bkoganbing
As compared to the product that was coming out of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM during this time, Give A Girl A Break is definitely in the rank of second rate MGM musicals. Still it's not too bad with the accent definitely on the dance as opposed to the song.Give A Girl A Break is the title of a revue that producer Larry Keating is putting on and he's having one devil of a time trying to decide which talented dancer to give the lead to, be it Marge Champion, Debbie Reynolds or Helen Wood. He's got three of his people each pulling for a different prospect with Gower Champion putting on a real campaign to get his ex-wife and former dance partner out of retirement.As a dance team, Marge and Gower Champion made their screen debut in one of Bing Crosby's musicals, Mr. Music over at Paramount. MGM snapped them up and featured them in Showboat and Lovely to Look At. After Everything I Have Is Your's, Give A Girl A Break was MGM's second attempt to feature them as leads. As good a dance team as they were, Marge and Gower were just not strong enough to carry a film on their own.This was a dancing film and as such no great song hits came out of the score that was written by Burton Lane and Ira Gershwin. But the Champions, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Fosse, and Helen Wood could definitely dance to it.If the plot sounds somewhat familiar I think MGM dusted off the script to one of their biggest hits, Ziegfeld Girl about three Ziegfeld Follies aspirants and updated it somewhat. It's also a much lighter treatment, none of the three dancers has anything happen as bad as what happened to Lana Turner in that film.Give A Girl A Break will never be one of the great MGM musicals on anyone's list, but it's a pleasant diversion. And I can't believe that Bob Fosse had such a luxurious head of hair back in the day.
SHAWFAN
Another movie I had never heard of before I saw it on TCM. Robert Osborne pointed out afterwards the amusing anecdote about Mrs. Ira Gershwin saying to her husband after seeing the rushes of this film: "If you've got any MGM stock sell it!" He also said that MGM too had no faith in this movie and underdistributed it shamefully. That's probably why I never heard of it before. But this is scandalous! It's a brilliant and iconic and wonderful movie and needs to be talked about whenever the good old days of MGM musicals are discussed. Imagine all those talented dancers, choreographers and directors all there together in one movie: The Champions, Fosse, Robbins, Donen, Burton Lane, Ira Gershwin, etc. (Brilliant lyrics! "Our united state,""house full of cute representatives" etc, etc: brother George would have been proud!) Helen Wood's brilliant dancing made we wonder whatever became of her. A movie which combined venerable genres (the inside Broadway genre: 42nd Street, Lullaby of Broadway; the psychoanalytic dream sequence/vignette genre: Lady in the Dark, Oklahoma, Tales of Manhattan, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, etc; career vs family genres: The Red Shoes) with things yet to come (The Turning Point). But the bottom line is: such dancing! To the Astaire and Kelly movies should be added this Champion/Fosse/Donen movie. So sad there weren't more of them!
t1z2f
This is a little gem for those wanting a bit of relaxed entertainment. Unfortunately it came in a period when Kelly/Donen were setting a new standard for big production and very rapid pacing, so it was out of fashion and ignored. Everyone is charming; Marge and Gower Champion are at their peak, Bob Fosse is just hitting his stride (amusing that his screen persona was so charmingly little-boyish, in contrast to the dark angular sexiness of his later stage choreographies), and Debbie Reynolds is pixie-ish as ever. Helen Wood was not a great actress, but she was necessary to provide an additional dance flavor (see below).To differ from another reviewer, I think that Kurt Kaznar was perfect for the Leo Belney part, at least as it was written. He carries off being totally suggestible, changing opinion instantly, and having an equal conviction in each new attitude.Though they don't make a big deal about it, the film was mirroring a real conundrum facing Broadway directors at that period: what kind of dance to use? Tap was still around but on its way out; a kind of jazz-ballet blend was becoming mainstream; the avant-garde was a more dramatic and angular "modern" dance. Which would the public go for in the next show?
Abbey-2
One of Debbie Reynolds younger things and she is as always bright and energetic and good to watch - Marge & Gower Champion are excellent as always, and Bob Fosse is fun and silly as Debbie's (very young) beau. Helen Wood was unknown to me but although can't act very well is a terrific dancer (if it wasn't a body double) in the Grahamesque style of the time (i.e. see "choreography" number in "White Christmas"). Much lesser effort than "Singing in the Rain" (but what isn't) but an enjoyable thing to watch sometime if you just enjoy the dance numbers and throw popcorn at the screen during some of the more inane or dated dialogue. Don't go out of your way to get a copy, though.
AD
