Anything Goes *** (1936, Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charles Ruggles) – Classic Movie Review 9276

Director Lewis Milestone’s 1936 black and white musical Anything Goes [Tops Is the Limit] is a revamped version of the great stage show for the movies, based on the play by Guy Bolton and P G Wodehouse, with a famous score by Cole Porter, and stars Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, and Charles Ruggles.

Unfortunately, Cole Porter’s great Broadway show is gutted of all but three of its wonderful tunes (‘Anything Goes’, ‘You’re the Top’, ‘I Get a Kick Out of You’) in this happily cast (especially Crosby, Merman, Ruggles, Ida Lupino and Arthur Treacher) and sprightly made romantic musical, set aboard a liner, where the hero follows a beautiful blonde to rescue her.

Most of the plot has gone too, so it is surprising they kept Ethel Merman from the original Broadway production, but luckily they did and she teams marvellously with Bing Crosby, and belts out two of her greatest numbers, ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘I Get a Kick Out of You’, in the finest style.

Crosby joins her for ‘You’re the Top’ (with new lyrics), and he sings ‘Sailor Beware’ (by Richard A Whiting and Leo Robin), ‘Moonburn’ (by Hoagy Carmichael and Edward Heyman) and ‘My Heart and I’ (music by Friedrich Hollaender, lyrics by Leo Robin).

The current 35 mm print is called Tops Is the Limit, with the title changed because of the 1956 remake of Anything Goes, with Bing Crosby, Donald O’Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire and Mitzi Gaynor.

The original Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theater in New York City on 21 November 1934 ran for 420 performances.

Ruggles replaced W C Fields.

Merman starred with Frank Sinatra and Bert Lahr in a TV production telecast live on 28 February 1954.

Merman recalled: ‘The writers who used to think up the books that were wrapped around Gershwin or Cole Porter scores, started from scratch, with only their bare cupboards and an unmanageable sense of humour to guide them.’

Also in the cast are Grace Bradley, Ida Lupino, Chill Wills, Arthur Treacher, Robert McWade, Richard Carle, Margaret Dumont, Jerry Tucker, Edward Gargan, Matt McHugh, Harry Wilson, Matt Moore, Jack Mulhall, Jack Adair, Philip Ahn, Sam Ash, Jimmy Aubrey, Frank Baker, George Beranger, Eddie Borden, Jane Buckingham, John Carradine, Monte Carter, G Pat Collins, Monte Collins, Heinie Conklin, George Cooper, J Gunnis Davis, Billy Dooley, Ben Erway, Budd Fine, Neil Fitzgerald, Lotus Liu, Keye Luke, Torben Meyer, Jack Norton, Franklin Parker, Snub Pollard, Oscar Rudolph, Fred Santley, Rolfe Sedan, Phil Tead, Laura Treadwell, Guy Usher, Jane Wyman and Tammany Young.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9276

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com