Call Me Madam **** (1953, Ethel Merman, George Sanders, Donald O’Connor, Vera-Ellen, Billy De Wolfe, Walter Slezak) – Classic Movie Review 2614

The boisterous Ethel Merman is on top form as the hostess with the mostest  – and so are the whole cast – for Walter Lang’s very bright, lively and nimble 1953 film version of the ultimate great Irving Berlin hit musical Call Me Madam.

Merman, triumphantly reprising her Broadway role specially written for her by Berlin, plays popular Washington hostess Mrs Sally Adams in the Truman era. She is appointed US ambassador to the European grand duchy of Lichtenburg, where her high charisma sweeps the equally charming General Cosmo Constantine (George Sanders) off his foreign ministerial feet.

The Grand Duke Otto (Ludwig Stossel) and Grand Duchess Sophie (Lilia Skala) are negotiating a political marriage for their niece, Princess Maria (lovely Vera-Ellen, singing voice was dubbed by Carol Richards), in exchange for a substantial dowry. And they turn to the new ambassador for a much-needed American loan.

Billy De Wolfe is hilarious as Sally’s snooty chargé d’affaires Pemberton Maxwell, and Donald O’Connor has fun as her press secretary Kenneth Gibson, who is in love with Princess Maria.

The musical director Lionel Newman won the 1954 Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture. The great tunes include the highlights ‘It’s a Lovely Day Today’, ‘The Hostess with the Mostess’ and ‘You’re Just in Love’. Irene Sharaff was Oscar nominated for Best Costume Design Colour. Merman won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Lang’s sure-footed direction matches the skilled performing.

Unless it has been restored, the print is in poor order with jumps and colour fading. In this poor state, the film was out of circulation for many years but was released on DVD in 2004.

Also in the cast are Helmut Dantine, Walter Slezak, Steven Geray, Charles Dingle, Emory Parnell, Nestor Paiva, Percy Helton, Leon Belasco, Torben Meyer, Richard Garrick, Walter Woolf King and Fritz Feld.

The film replaces ‘Washington Square Dance’ with the older ‘International Rag’ and interpolates ‘What Chance Have I with Love?’ from Berlin’s Louisiana Purchase (sung and danced by Donald O’Connor).

It was fairly costly at $2.46 million and did quite well to take $2.85 million in US cinema rentals.

The stage production opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York on October 12 1950 starring Merman and ran for 644 performances.

O’Connor recalled: ‘We did some beautiful numbers. The one with the castle all broken down, and around the water, was beautiful music beautifully choreographed. Working with Vera-Ellen was such a joy. And there’s one that had everything: a very fast two-person number, tap dancing. That was, for me, my best dancing.’

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2614

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