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By
BILL CONIFF
"Finian's Rainbow" (1968) is
"something sort of grandish," to quote from one of
its songs, with an emphasis on the "sort of." It's
part of the last gasp of big-studio Hollywood
musicals, which included movies like "Star"
(1968), "Hello Dolly" (1969), "On a Clear Day You
Can See Forever" (1970) and "Song of Norway"
(1970). By the time "Mame" (1974) came around, the
formerly high-stepping form of entertainment was
dead. And dead it remains. "Moulin Rouge" and
"Chicago," which some consider possible
resurrections of the genre, are quite different
animals, with irony and self-consciousness
replacing the (somewhat artificial) innocence and
sincerity of golden-age musicals. Really, only
Disney animated musicals have continued the
tradition, albeit with more pop-inflected scores.
With "Finian's Rainbow," Francis Ford Coppola,
only 29 at the time and four years from the
breakthrough success of "The Godfather,"
consciously tried to honor the genre. The biggest
problem with the musical is the bloated script,
which provides ineffective padding between the
exceptional songs by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg,
some of the best Broadway has produced. In fact,
there are more standards here than in just about
any musical you can name: "How Are Things in
Glocca Morra," "Old Devil Moon," "Look to the
Rainbow," "That Great Come-and-Get-It Day," to
mention only a few. They are sung very well too,
although there is a little clashing of styles in
the updated lounge-type orchestrations for a
couple of them, most noticeably "Old Devil Moon."
But it still works. Amazingly, all but one of the
Broadway show's songs were retained, a rare thing
in Hollywood musicals. That's partly because
length was not an issue. "Finian's Rainbow" was a
145-minute "road show" movie, to be shown as a
theater "event" with an overture and intermission
(the music for which is included on the DVD).
It's hard to describe the mix of elements in this
fable-like story. Essentially, it's about an Irish
rogue (Fred Astaire) and his daughter, who arrive
in a town near Fort Knox. Astaire has chosen this
location to bury a pot of gold he's stolen from a
leprechaun (Tommy Steele), in the hopes that his
fortune will increase. The pot makes wishes come
true, including turning a bigoted Southern senator
(character actor Keenan Wynn) black. To the
unpalatable ingredients of this Irish stew,
Coppola added a worthless subplot about trying to
create a mint-flavored tobacco. It's all a mess.
In particular, the well-intentioned messages about
racial bigotry were dated by 1968, the year Martin
Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. In his DVD
commentary, Coppola mentions that he now wishes he
had cut almost everything but the songs.
Unfortunately, some of the choreography doesn't do
the songs any favor either. Coppola also goes into
some detail about how he had to fire choreographer
Hermes Pan, a favorite of Astaire's, due to the
weakness in that area.
Clark is lovely in the role of Finian's daughter.
Her singing is more pleasant, though less
characterful, than that of Ella Logan, the stage
originator of the role (who sounded like Eartha
Kitt with an Irish brogue). Don Francks, her love
interest, sings wonderfully as well. Steele is
aptly cast as the leprechaun. It's hard to imagine
who else could have been such a perfect fit for
the role at this point in time -- although Coppola
mentions another performer he would have
preferred. If Steele is never quite as charming as
he thinks he is, he's still enjoyable.
It's apparent as one watches "Finian's Rainbow"
that Fred Astaire realized it would be his swan
song as a dancer, as indeed it was -- unless you
count the few steps he did later with Gene Kelly
in "That's Entertainment II" (1976). He had
retired several times before, but this time --
nearing 70, and about 35 years after his famous
RKO musicals with Ginger Rogers -- you can tell
he's truly ready to hang up his dancing shoes. To
be brutally frank, by this point his charm seemed
more self-conscious and his dancing -- although
still spry -- more cautious and labored. That
makes the final scene, when one sees him in the
distance dancing away down a path, particularly
touching. By allowing Astaire such a graceful
exit, Coppola properly honored his long and
creative career.
The DVD provides a beautiful, pristine print. The
extras are exceptional. The Coppola commentary is
self-critical and fascinating -- one of the best
I've heard. The 1968 documentary of the premiere
of the movie is an enjoyable time capsule. The
only shame is that the one cut number,
"Necessity," was not included.
The "Finian's Rainbow" DVD is being sold
individually and as part of the "The Classic
Musicals Collection - Broadway to Hollywood,"
which also includes "Bells are Ringing," "The Band
Wagon," "Brigadoon" and "Easter Parade." |
