Words and Music

Director: Norman Taurog

Overview

The life stories of Broadway tunesmiths Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart are prettified for the screen in MGM's Words and Music. Billed fourth, the colorless Tom Drake plays Rodgers, but never mind that: the film belongs to Mickey Rooney, as the dynamic, self-destructive Lorenz Hart. Understandably, Hart's bisexuality is downplayed. According to MGM, his biggest problem in life is that he was never satisfied with his work. We are, however, especially when those great Rodgers & Hart tunes are performed by the likes of Judy Garland, Janet Leigh, Perry Como, Lena Horne, June Allyson, Cyd Charisse, Betty Garrett, Ann Sothern, Mel Torme, Allyn McLerie, Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen. The musical highlights include Garland's powerhouse rendition of Johnny One-Note, Kelly's Slaughter on 10th Avenue dance solo, Horne's interpretation of Where or When, Allyson's take on Thou Swell, and, best of all, Rooney's premiere performance of I'll Take Manhattan, which he allegedly had just written on the back of an automobile advertisement!

Product Details

Release Date:	07/24/2007
UPC:	0012569795327
Original Release:	1948
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	2:01:00
Sales rank:	11,411

Special Features

Commentary by historian Richard Barrios; New featurette, extensive audio outtakes, vintage short and classic cartoon; Lover and You're Nearer outtakes; Theatrical trailer; Subtitles: English & Fran?ais

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Drake	Richard Rodgers
Mickey Rooney	Lorenz Hart
June Allyson	Herself
Cyd Charisse	Margo Grant
Perry Como	Eddie Lorrison Anders
Ann Sothern	Joyce Harmon
Betty Garrett	Peggy Lorgan McNeil
Janet Leigh	Dorothy Feiner
Marshall Thompson	Herbert Fields
Jeanette Nolan	Mrs. Hart
Richard Quine	Ben Feiner
Clinton Sundberg	Shoe Clerk
Harry Antrim	Dr. Rodgers
Ilka Gruning	Mrs. Rodgers
Emory Parnell	Mr. Feiner
Helen Spring	Mrs. Feiner
Edward Earle	James Fernby Kelly
Judy Garland	Guest Star
Ramon Blackburn	Guest Star,Guest Star
Gene Kelly	Guest Star
Vera-Ellen	Guest Star
Mel Torme	Guest Star
Allyn Ann McLerie	Singer in Garrick Gaeities
John Butler	Bit part
Dee Turnell	Herself
Sig Frohlich	Western Union Messenger
Lena Horne	Herself
The Blackburn Twins	Actor

Technical Credits

Fred F. Finklehoffe

Guy Bolton

Arthur Freed	Producer
Fred F. Finklehoffe	Screenwriter
Warren Newcombe	Special Effects
Guy Bolton	Screenwriter
Dave Friedman	Producer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Words and Music
1. Credits [1:47]
2. How We Met [5:08]
3. Manhattan [5:00]
4. Farewell Party [5:30]
5. There's a Small Hotel [3:20]
6. Mountain Greenery [4:39]
7. Raves for the Unknowns [3:32]
8. Walking Tall; Letdown [4:55]
9. Where's the Rainbow? [4:27]
10. Younger/Older Man [4:59]
11. On Your Toes/The Girl Friend/This Can't Be Love [4:59]
12. Heartbroken Hart [4:32]
13. Blue Room [5:58]
14. Up a Tree With Dorothy [5:42]
15. Thou Swell [:59]
16. With a Song in My Heart [4:55]
17. Where or When [2:40]
18. The Lady Is a Tramp [2:21]
19. Engagements [3:26]
20. So This Is Hollywood [2:37]
21. I Wish I Were in Love Again [3:56]
22. Johnny One Note [4:21]
23. Blue Moon [2:44]
24. Lost Larry [3:43]
25. A Flop [4:19]
26. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue [3:01]
27. Final Curtain [7:47]
28. Closing Montage [5:12]
29. Cast List [4:00]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Words and Music
Play Movie
Scene Selections
Special Features
Commentary by Richard Barrios
A Life in Words and Music
Going to Blazes!
The Cat That Hated People
Outtakes
Play All
Lover
You're Nearer
Audio Outtakes
Play All
Falling in Love With You/You Took Advantage of Me
I Feel at Home With You
Manhattan
My Funny Valentine
My Heart Stood Still
On Your Toes
Way Out West on West End Avenue
Theatrical Trailer
Languages
Spoken Languages
English
Subtitles
English
English for the Hearing Impaired
Français
Off

Editorial Reviews

Hollywood biopics have justifiably been criticized for playing fast and loose with the facts, especially when dealing with composers and lyricists. Words and Music is an extreme example of this, the historical accuracy of which is practically nil. This wouldn't have really mattered had the resulting screenplay been more palatable, blessed with more interesting characters, or possessed of witty and sparkling repartee. Unfortunately, it's a clichéd story with lines the viewer can finish before they're out of the characters' mouths. Matters aren't helped by the leads; Tom Drake is dull and Mickey Rooney annoying. What saves the film are the songs and their performers. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote some of the finest songs of their day, each imbued with Rodgers' incredible melodic facility and Hart's astounding wordplay, and most of the interpreters present do them full justice. Judy Garland and Lena Horne win highest marks, with a vigorous "Johnny One Note" and a blazing "The Lady Is a Tramp," respectively. "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" is truncated somewhat, but danced brilliantly by Gene Kelly and, cast surprisingly well against type, Vera Ellen. Even June Allyson, singing "Thou Swell," turns in a superior performance. Production values are high, as expected of an MGM musical of the period, and the vocal arrangements are a lot of fun. Words and Music would be followed the next year by Night and Day, a film about Cole Porter that was also largely fictionalized.