Eric266 I live in small town in Kansas. Last year, the local drama club put on a production of Gypsy at the performing arts theater. I have to say, the local production ran circles around this effort. I kept comparing the movie to the local theater and I was awed at how lacking the movie was in comparison.I love Rosalind Russell from her time playing Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday. Her rapid fire dialogue with Cary Grant was perfect. She was good as Rose, but something just wasn't right about her portrayal. I struggled to accept that she was this cold-hearted. Her version of Rose PLAYED at being cold-hearted, she didn't SEEM cold-hearted. The scenes at her childhood home should have resonated and shown why she was so selfish and self-centered. They seemed to breeze through those scenes. As an aside, there is a scene near the end of the movie where Rose is contemplating her life. She mentions coming from the wrong side of the tracks. In the local production, as the the actress playing Rose said this, a real train went zipping by the theater as if on cue. The entire audience broke out laughing in what was supposed to be a solemn scene. The actress on stage stayed in character, wept, and mentions so many trains leaving her behind. It was funny and bittersweet at the same time.Karl Malden was great as Herbie. I was pleased by his performance. His Herbie had the right amount of sensitivity and love, while also eventually resigning himself to the fact Rose was never going to change.Natalie Wood was a very good Louise. She was so beautiful and it was tragic that she died so young. Again, the actress in the local production had a much better voice, but Ms. Wood had a tremendous stage presence. Her Louise tried so hard to please her mother while knowing deep down, she never would. The scenes between Rose and Louise at the end crackled with emotion.Paul Wallace as one of the backup dancer's, Tulsa, who Louise falls in love with, was completely wasted. It was obvious Mr. Wallace was hired for his dancing skills (which were awesome and his dance number with Ms. Wood was a delight) but his character is mostly under developed. Inconceivably, the movie version of June runs off with another character while it was Tulsa she departs with in the Broadway version, breaking Louise's heart. Ann Jillian did a really nice job as "Dainty June" considering she was a last minute replacement. Her voice is tremendous. The only awkward thing was having 24-year old Wood pretending to be younger than the 12-year old Jillian. Their dance number to "If Mama was Married" sounded amazing but visually it really stretched credibility.The cast did a nice job and the movie was very entertaining. However, when it can't compare to a summer stock production (in my opinion), it leaves something to be desired.

mark.waltz The mother of all stage mothers, Rose Hovick has been documented so much on stage and film, in addition to the original novel, that the woman who wanted so much to be the star would probably be thrilled to know that after death, she's not only a star, but a legend! When your life is originated by Ethel Merman, played on screen by Rosalind Russell AND Bette Midler (with rumors of a remake still rampant with someone named Streisand...), and such legends as Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Linda Lavin, Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone taking on the role on Broadway (with three of them winning Tony's), as well as stock productions with Dolores Gray, Betty Hutton, Karen Morrow, Joanne Worley, Kaye Ballard, Leslie Uggams, among others, you've made it. The 1962 movie with Rosalind Russell isn't perfect, but it is certainly worthy of the acclaim its gotten, even if detractors are rampant and determined to smear it on behalf of the individual lady who they prefer as the mother of both June Havoc and Gypsy Rose Lee.O.K., so Merman screamed so loud upon hearing Roz got the role that glass might have broken somewhere, and like others who lost their stage role to another actress on film, she may never have seen the movie. Still, as disappointing to purists (such as myself) who would have liked to have seen Merman do the part, Russell makes it her own, at least for the 2 1/2 hours that the movie runs, and she got the Golden Globe for the role, like Merman had gotten for the movie version of "Call Me Madam" almost a decade before."Sing Out Louse!" With those words, Rose Hovick makes her entrance, and this is the key that unlocks the door to the personality of this brassy woman who dominated her daughter's lives in her efforts to get them on stage and into the Orpheum Circuit. Russell never lets up on the brass, and you totally forget that you're watching the glamorous Auntie Mame as she eats the role up alive. Her Rose obviously loves her children, but she loves success and the spotlight probably just as much if not more. She isn't the belter of Merman's style, and it is very probable that most of her singing was dubbed. Listening to cast albums with Lisa Kirk (particularly "Mack and Mabel") makes it even likelier that it was she who did the work, and in keeping with Roz's speaking voice, it is difficult to tell the difference.Replacing Jack Klugman from the original cast is the very similar Karl Malden, and his Herbie is a totally likable man whom you know both Louise and June would have loved to have seen as a stepfather. The softness of Russell's Rose comes out in her singing of "Small World", and their playful relationship is also evident in "You'll Never Get Away From Me". Seeing outtakes of the second act opener, "Together Wherever We Go" makes it obvious as to why it was cut, although the idea of seeing it re-shot with altered lyrics makes for a better idea.As for Natalie Wood, coming off her triumph in "West Side Story" (also dubbed) made her the obvious star to take on Louise/Gypsy, and she goes from shy "other sister" to super-star stripper with building confidence. At times, Natalie (as she often did) would "bray" her lines, including her key line, "I thought you did it for me, mama!", a factor in her receiving more "Razzy" awards than any other actress of her era. She is very good here, however, and when she takes on "Let Me Entertain You!" after going through the first half of the film pretending to be a cow, gives evidence of the confidence instilled into her by director Mervyn LeRoy who knew a little something about how to transfer stage shows into movies.But Malden and Wood are totally forgotten when Roz breaks into "Rose's Turn", perhaps the greatest eleven o'clock number in musical history, and one where a breakdown is not always successfully perceived as happening. Roz briefly collapses inside, but this woman is too driven to allow her anguish to take over, and this is the shining star in her performance. I can't say who the greatest Mama Rose is, but in judging this movie, Roz does great justice to the part, and other than someone like Judy Garland, it is difficult to guess who could have eaten this role up as much as Roz did. Years later, when Bette Midler did the role for T.V., she brought her own light into the part, and gave new dimensions that other actresses might not have seen. The two Broadway Rose's whom I have seen (Bernadette and Patti) gave entirely different connotations of the role which shows how fascinating this part is for study and why so many actresses who reach a certain age are anxious to dip (Just Dip!) into it.The Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim songs are energetically performed, including the magnetic "You've Got to Have a Gimmick" where Louise is shown by three very different strippers how to cajole her audience into taking her into their hearts, even if the men are not quite looking at her heart. Each actress who plays Rose or Louise has their own gimmick, and that is what makes this show fascinating.

