Venus as a boy… First a Girl (1935), BFI Musicals Season

In his introduction, film historian John Oliver, apologised to fans of Gracie Fields after declaring Jessie Matthews as the leading singer, actor and dancer in British film during the thirties. It was hard not to agree seeing her energised and uplifting performance in this film; the Soho girl from Berwick Street, had elegance and a strong slim physique and could effortlessly lift a straight leg higher than her head with seemingly little effort. She was just as adept in raising a smile and whilst she quibbled about her slight overbite, her upturned nose and “big eyes”, jeepers, those peepers were made for the camera.

This was the fourth film the actress had made with Victor Saville and the director was the ideal match for the nervous star and even commissioned screen test after she had been cast just to show her how perfect she was for the role. First A Girl is essentially a remake of Viktor und Viktoria (Victor/Victoria) a 1933 German musical comedy film directed by Reinhold Schünzel starring Renate Müller as a woman pretending to be a female impersonator. This very Weimar storyline allowed for a startling array of double and even single entendre concerning he/she and the subject of “half and half” – pre-Kinsey code for those who "like” everyone. There's a constant play with the idea of "confused" sexuality with a man not sure why he feels so "strange" looking at another man and a woman taking in the news that her finance may be in love with another man - transvestism as comic-erotic?

Griffith Jones and Jessie Matthews

So it was that Jessie had her hair cropped Eton style; closer than a Brooksie bob without the bangs, cutting a striking figure in Mayfair dinner parties and saving a fortune on haircare. The style suits her delicate features to a “t” but she makes for a rather unconvincing boy; which is always half the point at this stage in proceedings. It was still too risqué for the US where several chunks were chopped and the whole film was banned in Maryland. Nevertheless, the film did reasonably well in America and her name was up in lights the same size as Clark Gable in Times Square; she was an international star.

First a Girl retains its charm and is still strikingly frank and funny to this day, helped by Jessie’s eternal good humour and a strong supporting cast including her husband Sonny Hale who’s full of comic energy himself as Victor, a down on his luck cross-dressing crooner. Jessie plays Elizabeth, a girl who sings to her co-workers in a chic London fashion house and lampoons Princes Wibble-Wobble, Princess Mironoff (Anna Lee, who has the most stunning smile), as they watch the latest show.

Jessie cuts a rug as only she can

Betty’s job is hanging on by a thread but gets a last chance to deliver an expensive dress to the Princess. She gets distracted on the way by an open audition and borrows the dress to make an impression but she can’t hit the right tone for the choir master and, bumps into Victor as the two walk out in dejected rejection. Caught in a rain shower, Victor loses his voice and has to enlist Betty to take his part – a girl playing a boy playing a girl… She goes down a storm despite escaping geese and slipping on paste but is talent spotted all the same by Mr. McLintock (Alfred Drayton) who lines up a big tour for Victor and his new mate “Bill”.

Now playing much smarter venues, the couple get spotted by the Princess again and her latest fiancé-or-not, Robert (Griffith Jones, Gemma Jones Dad, fact fans!) – as she later explains, engagements are like inoculations, some take some just don’t… Victor soon sets his sights on the Princess while Robert is strangely fascinated with Bill having been completely convinced that he was a girl on stage. But, as Victor impresses the Princess with his Shakespeare quotes, Bob and Bill get pickled at the bar and share large cigars; Bill’s eyes widening when presented with her eight-incher. They also bond over a shared love of the Mills Brothers, a nice touch!

Sonny Hale, Anna Lee, Griffith Jones and Jessie: Robert is "confused"...

The Princess is not at all convinced that Bill’s a boy and arranges to drive he and Victor down to their next engagement in Nice via a small hotel Robert knows where they lay a trap for the young lad. Bill survives their test and we see his splendid turn as Victoria at the theatre with Saville giving it the full Busby Berkley with dances choreographed by Ralph Reader that make up for any lack of budget with imagination and sheer pep! Matthews has a long, slim figure and leads off many a dance by leaning back and raising a long leg high into the air before hitting the ground hard with a deceptive swiftness. You can see why the Americans called her the “Dancing Divinity” as she has a smooth, sure-footed style all of her own that is indeed world class (sorry Gracie) to the extent that you could see her on stage with an Astaire or a Cagney. Powering her supernatural grace is the sincerest of smiles and a glint in her huge eyes string enough to power a reasonably sized family home.

The songs are memorable too, written by Americans Al Goodhart and Al Hoffman (both of whom would later have work featured in Singing in the Rain) along with Maurice Sigler. Add costumers from Coco Chanel and you have something approaching American standards of excellence. Now then, none of those films had a sweetheart quite the likes of our Jessie though did they and it’s a heart-warming thrill to see the Berwick Street Ballerina showing her star power on the big screen and in 35mm too!

