Because Rodgers and Hammerstein's films were deeply involved in the development of widescreen techniques such as CinemaScope, this documentary is savvy enough to present its clips in letterboxed widescreen format, but that footage is occasionally grainy. Also of interest will be original casting possibilities (James Dean in Oklahoma!, Marlon Brando in Carousel), rarely seen outtakes, live television performances, and clips from films that inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein's shows (including Rex Harrison as the king of Siam). (State Fair was written directly for the screen before they began adapting their stage shows for film.) Host Shirley Jones (the ingenue in both Oklahoma! and Carousel) provides numerous trivia tidbits on most of the films, while segments on The King and I, Flower Drum Song, and The Sound of Music are presented by those who appeared in them: Rita Moreno (Tuptim), Nancy Kwan (Linda Low), and Charmian Carr (Liesl), respectively. more ยป Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies is a comprehensive and entertaining 97-minute documentary surveying the film career of the beloved songwriting team and how their screen work was interwoven with their stage work. (This 2002 CD reissue adds a pop recording of "Love, Look Away" made by Rosemary Clooney around the time of the show's Broadway opening in 1958.Sure, everyone's seen The Sound of Music, but how about Flower Drum Song? Or State Fair, either the 1945 version (a remake of a 1933 nonmusical) or the 1962 re-remake with Bobby Darin, Ann-Margret, and Pat Boone? Rodgers &. The cast album still gets the nod over this re-creation, but both give a good sense of this enjoyable, if minor Rodgers & Hammerstein effort. The score is still an interesting combination of traditional Chinese elements and contemporary (for the late '50s and early '60s) pop in the Frank Sinatra/ Nelson Riddle mold. That simply means that the soundtrack album is well-sung, of course, and Rodgers was able to use more musicians to fill out his music for the movie. Baker similarly, John Dodson dubs Kam Tong, and no less a personage than Marilyn Horne sings the show's big ballad, "Love, Look Away," in place of Reiko Sato. Nancy Kwan may be given star billing, but the voice you hear singing her songs belongs to B.J. Chinese stowaway Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) arrives in San Francisco with her father to meet her fianc, wealthy nightclub owner Sammy Fong (Jack Soo), in an arranged. #Flower drum song rating mpaa movie#Rodgers & Hammerstein did not hesitate to use voice doubles for the movie actors, as they had in previous efforts. A young woman arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown from Hong Kong with the intention of marrying a rakish nightclub owner, unaware he is involved with one of his singers. Miyoshi Umeki and Juanita Hall appeared both on Broadway and onscreen, and the song score was transferred intact, but for the deletion of one song, "Like a God." As such, the differences between the original Broadway cast album and the original motion picture soundtrack have to do with casting and orchestrations. As with most Rodgers & Hammerstein cinematic adaptations, the film conformed closely to the stage work. Flower Drum Song, that rarity among Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, a moderate hit (otherwise, their shows were either smashes like South Pacific or flops like Me & Juliet), also became a moderately successful film in late 1961, three years after its Broadway opening it just barely ranked among the ten highest-grossing movies of 1962.
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