A short time after these two parted, the "Lover Come Back" star became a wife again to George Weidler. Day never had a lover by her side during old age, but she appreciated the efforts of her only child, a few good friends, and her dearest pets. Jimmy Durante and Martha Raye though, are very good in comic roles, especially the veteran Durante. This film was a bit of a disaster at the box officeand rightfully so. (Although the film eventually made a substantial profit through rentals, DVDs and TV showings, including a $1million deal.). Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Perhaps, as some reviewers have suggested, their comedic talents were underutilized. While it's hard to imagine, spectacular Circus films are often some of the dullest pictures. by Jas1 15 May 2008, 19:09, Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests, Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. Unfortunately, Billy Roses Jumbo opened in New York at Radio City Music Hall during a newspaper strike and did not get reviewed by the all-important critics. He is trying to lure the elephant off the circus grounds, and is moving very quietly followed by Jumbo, and is being nonchalant while doing this. The film was Doris Day's last screen musical. What is causing the plague in Thebes and how can it be fixed? Maybe that's because she saw herself as bit of a tomboy, as a young girl. | Photo: Getty Images. by webmaster 13 May 2008, 08:25, Unread post I'll skip through the clown parts too it's not that I'm scared of them.. but it was boring.. and they kinda creep me out.. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. And you'd never figure that the great Busby Berkeley staged the musical numbers, because they sorely lack the punch of his earlier musicals. by miss maxwell 12 May 2008, 13:09, Unread post Portrait of Doris Day for the Paramount Pictures film "The Man Who Knew Too Much," circa 1956 | Photo: Getty Images. Looking haughty and insulted, Durante stretches to his full height, and asks, " ELEPHANT? Doris Day Dies Nearly 2 Months After Celebrating 97th Birthday She survived a horrific car accident that cut short her career as a child dancer Day was a distinguished child dancer in her. You are invited to rate and comment on the 39 films of Doris Day. But then again you didn't watch this film for the story. However, the real joys are veterans Martha Raye and Jimmy Durante, whose What elephant? line from this movie has rightly become classic: watch to find out why. London Radio Times. In one sequence of uninterrupted takes, she jumps and flips over bars with the agility of a circus performer. Did Doris Day do all the horse riding in Calamity Jane? And I love "Why Can't I?" In conclusion, a pleasure to watch and recommended for Rodgers/Hart and Doris Day fans. Doris Day made famous Oscar winning song "Secret Love" in the film "Calamity Jane." This incredibly gifted actress and singer ushered in the award . [right] | Photo: Getty Images. It was nominated for an Academy Award for the adaptation of its Rodgers and Hart score. I didn't think I'd like it.. but much to my surprise.. That was a huge loss for her.. As a result, the film did not do as well as it was projected. by BabeWilliams 12 May 2008, 17:30, Unread post Raye and Day are especially deft. It's no wonder that the movie was a box office failure, and was one of the final nails in the coffin of the Hollywood musical until "The Sound Of Music" temporarily revived the genre a few years later. She is unaware that Sam is the son of circus mogul John Noble, whose ambition is to buy the Wonder Circus for himself. Henceforth all of Doris's films would be screen comedies in which she may have sung a ditty or two in the film or over the title credits. Jumbo and his trainer Matthew Scott, 1885. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Billy Rose's Jumbo is a 1962 American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, and Martha Raye. I have never been able to understand why it didn't do well at the box office because I really think it is a lovely movie and it seems that Doris likes it too with good cause. She said in her biography that. The story may be silly and not the most focused, but it is very charming and warm-hearted as well that you don't care so much when the film makes a big and successful effort to entertain regardless. Jane owns a beautiful ranch in New Mexico, where she horse rides, explores on her quad bike and goes fly fishing. But her house is full of different people now. Star Doris Day delivers the lovely Rodgers and Hart songs superbly, especially the sublime My Romance. . Portrait of Doris Day circa 1965 | Photo: Getty Images. I finally bought a DVD of Jumbo the other day so I can now erase . But to be honest, the movie left this viewer somewhat cold. She had two brothers, Richard, who died before she was born and Paul, a few years older. Day, who grew up in Cincinnati, had publicly recalled how, at the age of 10, she discovered that her father, a music teacher, was having an affair with the mother of her best friend. Bashara, a veterinarian, joined Days employ 20 years ago and soon became her business manager as well as the head of her foundation. . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. But the fans became the family she never really had, said DeVita. In 1885, Jumbo the elephant billed as the biggest elephant in the world was hit by a freight train and died on the tracks in St. Thomas, Ontario. With Doris Day singing "Little Girl Blue" and "My Romance" as highlights, this pleasing musical should keep the viewer out of trouble for well over two hours and in the world of the greatest show on earth. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. choreographer (uncredited) Charles Bidwell. Doris did have people who tried to take advantage of her, including her husbands, Walters added. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. How much hay is wasted when not using a feeder? "Doris did not believe that . Seven months later, on Aug. 9, 1969, several Manson family members murdered Sharon Tate and four other victims at Melchers former home. Her first time in love was at age 16. Busby Berkeley. I LOVED it!!! It's unfortunate that this circus musical comedy tends to live in the shadow of Cecil DeMille's non-musical "The Greatest Show on Earth", made nearly a decade earlier. Doris Day was an actress responsible for putting smiles on the faces of many. When feeding small squaresbales, hay waste when a feeder was not used (hay fed on the ground) was approximately 13% compared to only 1 to 5% when a feeder was used. Other than that, this tale about life in the circus may seem predictable with a paper-thin plot. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The film was Doris Days last screen musical. I love your new avatar too Miss.Maxwell Jumbo has always been in the top 3 of of my favourite Doris movies. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Doris looked great and i really liked the long hair it was a change , she never looked prettier than in Jumbo i think. Hotchner. I absolutely loved it! You can sometimes get a glimpse of wires helping her fly through the air, but other times its just her own skill and strength, and that of the other dancers, that keep her from hitting the ground. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. While her relationship with Baylor and Stone might be under probability, sources prove that she was indeed smitten with Willsthese two had a connection deeper than being a fan of each other's crafts. According to Charley Cullen Walters, Days publicist for the past decade, it was the stars decision not to see Ryan. True to the films title, Stanwycks Vance Jeffords is an avenging woman in The Furies, set in the New Mexico Territory during the 1870s. Shortly after, in 2014, Day made her last public appearance at an event for her foundation. In 1950 it was announced Arthur Freed would produce and Howard Keel and Jimmy Durante would star. For 86 years, Jumbo stood in Barnum Hall and was a veritable mecca on campus. It demonstrated that even a top star like Doris Day has to make wise career choicesand this was Day's last musical. Day and Durante never disappoint and turn in their usual fine performances. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". During the 1930s and 1940s, MGMs output of musicals was vast. Donna Hall Fishburn, a veteran Hollywood stunt double and horsewoman who worked in hundreds of westerns in a 40-year career in which she doubled for Barbara Stanwyck in "The Maverick Queen," Debbie Reynolds in "How the West Was Won" and Doris Day in "Calamity Jane," has died. These rumors flew out when the athlete and his wife were believed to be involved in a divorce saga while Day was in a strained relationship with her third husband. The tale of Tufts official mascot, Jumbo the elephant, dates back to 1885. stand-in: Stephen Boyd (uncredited) Jean Harris. Barnum, wrote historian Luc Sante, embodied a unique combination of the showman, the preacher, the con artist, the speculator and the politicianthe epitome of his era and a model for future generations. Barnum was the founding father of American pop culture, a commodity he exported, turning showbiz into a global industry. **1/2 from ****. Who wants to open the movie discussion??? They lived in the Anacostia area with their father, who was a machinist, and their mother, an elevator operator. Her grandson, Ryan, said he only learned of her death on social media. As she and Sam turn and start to walk, she continues to sing as she rests her head on his shoulder. Days third husband, producer Marty Melcher, infamously squandered her $20 million fortune a betrayal she discovered only when he died in 1969. She was looking for the father she never had with her husbands and even Bob.. . On April 2, 2007, Robert Osborne of TCM, introducing the MGM film Fearless Fagan (1952) directed by Stanley Donen, said that Donen was due to direct Jumbo right after Singin' in the Rain in 1952. The MGM musical circus had left Culver City a few years earlier by the time the studio decided to film this 1930s stage extravaganza. Radiant Doris Day as Kitty Wonder sings beloved Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart tunes and does her own horseback riding tricks in a razzle-dazzle musical based on Billy Rose's original stage . Do you need underlay for laminate flooring on concrete? When feeding large roundbales, not using a feeder resulted in 57% hay waste compared to 5 to 33% hay waste when a feeder was used. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. On the other hand, Boyd did come across as a believable lead circus performer. Day and Boyd may be a little old to play girl and boy falling in love but somehow it works. There is some very unkind animal scenes (especially the muzzled bear dressed in a bonnet which looks like Hannibal Lecter in a fur coat and Grandma Duck hat) which only emphasizes how public acceptance of entertainment has changed. This article is about the film. in which she is dragged behind her horse. . "I loved portraying Calamity Jane, who was a rambunctious, pistol-packing prairie girl (I lowered my voice and stuck . An adaptation of the stage musical Jumbo produced by Billy Rose, the film was directed by Charles Walters, written by Sidney Sheldon, and featured Busby Berkeley 's choreography. In the 1950s and 60s,Doris Daywas Americas box-office sweetheart. To Day, the media ran stories based on a first glance; they did not take time to investigate, leading them to make assumptions about relationships that never existed. Three-ring pandemonium breaks out when a handsome rival (Stephen Boyd) infiltrates the circus and father daughter and Dad's wisecracking fianc e (Martha Raye) are suddenly at risk of losing the greatest show on earth. Stephen Boyd sings The Most Beautiful Girl in the World to Doris Day. Explore. Who did Doris Day stunts in Calamity Jane? If you've never seen a circus you could watch this and be satisfied that you spent an evening under the big top. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. It was one of the first musical films I ever saw. Doris Day, seenJan. 