Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2026 4:22 am
Yeah, I never understood — outside of Holliday — why Minnelli's fans seem to like Bells are Ringing so much. Minnelli is not putting his full energy into it. The best number is the lonely ballad when Martin gets off the train: he sings and shuffles slowly, nowhere to go, while the crowd rushes by around him. The way it's elegantly done in only a couple of shots makes me want to think it's an approach Minnelli picked up from his colleague at MGM, Charles Walters. Walters, after all, directed the two best numbers in Gigi, Minnelli's previous musical — tho that didn't stop Minnelli from naming his autobiography I Remember it Well...therewillbeblus wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2026 4:02 amBells Are Ringing is a decent film and a bad musical at once. None of the numbers dazzle, nor could they possibly be meant to, and the songs are just okay. The movie starts strong with an interesting premise and sprinkles in amusing details about the lengths Judy Holliday will go for her 'clients', before matters become more complicated with a few stray plot lines. There's some cute banter with Martin, but this is Holliday's show through and through, and she's up for the challenge. Unfortunately the material isn't, and Minnelli drags out the activity when it should be consolidated. I'd love to see a Tashlin version of this, especially given the comic promises at the start which feel right up his alley, but Susan Slept Here this is not