Main Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace, Betty Bruce, Ann Jillian
Release Year: 1962
Country: US
Run Time: 144 minutes
Plot
This Stephen Sondheim/Jules Styne/Arthur Laurents musical comedy Gypsy had been a Broadway smash with Ethel Merman in the lead. Based on the autobiography of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, it centers on the antics of Mama Rose (here played by Rosalind Russell), the Stage Mother from Hell who prods and pushes her daughters June and Louise into a vaudeville career. Rose pins most of her hopes for fame on older daughter June (billed as "Dainty June"), while little Louise reluctantly goes along for the ride. Karl Malden plays the girls' agent, who falls in love with Rose but is ultimately turned off by her ruthless ambition. When June escapes the act to get married, Rose puts the unwilling Louise in the star spot, but vaudeville is dying and soon the only booking they can get is in a cheap burlesque house. The strippers take Louise under their wing and advise her that "You've gotta have a gimmick" to survive on the bump-and-grind circuit. The nervous Louise rises to stardom as stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, whose "gimmick" is to adopt a self-mocking attitude and to put on pseudo-sophisticated airs. Rose resents Gypsy's rise to the top, but a bravura eight-minute musical soliloquy reveals that Rose had forced her daughters on the stage because she wanted to live out her own dreams of stardom. Louise--aka Gypsy--is played by Diane Pace as a girl and by Natalie Wood as an adult; June (better known as June Havoc) is portrayal by Suzanne Cupito (later billed as Morgan Brittany) as a little girl and Ann Jillian as an adolescent. Most of the best songs, including "Let Me Entertain You," "Small World," and "Everything's Coming Up Roses," remain intact from the original Broadway production. Gypsy was remade for television in 1993, with Bette Midler as Rose. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The juicy theatrical history of Gypsy Rose Lee, America's founding strip tease artist, fuels Gypsy, one of the great movie musicals. Rosalind Russell plays her heart out as Rose, the pushy stage mom who just wanted to be a star herself. While originally played by Ethel Merman on Broadway, Russell makes the role her own and forces the story forward with her energy, as well as performing one the most memorable songs in the score, "Everything's Coming Up Roses." While an extraordinary dramatic actress, Natalie Wood doesn't exactly fit her part, yet she brings a deeper mystique to Louise. The mother/daughter relationship driving the story line has rarely been done better, thanks to Wood's thoughtful intensity and Russell's dominating charisma. Rather than playing a stripper as obviously bawdy, Wood's performance is understated and graceful as Louise rises in fame while vaudeville dies. The seedy underside of real burlesque houses is, of course, glossed over with cleanliness in this era of Hollywood musicals, making for some fun and fictional stripping numbers including "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" and "Let Me Entertain You." The colorful costumes and sets are well-done, but Mervyn LeRoy's direction is static. He is just not very inventive in transferring the essentially stage-bound material to the big screen. Nevertheless, Gypsy is an entertaining musical drama about a fascinating show-business personality. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Parley Baer - Mr. Kringelein; Harvey Korman - Phil; Harry Shannon - Grandpa; Suzanne Cupito - "Baby" June; Diane Pace - "Baby" Louise; Faith Dane - Mazeppa; Roxanne Arlen - Electra; Jean Willes - Betty Cratchitt; George Petrie - George; Ben Lessy - Mervyn Goldstone; Guy Raymond - Patsy; Louis Quinn - Cigar; Trudi Ames - Hawaiian Girl; Jack Benny - Himself; William Fawcett - Mr. Willis; Teri Hope; Frances Karath; Danny Lockin - Yonkers; Bert Michaels; James Millhollin - Mr. Beckman; Marni Nixon - Loise Hovick; Jeff Parker; Renee Aubry - Hollywood Blonde
Credit
John Beckman - Art Director, Robert Tucker - Choreography, Orry-Kelly - Costume Designer, Howard Shoup - Costume Designer, Bill Gaskin - Costume Designer, Mervyn LeRoy - Director, Philip W. Anderson - Editor, Frank Perkins - Composer (Music Score), Jule Styne - Composer (Music Score), Frank Perkins - Musical Direction/Supervision, Gordon Bau - Makeup, Gene Hibbs - Makeup, Harry Stradling - Cinematographer, Mervyn LeRoy - Producer, Ralph S. Hurst - Set Designer, M.A. Merrick - Sound/Sound Designer, Dolph Thomas - Sound/Sound Designer, Arthur Laurents - Screenwriter, Leonard Spigelgass - Screenwriter, Gypsy Rose Lee - Book Author
Lisa Kirk, a cast member of the original 1948 Broadway production of Kiss Me, Kate, dubbed most of Rosalind Russell's singing voice. Although Russell had sung in the Broadway musical Wonderful Town and she prerecorded vocal tracks for this film, the double's voice was primarily used.[1] Russell's original vocal tracks for this film were rediscovered on scratchy acetate discs and recently made available as supplements on the CD reissue of the film soundtrack. Russell's own singing voice, however, can be heard intermittently in the film, for at least half of the climactic "Rose's Turn", in "Mr. Goldstone" and the deleted songs "You'll Never Get Away From Me (Duet)" and "Together Wherever We Go".
Natalie Wood provided her own singing in this film, after being dubbed by Marni Nixon the previous year in West Side Story.[1]
It had been hoped that the film would star Judy Garland as Mama Rose and Ann-Margret as Louise/Gypsy, but they were both involved in other projects.
Deleted Musical Numbers
Two musical numbers are missing from today's prints. The first of these is Together Wherever We Go, performed by Rosalind Russell's character, Natalie Wood and Karl Malden. The second is a duet of "You'll Never Get Away From Me" performed by Rosalind Russell's character and Karl Malden. It is believed that these two songs were deleted shortly after the film's release for reasons unknown. "Together" was eliminated entirely. "You'll Never Get Away From Me" was shortened so that only Rosalind Russell's character sings. In the Warner Home Video DVD release, these two numbers are included as supplemental material taken from an inferior quality 16 millimeter print.[2][3]
Reception
Bosley Crowther, in his New York Times review, wrote:"For all Miss Russell's exertions... she misses the Merman magic and magnificence...when it comes time to line out the thunder and glowing invincibility of "Everything's Coming Up Roses,"...Miss Russell simply doesn't have it. She croaks a routine, half-hearted boast. She [Natalie Wood] actually makes something stalwart and inspiring of the limpid little thing...puts solidity and sparkle into the ratty goings on."[4]
Rosalind Russell in a scene from the film
The film adaptation was somewhat controversial due to Russell's casting. Many were upset that Merman wasn't given the chance to reprise her role for the screen, and felt that Russell wasn't up to the task. According to Thomas S. Hischak: "Not casting Merman in the 1962 film is considered the greatest faux pas in the history of movie musicals. It cannot be satisfactorily explained logically, artistically, or even financially." [5] Russell was essentially not a singer and, despite recording all of the songs herself, was dubbed in the final film by singer Lisa Kirk. Russell's original audio still exists.
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Music Scoring. It was also nominated for six Golden Globe Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Natalie Wood), Best Actor (Karl Malden) and Most Promising Newcomer (Paul Wallace) and won the Best Actress award for Rosalind Russell. Russell had won the same award the previous year for her role in A Majority of One.
^ Hischak, Thomas S. Through the screen door:what happened to the Broadway musical when it went to Hollywood(2004), Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0810850184, p.70
