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This is the second film titled Anything Goes to star Bing Crosby (the first was a 1936 film). Both films change a lot of the original Cole Porter stage musical, but at least the later version keeps a few more Porter songs. Still, there is something odd about a Cole Porter film filled with "additional songs" by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen (perhaps Porter's work was not warm and cuddly enough for 1956 America, although it seemed to work well at MGM with High Society, released the same year). Crosby plays a Broadway star teamed up with young TV hotshot Donald O'Connor. Vacationing separately in Europe and needing a leading lady for their upcoming show, each signs a prospect--Crosby snaps up Mitzi Gaynor (at her perkiest) and O'Connor finds Jeanmaire, a French dancer. The show can only have one female star, so when the quartet crosses paths on the ocean liner back to the U.S., sparks will fly. Or not--this Paramount musical lacks any definable zip, from the sleepy dialogue to the listless camera. The capable Nick Castle staged the musical sequences, although Jeanmaire's numbers were choreographed by Roland Petit (also her husband). The Porter songs are half-heartedly rendered, although O'Connor and Gaynor get some oomph into "It's De-Lovely." Der Bingle was born to burble "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," but it's too little, too late. --Robert Horton
Product Description
In ANYTHING GOES, Bill Benson and Ted Adams are to appear in a Broadway show together and, while in Paris, each 'discovers' the perfect leading lady for the star female role. Unfortunately, they each promise the role to the girl they selected without informing the other until they head back home – with their leading ladies!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
ANYTHING GOES was Bing Crosby's final film with Paramount, and was perhaps an attempt to capatalise on the huge success of WHITE CHRISTMAS (but more about that later). Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor and lithsome ballet star Zizi Jeanmaire appear alongside.
The film really bears no similarity to the Broadway "Anything Goes" save for the wonderful Cole Porter score (and even that has been somewhat ransacked with several inferior additions from Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen). The original production of "Anything Goes" was written by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, with later revisions by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The film ditches the entire original story in favour of a Sidney Sheldon-penned screenplay.
The story concerns a suave Broadway star (Bing Crosby) who is paired with a brash TV personality (Donald O'Connor) in a new Broadway show. Whilst on separate vacations, they each hire who they believe is the ideal leading-lady for the upcoming show: a pretty blonde American showgirl (Gaynor) and a dramatic Parisian cabaret star (Jeanmaire). They all board the luxury liner headed back to New York, trying their best to decide on which girl they will have to drop...but of course, love wins the day.
With the huge success of WHITE CHRISTMAS, Paramount hoped to capatilise on it's success by having Bing star in another 4-hander "catalogue" musical, built around the Cole Porter-"Anything Goes" score. What emerged was hardly a hit, but ANYTHING GOES is a charming afternoon of entertainment.
Zizi Jeanmaire is ideally-showcased in 2 routines staged by her husband Roland Petit: a rousing "I Get a Kick Out of You" and a striking "Dream Ballet". Her acting is well-judged and she offers an all-round accomplished performance in her second feature film (following HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN). Mitzi Gaynor and her bubbly screen energy is in fine form here, performing the Title Number as well as "It's De-Lovely" with O'Connor.
Capable character actors Phil Harris and Kurt Kasznar are featured in good supporting roles. Look closely for Bess Flowers, the legendary "featured extra", in the ship dining-room sequences.
Paramount's DVD offers a pristine 16:9 image, though sadly no extra features whatsoever. But ANYTHING GOES was never even released on videocassette, so a DVD release of this film has been a nice surprise.
The film really bears no similarity to the Broadway "Anything Goes" save for the wonderful Cole Porter score (and even that has been somewhat ransacked with several inferior additions from Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen). The original production of "Anything Goes" was written by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, with later revisions by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The film ditches the entire original story in favour of a Sidney Sheldon-penned screenplay.
The story concerns a suave Broadway star (Bing Crosby) who is paired with a brash TV personality (Donald O'Connor) in a new Broadway show. Whilst on separate vacations, they each hire who they believe is the ideal leading-lady for the upcoming show: a pretty blonde American showgirl (Gaynor) and a dramatic Parisian cabaret star (Jeanmaire). They all board the luxury liner headed back to New York, trying their best to decide on which girl they will have to drop...but of course, love wins the day.
