Bells Are Ringing
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Movie Reviews of Bells Are Ringing
Movie Review: My favorite movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know how the screenplay would have fared without these actors and this music, Comden and Green lag in the playwring end of it I think. I don't like them. Though their lyrics have some charm and do their jobs adequately. I think that's C&G's strong suit. I saw this movie when I was a freshman in high school and fell in love with both Judy Holliday and the flick. Everyone one in it puts his heart into it and does a wonderful job. I think C&G did an excellent job of adapting their libretto to the screen, though they narrowed the scope (compare the original nightclub number with the movie's, the movie's fit the pared down version better, but I much preferred the Bway version, perfect). I owned 2 VHS copies and now I own 2 DVDs, I adore this film. Judy Holliday will melt your heart and delight you, Dean Martin was a dream (though I missed Sydney Chaplin's delicious gravelly voice), the songs (only a few were left out (but, sadly, excellent ones, you can see one of them in the extras, "Is It A Crime?" - it was a crime to leave that out of the flick!) two substitutions, I liked both the first and what it replaced, the first love duet in Martin's apt, and I thought Martin's do it yourself solo was much better than the original), the songs were right on all the way through, not a clunker in the lot. I have in fact only 2 complaints about this movie. And that was in the editing, I saw 2 very sloppy places where obviously the camera had stopped, the actors had moved, then gone back to their original positions and the filming resumed, I read that it was a low-budget flick, but those were the only places where it showed. I can't say enough nice things about this film, it was warm, humorous, touching, no lagging in momentum, it moved right along. Incidentally, contrary to the Amazon staff reviewer, I do not consider Judy Holliday "brassy"! What a put down. And I disagree with the reviewer who called Jule Styne the greatest of Bway songwriters. Un-uh. That was Rodgers and Hart. Then Gershwin without Ira. Then Cole Porter. Then Jule Styne. And (sigh) from there on it's tin pan alley all the way. I can't say enough good things about this movie, the colors (like Judy Holliday's beautiful summer dresses), the action, the rare funny remark, the songs, it was wonderful.Movie Review: Just In Time...Bells Are Ringing is on DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
Back at a time when there were no answering machines, all smart New Yorkers solved there problems by subscribing to Susanswerphone.
Ella Peterson (Judy Holliday) is the switchboard operator for Suanswerphone, along with her cousin and owner of the business, Sue (Jean Stapleton). Ella, also known as Melisande Scott, is very committed to her job and enjoys helping out each subscriber in a personal way - whether it be a muster plaster for an opera star with laryngitis, a suit for an aspiring actor, or a break for a dentist composing songs on an air hose. But the subscriber Ella spends most of her time on is Mr. "Plaza O Double 4 Double 3" a.k.a Jeffrey Moss (Dean Martin), a struggling play writer who fondly refers to her as "Mom." They have "the perfect relationship. She can't see him and he can't see her." But that's about to change! And does Jeff get a surprise when he finds out that "Mom" isn't an old lady at all, but a very cute and charming blonde.
Judy Holliday's film career got started with the help of Katharine Hepburn, who Judy starred with in Adam's Rib (1949), along with Spencer Tracy. Bells are Ringing was Judy Holliday's final film after winning a Tony for her Broadway version. It was also the final musical that director Vincente Minnelli and screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green did together.
So, now that the party's over, I may as well say - This movie is a whole lot of fun for everyone!
Movie Review: Not a great movie, but a great performance
Summary: 5 Stars
Bells are Ringing marked the end of Freed Unit that turned out so many great 50s musicals for MGM. It was also, sadly, Judy Holliday's last film (she died of cancer just a few years later). Adolph Green and Betty Comden, who'd written original screenplays for On the Town, Singin' in the Rain, The Bandwagon and It's Always Fair Weather, wrote the book and lyrics for the Broadway show and adapted it for the screen. Vincente Minelli added a directing credit (his last for a musical) to his earlier ones for Easter Parade and And American in Paris.
On their past form this should have made Bells are Ringing another great musical, but much of the humor seems labored and some of the songs pretty ordinary (though I except The Party's Over and Just in Time, which are deservedly standards, and Green and Comden's witty name drop song).
So why did I give it five stars? Because of a standout performance of Holliday as Ella Peterson, who works at a telephone answering service and can't resist the urge to give her clients a helping hand. Her star quality lights up the screen in a performance honed on Broadway to the same perfection as Rex Harrison's in My Fair Lady or Robert Preston's in The Music Man.
The DVD includes a featurette with some interesting background narrated by Hal Linden who played the Dean Martin role on Broadway (but made only a token appearance, in the Midas Touch number, on film). Otherwise there are just some outtakes, an alternative version of The Midas Touch and the theatrical trailer.
Movie Review: THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE SEEN
Summary: 5 Stars
The new DVD version of BELLS ARE RINGING is stupendous. Widescreen, 5.1 Surround, with two deleted numbers and an alternate version of The Midas Touch thrown in as bonus features. There is also a nice Making-Of featurette featuring Hal Linden of "Barney Miller" fame, who was the headliner in the Midas Touch number...his film debut.
Well worth it if you like classic musical comedy.
Movie Review: Bells Are Ringing -- A Musical Comedy Worth Seeing
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't begin to tell you the joy I feel every time I see Bells Are Ringing. Judy Holliday was and is a total acting, comedic and musical talent who can't help but bring a smile to the viewer's face. Dean Martin is a perfect complement as the suave romantic interest to Judy Holliday's "Ella, Mal or Mom". This is a movie for all ages and like a fine wine, it just keeps getting better.