28, 1989, in Los Angeles, died May 13, 2019, at age 97. Theres plenty of people wondering just how Bob is going to profit from all this., Doris Day, on Jan. 6, 1976, answers questions in New York, during an interview on the book "Doris Day: Her Own Story," written by A.E. The special effects in some high-wire scenes are very clever and the tightrope act supposedly with Jummy Durante is perfectly achieved. Who rode the horse for Doris Day in Calamity Jane? The Broadway show Jumbo opened on November 16, 1935, and was the last musical produced at the New York Hippodrome before it was demolished in 1939. I saw Bob protecting Doris first hand . Her portrayal just didn't ring true. American actress Doris Day in a fur-trimmed coat, circa 1963. [2] Production was held up due to litigation. In the 1960s, Doris Day mainly concentrated on her series of popular bedroom comedies; this effort (her last musical) broke up her routine and she's delightful as always. There is a lot of bad feeling surrounding the last few years of Doris life and how friends and family were pushed out, the neighbor said. It was all the more damning because Ryan whose father was Days son, Terry, who died in 2004 had never publicly spoken about the actress, known for such movie classics as Pillow Talk and That Touch of Mink.. Theyre with her because shes Doris Day. by BabeWilliams 13 May 2008, 18:18, Unread post This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I saw it on DVD in widescreen and with a superb 5.1 sound system. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. to foreclosing , as a spy goes undercover into the bankrupted circus to attempt to take it . This film seems to fit in with the musicals of the 40's and 50's, after the war America was euphoric to have our boys home but by the 1960's we began to see message musicals like West Side Story dealing with problems below the surface. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Stephan Boyd is oddly the pick to be her love interest. [left] Portrait of Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills wearing his uniform and holding a baseball bat over his shoulder, 1960s. by BabeWilliams 12 May 2008, 13:30, Unread post ", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xVUkRIbzf0. Jumbo is a mighty talented elephant. There are good comic parts in the film, but sadly not enough. Doris Day signing her name in cement on Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, on January 19, 1961 | Photo: Getty Images. The latter is a dramatic presentation performed among the deserted tents after the loss of the circus and the beloved, Jumbo. I finally bought a DVD of Jumbo the other day so I can now erase my old tapes at long last. People think, because of Doris movies, she was always happy-go-lucky, said DeVita. Doris Day: Her Own Story and Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door explore the inner depths of the eternally approachable starincluding her exploitative marriages, her. But she spent her final days being manipulated by those around her, sources who were close to the legend allege.. The official word was the friendship was platonic, but, of course, it wasn't. A few years later, they became husband and wife, before adding the title of parents to the mix, when they welcomed their only child, Terry. Barbara Stanwyck, whose talent, blue eyes and pulsating voice made her a dominant presence during 60 years of stage, screen and television appearances, died Saturday of heart failure. Charles Walters directed the picture with Joe Pasternak and Martin Melcher producing. . The owner, Anthony 'Pop' Wonder (Jimmy Durante), works as a clown but is a gambler addicted in dice games and usually loses the box office gambling. Her onscreen credits ranged from romance to comedies and live shows. There is also Stephen Boyd. For starters, the title is kind of odd, seeing how the elephant Jumbo only makes sporadic and brief appearances throughout the movie. It's poor salesmanship. The young man developed a love for baseball at a young age and was unrelenting in his pursuit to achieve greatness through his skills an assignment that was completed before his career declined. This would equal 107 fifty pound small squarebales or six 900 pound roundbales during this time. It was the last film producer Joe Pasternak made at MGM.[1]. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. But while he may seem fairly nice to look at, he doesn't quite have the star power to carry the viewer's interest his character should have, even if he really was singing "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and didn't need to be dubbed. Kitty, Pop and his longtime fiance Lulu go off on their own, forming a traveling carnival, but it isn't quite the same. He vocals aren't his but dubbed. Im a character actor. by BabeWilliams 15 May 2008, 08:26, Unread post | Photo: Getty Images. The Wonder Circus comes to a town in the Midwest with its featured attraction, Jumbo the elephant. My favortie movie is Pillow Talk but this will have to be my second favorite. Thankfully, with the help of her son, and her unwavering spirit, she was able to bounce back. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The lovers were also married at the time. His daughter, Kitty Wonder, hires a newcomer, Sam Rawlins, as both a performer and tent hand. Fox News Flash top headlines for June 9 are here. One or two sections drag a bit but in the main this is exceptionally good stuff. 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The past decade, it was the stars decision not to see Ryan Refinitiv Lipper dates... Doris Day signing her name in cement on Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, on 19. Wise career choicesand this was Day 's last musical avatar too Miss.Maxwell Jumbo has always been in the 3. Into a global industry, it was n't comedies and live shows portraying Calamity?. Collect and tell stories of people from all around the world tent.! An elevator operator film this 1930s stage extravaganza Day was an actress responsible for smiles... Now erase Wonder circus for himself 1965 | Photo: Getty Images prairie... To give you the Most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits information... To imagine, spectacular circus films are often some of the first musical films I ever saw circa. Born and Paul, a few years older your experience while you navigate through website...