Mostly cheerful

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Movie
German title Mostly cheerful
Original title It's Always Fair Weather
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1955
length 102 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Gene Kelly
Stanley Donen
script Betty Comden
Adolph Green
production Arthur Freed
music André Previn
camera Robert J. Bronner
cut Adrienne Fazan
occupation

An American film musical staged by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly with Kelly in the lead role is predominantly cheerful . Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd can be seen as his buddies . The female lead was played by Cyd Charisse . The film marked the end of the extremely successful collaboration between the two music film specialists that had existed since the 1940s.

action

The Second World War is over, and the three GIs Ted Riley, Doug and Angie Valentine Hallerton have returned to their neighborhood in New York. It is October 11, 1945, and the three friends first raise a glass in their local pub. Bartender Tim hands Ted a letter from his girlfriend saying that she has meanwhile married. Then Ted and his buddies go on a drinking tour of all the bars in town to wash down the grief in solidarity with Ted. They find that they are civilians again and that this does not necessarily make their lives any easier. All three know that they will now separate because everyone has to build their own life. So Ted, Doug and Angie promise to see each other again in exactly ten years, on October 11, 1955, in Tim's bar.

The years are drawing by. Doug found a new goal in life in painting, while Angie trained as a chef. Both got married and follow their regular daily routine. Ted, on the other hand, seems aimless. He has given up his plans to study law and lives into the day with women and gambling as constant companions. October 1955 is approaching incessantly, and the boys have long since turned to new goals: Ted was making his living as a boxing manager and was involved in third-rate and dubious fights. On the eleventh of the month, Doug enters Tim's bar as agreed and is initially pleasantly surprised to see his painting hanging on the bar wall, which he had given Tim ten years ago. Doug's marriage is about to divorce, and she feels that he has changed to his detriment. Angie enters the bar next, followed by Ted. The hours go by and all three are strangling violently with one another. You just don't have much to say to each other. Doug works as an advertising manager in Chicago and has minor health problems, Angie runs a small restaurant in Schenectady and is a very family man. Doug wants to show everyone how far he has come and invites his buddies to a fancy restaurant, but they continue to be strangely strangers.

Michael Kidd , Gene Kelly and Dan Dailey dance the garbage can lid dance at the beginning of the film as part of the "binge" number

They are about to split up when Doug meets Mr. Fielding, a manager of a New York advertising agency, and the extremely attractive Jackie Leighton, the program coordinator of a television show from that advertising agency, "Midnight with Madeleine". Fielding invites Doug and friends to rehearse the latest edition of the show. Attracted by Jackie's beauty, Womanizer Ted immediately tries to hook up with her, but Jackie is an independent, successful woman who is not easy to conquer. Ted says goodbye to her in front of the Fontainbleu nightclub, where the TV show is being recorded. In order to improve his chances with her, he urges the beautiful woman to visit him later in his familiar environment, the boxing training hall. Meanwhile, the TV rehearsals are going on, and show presenter Madeline Bradville is biting around again. This time, she doesn't like the chosen surprise guest, and Madeline Jackie clearly shows this. Then Jackie got the idea to guide the three war buddies here so that they can tell the story of their friendship. Jackie goes to the boxing training center to persuade Ted to attend the show, but without telling him her real intentions. When Jackie's arrival, he of course immediately believes that she could no longer resist his irresistible charm and that she loves boxing. While Jackie thinks about the show arrangement for the coming evening, Ted has the upcoming boxing match between Rocky Heldon and his protégé Kid Mariacchi in mind. Rocky makes it clear to Ted that the fight was bribed by notorious crook Culloran and that Kid should go down. In this tense situation for Jackie and Ted, the two gradually begin to open up to each other.

The closer the TV show night comes, the grumpier and more bad-tempered Doug gets, who is deeply dissatisfied with his life and gets drunk uninhibited. Meanwhile, Ted and Jackie go into Kid Mariacchi's locker room and knock him unconscious so that he doesn't take part in the bought fight. Finally, Jackie and Ted kiss. On the run from thugs, Ted buckles his roller skates under his feet and pulls up in front of the Fontainbleu. Ted, Angie and Doug appear independently on the TV show, still not knowing that they are about to be its star guests. The three unsuspecting people are led onto the stage with great fanfare. The show goes differently than expected; all three honestly admit the sad truths of their not very glamorous existence and furthermore admit to each other that the reunion was disappointing for each of them. Ted gets up first, Doug and Angie follow him. Just at this moment, the cutthroat Culloran enters the club with his thugs. From the control room, Jackie directs the studio cameras towards Culloran and films him as he admits that the upcoming boxing match has been planned. Culloran notices how he was set up, sees Ted and beats him up. A tangible brawl ensues that catches the television cameras. Now Madeline finally has the longed-for "highlight" of her live show, but certainly very different than planned. The three war comrades fight with Culloran's henchman until the police finally arrive and arrest the crooks. The friends meet again in Tim's bar and celebrate their "triumph" until Jackie walks in and Ted finally kisses him deeply.

