Finian's Rainbow

source: Finian's Rainbow

First, FINIAN'S RAINBOW does not take place in Tennessee. The movie only mentions Rainbow Valley, but onstage the valley is in Missitucky, home to Fort Knox and the gold depository that was thankfully saved by James Bond in later (for the movie, earlier) years. The movie's flaws lie not so much in the updating to 1968 as in the eyes of today's viewers. We have sadly grown used to movies that are paced much faster than this one. As a result, those too young to have grown up with older movies will consider FINIAN'S RAINBOW very slow and overlong. Fundamentally, though, FINIAN'S RAINBOW suffers the same afflictions all stage musicals suffer when transcribed to the big screen: Loss of intimacy. Hollywood always makes stage musicals 'way too big. They think musicals have to take place all over the continent. Oddly, a single stage worked for the play, and still does. (Possibly the rare exception to this is THE MUSIC MAN which was "opened up" only enough, not too much.) All movies are of their times, especially movie musicals. Accept that and enjoy FINIAN'S RAINBOW's wonderful score and excellent performances by the entire cast.

Finian (Fred Astaire) and his daughter (Petula Clark) arrive in the fictional Southern American state of Missitucky. There, Finian encounters several problems--including a leprechaun who wants his pot of gold back, a racist senator and the need to marry off his daughter. How all these are worked out are something for you to discover if you decide to see the film. "Finian's Rainbow" was a very successful play back in 1947. However, because it directly addressed racial prejudice, studios passed on making a film out of it. Efforts to have the play 'cleaned up' to please a wider (in other words, more prejudiced) audience were in vain, as the playwright refused (justifiably) to sanitize the film. However, by 1968, its themes of racial harmony and bigotry were much more acceptable and current--and so the film was finally made. In this sense, the film was very timely. HOWEVER, when it came to the music, by 1960s standards it was VERY corny. In particular, the songs sung by the leprechaun were amazingly bad--with some horrible lyrics. But, the bad lyrics weren't confined to his songs but occasionally popped up among other cast members (such as Clark who sang a line that went 'Zsa-Zsa Gabor-ah' and later when Astaire sung about 'dames'). Because of this, a bit of trimming would have greatly improved the film--making it far less dated and silly. Plus, the bad moments really detract from its central message of racial harmony--a laudable theme that occasionally got lost among the silliness. It also meant a few too many songs--a problem that can hurt any musical. Overall, this can truly be called a mixed bag. While it stars Fred Astaire and I LOVE him in films, this just isn't all that great a film. A time-passer--and that's about all--even though it has some nice moments. By the way, for years Fred Astaire was NEVER shown dancing in films unless ALL of him was shown. He felt it detracted from the dancing if he wasn't shown from head to toe. Well, he did NOT negotiate such a contract with the folks making "Finian's Rainbow", as he DOES dance and you don't see him from head to toe in songs such as "The Idle Rich". Perhaps this was due to his age and his slowing down a bit--which might explain why this was his last musical.

I remember seeing this film when it was first released. I absolutely hated it - too slow-moving, and the male romantic lead was a cipher. Even the songs were manipulated to the point that I could barely stand to listen to them. Tommy Steele was far too frenetic as Og, the leprechaun. Its saving graces were Fred Astaire, Petula Clark (although she seemed too old in the role of Sharon), and Keenan Wynn. I've avoided it like the plague ever since. Tonight, thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I finally watched it again. And you know what? It's a lot better than I remembered. I don't know what has caused the turnabout in my opinion, except perhaps the lack of quality of most of the musical films that have come along since FINIAN'S RAINBOW in 1968. It still has a few longueurs, but generally it's very enjoyable. Even Tommy Steele isn't too bad. Don Francks is still dramatically stiff, but he's better than I remembered, and he sings well. And oh, those songs! It's a shame that "Necessity" was cut, but otherwise, what a string of melody - How are Things in Glocca Morra, Old Devil Moon, When I'm not Near the Girl I Love, and more. Thank you, TCM, for giving me a second chance with this film!

