IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER

Michael Kidd, Dan Dailey and Gene Kelly

IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER (1955). Directors: Stanley Donen; Gene Kelly.

Three men who were buddies in the army have many drinks at the end of the war and vow to meet in ten years' time at their favorite bar in Manhattan. Now, you might wonder, if they were such good friends, they would certainly have stayed in touch for the past decade, but apparently they haven't, so when they each keep the appointment they discover that they have little in common and don't even like each other very much (surely they could have talked about wartime experiences, at least?). Angie (Michael Kidd), who planned on becoming a great chef, is married, has several kids, and runs a hamburger joint in Schenectady. Doug (Dan Dailey of There's No Business Like Show Business), who'd wanted to become a famous artist, does work on TV shows that sell detergent, and is on the verge of divorce. Ted (Gene Kelly), who figured on a legal career, is now an unmarried manager for a boxer who is planning to take a dive. The ladies in the story include Jackie, (the gorgeous, leggy Cyd Charisse), who works on one of Ted's TV shows; and Madeline (Delores Gray), the star of said show. The gals hope to get the former soldiers on the program as a surprise, unaware that they now actively dislike each other. And some hoods who fixed the fight are out to get even with Ted.

Filmed in startling CinemaScope and color and photographed by Robert Bronner, It's Always Fair Weather presents a striking sound stage Manhattan that is prominently featured in two sequences: when the boys dance under the elevated subway, each wearing a garbage can lid on one foot; and when Kelly does an absolutely smashing dance on roller skates, and even winds up tap dancing while still wearing them ("I Like Myself"). Cyd Charisse [The Unfinished Dance] is featured in a production number in which she dances with flat-faced pugilists in a gym, and Delores Gray gets a chance to shine when she sings and dances to "Thanks, But No Thanks" with a dozen chorus boys. The songs were composed by Andre Previn [The Kissing Bandit] -- the lyrics were provided by Comden and Green -- and are pleasant enough, with "Friends Forever" emerging the prettiest number. The performances by the entire cast are excellent. Michael Kidd appeared in a few films, such as Smile, but was primarily a well-regarded choreographer [Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.]

Verdict: A small degree of pathos counteracts the silliness and Kelly's dancing is simply sensational. ***.

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS

The technicolor finale of There's No Business ...

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS (1954). Director: Walter Lang.

Molly Donahue (Ethel Merman) and her husband Terence (Dan Dailey) are long-time vaudevillians who have three children who join their act: girl-happy Tim (Donald O'Connor); pretty Katy (Mitzi Gaynor); and jazz baby Steve (Johnnie Ray), who actually prefers to enter the priesthood. Tim falls hard for a sexy lady named Vicky (Marilyn Monroe), but a misadventure with her sends him running off from a role in a Broadway show on the eve of WW 2. Is this the end of the Five Donahues? Aside from the title tune (which actually comes from Annie Get Your Gun), you'd be surprised that the music is by Irving Berlin, as the new numbers are pretty terrible and the older ones are ruined by inappropriately jazzy arrangements. As Steve, Johnnie Ray over-sings everything and makes faces, and his rendition of "Alexander's Ragtime Band," which he butchers, has to be seen to be believed. Ray also delivers the pious "If You Believe" (while mimicking Elvis' movements!) while the Adorable One -- La Monroe -- sexes up "Tropical Heatwave" in her inimitable style, although she's dubbed by Delores Gray and the number is otherwise not especially memorable. Although Monroe isn't quite up to her more "serious" scenes, she's positively luminescent in this and delivers her comedy sequences with her usual panache. As for the rest of the cast, Merman is terrific, with fine support from Dailey, Gaynor [The Joker is Wild] and O'Connor; Ray is fairly pleasing when he isn't singing. Hugh O'Brian [Rocketship X-M] shows up briefly as a theater man who falls for Katy; Robin Raymond [The Glass Wall] is the crude Lillian, who dates Tim; and Chick Chandler and Lee Patrick hardly get any lines as a couple of old vaudevillians at the Donahues party. The ending is nicely sentimental, and the last production number is a positive riot of brilliant technicolor.

Verdict: It would be all too easy to quibble about this picture's general mindlessness and often hokey numbers, but it all plays in spite of it. ***.