With the huge success of WHITE CHRISTMAS, Paramount hoped to capatilise on it's success by having Bing star in another 4-hander "catalogue" musical, built around the Cole Porter-"Anything Goes" score. What emerged was hardly a hit, but ANYTHING GOES is a charming afternoon of entertainment.
Zizi Jeanmaire is ideally-showcased in 2 routines staged by her husband Roland Petit: a rousing "I Get a Kick Out of You" and a striking "Dream Ballet". Her acting is well-judged and she offers an all-round accomplished performance in her second feature film (following HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN). Mitzi Gaynor and her bubbly screen energy is in fine form here, performing the Title Number as well as "It's De-Lovely" with O'Connor.
Capable character actors Phil Harris and Kurt Kasznar are featured in good supporting roles. Look closely for Bess Flowers, the legendary "featured extra", in the ship dining-room sequences.
Paramount's DVD offers a pristine 16:9 image, though sadly no extra features whatsoever. But ANYTHING GOES was never even released on videocassette, so a DVD release of this film has been a nice surprise.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Anything Goes boasts a great cast. Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor play two entertainers called Bill Benson and Ted Adams respectively; and Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmarie play dancing actresses named Patsy Blair and Gaby Duval respectively.
The plot revolves around the world of entertainment. Bill and Ted are going to perform in a Broadway show together; and with their terribly fat egos both men simply assume that they have the exclusive prerogative to choose the leading lady for the show. On the bright side, both Bill and Ted choose very talented young ladies to play the leading female role. Bill chooses American dancer Patsy Blair; and Ted chooses the French starlet Gaby Duval. However, trouble heats up fast when neither man can get up the gumption to tell one of the two ladies that she is not needed for the show after all. When all four of them are on a ship headed from Europe to New York where the show will open things only become more complicated. How will Bill and Ted handle this sticky situation? Will they have a tug of war over which one has to do the dirty work of firing one of the ladies? Will each lady stay when they discover that only one of them is needed? No spoilers here, folks--you'll have to watch the movie to find out!
They all do a superlative job with the script that they're given which, by Hollywood musical standards, is still rather thin. The singing and dancing is what carries this movie, especially when Patsy (Mitzi Gaynor) and her male backup dancers perform "Anything Goes." I loved the panache with which Gaby Duval (Zizi Jeanmarie) and her backup dancers perform both "I Get A Kick Out Of You" as well as the extravagant and elegant "dream sequence" when Gaby imagines herself dancing with people in Times Square. Other musical numbers are more ordinary or even forgettable, especially the one in which Donald O'Connor as Ted Adams dances with some children on the ship to New York. Then again, the finale of the cast performing "Blow Gabriel Blow" has style and good taste; and "Blow Gabriel Blow" is a strong number to end this film.
The Technicolor still shines and the crystal clear sound will please you, too. The choreography of the dance scenes stuns you with its fastidious attention to detail and the cinematography frames the characters well in each frame. Excellent job on both counts!
The DVD offers nothing in the way of extras. You can view the whole movie straight through or just select scenes you wish to watch again; but that's the extent of it, I'm afraid. Sigh.
Nevertheless, Bing Crosby fans will delight in this version of Anything Goes. He sings and dances very, very well--and he makes it all look so easy. Of course, Donald O'Connor sparkles like the true champ that he always was in all his dancing scenes. Donald's energy, combined with the energy of Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmarie, pops out at you and all three performers dance and sing to hold your attention well.
I must caution that the plot runs thin in this movie. However, many musicals of this era had this characteristic so perhaps you won't be surprised. I recommend this movie for fans of the great Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. In the final analysis, I give Anything Goes four stars instead of five because of the thin plot and a few numbers that just don't quite do the trick.
The plot revolves around the world of entertainment. Bill and Ted are going to perform in a Broadway show together; and with their terribly fat egos both men simply assume that they have the exclusive prerogative to choose the leading lady for the show. On the bright side, both Bill and Ted choose very talented young ladies to play the leading female role. Bill chooses American dancer Patsy Blair; and Ted chooses the French starlet Gaby Duval. However, trouble heats up fast when neither man can get up the gumption to tell one of the two ladies that she is not needed for the show after all. When all four of them are on a ship headed from Europe to New York where the show will open things only become more complicated. How will Bill and Ted handle this sticky situation? Will they have a tug of war over which one has to do the dirty work of firing one of the ladies? Will each lady stay when they discover that only one of them is needed? No spoilers here, folks--you'll have to watch the movie to find out!
