In honor of St. Paddy's Day ...
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Pachy (
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March 17th, 2013
Have you ever seen Finian’s Rainbow, a movie musical (based on a Broadway show) directed by Francis Coppola? It’s rather dated and silly in some parts but lovely and entertaining throughout. Though it came out 45 years ago, its messages of love, hope, faith and racial equality are timeless. If you’re of “a certain age,” you’ll surely recognize the beautiful songs. This was Fred Astaire’s final film, but at 69, he still could sing and dance up a storm. If you’ve seen it, tell me what you think. If not, catch it on Netflix.
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I saw it when it came out in 1968, plus a few more times since – but not recently.
I liked it. Solid performances all around – vintage Astaire, plus Petula Clark was surprisingly good, as was the Leprechaun (Tommy-something) & other leads. Memorable tunes, including “Old Devil Moon.” The subplot involving racial tolerance was ahead of its time in 1947 when it opened on Broadway, but for the movie two decades later the timing was perfect. I remember a lot of good dialogue, clever lyrics, and nice melodies. Grade-A Hollywood cornball, i.e., the cultural norm for first half of my life.
This was the first Broadway show I ever saw. My parents stopped having birthday parties and took me to see this for my 12th birthday. It was thrilling and I still remember the words to most of the songs…the play was better than the movie, which was long, boring and overblown.
@gasman—couldn’t have said it better myself.
@gailcalled—what a wonderful birthday gift—and the perfect time in your life to see it for the first time. Yes, the movie was definitely long and a bit overblown (two Coppola trademarks), but it continues to move me as I grow older. Partly because I’m such a fan of the music and of Astaire, whose like we’ll never seen again.
“René Descartes was a drunken fart – I drink therefore I am”.
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