened. As for Hal Prince and She Loves Me, it's sad that that didn't happen. I've seen some files on it and it was supposed to star Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Lesley Ann Warren. But his refusal to work under Gene Kelly (not, for my money, a great director by any stretch, but at he certainly knew his way around film) is unfortunate, and played out predictably with his ham-fisted direction of the film version of A Little Night Music. I'll always remember Pauline Kael's review: The picture has been made as if the director had never seen a movie. She wasn't wrong. (In all fairness, Mr. Prince did direct the very funny "Something for Everyone" before "Night Music" but even that delight is not particularly well-directed.) Finally, here's a link to a blog post about a slightly later proposed film version of "She Loves Me" that is also pretty darn interesting. |
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| Link | She Loves Me Unproduced Film |
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