You've never seen anything quite like "Red Garters".
Not that it's the greatest movie of the 50s, or the greatest movie musical of the 50s, or even the greatest western movie musical of the 50s (that would be "Annie Get Your Gun" or "Calamity Jane"). But the visual style of this film is quite unusual. There is even an introductory card at the beginning of the film basically warning you not to expect "realism" in the film. What we get is a set back lit with red, purple, yellow colors and with very bright costumes and objects in the foreground. It kind of makes "Star Trek" look bland by comparison -- basically the ultimate in Paramount color exploitation.
The element that I was most pleased with was the script. I've only seen it once so I can't comment specifically, but I just liked all the little details and the "business" they gave a lot of the actors. For example there was the scene where Jack Carson (recognizable from Capra's "Arsenic and Old Lace") kept tipping his hat to the girls walking by while Rosemary Clooney was trying to talk to him. Stuff like that is great, there isn't a minute of the movie that feels stagnant or stale. It's a very kinetic script, and the direction matches. I see that the writer Michael Fessier worked on some of the better Astaire films like "You Were Never Lovelier".
The only weak element in the film basically is the music. In my opinion it was rather sub-standard when compared with what you would hope for from a Broadway musical or even a Hollywood musical. The title song was rousing, there were a few other decent songs but on the whole it felt like TV music and not show music. Rosemary Clooney has a nice voice, I know some people who are very big fans of hers, but in this film her voice came off as fairly middle of the road, though I liked her screen presence. I think it took an awful long time in the movie for the good dancing to start, for a while I was thinking this was one of those musicals with decent singers but no dancers. Of course Buddy Ebsen is in the film, he's one of my favorites, but he only got a few dancing scenes. Even though they were sparing with the Ebsen, it was great stuff.
Speaking of which, it's an interesting aspect of the film -- I know this is the 50s and certainly the film wouldn't fit a modern criteria for "liberated" but it does fit into that western sub-genre with the "all knowing saloon gal" who kind of controls all the men in town without their knowing it. She was perfect for the role.
All in all, a pleasing film that I wouldn't mind showing to children. That said, the quality of the music is of the type that would make it appealing to children. The music doesn't advance to the level of sophistication that the script and dialog reaches. We have a script that is very ironic and "tongue in cheek" and basically spoofs not only Westerns but Hollywood in general, but it's matched by a rather pedestrian score that seems to be straightforward with no irony whatsoever. It's one thing that keeps the film from being "great" in my opinion, but this is one of the "all-time goods". Definitely worth viewing for fans of musicals.
Not that it's the greatest movie of the 50s, or the greatest movie musical of the 50s, or even the greatest western movie musical of the 50s (that would be "Annie Get Your Gun" or "Calamity Jane"). But the visual style of this film is quite unusual. There is even an introductory card at the beginning of the film basically warning you not to expect "realism" in the film. What we get is a set back lit with red, purple, yellow colors and with very bright costumes and objects in the foreground. It kind of makes "Star Trek" look bland by comparison -- basically the ultimate in Paramount color exploitation.
The element that I was most pleased with was the script. I've only seen it once so I can't comment specifically, but I just liked all the little details and the "business" they gave a lot of the actors. For example there was the scene where Jack Carson (recognizable from Capra's "Arsenic and Old Lace") kept tipping his hat to the girls walking by while Rosemary Clooney was trying to talk to him. Stuff like that is great, there isn't a minute of the movie that feels stagnant or stale. It's a very kinetic script, and the direction matches. I see that the writer Michael Fessier worked on some of the better Astaire films like "You Were Never Lovelier".
The only weak element in the film basically is the music. In my opinion it was rather sub-standard when compared with what you would hope for from a Broadway musical or even a Hollywood musical. The title song was rousing, there were a few other decent songs but on the whole it felt like TV music and not show music. Rosemary Clooney has a nice voice, I know some people who are very big fans of hers, but in this film her voice came off as fairly middle of the road, though I liked her screen presence. I think it took an awful long time in the movie for the good dancing to start, for a while I was thinking this was one of those musicals with decent singers but no dancers. Of course Buddy Ebsen is in the film, he's one of my favorites, but he only got a few dancing scenes. Even though they were sparing with the Ebsen, it was great stuff.
Speaking of which, it's an interesting aspect of the film -- I know this is the 50s and certainly the film wouldn't fit a modern criteria for "liberated" but it does fit into that western sub-genre with the "all knowing saloon gal" who kind of controls all the men in town without their knowing it. She was perfect for the role.
All in all, a pleasing film that I wouldn't mind showing to children. That said, the quality of the music is of the type that would make it appealing to children. The music doesn't advance to the level of sophistication that the script and dialog reaches. We have a script that is very ironic and "tongue in cheek" and basically spoofs not only Westerns but Hollywood in general, but it's matched by a rather pedestrian score that seems to be straightforward with no irony whatsoever. It's one thing that keeps the film from being "great" in my opinion, but this is one of the "all-time goods". Definitely worth viewing for fans of musicals.