Everybody Sing

Director: Edwin L. Marin Edwin L. Marin

Overview

The youngest daughter of a family of show people gets tossed out of boarding school for refusing to show proper reverence to Mendelssohn's music. This musical tells what happens when she returns home, finds her family in dire financial straits and decides to stage a big show to restore their fortune.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/06/2009
UPC:	0883316203941
Original Release:	1938
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	37,365

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Judy Garland	Judy Bellaire
Billie Burke	Diana Bellaire
Fannie Brice	Olga Chekaloff,Olga Chekaloff
Allan Jones	Ricky Saboni
Reginald Owen	Hillary Bellaire
Reginald Gardiner	Jerrold Hope
Lynne Carver	Sylvia Bellaire
Monty Woolley	John Fleming
Adia Kuznetzoff	Boris
Henry Armetta	Signor Vittorino
Michelette Burani	Madame Le Brouchette
Mary Forbes	Miss Colvin
Helen Troy	Hillary's secretary
Elise Cavanna	Actor
George Bassman	Composer

Technical Credits

James Gruen

Edgar Woolf

Florence Ryerson

Edwin L. Marin	Director
Harry Rapf	Producer
James Gruen	Screenwriter
Edgar Woolf	Screenwriter
Florence Ryerson	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A mediocre musical stew from MGM, Everybody Sing is primarily of interest as a chance to see Judy Garland while she (and MGM) was still trying to figure out just who Judy Garland was, and as a rare chance to see Fanny Brice, legendary stage and radio comedienne/singer known to modern audiences mostly through Barbra Streisand's not-accurate recreation of her in Funny Girl and Funny Lady. Garland is well worth watching. She's still raw and rough around the edges, pushing a little hard in places; but the voice is full of the Garland magic, a brass bell coated in cream and sugar. Even when saddled with mostly second-rate songs, as is the case here, Garland can find some emotional core in them that will resonate with listeners, and she's ebulliently larksome here. But be warned: this is one of those films in which Garland dons blackface for a number. Brice is another matter; while one can glimpse some of the genius that must have skyrocketed off the stage, on screen she comes across as too big, too artificial. Still, there are some wonderful moments, and those moments are worth catching. The rest of the cast is variable, with Allan Jones in fine voice but wooden form, Reginald Owen and Billie Burke pushing too hard, Reginald Gardiner quite good and Lynne Carver quite fetching. The screenplay is nonsensical and often annoying, the direction is busy but dull, and the songs undistinguished -- so this is one best reserved for the fans or for those with a high nostalgia fondness.