Whimsical is not a word I get to use often, but that's exactly what Finian's Rainbow is. Based on the 1947 stage musical it's part fantasy and part political satire. The plot follows the quintessential Irishman Finian(Fred Astaire in his last full screen role) and his daughter Sharon (Petula Clark) as they basically flee to America with a pot of gold stolen from the leprechaun, Og (Tommy Steele). After an amazing opening credit sequence ("Look To The Rainbow"), they arrive in "Misitucky" which is supposed to be near Fort Knox, to bury the gold in the belief that it will multiply. The small hamlet of Rainbow Valley becomes their home, a kind of Tobacco Road with very poor but very happy hippie-like inhabitants. Here Sharon meets her love interest Woody (Don Francks) Add Keenan Wynn as the villain, Senator Hawkins, a racist Southern stereotype that during the course of the story turns black. Several minor plots weave in and out, creating a rich and unique film. Astaire used to sound stages and carefully planned dance numbers balked at dancing outside in a field and the director, Francis Ford Coppola (an odd choice, but what's done is done) tried his best to meet his demands. Ironically the field sequence, which comes early in the film is beautiful and very well done by the choreographer Hermes Pan, who was subsequently fired from the film. Petula Clark clearly steals the movie. The camera loves her in this and her natural beauty and performance are such a pleasure to watch. Astaire, who was criticized cruelly for his appearance (he was 69 at the time) is as usual charming and no one danced like he did. Francks holds his own and makes a nice compliment to Clark. Tommy Steele's performance rolics between delightful and way too over the top. Beautifully filmed, it does suffer from jarring "this is real, this is fake" scenery but if you just go with it, it's not that bad. The DVD presents Astaire's dance numbers complete and full body (something Astaire always insisted on but was overlooked in the original release) Finian's Rainbow is known now more for many of it's songs than itself as a whole, but it's still very much worth a look, especially if you love musicals.

As in most musicals with inane stories, this one is no exception. However, if you can get past the plot, sit back and thoroughly enjoy what I pick as the most wonderful singing and dancing put on film! This movie, adapted from a Broadway play of the same name, contains several of my most favorite tunes performed by a wonderful cast. Many times each year, I put on my tape, and escape.

Multiple levels of dramatic material exist in this film. At first glance it involves a serious amount of musical material. For such a film of initial minimal weight, there are several segments of song and dance lasting over 6 minutes. Other well-known musicals stick to shorter and more infrequent tunes. The first Glocca Morra scene and the "Betrothed" scene are lengthy and wide in scope. The music includes not only song but also lots of dance, changes of tempo and style of music, and story development. It's important to pay attention to not only the words of songs but also to the events of the drama that are told through music. On another level are quite modern social discussions. The idea of a utopia is focused on clearly as both a positive and negative idea. Rainbow Valley, when magnified, is a sort of community where all residents are of equal status and are ruled by a single man and his lackeys. Racism is also a topic that is discussed in a more blatant manner, and at most times in a comedic manner. Finian's Rainbow portrays plenty social mockery of the view of blacks as subordinates in a "southern" community while not abandoning humor at any point. The actors are charming (Petula Clark and Fred Astaire act wonderfully) and the music is substantially connective throughout the movie. The film is not as simple as most see it. To say the least, Finian's Rainbow deserves to be recognized as a significant addition to the genre of the musical. How are things in Glocca Morra?

