Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Inspired Musical Numbers Will Appeal to Musical Fans, April 9, 2002
Jerome Kern died while MGM's bio-pic TIL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY was still in the pre-production stage--and while Kern had been more than willing for MGM to tell all, his estate was considerably more reticent. In order to avoid any legal issues, MGM scrapped their original intentions, wrote up a fluffy script that bore little similarity to Kern's life, and crammed the film with every musical star available in a non-stop series of drop-dead-stunning production numbers. The result may be extremely bad biography, but leading man Robert Walker and co-star Van Heflin keep the sentimental story moving--and the musical numbers are piled on top of each other so quickly that one doesn't really question it. The film opens with a lengthy montage from SHOWBOAT, Kern's innovative masterpeice, that features knock-out performances from Lena Horne, Katheryn Grayson, and Virgina O'Brien and then quickly seques into a series of star-solos that feature June Allyson, Gower Champion, Cyd Charisse, Angela Lansbury, Dinah Shore, and Frank Sinatra.Along the way we are also treated to an extended cameo by Judy Garland, performing "Look For The Silver Lining" precisely as Marilyn Miller played it on stage and singing "Who?" to a staircase of chorus boys--which Garland was said to find most amusing, considering that she was pregnant at the time. Also notable is Lucille Bremer in the role of Robert Walker's stage-struck ward; although her star quickly faded, Bremer is an attractive performer and shows her talent for song and dance here by teaming with Van Johnson for a spirited version of "I Won't Dance." TIL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY will not appeal to most casual viewers, for the story line and script are much too weak. But musical fans will love this one all the way from Lansbury doing a Cockney "Spoon With Me" to Sinatra belting out "Old Man River." As a Jerome Kern song-and-dance fest, the movie can't be beat, and it should have a place in every musical fan's collection.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a star-studded musical "bio", November 14, 2004
Though only marginally a biography of Jerome Kern, and with a corn and syrup plot, anyone who likes traditional American musical theater will appreciate this film, which is a great showcase for Kern's wonderful songs.
Robert Walker as Kern, and Van Heflin as his arranger James Hessler are good, but this film is all about the music and the singers, especially Judy Garland. Lena Horne, and Frank Sinatra.
Directed by Richard Whorf, with Vincente Minelli directing the Judy Garland portions, and musical numbers staged by Robert Alton. Total running time is 132 minutes.
I own a cheap DVD edition (released by Vina) which is remarkably clear considering the price, though it has a slight "bootleg" quality to it.
Musical numbers include:
Excerpts from "Showboat", with Lena Horna exquisite singing "Can't Help Loving that Man of Mine". Others include Kathryn Grayson, Tony Martin and Caleb Peterson.
"Howja Like to Spoon Me" from the "London Gaieties" with Angela Lansbury.
"They'll Never Believe Me", Dinah Shore.
"Till the Clouds Roll By" from "Oh Boy" with Ray McDonald.
"Leave it to Jane" with June Allyson and Ray McDonald.
"Look for the Silver Lining" from "Sally" with Judy Garland. This may be the most interesting song of the film.
"Who" from "Sunny" with Judy Garland.
"I Won't Dance" with Lucille Bremer and Van Johnson.
"Smoke gets in Your Eyes" from "Roberta" with Cyd Charisse (a short but lovely dance).
"The Last Time I Saw Paris" with Dinah Shore.
"The Land Where Good Songs Go" with Lucille Bremer.
"Yesterdays" by the chorus (one of my favorite songs).
"Long Ago and Far Away" with Kathryn Grayson.
"A Fine Romance" with Virginia O'Brien.
"All the Things You Are" with Tony Martin.
"Why Was I Born ?" with Lena Horne.
"Old Man River" with a remarkable vocal performance by a very bushy-haired Frank Sinatra.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Till The Bad DVD Editions Roll By, October 5, 2004
I don't know why this little jem of a film slipped through the fingers of MGM and became "public domain" but it has and it's not to easy to find a decent copy. However, the Goodtimes Entertainment DVD is as close as you can get to an actual studio release. I've purchased two different off the wall company prints of this film and it seems Goodtimes is the best. It's really quite a shame that "Till The Clouds Roll By" will most likely not receive the same grand DVD treatment the rest of the MGM classics of that time such as "Meet Me In St. Louis", "For Me And My Gal", "The Harvey Girls", to name a few. I feel that "Clouds" ranks right up there with all the rest of the great MGM musicals and deserves a better fate than languishing in DVD bargin bins! If you love movie musicals as well as musical theater (the subject of the film Jerome Kern was an early pioneer of American Musical Theater) then you will love this film. Just remember to find a copy of the Goodtimes Entertainment DVD edition. Goodtimes has put together a nice presentation for a low price. The color is a bit faded but, the picture is clear and it's a clear digital transfer. The sound is Mono but, considering the elements they had to work with it's good. There are no special features other than scene selections. This may be the only decent edition of this film we ever get so buy it before it goes out of print!
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