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Tristi’s Favorite Musicals

I grew up watching musicals. I love Doris Day, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire – in fact, there are very few movie stars from Hollywood’s golden era that I don’t like. There’s just nothing like a man and woman gazing into each other’s eyes and then breaking into song. Some of my all-time favorite musicals are, in no particular order: “Oklahoma!” Who could forget Shirley Jones in her first role as shy and idealistic Laurie, caught up in her feelings for that rascally cowboy, Curly? “Show Boat” took on a tough topic – that of race discrimination – and brought us … Continue reading →

Tristi’s Favorite Gene Kelly Movies

One of the definite perks of being a movie reviewer is that I get to sit here and sigh, and then tell you why I’m doing it. Gene Kelly . . . sigh. Gene has done scads of fabulous films – I don’t think I’ve ever seen him deliver a bad performance. I’d like to share four of my favorite Gene Kelly films with you right now and tell you why they’ve made this top ten list. 1. Of course, the first on my list would be “Singin’ in the Rain.” Who doesn’t just adore this movie? Gene stars as … Continue reading →

Take Me Out to the Ballgame (1949)

When we watch a Gene Kelly film, we can be sure there will be dancing. If we watch a Frank Sinatra movie, we know there will be singing. If Esther Williams is the star, we can plan on swimming. So, what do you get when all three of these Hollywood superstars are in the same movie? A singing/dancing musical with swimming, of course! “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is the story of the Wolves, a baseball team who took the championship the year previously and want to do it again. But their two star players, Ryan and O’Brien, are … Continue reading →

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

“The Unsinkable Molly Brown” is a delightful musical loosely based on the real Molly Brown, a down-to-earth woman of great wealth who survived the sinking of the Titanic. Do keep in mind, I said loosely. Debbie Reynolds has our starring role, and we go with her back to Molly’s humble roots. Molly was taken in as an orphan by a family of rough and rowdy boys, and she thinks she’s one of them. She hardly knows how to act like a girl. When Johnny Brown (Harve Presnell) comes along, he falls for her, hard, but she’s determined not to marry … Continue reading →

Celine Dion Says So Long to Sin City

So much for wanting to get my mom tickets to see Celine Dion perform live in Las Vegas. Last night the 39-year-old French-Canadian singing sensation took her final bow on the Caesars Palace stage that she has called home for the last five years. Dion performed 717 shows in Caesars’ $95 million, 4,100-seat Colosseum, which was designed and created specifically for her five-year engagement. In return, the singer walked away with more than $160 million—-a record for a live entertainer. But that’s peanuts compared to how much Dion’s show “A New Day…” has grossed since opening in Vegas in March … Continue reading →

Cover Girl (1944)

Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth co-star in “Cover Girl,” a song-and-dance movie about a night club owner named Danny McGuire (Kelly) and his main attraction/girlfriend Rusty (Hayworth.) Danny’s club is limping along with a crowd of regulars, but Rusty wants just a little bit more. When a local magazine announces a search for a new cover girl, Rusty goes in to apply, and through a comical series of events, manages to get the job. She hesitates to tell Danny, though – it’s the old “don’t want to injure his pride” storyline. When Danny does find out, he tells her she … Continue reading →

For Me and My Gal

“For Me and My Gal” stars Gene Kelly in his first movie after a successful run on stage with “Pal Joey.” His costar is Judy Garland, about which Kelly was very grateful. She was an old hand in Hollywood by this time and Kelly was heard to express gratitude to her for the way she showed him the ropes. Kelly plays Harry Palmer, a song and dance man with amazing confidence in himself. Garland is Jo Hayden, also a fixture on the Vaudeville circuit, traveling with a small group of comedians and singers. When they are all booked to play … Continue reading →

Two Weeks With Love (1950)

My family happened upon this movie rather accidentally. It was showing at the Avalon Theater (mentioned in another blog) as the second feature to another movie we were excited to see, and to this day, none of us can remember what that other movie was. “Two Weeks With Love” captured our hearts completely. Jane Powell plays Patti, a seventeen-year-old girl teetering on the brink of womanhood. Her lifelong sorrow is that she is not yet allowed to wear corsets. Her father is absolutely dead-set against them and will not hear of it. Melba, Patti’s younger sister (played to the hilt … Continue reading →