'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
#0'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 2:10pmI was channel surfing this morning when I came across 'Gypsy' on one of the HBO channels. It was made in 1962. This is going to make me sound dumb, but I didn't even know there was a movie version of this musical! I rather enjoyed it. However, the actress playing Rose kinda made me lose interest in the character she was playing. I know last time when I discovered the movie version of 'A Chorus Line' and raved about it, a lot of you strongly disagreed with me on that. But this time, this musical-movie was actually quite good. Any thoughts?
#1re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 2:14pmIt's not that it's bad. It's just...well...different from the show. Rosalind Russell (Rose) had some strong points but personally, there weren't too many. It wasn't the true FEEL of the show, I feel. They added some scenes that just didn't work. And they made Dainty June just there, she had very little screen time as the actress would in the show. So, it wasn't as a shock that she left in the middle of the movie. The Bette Midler ABC version is a lot better. More true to the show. In fact, I think it practically IS the show in studio.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#2re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 2:28pmI really don't like it. I don't think Rosalind Russell gave a good performance AT all. She just didn't fit the role. And it didn't make sense when Tessie Tura says "From the way she walks, she would have made a great stripper", or something to that effect, it didn't make sense because Rosalind doesn't have ANY sex appeal, and I just don't find her attractive in any way. Her voice is incredibly deep and I just don't think she fits the role.
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#3re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 2:29pm
I was still going to movies when GYPSY first was released. I was terribly disappointed in Roz Russell's singing because I was so accustomed to Merman's cast album.
However, time has mellowed my views on this. Roz Russell is an incredible actress and she does a fine job in that department. Look at the expressions on her face in the scene leading up to "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and compare it with Bette M's reactions in that same scene. Roz wins, hands down.
Incidentally, the singing voice of Rose belongs to Broadway legend Lisa Kirk.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
CJR
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/14/03
#4re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 2:54pm
And the singing voice of Natalie Wood belongs to an actress whose name escapes me at the moment.
I actually like this movie quite a bit despite the fact that I'm really not a fan of the show Gypsy. (I'm also a fan of the ACL movie -- but for different reasons. I think it's an awful movie as a whole and is a terrible representation of the show, but I won't open up that can of worms again. lol)
Slightly OT, but still on the subject of old movie musicals... I'm quite a fan of the movie Bells Are Ringing with Judy Holliday. The OBC, I was never terrible fond of -- for some reason Judy's voice would grate on me -- but when you see the movie as a whole, it's excellent, imho.
~Heather
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
VIETgrlTerifa
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/04
#5re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 4:09pm
I'm probably in the minority here, but I thought Roz Russell was the best Rose. To me, Russell was the best acting wise and she was the only world-class actress to play Rose. Her singing is rough around the edges mixed with her dubbed voice, I think her name was Lisa Kirk, but she performed her numbers well. I thought the movie gave the show extra depth that it didn't have before. Don't get me wrong, I liked the other Roses too, but I felt Roz was the best one all-around. Bernadette and Angela maybe the best singers, but I didn't think Bernadette was that great of an actress for Gypsy (which is weird because I usually think Peters is an excellent actress when I see her in other things). And Merman may have created the role, but I don't think she was the best Rose really, and I find Tyne Daly's acting really annoying.
I also loved the way Natalie Wood played Gypsy...(yes it was her real voice) she was beautiful but also an excellent actress. She actually got tips from the real Gypsy Rose Lee while filming this movie.
I liked how they the numbers with June too. I didn't like how they did it in the Bernadette Peters revival b/c all the squeels seemed to just get cheap laughs rather than to be taken seriously.
I also felt this movie had the best Tessa, Electra, and Zeppa.
"I've got to get me out of here
This place is full of dirty old men
And the navigators and their mappy maps
And moldy heads and pissing on sugar cubes
While you stare at your books."
Updated On: 5/9/04 at 04:09 PM
sabrelady
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#6re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 5:30pmI think there is pretty much universal agreement that Landsbury's singing is the best (certainly that recording is the best) I never really hated Roz in this the way everyone who resented that Merman didn't do the part seemed to .