They all do a superlative job with the script that they're given which, by Hollywood musical standards, is still rather thin. The singing and dancing is what carries this movie, especially when Patsy (Mitzi Gaynor) and her male backup dancers perform "Anything Goes." I loved the panache with which Gaby Duval (Zizi Jeanmarie) and her backup dancers perform both "I Get A Kick Out Of You" as well as the extravagant and elegant "dream sequence" when Gaby imagines herself dancing with people in Times Square. Other musical numbers are more ordinary or even forgettable, especially the one in which Donald O'Connor as Ted Adams dances with some children on the ship to New York. Then again, the finale of the cast performing "Blow Gabriel Blow" has style and good taste; and "Blow Gabriel Blow" is a strong number to end this film.
The Technicolor still shines and the crystal clear sound will please you, too. The choreography of the dance scenes stuns you with its fastidious attention to detail and the cinematography frames the characters well in each frame. Excellent job on both counts!
The DVD offers nothing in the way of extras. You can view the whole movie straight through or just select scenes you wish to watch again; but that's the extent of it, I'm afraid. Sigh.
Nevertheless, Bing Crosby fans will delight in this version of Anything Goes. He sings and dances very, very well--and he makes it all look so easy. Of course, Donald O'Connor sparkles like the true champ that he always was in all his dancing scenes. Donald's energy, combined with the energy of Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmarie, pops out at you and all three performers dance and sing to hold your attention well.
I must caution that the plot runs thin in this movie. However, many musicals of this era had this characteristic so perhaps you won't be surprised. I recommend this movie for fans of the great Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. In the final analysis, I give Anything Goes four stars instead of five because of the thin plot and a few numbers that just don't quite do the trick.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
While MGM was soaring to new creative heights with their screen adaptations of Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate (1953) and Silk Stockings (1957) and originals High Society (1956) and Les Girls (1957), Paramount produced this watered-down completely new version of his Anything Goes. Paramount filmed Porter's Anything Goes twice, in 1936 and 1956, both versions starring Bing Crosby. They didn't get it right either time, but if you forget the source material the 1956 version represented here, while not a classic, is still an enjoyable movie in its own right.
This is a musical and what's most important are the songs and dances which are handled very well by the talented cast headed by Crosby and co-starring Donald O'Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire and Mitzi Gaynor. When the plot gets a bit stale which is often it's interrupted by a lively song or dance. Five of Porter's songs from the original stage production are represented here:
1) Anything Goes- a very colorful number with a typically exuberant Gaynor performance. Note the lyric change from "four-letter words" to "three-letter words".
2) I Get a Kick Out of You- performed by Jeanmaire with a male chorus in a style obviously influenced by Bob Fosse.
3) All Through the Night- sung well by Crosby by moonlight on shipboard and danced by Jeanmaire in the obligatory '50's dream sequence ballet.
4) You're the Top- performed by the four principals in a split-screen technique to show off the "wonders" of VistaVision.
5) Blow, Gabriel, Blow- the big finale with all four stars.
One number, It's De-Lovely, interpolated from Porter's 1936 stage show Red, Hot and Blue, is given enjoyable treatment sung and danced by O'Connor and Gaynor.
With all due respect to the very talented Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen the three new songs pale in comparison to the Porter tunes although they work better visually than just listening to them on the soundtrack album.
The DVD transfer is very good. The first few minutes display a bit of color fading, but after that the image becomes much more crisp with movie musical colors that pop. The soundtrack sounds good, also. Typical of studios other than Warner's, Paramount does not include any extras on this disc, not even the trailer if it still exists, which is a bit disappointing. It may have been interesting if they had included the 1936 version, however, I'm sure that ownership would be an issue since Universal owns most of Paramount's pre-1948 film catalogue.
