Customer Reviews

Till the Clouds Roll By [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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.

TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY has never been considered one of MGM's greatest musicals. The film is a somewhat syrupy biographical account of the life of Jerome Kern. In some ways this cannot be seen as a criticism. The film begins with the opening night of SHOWBOAT. After the performance Kern gets in a taxi and tells the driver his life story. Of course if he's telling the story it's going to be a nice account. And Robert Walker, who plays Kern, presents Kern as a likable guy and a hero we want to root for and hope will succeed.

More than likely MGM didn't release this film to tell the story of Jerome Kern. If anything, it was just an excuse to showcase it's stars and as viewers have discovered, it is a showcase of MGM's great talent. Musical numbers include Judy Garland as Marilyn Miller performing on of Garland's showpieces "Who?" The SHOWBOAT sequence at the beginning is probably one of the film's greatest moments and includes Kathryn Grayson as Magnolia, a role she'd reprise a few years later when MGM released a newer version of SHOWBOAT. It's interesting to note that the staging of SHOWBOAT in this film is less stereotypical than the later version released by MGM and has Lena Horne as Julie Laverne, a far more accurate casting (no offense to Ava Gardner). Dinah Shore and Angela Lansbury appear as well as do MGM favorites June Allyson, Virginia O'Brien, Gower Champion, Lucille Bremer and a young Cyd Charisse. It also has a finale that showcases the talents of many of the major players and includes an appearance by Frank Sinatra.

My guess is that most people who purchase this film will watch it in its entirety once or twice, but it will not sit on the shelf and get dusty. With remote in hand, people will put this film in the player and watch their favorite clips over and over again and will be entertained time and time again. Sat least that's what I've done and I'm sure will continue to do.

Enjoy!

While this film may not have the most exciting plot, one cannot deny the great production values of the musical numbers thanks to the Arthur Freed Unit. Judy Garland's numbers are top notch, along with the rest of them. Unfortunately, this film must have slipped into public domain, and the company who picked up the rights to doing a DVD print are not sticklers for quality! Since Warner Brothers now has the MGM library, if the DVD doesn't say Warner Home Video on it, you may want to get the VHS version instead. :-) Hopefully, sometime in the future, Warner Brothers will get the rights back to do a DVD, and get it done in nice crystal clear mastering. Then I can go out and re-buy it. Arther Freed musicals are a "must have" on DVD!

First off this is Warner Brothers DVD release I am talking about for my review. Warner Brothers has finally released Till The Clouds Roll By on DVD! The movie is about the life and career of Jerome Kern. Robert Walker protrays Jerome Kern. This movie isn't exactly accruate but it has many great numbers from the MGM stars of the time. Some of the highlights include a mini verison of Show Boat, How'd You Like to Spoon with Me?, and Judy Garland singing some numbers. Most of the MGM stars are in this movie including, Judy Garland, June Allyson, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Gower Champion, Cyd Charisse, Angela Lansbury, Ray McDonald, Virginia O'Brien, and Lucille Bremer. As for the numbers, here is a list and a mini description:

Mini version of Show Boat- The movie opens up here at the opening night of the show. Tony Martin sings "Where's the Mate for Me." "Make Believe" is sung by Tony Martin and Kathryn Grayson. Kathryn Grayson would later appear in the 1951 film "Show Boat" as the same character, Magnolia. Virginia O'Brien sings "Life Upon the Wicked Stage." The lovely Lena Horne sings "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man." Then the chorus sings "Old Man River."

How'd You Like to Spoon with Me?- A very young Angela Lansbury sings this number. A personal favorite!

They Didn't Believe Me- Some girl sings this song and I have no idea who she is!

Till the Clouds Roll By- This is sung and danced by Ray McDonald, June Allyson and a Chorus. A great number. I think this one is my favorite out of the movie!

Leave It to Jane / Cleopatterer- This is also sung and danced by Ray McDonald and June Allyson.

Look for the Silver Lining- Judy Garland sings this great number. Another favorite!

Who?- Judy Garland sings and dances again. Another favorite. Judy Garland was actually pregnant during the filming of this movie. So she may look a little bigger. Months later Liza Minnelli was born! That's another story though!

One More Dance- Lucille Bremer sings this number but, she's really dubbed.

