Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

jacobs-greenwood Directed by Charles Walters with a screenplay by Helen Deutsch, who had earlier collaborated on Lili (1953), this Richard Morris play was made into a slightly above average Musical comedy starring Debbie Reynolds, who earned her only Oscar nomination (Best Actress) for playing the title role.It's a biographical account of a backwoods tomboy (who survived a flood as an infant!) whose woodsman husband, played by Harve Presnell, strikes it rich only to find, per her crude ways, she isn't accepted in Denver's snobbish old money high society. So, she and her husband venture to Europe where she becomes educated in food and fashion while becoming the toast of Paris, charming many with her uniquely boisterous Americanism.The Browns then return to Denver with several of the titled Royalty they'd met in tow. They host an hilarious, outlandish high society party of their own which, instead of prompting their acceptance, turns into a brawl! Molly later becomes famous for her spirit and feistiness when she survives the sinking of the Titanic!The film's Color Art Direction-Set Decoration, Cinematography, and Costume Design, as well as its Sound and Music Score, also received Oscar nominations. Unfortunately for producer Lawrence Weingarten, all of these categories were won by the Best Picture that year, My Fair Lady (1964).Ed Begley plays Molly's father, Audrey Christie the stuck-up neighbor; Jack Kruschen, Hermione Baddeley, and Hayden Rorke, among others, also appear. Most of the rest of the story revolves around the "on again, off again" relationship between Molly and her husband. Reynolds and Presnell sing all of the songs, the most memorable of which is Reynolds's "Belly Up to the Bar Boys" number, or the frequently reprised "I'll Never Say No".

mark.waltz On "Will and Grace", Debbie Reynolds' Bobbi Adler starred in a community theater production of "The Music Person" as "Professor Carol Hill". Flashback some 30 years to the mid 1960's when Reynolds got the chance to play another leading role in a Meredith Willson show, and a real-life woman of legend. It has been 100 years since the Titanic sank and the real life Molly Brown assisted panicky passengers on the lifeboats. While the stories vary to her involvement, the legend has not died. The 1960 Broadway show was a critically mixed musical that had a respectful run. After "The Music Man" was a smash movie, MGM set their sights on "Molly Brown", and cast their peppiest star of the 1950's in the role for which she is now most famous for. The result: An Oscar Nominated performance that many viewers claim the prize should have been hers.Baby Molly is first seen floating down the Colorado River, having survived a flood, and when next seen, she is a rambunctious teenager boasting "I Ain't Down Yet!" to her bullying cousins who tease her about her desire to leave their mountain home for the beautiful people of Denver. Leaving her loving grandfather (Ed Begley Sr.), Reynolds briefly works in a saloon, but her efforts to get to Denver are delayed when she falls in love with and marries Johnny Brown (Harve Presnell), a miner searching for gold. When they strike it rich, Molly and Johnny end up in Denver, but find that society, lead by the snooty Mrs. McGraw (stage veteran Audrey Christie) isn't going to cater to riffraff like her, no matter how many millions they are worth. So to show the stuffy society up, they go off to Europe and bag themselves a royal flush, come back, throw an outrageous party, then fight, separate, and long for each other in spite of their problems. It is when Molly returns home that she finds herself aboard the Titanic, grabbing herself a piece of history and proving herself truly unsinkable.This is a movie musical that works better on screen than on stage with its colorful Colorado mountain setting. I saw Reynolds and Presnell in a touring production of the show in 1988 and noticed a difference between the two, mostly based upon a book that while entertaining needed much tweaking. Reynolds and Presnell are supported by a wonderful supporting cast which also includes Hermoine Baddley as Mrs. McGraw's brassy mother who puts her daughter down a peg or two, and the delightfully imperious Martita Hunt ("Great Expectation's" Miss Haversham) as the Duchess who also adds her two cents to Mrs. McGraw for previously snubbing Molly. "Do you play, Mrs. McGraw?", she asks her after Molly promises to entertain them on the piano, obviously having set this up. "No, sorry." "Pity", she replies dryly as if dismissing a naughty servant.But this is Reynolds' show, and I personally feel that she deserved the Oscar this year. No other performer (maybe Judy Garland) could make you laugh and cry, yet sing, dance, be funny and serious, like Debbie Reynolds. She is outrageous in the dancing sequences, whether bellying up to the bar, or doing the high kicks of "He's My Friend", a wonderful new production added for the movie. Fortunately, she got to do this as well in the touring production, as well as sing the songs cut from the movie. ("My Own Brass Bed" is particularly memorable, but didn't make it into the film.) Presnell is a handsome leading man with a wonderful singing voice, but when I saw this on the big screen, I found his tendency to cross his eyes a bit distracting. This probably cut his leading man career down, but as a character actor (most memorably the father-in-law in "Fargo") he would find roles more suitable. Reynolds and Presnell have a wonderful duet, "I'll Never Say No", and Presnell has several fine solos as well, showing off his manly physique while building a home for Molly.Rumors have had "Molly Brown" as a possible contender for a Broadway revival with a tweaked book. I hope this is true, because Willson's songs, the magnificent choreography and the tale of a feisty heroine are the stuff that legends are made of.

brefane As a musical-comedy, The Unsinkable Molly Brown is easy on the eyes thanks to location filming and Daniel Flapp's Oscar nominated cinematography, but it's hard on the ears; not because of the score, but rather Reynolds' non-stop bellowing. The scene of Reynolds barking out orders at the other women on the Titanic lifeboat feels like an SNL skit. The film is a corny piece of Americana that's more busy than entertaining. Harve Persnell has a powerful voice, but is largely wooden and adrift, and he and Reynolds are not well-matched. The scenes depicting the sinking of the Titanic and its aftermath are rushed, and the ending is anti-climatic. Like many movie musicals, it has a few decent musical numbers, I particularly liked He's My Friend, but little else is memorable. Molly Brown's story is so much more interesting than what is presented here.

Hayes595 "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" is a well written, well acted movie. But for some reason, every time I watch this movie, it reminds me of another brilliant movie before this: Gone With the Wind. "TUMB" is, to sum it up, a movie about a women that doesn't want to live without money...much like Scarlett O'Hara. Molly ends up changing her views and personality because of the money, and who she wants to impress. But of course, "TUMB" is unique it its own way, and should be more recognized. Molly is a likable character, and has a very funny personality, while what she says is hilarious. JJ Brown, her husband is as likable as well, but we should have seen much more of him. In the end it turns into a likable romance classic, that you will easily remember for a long time to come.