Sandy Wilson's stage musical is a total charmer. There's really not much to it, but the music is delightful and the story quite sweet. It would have lent itself to film quite well, as something of a throwback to early movie musicals. Unfortuneatly, this is where Ken Russel failed in transferring it from stage to screen, by trying to make it one. Russel also unwisely chose to make the film a show within a show, so the original stage show is the play that is being performed by a struggling regional theater company in England, with Russell adding unnecessary backstage drama, and having the heroine (Twiggy), be the last minute understudy going on in the main role. This decision drowned all the charm out of the musical, making it something of a labored affair to watch. It is also frustrating to know that an earlier film was to be made of "The Boy Friend" by Universal with original Broadway stage star, Julie Andrews, starring. However they were unable to get rights, so instead we got "Thoroughly Modern Millie". Still, This film is somewhat fascinating t to watch, if only because the score is delightful, and it's so bizarre, that it's worth seeing.
Review of The Boy Friend
