Product Details

• Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Mono)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: English, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: July 31, 2012
• Run Time: 118 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0089J270U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,666 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This 1954 dinosaur brings together two giants of Broadway, Ethel Merman and Irving Berlin, just as their moment was passing forever, to create one last hurrah: a celebration of the glories that were vaudeville. Still, it's hard to imagine that Broadway--or nightclub entertaining, for that matter--was ever quite this lavish and satisfying. The story centers on a married couple, the Donahues (Dan Dailey and Merman), who live on the road as vaudeville entertainers, and since they have children, begin incorporating the kids into the act. Eventually, the kids grow up to be Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, and Johnny Ray, and they begin having interests of their own. Donald's is an ambitious showgirl (Marilyn Monroe), whose standoffish response to his romantic overtures drives him to drink. Best for its lavish, splashy production numbers built around some of the best of the Berlin songbook, including the title tune and "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody." --Marshall Fine

Product Description

This delightful Irving Berlin musical - featuring Marilyn Monroe, a stellar cast and an array of dazzling, upbeat production numbers - is a showstopper on Blu-Ray. Co-starring with Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor, Marilyn plays an ambitious and beautiful showgirl named Vicky, who catches the eye of Tim, a son in the veteran vaudeville family act known as the Five Donahues. But when Vicky steals Tim's heart, his loyalties to his talented clan will be tested and the show business life will prove to be more surprising and entertaining than anyone thought possible.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dazzling Production and Masterful Show Tunes Make This A Favorite December 4, 2007

By Antoinette Klein TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

I love musicals and this one has been a favorite since it first came out in 1954. I was thrilled to receive the DVD and even more thrilled to find that the songs and dances were still as wonderful as I remembered, the production numbers still as splendid, and the total show as remarkable as ever.

Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman are Terry and Molly Donahue, vaudeville performers circa 1919 when the movie opens. They quickly add children Steve (Johnnie Ray) Katy (Mitzi Gaynor) and Tim (Donald O'Connor) to the act as each child is old enough to wobble on stage. They become the successful act known as The Five Donahues and tour constantly even as vaudeville dies away. When their paths cross with an ambitious blonde named Vicky (Marilyn Monroe) things are never the same. She breaks Tim's heart and he spirals downward into an alcoholic haze, son Steve leaves the act when he decides to become a priest, and Broadway replaces vaudeville as the elder Donahues spend less time on stage and more time in their New Jersey home. The ending always leaves me dissolved in tears, but it is the lavish production numbers that make this a favorite. From the catchy opening of Merman and Dailey performing "When That Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam'" (later reprised by Gaynor and O'Connor) to the lavish staging of "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and the uplifting closing of the title song, this movie is a feast for fans of music and dance. Even though Marilyn Monroe shines in her sexy "Heat Wave" number, the long-legged Dailey makes dancing an effortless joy throughout and Merman's voice is uncommonly rich, it is Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor who enthusiastically dance their way into your heart and steal every scene they are in.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The real star of this film! September 4, 2006

By Kip G.

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a great movie with Marilyn Monroe and Ethel Merman.

However the real star of this movie is the vivacious Mitzi Gaynor! She steals every scene she is in. She is beautiful, talented, and hard to take your eyes off of!

I recommend this movie ! I also recommend " Anything Goes"

with Mitzi Gaynor. It has just been restored and the look of it is probably the best color of any DVD I own.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars i'm going to be a dissenter here.... June 7, 2005

By e.m. lawton

Format:DVD

i am not a marilyn monroe fan, and honestly, i love this movie in spite of her being in, not because of her being in it. dan dailey, donald o'connor, mitzi gaynor, and ethel merman were all wonderful in this movie. johnnie ray was not much of a dancer, but he had a good voice. i thought the musical numbers were all great-everyone was in top form in this film. you cannot go wrong in getting this one.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE GREAT ETHEL April 12, 2002