Dalbert Pringle In my opinion, this 1962 film, based upon the 1957 book "Gypsy: A Memoir" written by Gypsy Rose Lee, herself, would have faired so much better had it been presented as a straight drama. I certainly found that both the musical numbers and the frequent lapses into comedy really weakened the overall punch that this film undoubtedly could've produced had these unnecessary elements not dominated a good part of the story.I also thought that Rosalind Russell's character as Rose Hovick, the ultimate, overbearing stage-mother-from-hell (who tyrannized the entire story) was given way-way too much attention and screen-time for my liking.From start to finish Russell's willful, one-note character literally chewed-up every bit of scenery with her loud, controlling and bossy histrionics. I found that this decidedly annoying character lost the novelty of her appeal within the first 30 minutes of the story.I also found that "Gypsy's" 143-minute running time to be almost unendurable to sit through. If a good 30 minutes had been carefully edited from this production I think that it would've been so much easier to enjoy.This movie just went on and on and on. (Ho-hum!) And its story just seemed to be going around and around in a vicious circle that ended up, in the long run, going absolutely nowhere at all.Another serious problem with "Gypsy" was the miscasting of Natalie Wood as the title character. From my point of view, Wood (though undeniably attractive) just didn't seem to possess the crucial dramatic resources to draw upon for this very demanding part. Wood simply played her part sweet & simple and this inevitably reduced her "Gypsy" to being nothing but an unambitious square - In other words, she was an accidental success.Yes. I fully understand that this film was clearly a product of early-1960's movie-making and that strict censorship was still in full swing back then - But, with that said, I really thought that it was completely laughable that Gypsy Rose Lee's meteoric rise to becoming a very hot burlesque queen was depicted as though just a sly wink, a sexy wiggle, and the revealing of a naked shoulder (and nothing else) was all that was required of her to achieve this special status of "striptease" royalty.Even though "Gypsy" was obviously a big-budget production that might have worked its intended magic as a stage play, on screen it was a truly disappointing let-down that certainly left a whole helluva lot to be desired.All-in-all - I would never recommend this film to anyone.

williwaw First of all let me join the throngs who feel Ethel Merman should have played Mama Rose to repeat Her legendary performance, and even the star of this movie Roz Russell was quoted as saying "Why couldn't they let Merman do it?" but after J L Warner decided Merman was not box office Roz Russell went after this part and was the first billed star. Roz got it because she could open the picture overseas as a worldwide Movie Star and because of her great success in WB's 'Auntie Mame', Warner Bros felt the magic would repeat. Just as Audrey Hepburn was unfairly maligned for doing 'My Fair Lady' instead of Julie Andrews, many critics went on a tear about Ms. Russell doing the film instead of evaluating the film on its merits. Roz Russell brings a leathery and determined force to Mama Rose and Roz knew and loved the camera and vice versa; Merman did not. Natalie Wood, the resident Queen of the Warner Bros lot, enchanting and beautiful is Gypsy Rose Lee. Ms. Wood was nothing like the real Gypsy but got the role anyway because of her stature at WB. Mervyn LeRoy who had decades of experience at Warners directs professionally. Karl Malden contributes a fine performance. The movie was filmed at Warner Bros studio in Burbank and for that I want to say while the sets look like a movie back lot-they were-it is one of the things I enjoyed of this movie. Both Ms. Russell and Ms. Wood would go on separately to a great starring decade in the 60's in other films. As did Mervyn Le Roy. A good film, not a great film, but a good film.