Finian's Rainbow did well on Broadway in 1947. But it was about racism, and nobody wanted to make a movie of it. I can't imagine what made Warner Brothers think that in 1968 Finian's time had finally come. Maybe they just wanted to adapt a musical for old Fred Astaire. They made a "bold" decision, or at least I'm sure they thought so, to retain all the racial discrimination stuff. And to give a 1947 musical added appeal for hippie-era audiences they hired Francis Ford Coppola, who was under 30 and could therefore be trusted by hippies. At that point he had directed only two features, a student film which played in theaters and made some money, and Dementia 13, a pretty good horror movie. In a nutshell -- a pistachio would be about right for the depth of this plot, waggish old Irishman Astaire and his daughter Petula Clark, who was older than Coppola, have just arrived in the "mythical" state of Missitucky. They lease some land in Rainbow Valley, which is populated by an absurdly clean-cut bunch of interracial sharecroppers. Finian has stolen a crock of gold from the leprechauns, and means to bury it in Rainbow Valley because of its proximity to Fort Knox. It is his demented belief that burying it here will cause the gold to grow. He is pursued by Monkees-type pop star (invented by publicists) Tommy Steele (age 32) as a leprechaun who is turning mortal because that's what happens when your 3-wish-granting gold is stolen. Steele is easily the best thing in the movie. I love to see a grown man scamper and cavort. He has a couple of close-ups which I think are Harpo quality. Everything he says is funny and his songs are just the cutest. The songs are written by E.Y. Harburg and composed by Burton Lane. Harburg wrote the Wizard of Oz songs (composed by Harold Arlen). Harburg obviously had a thing about rainbows. Harburg first knew and loved W.S. Gilbert's work as a writer of light satiric verse. He professed to be amazed when he learned that Arthur Sullivan composed music that went along with that crazy stuff. The songs are great and reason enough to see this long two hour twenty five god damn minute movie. And Tommy Steele. Petula's good. It depends on your taste but Fred Astaire isn't bad. He was better when he was even older, like in Ghost Story. The movie is CLUELESS and often EMBARRASSING. It is Without Guts and tries to appeal too broadly. It is abnormally flabbily edited; scenes shuffle along forever. One of the subplots added for the screenplay is about the sharecroppers trying to develop a strain of tobacco that is pre-mentholated. We're supposed sympathize because their minty cancer leaves won't burn and rejoice at the end when they inexplicably burst into smoky flame. One of the wishes gets wasted mistakenly turning a bigot senator into a black man, then another wish spent to turn him back after he learns his lesson and his attitude gets adjusted. Petula's young hero boyfriend is 40 and has fake hair. For good Irish whimsy type fun watch the Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

I normally like movie musicals but not this one. At the time, young director Francis Ford Coppola was in way over his head and clearly out of his element. He did not know how to shape dialog or stage the songs - he seems unbelievably clueless. The movie crawls along at a snail's pace. It absolutely amazes me that the studio didn't pull him off the project after the first few weeks. There's hardly anything to recommend this film. Fred Astaire and Petula Clark's talents were really wasted here and it's almost painful to watch. Amazingly, the director and cameraman did not even pull the cameras back far enough to see Astaire's feet when he was dancing! The feet or legs are actually at the edge of the frame or sometimes out of frame altogether. Some good music, lousy story, BAD direction and a movie worth missing. If you are interested in good movie musicals of the same era, try Music Man 1962, Sound of Music 1965, Funny Girl 1968, Hello Dolly 1969, Godspell 1973.

In the oh-so-great Fred Astaire's last musical movie, he wears no top hat, white tie or tails, but one step and you know he's Fred Astaire. His last proves to be one of his most memorable roles, playing the crafty Irishman in the heartland of the American south, amid the bigoted senators, gospel sharecroppers and burying a pot of Leprechaun gold. Astaire's Irish accent is remarkably well- handled, and he plays the role much like Gene Wilder's portrayal of Willy Wonka, or Dick Van Dyke's portrayal of Bert, the Chimney-sweep. The songs do not work with his voice as well as they should, but it's still a delight to see him dance, especially working with Hermes Pan, his old partner choreographer from his old films of the Golden days. As the top part of the movie, he runs a close race against Petula Clark as his daughter, and Tommy Steele as Og, the Leprechaun becoming a mortal man. Petula Clark may not look the part, and may not be as youthful as Sharon should be, but she is a marvelous actress, and sings the songs beautifully, and why her opening rendition of "Look to the Rainbow" is not included in the soundtrack is still a mystery to me. Steele may appear overbearing at times, but his performance is extremely well done, and he sings and dances "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love (I Love the Girl I'm Near)" with all the charm and grace of a young Gene Kelly. Veteran character actor Keenan Wynn is also good as the racist senator turned black by a mistaken wish, and his "mint julep" skit is just priceless. Barbara Hancock is a spectacular dancer, and her mute innocence makes her a marvelous character, straight out of Truman Capote. Yip Harburg, the genius behind "Over the Rainbow" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" gives us a marvelous depression-era score of negro work-songs and black gospel choirs, mixed surprisingly well with the Irish ballads and drinking songs of Sharon and Finian. It is plain to see that this is Copolla, of "Godfather" fame's first film, because he is plainly trying to find his style. But he directs the anti-racist story very well, which brings us to another point: the story is a remarkably liberal take on the segregationist southern politics that still existed in the 60s. So watch this movie, and see a legend doing one of his best and most unusual roles yet! And see it for everything else too, if you can. 7/10.