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Bells Are Ringing

Judy Holliday was a comedic genius who died too young from breast cancer. That she only made a handful of movies before her untimely death is a shame, that she made only one musical-comedy is an injustice. Bells Are Ringing was her final film performance. She gives one hell of a performance – ringing laughs when a small, polite chuckle would have otherwise occurred, singing and dancing her heart out, and generally being utterly charming and charismatic – as Ella Peterson, a phone operator who can make everyone happy but herself.

Vincente Minnelli, normally a director who loved to be extravagant and vibrant, turns in an oddly subdued performance. The sets look a bit stagey, some of the sequences could have been better and never really breathes the way that other stage-to-screen musicals he directed were allowed to. Minnelli was also one of the premiere directors of the MGM musical department, Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris and Gigi burst and crackle with energy, why doesn’t Bells? It’s a competent and cute effort, but not one of his best. Maybe it’s the songbook. It’s not exactly full of memorable tunes, no matter how well-sung and acted they are.

Jean Stapleton and Eddie Foy Jr. deliver great supporting performances, but Dean Martin phones it in as a creatively blocked playwright who is the object of Holliday’s affections. He could play this effortless cool, slightly tipsy, charming boozer in his sleep. And here it seems like he is. Their romance generates more polite flushes than sexual sparks.

But the real reason to watch is Judy Holliday. Her kewpie doll voice and supermodel height (she was 5’10”) could have provided the easy laughs, but she was a masterful actor. Comedy isn’t easy, no matter how effortlessly she makes it look. Holliday was also blessed with a great musical voice – her voice might not have been like that of Judy Garland, but she could give the same commitment and energy. The way that she delivers a line in a song is enough to make you laugh. Combine that with her faces and gifts in physical comedy and you have a winning performance. Her immense talents and commitment to this role (she won a Tony for her stage performance) shine through consistently. If for no other reason, her luminous magic is the reason to see Bells Are Ringing.
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Added by JxSxPx
13 years ago on 28 June 2010 03:19