Tonight's Movie: About Face (1952) - A Warner Archive DVD Review
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Like STOP, YOU'RE KILLING ME (1952), another Warner Bros. musical released by the Archive the same week, ABOUT FACE is based on a 1938 WB comedy. ABOUT FACE was based on BROTHER RAT (1938), while STOP, YOU'RE KILLING ME was based on A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER (1938). I've never seen either of the original films, but both are in my collection and will be reviewed here at a future date.
The musical remakes also share in common appearances by Virginia Gibson, a lesser-known performer appreciated by musical fans such as myself for films like PAINTING THE CLOUDS WITH SUNSHINE (1951) and SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954).
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The plot of ABOUT FACE is somewhat reminiscent of the recently watched WINTER CARNIVAL (1939); both films begin with trains full of young ladies descending on an all-male campus for a festive weekend. In ABOUT FACE the women are arriving at a military college, SMI.
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Alice surprises Biff with the news that he's soon to be a father, while Tony Williams (Gordon MacRae) and Dave Crouse (Dick Wesson) romance Lorna and Betty.
Since I haven't seen BROTHER RAT yet, I viewed ABOUT FACE strictly on its own terms. It's definitely not a top-flight Warner Bros. musical, due in part to a weak musical score by Peter De Rose and Charles Tobias, but I nonetheless found it colorful, engaging fun, with an appealing cast in a well-told story. Those who enjoy musicals or the cast will probably find it worth a look.
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The cast also includes Cliff Ferre, James Best, John Baer, and Mabel Albertson.
ABOUT FACE was directed by Roy Del Ruth, who has a cameo in the film as a professor. It was shot in Technicolor by Bert Glennon. The running time is 94 minutes.
The print looks excellent in places. While some scenes are a bit faded, it's not scratched and looks far better than STOP, YOU'RE KILLING ME, perhaps due in part to the fact that STOP, YOU'RE KILLING ME was shot in the inferior Warnercolor process.
There are no extras.
Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this DVD. Warner Archive releases are MOD (manufactured on demand) and may be ordered from Amazon and other online retailers.
2 Comments:
"Brother Rat" and I are old pals. It features the screen debut of Eddie Albert who starred in the very successful Broadway play. I had no idea it had been reworked as a musical. Nice cast and it sounds like they kept a lot of the humorous situations. Why mess with success? Sounds like a nice Sunday afternoon diversion.
Glad to get the feedback on BROTHER RAT, it sounds like fun -- any movie with Priscilla Lane is a movie I want to watch. :) A "Sunday afternoon diversion" is the perfect description -- may not be a great film but it's one I enjoyed watching.
Best wishes,
Laura
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