By https://www.movieposterdb.com/fanny-i54866/2c9ea6c0, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24234124
Fanny - (1961)
I felt quite foolish when
Fanny turned out
not to be a musical - I'd thought it was for the longest time, but in the end it's straight-narrative style served the story better. No breaking out in song for these young lovers and elderly curmudgeons and eccentrics. The lovely Leslie Caron was now 29 years-old, but she can pull off 18 easily. I've seen her in
An American in Paris,
GiGi,
Daddy Long Legs and she's also in
Chocolat. It's a story of love torn asunder by one young man's desire to be free and explore the world despite having to leave the love of his life behind (she insists he go, for she fears he'll eventually hate her for tying him down to Marseille.) This guy, Marius, is played by German actor Horst Buchholz, who'd just scored a good role in
The Magnificent Seven.
Fanny was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture. It was probably the least likely out of a crowd that included
The Hustler,
West Side Story (the eventual winner),
Judgment at Nuremberg and
The Guns of Navarone. That means I've not seen all of the Best Picture nominees for 1962. I thought
Fanny was okay. It looks really nice, all of the performers give their best, and it has a really nice score. Most importantly though, the two young leads have definite chemistry. The director wanted to call this film
Joshua Logan's Fanny until it was explained to him why that wasn't a good idea.
7/10
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Bye Bye Birdie - (1963)
There are some great songs in
Bye Bye Birdie - "One Last Kiss" is a real standout. The movie itself is broadly comedic, with loads of slapstick. It's a fictional narrative based on the hoopla surrounding the conscription of Elvis into the army, except here it's "Conrad Birdie" (Jesse Pearson), who is basically a glammed-up version of Elvis who sounds just like the King of Rock and Roll. I think the humour dates it quite a lot - especially considering this is making fun of the teen idol culture which was new at the time. Did you know that Dick Van Dyke is still alive? (Maybe not if you've stumbled upon this at a later date) He's 98 years-old. I tell you what I liked in this though - all those pastel colours. Did people really dress like that in the 60s? I have no idea.
6/10
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The Rescuers - (1977)
This brought back childhood memories I didn't know I still had. Really amazing that - I mean, those memories have been dormant for so long, but they were all rekindled as I recognized each segment of this film. I had the storybook (with added vinyl record) to help imprint this film into my young brain - and it did the trick. A classic. Imaginative illustration at it's old-time best.
8/10