Tonight's Movie: Words and Music (1948) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

WORDS AND MUSIC (1948), MGM's musical tribute to the composing team of Rodgers and Hart, is now available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Tom Drake and Mickey Rooney play composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart in this 121-minute biopic. They're something of a movie odd couple, with Rooney's hyperactive Hart contrasting wildly with Drake's too-bland performance as his collaborator.

The dramatic aspects of the film, with Hart suffering from unrequited love for Peggy McNeil (Betty Garrett) and Rodgers romancing and marrying charming Dorothy Feiner (Janet Leigh), are largely invented yet quite watchable hokum. Among other things, the timelines don't always make sense, so I just enjoy the film as what might be termed a reality-based fantasy.

The dramatic scenes are sandwiched between a seemingly endless parade of MGM stars performing Rodgers and Hart numbers, and these scenes are the real reason to watch the movie, especially on this visually dazzling new Blu-ray. The disc is a new 1080p HD master from 4K scans of the original nitrate Technicolor negatives, and it's a real "wow." MGM musical fans have never had it so good!

Some of the musical numbers will be familiar from THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! (1974). Among the movie's wonderful musical moments:

*Perry Como singing "Blue Room" while Cyd Charisse dances

*Mel Torme singing "Blue Moon"

*Betty Garrett singing "There's a Small Hotel"

*Lena Horne singing "Where or When" and The Lady is a Tramp"

*June Allyson singing and dancing "Thou Swell" with the Blackburn Twins; her footwork is impressive!

*Judy Garland singing "Johnny One Note" and dueting "I Wish I Were in Love Again" with Mickey Rooney

*Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen dancing a stunning "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue"

The large cast also includes Ann Sothern, Marshall Thompson, Richard Quine, Jeanette Nolan, Harry Antrim, Dee Turnell, June Hedin, and Eileen Janssen.

WORDS AND MUSIC was directed by Norman Taurog, with photography by Charles Rosher and Harry Stradling (Sr.). The women's costumes, contributing hugely to the film's great look, are by favorite MGM designer Helen Rose.

A special note regarding Conrad Salinger's superb orchestrations, especially of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue": This film represents the "MGM musical sound" at its finest. Blu-ray sound quality is excellent.

Disc extras are largely copied over from the 2007 DVD, including a commentary track by Richard Barrios; the featurette "A Life in Words and Music"; deleted Perry Como music sequences; additional audio-only musical outtakes; the cartoon THE CAT THAT HATED PEOPLE (1948); and the short GOING TO BLAZES! (1948). A song selection menu is included for easy replay of favorite songs and dances.

Fans of MGM musicals are very fortunate to now have so many titles available in top-drawer Blu-ray editions thanks to the Warner Archive. WORDS AND MUSIC is highly recommended, and hopefully we'll see many more Warner Archive MGM musical releases continuing into the future.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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