Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

wes-connors While dreaming of a Broadway musical career, bubbly blonde dancer Marilyn Miller (as Sally Bowling Green) works as a New York waitress. One busy day, Ms. Miller becomes love-stricken with handsome passer-by Alexander Gray (as Blair Farrell). Likewise interested and obviously well-heeled, Mr. Gray is unfortunately engaged to another woman. Nevertheless, they begin a courtship. Miller tells Gray about her lowly orphan past and high aspirations. Gray tells Miller to "look for the silver lining." Miller is also encouraged by wise-cracking waiter Joe E. Brown (as Connie). Later, Miller's impersonation of a Russian diva helps put her on the road to stardom...Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., the Cinderella-like "Sally" (1920-1922) was a huge Broadway success for Miller. With this show, plus her high-profile 1922 marriage to Hollywood royalty (Mary's brother Jack Pickford), Miller was a big star before she ever made a motion picture. Reportedly, the Pickfords did not get Miller in the movies earlier because they felt her skills were not flattered by the silent movie medium; this is evident. "Sally" (also a re-make of the hit 1925 "silent" version starring Colleen Moore) was a top-line production, in full Technicolor. Gray sounds great as Miller's leading man and Brown is a best supporting actor - even without kissing T. Roy Barnes...Unless more is found, only a rough black-and-white print of "Sally" survives. The only color portion available has most of Miller's "Wild Rose" dance and a small portion of Mr. Brown's subsequent scene. These brief color minutes indicate the whole work was visually quite appealing. However, the staging and plot are not spectacular. Miller's dancing is a highlight. Probably, she would have been a bigger musical movie star in the 1940s. Her great comic "pas de deux" with Brown makes one long for other Miller dance team-ups. Jerome Kern's music is most memorable. "Look for the Silver Lining" became a #1 million-selling hit song in 1921, and a standard thereafter.****** Sally (12/23/29) John Francis Dillon ~ Marilyn Miller, Alexander Gray, Joe E. Brown, T. Roy Barnes

Michael_Elliott Sally (1929)** 1/2 (out of 4) Better than average Musical from Warner about a down on her luck waitress (Marilyn Miller) who dreams of making it big as a dancer and finally gets a shot thanks to a man (Alexander Gray) who turns out to also be a major love interest. This story was a big hit on Broadway and it was even made into a film in 1925 but it seems it has now been forgotten as has its star Miller. Miller was apparently one of the biggest names on Broadway and she was making her film debut here but she's end up dead a short seven-years later due to alcohol and health problems. Many consider this her shining moments and she certainly leaves an impression even if it wasn't the one I was expecting. The actual story here will probably strike many as being unoriginal but one must remember that this movie came before many future films that would follow the same Cinderella-type structure. The one problem I had with the structure is that it seemed like Miller became famous way too quickly but this is just a minor thing. I went into this thing expecting great music numbers and poor "acting" but I actually got the opposite. I thought the entire cast delivered fine performances and they actually made the story flow a lot better than it would have with other actors. Gray has a very good voice but he also handles the role quite well and makes a memorable character. Joe E. Brown is here for comic relief and nearly steals the film in a couple classic scenes. One has an old man paying him some extra money to get into the club so Brown makes him climb a ladder to reach a tree house. Another laugh riot follows when Brown makes life Hell on a guy who comes to the club to impress a girl but doesn't have enough cash to pay for what she wants. I think most people are going to be checking this film out to get a glimpse of Miller and she's certainly very easy on the eyes. Her acting range really impressed me as she came off quite natural and I thought she was very believable as the girl dreaming for something big. I thought her dancing scenes were terrific and her comic timing was able to match Brown's and the two appear to be having fun together. The strange thing is that I wasn't overly impressed with her voice, which is something most other reviewers really praised. It wasn't horrible but I just didn't really get into it. The film was originally released in 2-strip Technicolor but sadly that version has gone missing so we're left with a B&W print that features the only remaining color footage, which lasts around three-minutes. It's a real shame that the color stuff is missing but the footage that does survive is in pretty rough shape but then again the B&W print is in tough shape.