Yeah, obviously a man

The story must conclude with Bill’s outing as a non-boy and, well, all the hoped-for happiness and laughter is delivered in the closing section of the film as both Betty and Victor are unleashed!  Robin Baker’s aim in curating this season has been to give us all a lift and with this film, as with so many others, he has succeeded! I saw it just after casting my vote in the General Election… for an hour and a half I didn’t think about politics AT ALL and as I walked home and as I sit here I’m still smiling about Jessie and frankly, feeling just a little bit in love.

The BFI Musicals series continues into 2020 – details on their website.

A glorious feeling… Singin' in the Rain (1952), 18th October re-release for BFI Musicals! The Greatest Show on Screen

Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly stare smilingly out from the screen directly at you as, their heads  almost still, their bodies move as one, arms rotating around with impossible precision as they confirm that they’ve talked the whole night through and the way to rescue The Duelling Cavalier, their first talking film from disaster is to turn it into a musical. No other form allows you to hotwire your heart with such joyous ambition and chorused changes in fortune.

Singin’ in the Rain cannot be denied, it’s a natural force, full of perfect moments that somehow avoids sweetness by being anchored in the naturalistic friendships of the most likeable and down-to-earth cast imaginable. The sole exception is the ethereal cameo from Cyd Charisse channelling Louise Brooks as the woman of Kelly’s dreams who is not to be confused with the woman of his waking hours.

The film was being previewed as a taster for the BFI’s unstoppable new season, BFI Musicals! The Greatest Show on Screen with a new 4d transfer due to screen at the Institute and nationwide from 16^th October. Having never seen it on the big screen I can confirm that it is transformational: combining great tunes, movement and star power!

As a silent film fan there is lots to spot in the film with a story and song track picked from the era when silent transitioned painfully into sound. Jean Hagen’s Lina Lamont has the broadest of Big Apple accents mimicking the supposed accent of a Norma Talmadge (New Jersey) or a Clara Bow (Manhattan) who – by legend – struggled with sound but who, in reality, spoke just fine and had other reasons for fading away, in Clara’s case after a number of successful talkies and, for Norma, she just had better things to do.

Talking of Clara, there’s Rita Moreno as Zelda Zanders, the "Zip Girl" who’s not that far from the “It Girl” and Judy Landon as Olga Mara, a silent screen vamp not a million miles from Nazimova mixed with Pola Negri. These actors would still have been in the memory in 1952, no further away than Britpop is to now.

Most of the songs also hail from the late Twenties/early Thirties and, possibly written in 1927, Singin' in the Rain was first performed on screen by Doris Eaton Travis in The Hollywood Music Box Revue (1929) then by Cliff Edwards with the Brox Sisters in the early MGM musical The Hollywood Revue of 1929. Audiences would have associated the song with that era even as now we see it as an early 50’s creation.

The song was written by Nacio Herb Brown (music) and Arthur Freed (lyrics) and most of the pre-existing songs came from them including You Were Meant for Me from The Broadway Melody (1929) from which the title song along with Broadway Rhythm from Broadway Melody of 1936, provides the backdrop for Cyd and Gene’s balletic fantasy. Interestingly Talya Alon has argued that the other influence for this section was The Blue Angel (1931) so, whilst Brooksie was the look, Marlene was the attitude… and, unlike Emil Jannings’ professor, Kelly’s song and dance man makes it through to success: Gotta Dance, Gotta Dance, Gotta Dance...

This classic Kelly sidestep apart, the film’s narrative is, of course, mostly about Kelly’s silent actor Don Lockwood, adjusting to sound and pursuing Debbie Reynold’s ingenue Kathy Selden. Reynolds was just 18 at the time of filming and with a background in gymnastics not dance…she was obviously a quick learner matching the maestro and his energetic hoofer buddy step for step and her raw energy is ideal for the role.

But it’s now so hard to imagine anyone else in these roles so cemented in our personal cannon of great films has this film become. Jean Hagen’s Lina Lamont is one of the great “bad guys” with her shatter-glass vowels a joy: “Ah cain’t stayund ‘im!!” is a catch phrase for the ages.

Donald O'Connor as Cosmo Brown, Don's lifelong pal, and vaudeville partner, is quick-fire perfect and completes the perfect trio with Kelly and Reynolds – passing their lines around in a script-sprint relay of comic proportions. It’s a very inclusive approach that naturally plays direct to the watching audience. Millard Mitchell as RF Simpson (a reference to producer Arthur Freed) is also excellent as the grown up in the room trying to channel all these creatives in the most profitable direction.

