Search - Jerry Herman, Lucille Ball, Beatrice Arthur :: Mame (1974 Movie Soundtrack) (Rhino Handmade)

Nobody can say she didn't give it her best shot...

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 06/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"MAME was one of the top musicals from the 1966 Broadway season, cementing Angela Lansbury as a musical theatre star to be reckoned with, and earning her the first of several Tony Award's. Lansbury campaigned heavily to reprise the role of Mame Dennis in the Warner Bros. film version, though producers said she didn't have the box office clout (a laughable notion, considering that Lansbury started out in the movies and only segwayed into theatre quite late into her career!). Lucille Ball gamely stepped up to the plate, middle-aged and with no singing voice to speak of (she had starred on Broadway in WILDCAT but its run was notorious for Ball's frequent illnesses and vocal problems). If there were any qualms about Ball being miscast, they were kept quiet. Madeline Kahn was originally announced for the role of frumpy secretary Agnes Gooch, but Ball was afraid the trained opera-singer would steal the picture. After considering Ruth Buzzi, producers resorted to Jane Connell, who had played the role in the 1966 original cast. Likewise Bea Arthur got to reprise her Tony-winning role of boozy barb Vera Charles, with Broadway favorite Robert Preston (THE MUSIC MAN) as Mame's loving Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside. Cherubic little Kirby Furlong played the young Patrick Dennis. Jerry Herman simplified all Mame's numbers in order to accommodate for Ball's shortcomings. The score for the film version of MAME is vastly different to what audiences heard during the show's almost 5-year run on Broadway. The Overture now included Gooch's number "St. Bridget", and Mame's introductory number "It's Today" isn't the brassy showstopper it should be. Apparently in order to get the most out of Ball's voice, an electronic device was implemented to adjust her pitch and so forth, during the recording of the numbers. This is glaringly obvious on this reissue of the soundtrack, where her voice often sounds over-dubbed. Jane Connell gives a splendid reading of "Gooch's Song" (perhaps even better than on the OBC) and Bea Arthur is at the peak of her formidable musical talents. Robert Preston is heartbreaking with "Loving You", the only new number written especially for the film by Jerry Herman. Apart from the odd lyric-change, the numbers are almost exactly the same (the only glaring omission is Mame's Act 2 showstopper "That's How Young I Feel", though given Ball's musicality, perhaps it was a mountain she'd preferred not to have tackled). This limited-edition reissue from Rhino Handmade marks the soundtrack's CD premiere"

This is actually a good album for Braodway fans

Marc Thompson | Washington, DC | 10/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, I know, Lucille Ball can't sing and neither can Kirby Furlong, who played the young Patrick. But the orchestrations on this album are wonderful. The overature is a delight and captures the spirit of the story and the original novel. Watch the details of the actual film and you will see that it is quite faithful to the details of the orginal novel.



The producers of the movie kept all the Broadway score except for one song, and added the lovely "Loving You."



When you listen to the album, listen to it with fun in mind. Lucille Ball's rendition of "We Need a Little Christmas" is actually quite joyous and full of spunk. There is nothing wrong with her "Bosom Buddies," and she brings a sense of pathos to "If He Walked Into My Life."



The pity of the album is that if true singers had been cast in the Mame and young Patrick roles, the album would be perfect.



The title song is very well done, perhaps with more life and excitement than the OBC rendering.



All in all, this is a fun album if you think Fun, good Broadway music not ruined by the movies, and not "I need to be a critic."



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