Customer Reviews

The Girl Next Door

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's interesting, and amazing to me , that 20th has finally decided to release this musical on DVD along with "The Bloodhounds Of Broadway" (a fun, but not a particularly inventive Mitzi Gaynor musical), and the long-awaited, song filled "With A Song In My Heart". Although I've had a poor, taken-from-TV, video of this film for 20 years or so, I never thought it would ever see the light of day again.
It's always been one of my favorite "minor" 20th musicals since I first saw it as a kid in 1953, mainly because of the charming performances of June Haver, Dan Dailey and Dennis Day. I doubt that anyone even remembers it, since it sat on the shelf for almost 2 years,..and then was rushed into release only to quickly disappear.
Originally offered to Betty Grable, who turned down the script ...( one CAN picture her in the role),...it fell to Miss Haver, who with her sparkling personality...and singing and dancing talents, was far better suited for the part. Beginning shooting in 1951,...during an intricate dance number involving tables, June fell and suffered a concussion, closing down the production for some time. It wasn't finished until the following year,..when June decided to leave films and acting, ( to enter a convent for a short time.) When she returned to Hollywood in 1953, the musical was finally released.
The lanky Dan Dailey would seem an unsuitable partner to the dimunitive June, but their dances together are
the highlights of the film. He lifts and twirls her effortlessly in the exhilerating duet, "I'm Mad About The Girl Next Door", and also in a dramatic "dream" dance number.
The film has over a half-dozen tuneful songs, many of which I have the sheet music ....( and quite often play and sing) ....including two lovely ballads sung by Dennis Day to Cara Williams, "You", and "If I Love You A Mountain".
The plot, as light as a souflle, concerns a newspaper cartoonist, Dailey, who is a widower raising a young son, Billy Gray. A Broadway musical star, Haver, moves into the home next door,...and Dailey's attention to her
(which is slowly reciprocated), causes a bit of jealousy. This gives an opportunity for some clever animated sequences, in which the cast is seen as cartoons in the son's over-active imagination.
And so,...... I'm looking forward to seeing this long overlooked musical once again in all it's technicolor glory ! I'm sure it will find a whole new audience, and will be a "find" to musical fans who may have missed it the first time around. Thank you, 20th.

4.9 stars. I bought this DVD for my mother's 86th birthday, primarily because her very favorite films are the Warner Bros. Doris Day musicals On Moonlight Bay and By The Light of The Silvery Moon -- so our opinion and this review of The Girl Next Door is in comparison to those. When my mom read the box, she was delighted that it stars June Haver (Wake Up And Dream, another favorite) and has Dennis Day (The Jack Benny Program) and Billy Gray, who was also in those two Doris Day movies a year or two earlier. When we watched it last night, everything seemed perfect - yet somehow not quite up to our hopes. The plot's sort the converse of The Courtship of Eddie's Father, but not as poignant. Haver's and Dailey's numbers are fine and the highlight of the film. But Dennis Day doesn't have enough to do - doesn't live up to his potential as seen on TV or in other films like Golden Girl. An added bonus is the integration of a few animated sequences; but they are not of the quality of ordinary Warner cartoons. Gray's performance is fine too, and includes a little dancing. Overall, the film is about on par with our two favorites mentioned above, minus the Penrod setting, and with more modern songs. My mom didn't express any disappointment, other than one of the dance sequence seemed "modern." Her 3rd & 4th favorites are Meet Me In St. Louis (Two-Disc Special Edition) and In the Good Old Summertime, both set 40-50 years earlier, and that being the main difference, I think she's placing this one as about her 5th favorite; if you liked any of those 4 films you'll probably feel about the same.

The Girl Next Door. It was great seeing June Haver again. This was her last picture and right after making it, she went to the convent. The movie is quite spectacular and also stars Billy Gray of Father Knows Best. It was great seeing him, too. He was quite an actor. I'm surprised that he didn't go on with his acting career. It is sad to think that June Haver is gone now. I was shocked to hear that she died in July of 2006. I had just been thinking about her the day before her death, wondering what she was doing now.

Not into musicals, but I appreciate certain singalongs if the underlying story is structurally solid. Good examples of that are 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers' and 'Hello Dolly', strong core stories with musical interludes woven into the plot.

And now I'm adding this wonderful romantic comedy to my library.

Admittedly, it's not a unique screenplay - girl meets boy and they fall in love - eventually, with some funny escapades thrown in for good measure. Pretty pedestrian as far as that goes. But it's the genuine on-screen chemistry that the two stars exude that carries the film beyond the typical humdrum to something quite special.

Dan Dailey and the stunning June Haver are absolute magic on screen. Their romance is so real, you'd swear they were an actual couple - it's that genuine.

This was my first exposure to the beautiful Ms. Haver and I was deeply saddened to learn that this was her final film performance before taking on the role of motherhood and marriage to actor Fred MacMurray. Definitely left at the top of her game, and that's something a lot of actors can't say. This final film performance is an absolute treat for film aficionados and fans of the musical genre.

I'm now going to invest time and funding in trying to catch the dozen or so films in June Haver's brief resumé - she's such a peach to watch.

Dan Dailey was a fantasic artist and so accomplished - dancing, singing plus acting! Please release some more
of his films - one in particular 'The Best Things in Life are Free' with Ernest Borgnine, Gordon MacRae & Sheree North. The likes of such artists can't be found anymore!

We really enjoyed this movie. There are some great musical numbers and dance routines. I recommend it highly.

I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW GRAT DAN DAILEY WAS. THIS WAS A VERY NICE MOVIE. GREAT PICTURE. GREAT SOUND. THE SPECIAL FEATURES WERE WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION.

Buy the dvd version only! Amazon is allowing this rip off to be sold. I don't know why-it's a piss pour copy from old tape and has no sound track! How could you even allow this dreck?

Well my Dear friends at Amazon have gave me hell for doing
a review to a classic movie of total despair! But wrong cover. In this we
have a 16 yr.old girl named Meg who is beaten torched stabbed
raped and than some all from her aunt and cousins. You really
feel for Meg and you just want to set her free and kill her
folks! This is a sad,sad,sad story of a girl who did nothing
to have such cruelty be bestowed on her. Please watch this movie
for you will look at life I believe a little different.
Thanks to my Dear friends at Amazon for telling me about this
great movie and for letting me know about the wrong DVD movie
I covered earlier..."WHEW" I'm glad I fixed that!!!

I am a huge fan of the Fox musicals of the 1930s, 1940s and some from the 1950s - especially those starring Alice Faye, Sonja Henie, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda and Marilyn Monroe. The Girl Next Door features two talented and pleasant stars in Dan Dailey and June Haver and the color looks great, but the songs, the dance routines and the cartoon sequences are surprisingly uninspired. Add Dennis Day to the mix, and the film suffers even more. I never understood his appeal. When I think of Dan Dailey, Mother Wore Tights and When My Baby Smiles At Me comes to mind. June Haver shines in The Dolly Sisters, I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now and Look For The Silver Lining (at Warners). With great musicals as these waiting for release, I wonder why this minor effort made it to DVD? I guess it's worth watching if you truly love movie musicals, but I can't imagine ever sitting through it again.