An unusual premise, even for musicals. The mix of numbers ranges from brilliant to bad to unusual (there's that word again). The bad is Fanny Brice (I'm still trying to figure out why this woman was popular) and the "Pay the Two Dollars" sketch. The unusual: "Here's to the Ladies," the accompanying Lucille Ball "lion taming" sequence and the surreal "Beauty." The high point for me is "This Heart of Mine" with Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer, a truly beautiful number, with the unusual (again) touch of using conveyer belts in the sequence (something Astaire would also use later in Royal Wedding). The other Astaire-Bremer pairing, "Limehouse Blues" is also gorgeous and often overlooked. Bremer's work here is first rate and demonstrates she deserved the star treatment MGM never really gave her. Watching this film is also a reminder that musical numbers on this scale will probably never be filmed again.
Review of Ziegfeld Follies
