Anything Goes (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the 1936 and 1956 films. For the stage musical see Anything Goes. For other uses, see Anything Goes (disambiguation).
| Anything Goes | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card for 1936 film version of Anything Goes with Ethel Merman and Bing Crosby |
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| Directed by | Lewis Milestone |
| Produced by | Benjamin Glazer |
| Written by | Russel Crouse Howard Lindsay Guy Bolton (play) P.G. Wodehouse (play) |
| Starring | Bing Crosby Ethel Merman Charles Ruggles Ida Lupino Arthur Treacher |
| Music by | Cole Porter |
| Cinematography | Karl Struss |
| Editing by | Eda Warren |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | January 24, 1936 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The "book" was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, revised by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It introduced such songs as "Anything Goes", "You're the Top", and "I Get a Kick Out of You". It was first produced on Broadway in 1934 and has been filmed twice. Anything Goes is a farce set below decks on an ocean liner bound for London from New York.
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[edit] 1936 film
In 1936, Paramount Pictures filmed the first movie musical version (in black and white) starring Ethel Merman (reprising her role as Reno Sweeney), with Bing Crosby in the (newly renamed) role of Billy Crockett and Ida Lupino and Arthur Treacher in the supporting cast. This version required some lyrical revisions to get Cole Porter's infamously saucy lyrics past Production Code censors. Only four of Porter's songs were kept in the movie: "Anything Goes, "I Get a Kick Out of You," "There'll Always Be a Lady Fair," and "You're the Top" — and all of them underwent substantial lyrical revision. Bing Crosby also threw his weight around behind the scenes and obtained four new songs from three new songwriters. Aside from "Moonburn," written by Hoagy Carmichael and Edward Hayman, which sold records well for Crosby, most of the replacement score was forgettable. When Paramount sold the film to television, they retitled the movie Tops is the Limit because the 1956 film version of Anything Goes, also from Paramount, was then playing in theatres.
[edit] 1956 film
The book was drastically rewritten for the second film version, also by Paramount, released in 1956. Though this movie again starred Bing Crosby (whose character was once more renamed), Donald O'Connor, and comedian Phil Harris in a cameo, the new movie almost completely excised the rest of the characters in favor of a totally new plot. Showbiz partners Bill Benson (Crosby) and Ted Adams (O'Connor) some 20 years Crosby's junior, each travel to Paris to sign a dancer to star in their new show. The problem? There is only one role, and the men have unknowingly cast two dancers, Patsy Blair (Mitzi Gaynor) and Gaby Duval (Zizi Jeanmaire). It is up to the men to sort out their mess on the cruise back to America.
The primary musical numbers ("Anything Goes", "You're the Top", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "It's De-Lovely" and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow") with updated arrangements appear in the film, while the lesser-known Porter songs were cut completely, and new songs, written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, were substituted. These substitutions ranged from the lively tap number by Donald O'Connor with bouncy children and as many bouncy balls ("You Can Bounce Right Back") to the crazy kitsch ("Second-hand Turban"). Musical numbers were staged by Nick Castle, with the "Anything Goes" number staged by Ernie Flatt, and Roland Petit staging the Jeanmaire ballet and "I Get a Kick of You".
This version of Anything Goes was released on DVD in the fall of 2005. For full credited cast and crew see the listing at the Internet Movie Database [1].
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Anything Goes (film) at the Internet Movie Database (1936 film)
- Anything Goes (film) at the Internet Movie Database (1956 film)
