golliwog Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Damn Yankees This is the screen version of composer/lyricist Richard Adler and Jerry Ross?s follow up to ?The Pajama Game?. ?Damn Yankees? was titled ?What Lola Wants? when released in some overseas countries - the ?Damn Yankees? title was considered too risqu?. The story revolves around a middle aged man who makes a deal with the devil whereby he is transformed into a youth to help out the fortunes of a failing baseball team. The score is tuneful but not memorable. The most enduring song from the show is ?You?ve Got To Have Heart?. Whilst the story is interesting, it is defeated somewhat by the nasty character of the devil as played by Ray Walston. Another actor would probably have been able to make the character more likeable. Gwen Verdon (reprising her Broadway role) as the witch is very good and excels when given the opportunity to really dance, especially in the number ?Two Lost Souls? (a direct descendant of the ?Hernando?s Hideaway? number from ?The Pajama Game?). Tab Hunter is appealing as the young version of the middle aged man, however it becomes obvious that he has no dancing skills because he conveniently disappears when large scale dance numbers are staged. All this being said, the film still has much to offer - not the least the opportunity to see Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse (the choreographer of ?Damn Yankees?) dance together in the sensational ?Who?s Got The Pain When They Do The Mambo? and lovers of musicals should endeavour to see this movie. It would have been interesting to see what other musicals would have followed ?The Pajama Game? and ?Damn Yankees? has Jerry Ross, one half of the composer/lyricist team, not met with an untimely death at the age of 29. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_McCrary Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 ...defeated somewhat by the nasty character of the devil .... LOL!!! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I think the songs are memorable..... but not as good as PAJAMA GAME..... I also remember the original cast album that was re-issued with Verdon wearing ruffles around the bottom of her Lola costume since it was considered risque.... I had the album when I was a kid and sang the songs for decades.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm001 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 The Pajama Game is far superior, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I like them both about the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I especially like the "Two Lost Souls" number with Gwen Verdon and Tab Hunter, where he actually does dance a little until Verdon takes the spotlight.... and of her her hilarious "A Little Brains, A Little Talent." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgeciff Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I'd agree. I think PAJAMA GAME has a slight edge, maybe because of Doris Day. I never get tired of this musical. I always wonder what the film would have been like had they cast Janis Paige, the original star of the B'way musical in this film instead of Day. Very talented Paige never quite made it as a top star in Hollywood and oddly enough many times her singing voice was dubbed. But I think WB bought PAJAMA GIRL specifically for Day and they had no intention of using Paige. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Heavy? How heavy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 fat.... but is was probably the 50s style (those big wide belts) that made her look awful... but she couldn't sing either.... and why was "Babe" doing "Hernando's Hideaway" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm001 Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 fat.... but is was probably the 50s style (those big wide belts) that made her look awful... but she couldn't sing either.... and why was "Babe" doing "Hernando's Hideaway" ? There's a big difference between doing a number live, and pre-recording a number for a film. Perhaps she wasn't feeling well that night? Perhaps she just started off on the wrong note? For a film, they would have gotten it right. After all, Janice Page sang on film, and sounded just fine. But, even on the Broadway cast album, she's no equal for Doris Day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Well practice makes perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm001 Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Here's Janis Page and Doris Day singing I'm Not at All in Love. Janis Page: http://media.putfile.com/04---Im-Not-At-All-In-Love Doris Day: http://media.putfile.com/10---Im-Not-At-All-In-Love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgeciff Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Janis Paige really gets to shine as movie/swimming star Peggy Dayton in the 1967 Astaire musical SILK STOCKINGS. She has two knock out musical numbers SATIN AND SILK and STEREOPHONIC SOUND. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm001 Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 She does shine in those numbers. I've always liked Janis Paige. She's great in Please Don't Eat the Daisies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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