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The Happiest Millionaire [1967] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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I loved the film as a kid in 1967 - and my daughter enjoyed it 40 years on
Review date: 2008-09-21 Rating: 8 out of 10

It's ironic that some of the best protagonists of the film musical [e.g. Julie Andrews, Liza Minneli and Dick van Dyke] were at their peak in the 1960/70s when the musical had gone out of fashion. So sadly this debut showcase for sparky Brit songster Tommy Steele was pretty much his only major outing in films, other than the slightly disappointing 'Half a Sixpence' [bit too sad & not really for kids] and the far more jolly 'Finnian's Rainbow' [where he played Og the Leprechaun]. His is the stand-out performance of Happiest Millionaire, and his first song [and dance] number 'Fortuosity' is one of the film's highlights [although rather like Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins, cockney Tommy is stuck with an Irish accent in the movie, as he is cast as Irish immigrant John Lawless]. Critics didn't take to Steele's 'in your face' acting style, but this is largely due to the directors frequent camera close-ups and Steele's key role as narrator.

Screen legend Fred MacMurray [a friend of Walt's] plays eccentric Philadelphia millionaire Anthony Biddle, who takes a shine to John Lawless and hires him as the butler. It's 1916, and Mr. Biddle busies himself with his Biddle Boxing and Bible School (located in his stable) and his alligators in the conservatory. In fact the Mr. Biddle character is based on a real person: Colonel Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, a muscular Christian who founded the Drexel Biddle Bible Classes in 1907 and their curriculum of fighting-&-praying ultimately attracted 200,000 members. He taught jujitsu and dirty fighting to US Marines in both World Wars and died in 1948 aged 73. The movie follows the antics of his teenage daughter [Cordy] who meets the handsome young man, Angier Duke, at a social dance. Naturally his equally rich parent's don't take to the Biddle household mayhem.

This movie was panned by the critics and flopped at the cinema, although I really enjoyed seeing it there as an 11 year old way back in 1967. The light-hearted capitalist millionaire storyline probably just seemed too out of touch and dated compared to the mood of youth at the time, who were dealing with social upheaval, student riots, anti-Vietnam demonstrations, and the release of The Beatles 'Sgt. Peppers' album. The movie was Oscar nominated for costume though. It was Walt Disney's last movie [he died during production]. He hand-picked a cast of brilliant actors though, that included Tommy Steele, Fred MacMurray, Greer Garson [in her final film], Geraldine Page, Lesley Ann Warren and Gladys Cooper, and they all labour away under Walt's personal supervision. A master of unconventional casting, Disney personally selected 8-time Oscar nominated Geraldine Page [hot from Chekhov's The Three Sisters] for the mother-in-law role after rejecting fifty other actresses. Perhaps the film is overly long at nearly three hours and the storyline is fairly modest, but it difficult not to be drawn along by the sheer enthusiasm of the cast, and there are many charming moments.

The Happiest Millionaire is undeniably a children's film, and it should suite any child or young teenager that likes the musical genre [e.g. Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]. My daughter [14] loves musicals such as 7 brides for 7 brothers and The Sound of music, so I tried her with this NTSC DVD [the movies not available on a PAL region 2 DVD at the moment]. It took her two nights to get through, but she thoroughly enjoyed the film, hence our 4* rating. This is the `road-show' version of the movie and has all the cut scenes restored [these were cut at first release in an attempt to boost audience figures] - hence the film's length of 172 minutes on this DVD. Usefully the movie has an intermission halfway. Movie format is widescreen 1.66:1, and picture and sound quality is pretty good on the small screen. The only special DVD features are subtitles in French & Spanish and Dolby surround sound, plus there's a single page insert of 'scene selections'. The `Mary Poppins' Shermans' team was bought in for the songs, although many are fairly forgettable if divorced from the screen choreography - but the films no-where near as bad as many critics suggested, and I would say it has a similar entertainment value to 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', although aimed at a slightly older audience. As a child my fave musical numbers from the film were 'Fortuosity' and 'Bye-um-pum-pum', e.g. John Lawless singing `Fortuosity': "Well now, ain't this an elegant neighbourhood, all the residents dressed so fine! One day off the boat am I, with a job that's near, an' mine! 'Tis a job with an elegant millionaire, and his elegant family! Today I move from immigrant - to high society!".

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Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Tommy Steele
Fred MacMurray
Greer Garson
Gladys Cooper
Geraldine Page

Creators:
Fred MacMurray (Primary Contributor)
Tommy Steele (Primary Contributor)
Edward Colman (Cinematographer)
Cotton Warburton (Editor)
Bill Anderson (Producer)
Walt Disney (Producer)
AJ Carothers (Writer)
Cordelia Drexel Biddle (Writer)
Kyle Crichton (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
EAN: 0786936233810
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, DVD-Video, NTSC,
Release date: 2004-06-01
Universal product code (UPC): 786936233810
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 141 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1967
Language: English (Original Language)

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