Film Festival: Weddings, Hollywood Style In triumphant lettering the opening credits of Whoopee! (1930) announce “Florenz Ziegfeld and Samuel Goldwyn present Eddie Cantor in Whoopee! A Musical Comedy of the Great Wide West.” FLORENZ “FLO” ZIEGFELD was best known for his Follies, his elaborate musical stage revues. Whoopee! is one of the few book musicals…
musical
Lisa’s Home Bijou: Girls! Girls! Girls! Elvis sings
Film Festival: Elvis in Hawaii Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) stars Elvis Presley as a poor orphan working man, making his money by leading sport fishing tours, maintaining boats, catching tuna, and singing in a nightclub. There are two main girls in the film, Stella Stevens and Laurel Goodwin. I thought Stella Stevens would be the…
Lisa’s Home Bijou: Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Film Festival: Elvis in Hawaii Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) stars Elvis Presley as a womanizing pilot who launches the idea of helicopter tours in the Hawaiian islands. It is one of the three films Elvis made in Hawaii and the aerial photography of Oahu and Kaua’i are just stunning. Are Elvis and the plot stunning?…
Lisa’s Home Bijou: Blue Hawaii Elvis as beach boy
Film Festival: Elvis in Hawaii Blue Hawaii (1961) is the first of the three Hawaii films starring Elvis Presley. The soundtrack album for this movie was a huge hit and three of his most famous songs are here: Blue Hawaii, I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You, and the Hawaiian Wedding Song. “Dreams come…
Lisa’s Home Bijou: Weekend in Havana musical romance
Film Festival: The Islands and Tropicana Weekend in Havana (1941) is a fun musical romantic comedy that takes place in pre-war Havana. Cuba was a land of nightclubs and exciting drinks, sugar cane fields, hibiscus, ginger, and anthurium flowers. Rom-coms always revolve around the “meet cute” of the couple destined for romance. This musical is…