kidboots Marilyn Miller was Broadway's Queen of Musical Comedy in the 20s and it's all due to "Sally", which debuted at the New Amsterdam Theatre and clocked up a massive 570 performances. She wasn't a great singer or dancer but on stage everything came together and she was absolutely unforgettable. "Now the screen has robbed the stage of it's most prized possession". Fortunately when "Sally" was filmed people still wanted musicals with a capital M and apart from the omission of a couple of Jerome Kern songs, including "The Church 'Round the Corner", "Sally" was filled with the songs everyone remembered.Sally Bowling Green (Marilyn Miller), so named because she was found as a waif on the steps of that particular telephone exchange, is a waitress. She is watched from afar by wealthy Blair Farell (Alexander Gray) who has fallen in love with her and her happy disposition. Sally dreams of becoming a dancer and practices every moment she gets. O. Hemingway Hooper (T. Roy Barnes) comes into the diner. He is a theatrical agent, always on the lookout for dancers and Sally wows him with her swell dancing. Unfortunately Sally has stars in her eyes and when she accidentally tips a plate of spaghetti all over Hooper, she not only loses her job but Hooper wants his card back!!! When Sally finds another job at the Elm Tree Inn, Blair meets Sally again - he is there with a bachelor party. When she tells him of her hard life he advises her not to be discouraged but to always "Look For the Silver Lining". When his group gathers, he sings of his love for "Sally" (Alexander Gray is wonderful, very sweet and ruggedly handsome). Later that night the Grand Duke of Chekoslovenia - "Connie" (Joe E. Brown)is feeling down in the dumps.. (He has lost all of his money on "fast women and slow horses" and is working at the Elm Tree Inn as a waiter). Sally cheers him up by telling him to "Look For the Silver Lining" and together they do a comical, charming dance. When her shift is over Blair takes her for a drive and together they sing the beautiful "If I'm Dreaming, Don't Wake Me Too Soon".The next night, through Blair's intervention, Sally gets a chance to dance before the patrons. The clowning is left to Joe E. Brown and Ford Sterling - he is the restaurant manager and the only person who knows Connie's real identity. There is a very funny part involving Jack Duffy as an elderly gentleman who has a tantrum when his hat is stepped on - Connie gives him a couple of balloons to make him happy. Pert Kelton is pretty pert as Rosie, Hooper's unrefined mistress. Sally, looking adorable gives "All I Want to Do Do Do is Dance" her all. It is a wonderful example of just one of Miller's many eccentric dance steps - the "pluck and step", a style she originated. Hooper and Rosie also see her dance and Hooper, who has just found out that Madame Moskorova, a Russian dancer, is going to be a no-show at a ritzy society ball, thinks Sally will be a natural. She is and wows the crowd with her crazy accent."You are like a little primrose", "No I am not - I am like a wild rose". Then with the help of the chorus boys Sally goes into "Wild Rose" and after a bit the screen blazes with colour (even the sound improves) and you can see why Broadway just adored her. She is as light as a feather as she twirls and high kicks. Unfortunately Sally is ousted as an imposter but not before Ziegfeld arrives and wants her for his Follies. After Sally's broken heart is fixed, at the end of the film she has performed in Ziegfeld's "Ballet of the Butterflies" and is the toast of New York."Sally" really showed how wonderful some early musicals could be with the right songs and clowning kept to a minimum. Marilyn had a wonderful way of looking into the camera,just as she was finishing her dance, with a look that said "it's all a lark" and letting the viewers into the secret. It was probably a hold-over from the stage and another reason why audiences loved her.Highly, Highly Recommended.

dansavoie Sally, with Marilyn Miller, was the first movie shown at the Chatham Capitol Theatre in Chatham, Ontario Canada - on April 11, 1930. It was originally shown in color, however all the color sequences have been lost. It only survives in Black & White.Sally appears to be a bit dated, as we make our way through this new millennium, but serves as a tribute to the beauty and youth of Marilyn Miller. Miller is a fantastic dancer and gives the role 100%.The film is hard to find, but worth watching if you locate it. Thanks to MGM/UA and Turner for finding the merit to release it on laser disc back in 1993.