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#7re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 6:27pm
she was the only world-class actress to play Rose
You really think that? By all accounts Lansbury was amazing in that role.
VIETgrlTerifa
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/04
#8re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 7:33pmI like Angela Lansbury, and I thought she was amazing in "The Manchurian Candidate". However, in Gypsy, sometimes she would fall in and out of her British accent. She was one of the better Roses out there though.
"I've got to get me out of here
This place is full of dirty old men
And the navigators and their mappy maps
And moldy heads and pissing on sugar cubes
While you stare at your books."
Dolly_Levi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/8/04
#9re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 10:48pm
Gypsy is one of my top-five favorite musicals.
The Lansbury recording is my personal fave. Not only can Lansbury sing the hell outta the score (w/ transpositions), but you can hear her amazing acting of the songs as well. Just from comparing the recordings, IMO she understood the character best.
However, it must be noted that no one can sing those songs like La Merm. Chills.
I enjoy the Roz Russell movie, but more for the Natalie Wood performance. The Bette movie - save Christine Ebersole - was not so hot.
Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward.
Carol Channing
Broadway724
Understudy Joined: 2/26/04
#10re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 10:50pmIn my opinion, they need to make a new version of it now with Maureen Moore as Rose. IMHO the MOST amazing performance I have EVER seen on a stage...EVER...and Rose's Turn...what an event that is. Worth the $100.00 right there. I've seen her do it 9 times now
Understudy Joined: 12/31/69
#11re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 11:14pm
Well, I love Gypsy but sadly have never seen a staged performance of it. I also never have seen the Bette movie. I have however seen and own the 1962 movie. After listening to as many recordings of Gypsy as I could find (Lansbury, Peters, Daily, and Merman), I found Roz's Rose a little dissapointing. I think she could have added something more to the charater. I did enjoy Wood's Louise though.
Slightly OT - Does anyone else hate the poster for the 1962 movie version? Just the three people on the bottom (Rose, Louise, and Herby). They look so randomly stuck there, and since Roz is wearing this hat with feathers, and with the shadow, it makes her look like she has long hair. Random I know, but it botters me. lol
#12re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 11:20pmRoz Russell is by far the worst Mama Rose to date. In addition to all the things that have been said already--no sex appeal, didn't even do her own singing, too deep a voice--she just gave a rotten performance on a technical level. She lost all the rage and all the comedy. What else was there to lose? To say she's the only world-class actress to play the part is absolutely ridiculous. In addition to Angela Lansbury, there's Tyne Daly and Bette Midler and Betty Buckley--all better actresses than Russell, who always played herself or at least some version of Auntie Mame. And, oh, there's also, um, er, ETHEL MERMAN, still and always the best Rose ever. Merman was, for those who never saw her on stage, also a world-class actress. Not subtle, perhaps, but as exciting and galvanizing as any performer I've ever seen on any stage anywhere.
MusicMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#13re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/9/04 at 11:45pm
"...the actress playing Rose...."
"...all actresses better than Russell..."
Oh, sweet Jesus on the cross...
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#14re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 7:45am
Natalie actually did all her own singing in "GYPSY"!
At that point, she was one of the biggest movie stars in the world and after being lied to about "West Side Story" she was gonna make sure her voice was heard this time....
All you ever hear about the "Gypsy" movie is how bad (or good) Russell is ...
I never hear anyone talk about how PERFECT Wood is in her role and how her performance, 40 years later, has never been equalled...
The "Mirror scene" in the second act is astonishing...you get that Gypsy, hell maybe even Wood herself, may be gorgeous outside but feels ugly inside...and she conveys it in a way that no one has since...
#15re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 10:02amvoiceanth--Sorry, I should have noted in my anti-Russell diatribe that the victims of the Russell buyout of the rights to "Gypsy" included not only Merman and the audience, but the wonderful Natalie Wood, whose (as you noted) yet-to-be-topped performance as Louise was like pearls cast before swine because she had to do it opposite the miscast Roz. Merman and Wood--now that would have been perfection!