I Won't Dance- Van Johnson sings and dances this with Lucille Bremer.

She Didn't Say Yes- A quick number but this twin sister act sings it.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes- A chorus sings this lovely tune while Cyd Charisse and Gower Champion dance to it.

The Last Time I Saw Paris- Dinah Shore sings this lovely song.

The Land Where the Good Songs Go- Lucille Bremer sings this song.

Yesterdays- A chorus sings this song as well.

Long Ago (And Far Away)- The lovely Kathryn Grayson sings this song.

A Fine Romance- Virginia O'Brien sings this song.

All the Things You Are- Tony Martin sings this song.

Why Was I Born?- Once again the lovely Lena Horne sings this song.

Ol' Man River- This is the finale and a young Frank Sinatra sings this. No offensive but I don't he should have sang this number.

As for extras on the DVD,

New featurette Till the Clouds Roll By: Real to Reel
Vintage Fitzpartick Traveltalk short Glimpses of California
Classic MGM Tex Avery cartoon Henpecked Hoboes
Two musical outtake sequences: Judy Garland performing D'Ya Love Me? and Music in the Air (I've Told Ev'ry Little Star/The Song is You) performed by Kathryn Grayson and Johnny Johnston
Theatrical trailer
Languages: English & Fran?ais
Subtitles: English, Fran?ais & Espa?ol (feature film only)

Till the Clouds Roll By is a nice film but in my opinion it seems to drag on more than it should. Some of it is too made up for Hollywood as well. The real Jerome Kern was technical advisor on this film, but he died before the film was completed. On a final note, if you enjoy the MGM musicals I say watch it but, if your looking for an accurate movie this isn't it.

A year or so ago, I ordered the $4.95 version of "Till the Clouds Roll By". After putting it in my DVD player, I soon realized why the cost was so low. The picture was TERRIBLE. Two weeks ago, I decided to try again and purchased the most expensive of the DVDs offered - this one for $14.95. I read the info before purchasing and saw that it was supposedly remastered. Imagine my disappointment when I turned on the DVD player once more and found essentially the same lousy picture. I enjoyed the film when I saw it on AMC and really wanted a good copy of it. Apparently one doesn't exist - at least through Amazon.

I own both a VHS and a DVD copy of this film, and oddly enough, the VHS tape yields a much clearer, more colorful picture! Go figure. The film is a wonderful study, not of a biography proper (it's often reported that the script was highly fictionalized), but of a top-flight execution of a musical. And if you're any kind of musical afficionado (and over 30), you'll enjoy the innovative ways this film stuffs so many stars into one motion picture- from Judy Garland as real-life Kern star Marilyn Miller, to the various stage pieces featuring Angela Lansbury, Ray McDonald, June Allyson, Tony Martin, Kathryn Grayson, Lucille Bremer, Van Johnson, and a BRUNETTE Dinah Shore singing "The Last Time I Saw Paris." And five of the singers- Grayson, Martin, Virginia O'Brien, Lena Horne, and Caleb Peterson- are magnificent in a mini-production of "Show Boat." (Interesting sideline: though it is only a small cameo, the gorgeous Horne is obviously performing the role of the mulatto singer Julie- a role she hoped to play in the actual "Show Boat" film. She was even approached by Broadway producers to do a revival of the show, but MGM would not allow it. Her striking essay of "Can't Help Lovin' That Man-" in her own fair skin and piercingly beautiful eyes- makes one wonder what might've been.) Blink and you'll miss Gower Champion dancing with Cyd Charisse. Sneeze and you'll miss Esther Williams signing autographs.

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!

STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE. THE QUALITY OF PICTURE AND SOUND ARE SO TERRIBLE, NOT EVEN A DIEHARD FAN COULD STAND IT.

Amazon lists some 30-odd different releases of Till the Clouds Roll By, but the newly remastered edition from Warner Home Video (ASIN: B000EBD9SA) is the only version worth buying. The cliche that you get what you pay for is definitely true in this case; all other editions available, including this one, are ripped from public domain prints of the film, with greatly varying quality in both video and audio.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the 'biopic' story is one of the hokiest that Hollywood ever committed to screen, bearing little resemblance to the life of the real Jerome Kern -- but the great songs just keep coming, and coming.

And the Warner remaster is filled with important extras that you won't want to miss.