Stanley Donan directed for the ages along with Kelly and their intelligence and improvisation was rarely equalled in the genre. But you can find out for yourselves as Singing in the Rain is being re-released nationwide by the BFI in October – there’ll be a run on the Southbank as well as cross country along with many others in this splendid season.

Full details of BFI Musicals! The Greatest Show on Screen is available on the BFI website along with showtimes for Singing in the Rain which, thanks to this new 4k transfer, has rarely looked this good in the last 67 years. It starts it's run on 18th October: not to be missed!!

Almost lost in the mix… Tommy (1975), re-release for BFI Musicals! The Greatest Show on Screen

I'm free, I'm free

And freedom tastes of reality

I'm free, I'm free

And I'm waiting for you to follow me

Written in 1968, The Who’s Tommy was one of the first concept albums and, come 1975, maverick director Ken Russell took charge of turning Pete Townsend’s lyrics into a feature film. The result is a mixed bag so packed full of impact and ideas that its irresistible if occasionally irritating and, ultimately, a little inspiring.

For me Tommy is one of those double LPs that could easily make a decent single album and Quadrophenia is much more rewarding and thought through as a concept – as is Townsend’s complex and partly-abandoned Lifehouse project which formed the basis of their best album, Who’s Next and which has since been “completed” as a radio play. Tommy broke the mold yet has some ill-conceived episodes involving torture and abuse – sexual and pharmaceutical – which pad out the young hero’s “amazing journey” to becoming a pinball wizard and guru, and, some great riffs aside it feels under-powered overall.

The Acid Queen: Tina Turner

Six songs were added to the film score to reinforce the narrative and a host of guest singers including Jack Nicholson as The Specialist, Tina Turner as The Acid Queen, Paul Nicholas as Cousin Kevin and Elton John as The Pinball Wizard. It’s over-the-top in a way only Ken can manage and, as with many of his films, leaves itself behind on a number of occasions whilst still containing some moments of real impact.

Ann-Margret is astonishing and easily the most valuable player on screen, winning an Academy Award nomination as well as a Golden Globe for an extraordinary performance that has her stretch both sinew and vocal-chords as Tommy’s conflicted mother. This is a character far beyond anything you could pick from the original double LP and you can only guess how much of herself she put into her improvisations whether rolling around in baked beans (a nod to the cover of The Who Sell Out?) or howling her anguish at her damaged son.

Oh, not the beans Ken! Ann-Margret

Oliver Reed plays her good-for-little second husband, Frank who kills her first, Captain Walker (Robert Powell) … on his surprise return from the War in which he has been MIA presumed dead. This is the first time I start to see similarities with Pink Floyd’s The Wall as songwriter Roger Water’s father died at the Battle of Anzio and this formed the basis for his over-reaching double album’s worth of alienation later filmed by Alan Parker – he and the director argued ferociously and I wonder how Townsend got on with Russell?

Tommy sees his father’s murder and shuts down his eyes, ears and hearing: he cannot bear reality after what he has seen (Water’s character takes over two side to do the same). Twenty years later he has grown into Roger Daltry who’s vocal range is not matched by his acting although he’s a very strong swimmer. He’s also great at running through surf singing the above-quoted couplet.

Elton dresses down for the occassion...

His parents attempt to find a cure through Eric Clapton’s Marilyn Monroe-based faith – literally a cult of a celebrity - before Tommy is tortured by Tina Turner, knocked about by Paul Nicholas (how could you!) and fiddled with by Keith Moon as evil Uncle Ernie – Moon’s actually quite good on camera in a disturbing way. Tommy finds his way to pinball glory and bests Elton John’s Pinball King in the film’s most famous sequence. Then a specialist - classy Jack - offers a cure for his mental block whilst flirting with Tommy’s mother… she’s just a girl who can’t say no.

It all feels careless even when it’s powerful but it is an amazing journey with some spectacular sequences especially when alongside Townsend’s best songs. Standing highest is We’re Not Going to Take it and Listening to You which leads our hero towards sunrise on the Lakeland peak on which he was conceived by his parents in a more innocent time. You can see Catbells on the background making this somewhere over Derwent Water not far from Keswick.

Roger Daltry in the Lakes

The restoration is crystal clear and Tommy goes to show how vibrant and varied musicals can be; don’t miss it if you are a fan of any or all its wild and conflicting parts… there’s nothing quite like it.

This was an advanced screening as part of the BFI's Musicals programmes and there's so much to look forward to in perhaps the most uplifting season in years and further details are available on their website. Tommy is showing at the BFI and being re-released across the country from 22 November - if ever there was a time for Eyesight for the Blind it is now.

  

With the band, Pete Townsend, Ann-Margret and Keith Moon (Photo Joe Gaffney)