Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

grizzledgeezer I recently reviewed "Jack the Giant Killer", a blatant ripoff of "Seventh Voyage of Sinbad". I'd never seen "There's No Business Like Show Business", and wasn't aware it ripped off "Singin' in the Rain".The latter was inspired (if that's the right word) by Arthur Freed's desire to exploit the many songs he and Nacio Brown had written. Betty Comden and Adolph Green provided an amusing script about Hollywood's transition from silent films to talkies, and (as they say) history was made.Though MGM was the king of musicals (Freed headed its musical unit), Fox must have longed for the same kind of success. Why not a film tapping Irving Berlin's huge library of successful songs? Unfortunately, the story is nothing more than the usual romantic claptrap, with a young woman (MM) threatening to disrupt a show-biz family. Who cares?Unless you enjoy watching lavish production numbers featuring Berlin's songs, and/or hearing Ethel Merman (whose voice could crack titanium) belt 'em out, there's nothing of interest for most viewers -- then or now. The critics mostly panned it, and the production was so expensive "No Biz" didn't turn a profit. Whatever current respect it holds is probably based more on nostalgia than quality.* It's generally considered the best musical ever made. I find it a bit tedious. It's funny (Jean Hagen is hilarious as the silent actress with a silly voice), but there are too many songs. And Gene Kelly's athletic, self-conscious dancing has never appealed to me.

zetes A pretty weak, overlong musical chronicling the Five Donovans, a family vaudeville act who make an uneasy transition to Broadway after vaudeville collapses (as far as I can tell, this is not a biopic, but fiction). Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman are the parents. As adults, the three kids are played by Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor and Johnnie Ray. Marilyn Monroe joins them, much to Merman's consternation, as O'Connor's love interest, later in the picture. The songs are by Irving Berlin, but the arrangements are awful. Ethel Merman's shrill renditions of "Alexander's Ragtime Band" have been haunting me since I saw this picture. I never want to hear that song again. The film only really comes to life when Monroe is center stage. The costumes and production design are pretty good. Unbelievably, of the three Oscar nominations this received, one was for its screenplay!

marsh876 I love Irving Berlin and in fact, all of the stars in the movie. But I find it hard to watch. Despite the spectacular song and dance numbers, the movie is a bore-fest. It would have been better to limit the dialog and scenes in between the musical numbers to a minimum, like they do in a Broadway play. Instead, we are treated to a scene of Merman dunking O'Connor's head in a sink. Or pseudo-drama when a son says he wants to become a priest. So the father was an idiot. Who cares? The first number was Berlin's "Alexander's Rag Time Band". They sang it over and over with different nationalities in different sets. Yes, this was Berlin's first big hit, but it's not that good that we want to hear it played over and over and over again. Even Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" would get old after about the 5th consecutive replaying.The only reason to watch this movie, as others have pointed out, is to see Marilyn Monroe. Is there any scene in any movie where she is not wonderful? Obviously, my view is slanted towards her. Her voice is so rich, her singing, dancing and movements so sensual, anytime she's on the screen is magic. After her fabulous "Heat Wave" number, all Merman can do is run it down. As in the cheesiest of scripts, the characters remain fixed in their bold, brassy, rah-rah something characters.

preppy-3 Movie about a show biz family called the Donahues. There's mother Molly (Ethel Merman), father Terence (Dan Dailey), brother Tim (Donald O'Connor), daughter Katy (Mitzi Gaynor) and brother Steve (Johnnie Ray). There's no real plot but most of it deals with Tim falling in love with singer Vicky (Marilyn Monroe) and his problems with drinking.I've read about this movie for years. It seems everyone says it's loud, stupid and overblown. I finally caught it on the Fox Movie Channel (a GREAT print--colorful and letterboxed) and I can see why people don't like it. The plot is--to put it mildly--slim and ridiculously melodramatic. Despite the acting talents of the cast the dramatic scenes just don't work. The dialogue is full of groaners and it just falls flat. To make matters worse Johnnie Ray is a VERY untalented man. His voice is annoying, his acting atrocious and his singing is just so bad that it had me staring at the TV slack-jawed! Seriously--he can't sing at all (even he admitted it)! Thankfully he only has two songs. All this aside I still like the movie.The production numbers (and there are LOTS of them) are big, colorful and full of energy. The "Alexander Ragtime Band" number is certainly an eye-opener! All the stars (even Monroe!) belt out the songs with plenty of energy and life. Also the numbers never stop moving--it's impossible to get bored. Gaynor and O'Connor throw in some truly incredible tap-dancing in the movie and work well together. The costumes are---interesting. They're so garish and tacky that they become sort of fun to just look at! Also (with the exception of Ray) the acting was great. Merman and Gaynor steal the show--especially Gaynor when she starts crying at the end. It all ends in a HUGE production number with the cast belting out the title tune.So it IS a bad movie but the singing and dancing are great, the acting is wonderful and the elaborate sets and costumes keep your interest. Worth catching. I give it an 8.