#16re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 11:24amMarni Nixon did Maria's singing in West Side Story. As well as Audrey Hepburn's in My Fair Lady and also Deborah Kerr's in The King & I.
"It never bothered me that she called me a c*nt, it bothered me that I answered to it!" Carol Channing about Ethel Merman filming an episode of "The Love Boat"
#17re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 11:54am
It's hard to dispute Ethel merman as the ultimate Rose. She knew the character, had the voice and the presence and really brought Rose to life. However, Rosilnad Russell was a wonderful actress. Her Rose may pale in comaparison to Merman but, it wasn't as awfiul as some people seem to think.
When looking at the 1962 movie, one has to keep in mind that the movie was meant to appeal to a wider audiance than the Broadway show. 1962 was a time when the average person (unless they lived in or near NYC) did not go to the theater. People wanted tosee movies with stars they recognized and liked and they wanted smaltzy musicals. The movie going audiance then would have been less likely to respond to the Rose of stage. They would have an easier time with a Rose who was more likable, had a certain sweet quality to her and felt familiar. That is part of the reason Merman wasn't cast in the movie. She was Broadway and therefore too high brow in the eyes of the average movie goer. She was also a harder Rose than Russell, a more determined and ambitious person and hse wouldn't have played the role any other way to accomadate the taste of movie goers.
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Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#18re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 12:42pm
As much as I agree that Russell may not have been ideal...
We must also look at who else could have been cast who was a Movie Star and was Russell's age...
Greer Garson
Joan Crawford
Bette Davis
Loretta Young
Those were the choices people...
That is how Hollywood thought in 1960 and how they think today....
Who is Box Office??!!
I think of it this way...they KNEW she was not going to be ideal..so they took no chances and cast Wood who was indeed ideal in all areas...
win some/lose some!
newyorkuniq
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/03
#19re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 2:35pmThat's so funny. I am visiting family in Maine right now and I saw that on HBO the other morning. I was thinking "this is the most horrid version of Rose's Turn I have ever heard!!
gypsy#12
Swing Joined: 4/11/04
#20re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 5:53pmThere is also a truth behind Peter's and Blanchard's Rose and Louise. If they filmed it, I'm sure they would make the most honest Gypsy story ever made. Of course, slowing down the strips for Blanchard would make the strip more sensual and a better honest version of what Gypsy did. ALso, I could see in her louise that feeling of not really ever feeling beautiful. She looks in the mirror and she says she's pretty, but she turns to the thought of letting her mother know it once again. It's all about her mother. Honest version of the book Gypsy wrote.
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#21re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/10/04 at 8:39pmI have to disagree with VA about Natalie's Louise. I think Zan Charisse was the most touching, adorable Louise I've witnessed. Her mirror scene and her transformation during "The Strip" have never been equalled. BTW: whatever happened to her?
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
#22re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/11/04 at 1:21amI personally loved the Gypsy 1962 movie, but I'm a die hard Natalie Wood fan so that's not a surprise. I will say that I saw Maureen Moore yesterday (well technically day before yesterday by now) and I didn't really like her. Nor did I really like Tammy Blanchard's Louise. However, the time before that when I saw it I enjoyed Bernadette Peters and I didn't think I would like her because I see Rose to be physically domineering as well as just a dynamic presence. But, I saw Ginifer King play Louise and she was just fantastic. I absolutely adored her, I thought she played it with the perfect balance of character. Her scene with Rose in the dressing room at the end was so dead on in every way...
And hang on, when did you win the discus?
gypsy#12
Swing Joined: 4/11/04
#23re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/12/04 at 12:32pmThat's funny, because when I saw Ginifer King's Louise, I thought it was contrived. An imitation of what Tammy Blanchard does. So for you not to like one over the other is funny to me. I think Tammy's a star. You either like her or don't. There is no in between. As with all stars.
gypsy#12
Swing Joined: 4/11/04
#24re: 'Gypsy' - 1962 movie
Posted: 5/12/04 at 12:38pmyou sure do stay up late. Sure you're not working on s show?
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