WEEKEND MOVIE - Hello, Dolly! (1969)

HELLO, DOLLY! (1969)

"It takes a woman to quietly plan to take him and change him to her kind of man and to gently lead him where fortune can find him know that the power was that dainty woman, that fragile woman, that sweetheart, that mistress, that wife."

Director: Gene Kelly
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Walter Mathau, Michael Crawford, Marianne McAndrew, Danny Lockin, E.J. Peaker, Joyce Arnes, Tommy Tune, Judy Knaiz, Louis Armstrong and his Orhestra

"Hello, Dolly!" is one of the last glamorous and huge musicals of the Golden Age of Hollywood, directed by Mr. Musical himself, Gene Kelly. The collaboration between Kelly, Oscar winner Barbra Streisand and the cast and crew of old and new, gave a product of grand scale from the color costumes to the built sets to Ms. Streisand's powerhouse voice, "Hello, Dolly!" is just excellent. It tells the story of Ms. Dolly Levi (Barbra Streisand), a widow who has taken matchmaking as her most "well-known" businesses. But when she uses her own tricks to try to get a arrogant, self-righteous half-a-millionaire named Horace (Walter Mathau), the screen is filled with Dolly's crazy plans and the wonderful sight of movie magic. Michael Crawford's lovestruck performance pre-"Phantom of the Opera" is naive genuis and matches the powerhouse herself. Kelly's direction is amazing and the movie is one of the best eyecandy ever put on the big screen. Extremely cute and bubbly, "Hello, Dolly" will "never go away, again!"

IT TAKES A WOMAN - Barbra Streisand plays the loud-mouthed, perky and conspiring Dolly Levi in one of her best performances on the the screen (she should have gotten an Oscar nomination...boo).

PUT ON YOUR SUNDAY CLOTHES -
"Put on you sunday clothes when you feel down and out! Strut down the street and have your picture took. Just like a dream your spirit seems to turn about. That Sunday shine is a certain sign that you feel as fine as you look!"

27 AND A HALF YEARS OLD LEARNING HOW TO DANCE - Michael Crawford and Barbra Streisand in the beginning of the grand musical number "Dancing". Crawford's character doesn't "know how to dance" when the idea of dancing in a club with Ms. Irene comes up. But that's no problem, Dolly's an expert in teaching 27-and-a-half-years-olds, its one of her businesses!

DANCING -
"Turn around and turn around try floating through the air, can't you be little more aesthetic?"
"Don't you think my dancing has a polish and a flair?"
"I think the word I'd use is athletic!"
"Well my heart is about to burst. My head is about to POP! And now that I'm dancing who cares if I ever stop?!"

MILLION DOLLAR DIVA - The previous year, Barbra Streisand won an Oscar for her first role ever as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl" (1968). In "Hello, Dolly!", Streisand earns her first million...in her 2nd role only! Imagine a million bucks back in '69.

BEFORE THE PARADE PASSES BY -
"When the whistles blow and the cymbals crash and the sparklers light the sky I'm gonna raise the roof! I'm gonna carry on! Give me an old trombone, give me and old baton before the parade passes by!"

TAP DANCE AROUND THE TWO - Mr. Musical himself, Gene Kelly, directs diva Barbra Streisand and comedian Walter Mathau in one of the biggest movies of the 1960s. Though they played love interests, people didn't know they actually despised each other. One occasion Mathau said to her that her talent was no different than a butterfly's fart.

ARM STRONG ARMSTRONG - One of Louis Armstrong's last "movie gigs" with his Orchestra was in 1969's "Hello, Dolly!". Here, he plays himself and was only on set for one day (the whole sequence took one month of shoot) and did his part in one take.

HELLO, MONEY! - Obtaining the rights to the Broadway show was already millions. Making it was ever MORE MILLIONS. But the movie and the star power of new star Barbra Streisand payed off when the film grossed to be the 5th highest grosser of the year.

THE BIG FINISH TO THE TITLE TUNE -
"We hear the ice tinkle, we see the lights twinkle and you still get glances from us handsome men, soo..."
"Ohh, wow, wow, wow fellas, look at the old girl now fellas!"
"DOLLY WILL NEVER GO AWAY, DOLLY WILL NEVER GO AWAY, DOLLY WILL NEVER GO AWAY..."


"...AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"