By J JARVIS

Format:DVD

One of the great musicals of the 50`s. All star cast and great numbers. Ethel Merman at her finest singing the title song. Worth buying the DVD just for that. Marilyns Heatwave number makes the mercury jump to 93. Dan Dailey always one of my favorites overshadowed by Astaire and Kelly. Donald O Connors finest hour was of course Make Em Laugh from Singing In The Rain but this is close second.The lovely Mitzi Gaynor and of course a man sadly forgotten by some nowadays. The Prince of Wails himself. Johnny Ray proving that he was better that most pop singers who turn to acting.I remember seeing this at a young age in our local theatre and thinking it was great all these years later i still feel the same...The question now is when will Call Me Madam appear on DVD also starring Ethel and Donald. A treat indeed for anyone who enjoy`s a good musical.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like musicals then you'll love this one! March 1, 2001

By Phyllida Ludd

Format:DVD

This movie stars Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey as vaudevillians Molly and Terry Donahue, who are trying to raise their three children(Steve, Katie, and Tim)as normally as they can. Molly and Terry narrate throughout the story, so the movie actually spans 20 years of their lives. The film starts out with a little song and dance number, and the introduction of Donahue kid #1, then it moves through #2 and #3 and their childhoods with some great comic scenes between Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey. Finally, with the kids all grown up, the family becomes an act called the Five Donahues. The first time you get to see the grown up Donahue children is in a big number called "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in which all the family members get to spotlight their individual talents. That night, after the show of course, Steve (the oldest) gets his true calling and Vicky Parker (Marilyn Monroe)enters as Tim's (Donald O'Connor)love interest, both events conspiring to break the act up. This film is filled with plenty of song and dance numbers, almost all of which were written specifically for the movie by Irving Berlin, plenty of talent, and plenty of fun. Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, and Donald O'Connor are great comedic talents who deliver quite a few laughs throughout, as well as doing a great job with the singing and dancing. I highly recommend this movie to everyone out there who needs a good laugh! If you find that you like this one, try "Singing in the Rain," also co-starring Donald O'Connor, "Wonder Man," and "The Court Jester," starring Danny Kaye.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Eclectic Treasure! December 4, 2009

By Sarah C

Format:DVD

According to Webster's, eclectic is "selecting what appears to be the best in various doctrines, methods or styles." That's what this movie does. If you're expecting a showcase for your favorite star -- whichever one it is -- you'll probably be disappointed, because all five of them shine brilliantly in this movie. If you're expecting every star to provide another version of their usual persona, you'll also be disappointed. And those are the very reasons this is one of my favorite movies of all time. There are serious spoilers in the next paragraph!

The other reviews have described the characters and plot, so I won't repeat that. At first blush, this seems like a standard potboiler movie from when they cranked out movies by the hundreds. But there are oddly modern twists in it and thought-provoking role reversals. Vaudeville performers had a reputation for being wild and immoral, but these two (Ethyl Merman & Dan Dailey) are focused on raising their kids right. They're scandalized when one of those kids wants to live a life (the priesthood) that's unheard of in their family -- but after parental agonizing, they accept that this child is "different" and finally decide to love him anyway, just as he is. (Substitute homosexuality for priesthood, the parental discussions will sound familiar.) Donald O'Connor is the romantic male lead in the major love story instead of the sidekick, and shows his dance/choreography chops in a number that is surreal and brilliantly imaginative. He gets to play a complicated character who has no goals and makes stupid decisions, someone you might have met (or been) in real life.... He's the romantic who's focused on finding someone he can build his life around (a traditional feminine ambition at the time), and the object of his affections is almost totally career-driven and hardly notices him (a traditional male role, ditto). Marilyn Monroe's character is an undeclared feminist -- she doesn't campaign for it, but she stands Donald up on a date because she's got a career crisis going on and gets irritated when he doesn't understand. That's consistent with her character, who also struggles with the role society demands of her. Years later, in real life, Marilyn took her career seriously enough to study acting with Lee Strasburg and was criticised for it -- a sex kitten trying to act? Deja vu...

There's a lot of stuff going on in this movie that would be startling now, and they get away with it because the musical numbers are great and the plot is superficially standard. It's as if they collected musicians from different genres -- say, country/western, opera, rap, pop and jazz -- and let each one do their own thing to the max. If you can put your expectations aside and see it as it is -- adventurous ideas and letting the stars use their talents without being restricted by typecasting -- you might love it as much as I do. Read more ›