Overall I recommend this movie as a chance to see four stars performing at their peak to a few of the best songs ever written in a motion picture of the type they don't make anymore. One thing that really comes across is that the four stars really seemed to enjoy working together. While this version of Anything Goes didn't break any new ground in the evolution of the movie musical, it's an agreeable time filler that moves very quickly.
This is a musical and what's most important are the songs and dances which are handled very well by the talented cast headed by Crosby and co-starring Donald O'Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire and Mitzi Gaynor. When the plot gets a bit stale which is often it's interrupted by a lively song or dance. Five of Porter's songs from the original stage production are represented here:
1) Anything Goes- a very colorful number with a typically exuberant Gaynor performance. Note the lyric change from "four-letter words" to "three-letter words".
2) I Get a Kick Out of You- performed by Jeanmaire with a male chorus in a style obviously influenced by Bob Fosse.
3) All Through the Night- sung well by Crosby by moonlight on shipboard and danced by Jeanmaire in the obligatory '50's dream sequence ballet.
4) You're the Top- performed by the four principals in a split-screen technique to show off the "wonders" of VistaVision.
5) Blow, Gabriel, Blow- the big finale with all four stars.
One number, It's De-Lovely, interpolated from Porter's 1936 stage show Red, Hot and Blue, is given enjoyable treatment sung and danced by O'Connor and Gaynor.
With all due respect to the very talented Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen the three new songs pale in comparison to the Porter tunes although they work better visually than just listening to them on the soundtrack album.
The DVD transfer is very good. The first few minutes display a bit of color fading, but after that the image becomes much more crisp with movie musical colors that pop. The soundtrack sounds good, also. Typical of studios other than Warner's, Paramount does not include any extras on this disc, not even the trailer if it still exists, which is a bit disappointing. It may have been interesting if they had included the 1936 version, however, I'm sure that ownership would be an issue since Universal owns most of Paramount's pre-1948 film catalogue.
Overall I recommend this movie as a chance to see four stars performing at their peak to a few of the best songs ever written in a motion picture of the type they don't make anymore. One thing that really comes across is that the four stars really seemed to enjoy working together. While this version of Anything Goes didn't break any new ground in the evolution of the movie musical, it's an agreeable time filler that moves very quickly.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading advertising.
This movie is a mishmash, an attempt to be better than the great Cole Porter musical of the same title by changing it. nad the changes are for the worse. Read more
Published 12 days ago by James R. Brandon
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was a hit among my friends
I purchased this DVD because one of my co-workers was in a play of the same name. I was interested in the comparison between the two productions. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Vikki
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ah musicals
I always loved dancing and music.My mother was a DJ in her youth in the 50's and 60's, now my granddaughter sings and dances with a dance school and boy can she captivate an... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Nick
2.0 out of 5 stars
poor choice of script
this musical comedy has been performed in numerous forms with numerous casts, this is not a good combination of the assets.
Published 8 months ago by viewer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Anything Goes - the movie
This is a Technicolor remake of the black-and-white film version (1936) that starred Bing Crosby with Ethel Merman; that in turn was the film version of the Broadway show with... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dr. H. A. Jones
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful film, fabulous talent!
I was so thrilled to find this version of this classic musical, but it was not what I expected. The plot is thin at best in spite of the stunning cast and I found it unwatchable in... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Marisong
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent service! Fast Delivery!
Thank you very much for excellent service. My daughter in dinner theatre and it helps for her to see the movie that relates to the musical she takes part in.
Published 11 months ago by J. McDowell
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Anything Goes" DVD review
The DVD was is good shape. I'm satisfied with the disk. The story is kind of poor though. I bought this disk to see the story, because I'm going to play in the pit for a high... Read more
Published 16 months ago by fission
3.0 out of 5 stars
Major stars in a disappointingly tepid 50's musical
In a similar format to one of my all-time-favorite musicals White Christmas from 1954, this movie's main plot involves Bing Crosby pairing up with a fellow song-and-dance man... Read more
Published on May 30, 2010 by Kate McMurry
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Original
Anyone looking for a movie capturing the original Broadway hit Anything Goes (or any of its on or off-Broadway revivals) will be very disappointed with this DVD. Read more
Published on February 26, 2010 by B. Blaney
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