Production notes

The shooting of Predominantly cheerful began on October 13, 1954 and ended in early May 1955. The US premiere took place on September 2, 1955, the German premiere took place on April 27, 1956. The German television premiere was on December 23, 1974 on ARD .

Cedric Gibbons and Arthur Lonergan created the film structures, Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt provided the equipment. Helen Rose was responsible for the costumes. Wesley C. Miller was the sound engineer, Warren Newcombe and Irving Reis created the visual effects. Makeup artist William Tuttle was responsible for the makeup.

useful information

Co-director Donen, who had recently achieved a great success with the film musical A Bride for Seven Brothers , actually no longer wanted to work as a second director at Kelly's side, but let the producing MGM slap him on. During the filming, there were artistic differences between him and Kelly, which eventually resulted in a lifelong rift.

music

The following music numbers, all recorded by the MGM Studio Orchestra under the direction of André Previn , were played or danced:

  1. "Overture" (length: 1.04 minutes)
  2. "March, March" (interpreted by Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd) (length: 1, 21 minutes)
  3. "The Binge" (length: 5.07 minutes)
  4. "The Time For Parting" (Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd) (Length: 2.01 minutes)
  5. "10-Year Montage" (length: 2, 18 minutes)
  6. "The Blue Danube (I Shouldn't Have Come)" (Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd) (Length: 2, 30 minutes)
  7. "Music Is Better Than Words" ( Dolores Gray ) (Length: 2, 10 minutes)
  8. "Stillman's Gym" (Lou Lubin) (length: 2, 10 minutes)
  9. "Baby You Knock Me Out" (Carol Richards, vocals for the dancing Cyd Charisse, Lou Lubin) (length: 2, 40 minutes)
  10. "The Ad Men" (Dan Dailey, Paul Maxey) (length: 48 seconds)
  11. "Once Upon A Time" (Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd) (length: 3, 33 minutes)
  12. "Situation-Wise" (Dan Dailey) (length: 2, 49 minutes)
  13. "The Chase" (length: 1.04 minutes)
  14. "I Like Myself" (Gene Kelly) (Length: 4, 10 minutes)
  15. "Klenzrite" (Dolores Gray) (length: 1.34 minutes)
  16. "Thanks A Lot, But No, Thanks" (Dolores Gray) (Length: 3, 47 minutes)
  17. "The Time For Parting (Finale)" (David Burns with choir) (Length: 1, 46 minutes)

Nominations

The film received two Oscar nominations:

synchronization

role actor Voice actor
Ted Riley Gene Kelly Eckart Dux
Doug Hallerton Dan Dailey Heinz Dragon
Jackie Leighton Cyd Charisse Dagmar Altrichter
Angie Valentine Michael Kidd Wolfgang Gruner
Tim David Burns Hans Hessling
Charles Z. Culloran Jay C. flipping Walther Suessenguth
Kid Mariacchi Steve Mitchell Peter Schiff

Reviews

The reviews of this late work of the classic film musical reacted mostly friendly to cheerful. Here are a few examples:

Bosley Crowther in the New York Times Mostly Cheerfully called a "brilliant movie" parodying television, and the journal Variety labeled it a "delicious musical satire."

The Lexicon of International Films found: "Technically brilliant, elegant and funny, but in parts very American music and dance film."

The Movie & Video Guide said "the penetrating script by Comden and Green" does not quite reach perfection, but has "still wonderful moments and some first-class musical numbers"

Halliwell's Film Guide said, “Quite a daunting New York musical comedy. Some of them work well, but the color scheme is rough and the wide screen doesn't help either. "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mostly cheerful in the German dubbing index .
  2. ^ New York Times, September 16, 1955.
  3. ^ Variety, August 24, 1955 issue, p. 6.
  4. ↑ Mostly cheerful. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed January 28, 2020 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 655.
  6. ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 528.

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