Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

JohnHowardReid Director: CHARLES WALTERS. Screenplay: Dorothy Kingsley. Story: Dorothy Kingsley, George Wells. Photographed in Color by Technicolor by Robert Planck. Film editor: Adrienne Fazan. Art directors: Cedric Gibbons and William Ferrari. Set decorators: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason. Costumes designed by Helen Rose. Hair styles: Sydney Guilaroff. Special effects: A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe. Make-up: William Tuttle. Stunts: Gil Perkins. Technicolor color consultants: Henry Jaffa, James Gooch. Assistant director: Jack Greenwood. Sound supervisor: Douglas Shearer. Western Electric Sound Recording. Producer: Jack Cummings. Music director: David Rose. Choreography: Hermes Pan. Songs: "It's Dynamite!" (sung and danced by Ann Miller), "Carnie's Pitch" (Skelton), "Whoa, Emma!" (Keel), "Young Folks Should Get Married" (Keel), all by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics); "Clap Your Hands" by David Rose (music) and Earl Brent (lyrics); "Deep in the Heart of Texas" by June Hershey and Don Swander. Copyright 10 September 1951 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at Loew's State: 12 October 1951. U.S. release: 5 October 1951. U.K. release: 8 December 1951. Australian release: 25 January 1952. 76 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Staff at a luxurious Texas dude ranch/hotel mistake a carnival pitch man for a multi-millionaire.COMMENT: I've said before that Red Skelton is most definitely not one of my favorite comedians. He tends to squeeze out and excessively belabor material that is both unfunny and threadbare to begin with. Until the climatic chuck-wagon race, that comment is true of Texas Carnival. True, there are two or three good moments along the way, but it's not until Red is actually astride the tearaway chuck-wagon that the fun really begins—and it's well worth waiting for! Fortunately, there are also a few compensations along the way, including peppy Ann Miller, an underused Esther Williams (who does swim a little in a double-exposed fantasy sequence in which she vamps Howard Keel), a belligerent Keenan Wynn (who is forced to stooge for Red in a boring episode with a shade and a shower) and a pistol-happy Tom Tully. It's also good to see Glenn Strange in a sizable role as the friendly villain of the piece (he milks at least two really good gags with Skelton) and I also enjoyed catching one or two glimpses of Paula Raymond. OTHER VIEWS: Here's the principal gag-line of Chaplin's "City Lights" riding the range in this brightly colored but rather empty musical. Despite its short running time, Texas Carnival was sold as an "A" picture, but it has enough traditional "B"-western features (including songs and the all-stops-out chase climax) to warrant watching. True, it's Skelton's picture — the other stars are sidelined - but the laugh quality of his material is mostly poor. Despite his inability to handle Skelton, director Charles Walters has tried to invest the movie with an occasional bit of razz and even style, but the end results are mostly rather mild. The new songs are not much help either, even though they were composed by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics), both of whom have done far, far superior work with other collaborators elsewhere. As it turns out, the most exciting number in the movie is that old standard, "Deep in the Heart of Texas". All the same, the script's constant adulatory references to Texas become rather too, too obvious. Even Texans will probably find most of this picture disappointingly tiresome. - JHR writing as Charles Freeman,

dougdoepke Delightful romp that blends the stars together in highly entertaining fashion. Red gets to mug it up in typical Skelton fashion, while studly Keel smooths in his baritone, and Miller taps her way into our hearts. Even mermaid Williams manages to get her fins on as well as show some acting chops. In fact, the highpoint in my little book is her almost eerie swim through the air in a fancy hotel room. In a flowing white gown she's like a ghostly aquanaut thanks to trick photography. That scene is going to stay with me, strange as it is.The plot, of course, is negligible--- carnival barker Red's mistaken for a Texas millionaire and has to act the part when he gets into trouble. I love it when Red and others talk about the great smell and feel of the Longhorn State while standing in front of a painted backdrop. In fact the production never leaves the San Fernando Valley, but who cares. Anyway, it's just the kind of material and headliners that big budget MGM knew how to package in great escapist fashion. And to think Maltin's Classic Movie Guide only gives it two stars out of four-was someone home asleep. Anyway, the Technicolor's lavish, the stars in top form, and the pacing doesn't dawdle. So catch up with it when you can, and remind Maltin to set his alarm.

TheLittleSongbird There was some great talent here but not all of it is fully utilised. Texas Carnival has great moments but other ways it was underwhelming as well. Texas Carnival has some lavish Technicolor and colourful sets and costumes, so visually it's pleasing, and the incidental score is lovely. Texas Carnival does have some memorable scenes, standing out in particular were the imaginative dream water sequence, Skelton's hilariously nutty drunk routine, Ann Miller's dance with the xylophone in It's Dynamite and the riotous slapstick finale that has some very impressive stunt-work. Of the performers, the one who comes off best is Red Skelton, who is just fine and very funny while Ann Miller is sassy and dances a dream in It's Dynamite. Esther Williams is beautiful and pert and does wonderfully in the water sequence but for a film that was intended to be a vehicle for her this was not really great use of her talents. On the other side of the coin, Keenan Wynn is annoying and badly underplays the comedy at the same time and Howard Keel is wasted, he sings with such richness and beauty and he is a handsome presence but he deserved more songs and better ones too. The songs were pleasant but forgettable also, the most memorable being Deep in the Heart of Texas. The script was in serious need of sharper wit and the story is tired in concept and rambling in pace. The film is much too short as well and feels incomplete, with a feeling that a lot of the film was left on the cutting room floor. If that was the case that means we would most likely have seen more of Williams and Keel as we ought to have done. The ending is rushed and with little sense of surprise and Charles Walters' direction is sadly lethargic. All in all, has good moments but a very odd film that does waste some of the talent it has. 5/10 Bethany Cox

moonspinner55 Penniless carnival barker Red Skelton and chorine-turned-dunking girl Esther Williams are mistaken for millionaires and are forced to enter a Chuck Wagon race to eradicate a gambling debt. Modest M-G-M comedy-musical filmed in Technicolor looks just as good as the studio's more-popular output--what was needed, however, was a screenplay with bigger laughs and stronger characterizations. Skelton juggles, sings, and performs some pleasing comedy shtick, but he's too polite here; director Charles Walters keeps Red reigned-in so much that a nutty drunk routine late in the movie seems out of place. Williams has a nifty fantasy number where she appears to pole-dance underwater (!), while Ann Miller has one great tap-dance sequence accompanied by a mad xylophone. Isolated moments of fun linked by the barest minimum of plot, though the wild slapstick finale nearly makes up for the picture's deficiencies. **1/2 from ****