Marilyn Monroe, THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS Film Program 1954 Photos
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:23123033 | Modified Item: No |
| Original/Reproduction: Original | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
NOTE: MY SCANNER ONLY SHOWS PART OF EACH PAGE, BUT IT IS FULL SIZED AND UNTRIMMED.(It looks much better than the picture above.) THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS Film Program 1954 photos, story, behind scenes making of facts, short bios This film program booklet has pages of photos and fact filled pages! PLEASE BE PATIENT WHILE ALL PICTURES LOAD After checking out this item please look at my other unique silent motion picture memorabilia and Hollywood f...ilm collectibles! WITH MULTIPLE WINS OF SIMILAR SHAPED ITEMS, SAVE ON SHIPPING COST BY HAVING THEM SENT TOGETHER $ See a gallery of pictures of my other auctions HERE! This program is vintage, original and not a copy or reproduction. DESCRIPTION: (Original Film Program) Like Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), 20th Century-Fox's There's No Business Like Show Business is a "catalogue" film, its thinnish plot held together by an itinerary of Irving Berlin tunes. The story chronicles some twenty years in the lives of a showbiz family, headed by Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman. Two of the couple's three grown children -- Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor -- carry on the family tradition, while the third, Johnny Ray, decides to become a priest. There are a few tense moments when O'CONNOR falls in love with ambitious chorine Marilyn Monroe and loses all sense of perspective, but the family reunites during a splashy production-number finale. Highlights include Dailey and Merman's Play a Simple Melody duet, O'CONNOR's A Man Chases a Girl solo, and Monroe's tempestuous rendition of Heat Wave (her delivery and stage presence both compensate for her unflattering bare-midriff costume). Of historical interest, There's No Business Like Show Business was Fox's first CinemaScope musical; as such, it is best viewed on TV in "letterbox" format. Language: English, 16 pages plus covers. Product Dimensions: An Original Vintage Movie Souvenir Program Book (measures 9" x 12") Shipping Weight: 1 pound and 8 ounces. Brief biographies of cast & crew. Behinds the scenes stories of the making of this unique moving picture.” CONDITION: This vintage film program is in Near EXCELLENT condition, with scuffing, rubbing, small dents and tiny scratches/creases to the outside of the covers. Inside it is like new. This piece is worthy of investment!I wish could find a comparable in this great condition… but this is the only one I could find. So you could say it’s rare, scare and virtually priceless. Condition wise there is very little even normal use but you have to look hard to find it! SHIPPING: Either: Media rate approximately $3.50 and takes 1-2 weeks or in a flat rate Priority envelope and takes 2-4 days $7-12. Shipping outside the USA is much more expensive and depends upon the location. PAYMENTS: Please pay PayPal! All of my items are unconditionally guaranteed. E-mail me with any questions you may have. This is Larry41, wishing you great movie memories and good luck… BACKGROUND: “When Marilyn Monroe appeared in the ensemble musical There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), she was trembling on the brink of superstardom at 20th Century Fox after making splashes in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire (both 1953). Not thrilled by the script and reluctant to compete with such musical-comedy heavyweights as Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor and Dan Dailey, Monroe balked at doing Business and Fox considered Sheree North as a replacement. Monroe finally agreed to do the film in exchange for the promise that her next vehicle would be a film version of the hit stage comedy The Seven Year Itch (1955), to be directed by the brilliant Billy Wilder. That movie, of course, was the one that would lift Monroe to the heady new heights of stardom she maintained until her untimely death in 1962.There's No Business Like Show Business has a score by Irving Berlin, who adored Merman and had written two Broadway shows expressly for her: Annie Get Your Gun in 1946 and Call Me Madam in 1950. Business takes its title from the climactic number of the former show, which became a kind of anthem for theater people after Merman first belted it out onstage.A huge star on Broadway, the brassy Merman had limited success in films but had shone in Fox's film version of Call Me Madam (1953), which also had costarred Donald O'Connor and was directed by Walter Lang, in whom she had "almost mystical faith, " according to biographer Bob Thomas. The success of Madam led to her top-billed appearance in Business, although she had her work cut out for her in keeping the sexy Monroe and dynamic Gaynor from stealing her thunder. O'Connor and Dailey are as smoothly accomplished as ever, although the performance of "sob singer" Johnnie Ray (a sensation of the day) was described by a New York Times reviewer as "embarrassing, " with moments in which "your flesh is likely to crawl." The film's sentimental story revolves around The Donahues, a performing family in vaudeville, with Merman and Dailey as the parents and O'Connor, Gaynor and Ray as their unlikely offspring. The family faces tumultuous times as O'Connor falls for ambitious showgirl Monroe and Ray decides that his true calling is to be a priest.The constant, dazzling production numbers are set to such Berlin standards as "Alexander's Ragtime Band, " "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody, " "When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam" and "Remember." Perhaps the best-remembered number is Monroe's languorous delivery of "Heat Wave" (a song originally intended for Merman). Accompanied by a crew of male dancers, Marilyn turns up the heat in a black bra and a flamenco skirt split almost to her waist. "Anything You Can Do, " a number from Annie Get Your Gun, was filmed with Merman and Dan Dailey but not included in the film's final print.According to Thomas, Merman was philosophical about the attention being paid to Monroe. "Hell, she's the one we need to sell the picture, " she told a friend. However, she resented what she considered Monroe's lack of professionalism, which included chronic tardiness and her reliance upon her acting coach, Natasha Lytess, instead of Lang. Monroe refused to wear costumes designed for her by Miles White and insisted that Travilla create new ones, including the "Heat Wave" outfit.Merman won a small victory one day when Joe DiMaggio, then married to Monroe, visited the set and refused to be photographed with his wife. Instead, he wanted to pose with Merman -- "my favorite star!" Thomas writes that, as Monroe's tardiness grew ever more acute, Mitzi Gaynor "found a way to keep Ethel cool. Whenever Marilyn wouldn't come out of her dressing room, I gave Ethel a wink, hinting that something naughty was going on in there. Of course that wasn't true, but if Ethel thought maybe some hanky-panky was going on, she could enjoy the situation."More off-camera drama was provided by the fact that Donald O'Connor had separated from Gwen Carter, his wife of ten years, and she and Dan Dailey had begun dating. After filming wrapped, the O'Connors divorced and Dailey and Carter were married.Although now considered a prime example of a big, splashy musical of its period, There's No Business Like Show Business was not well-received at the time by the public, who probably felt that the Berlin/Merman style had become outdated. The movie was Oscar®-nominated for Best Costume Design, Color (Charles Le Maire, Travilla and Miles White), Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (Alfred Newman and Lionel Newman) and Best Motion Picture Story (Lamar Trotti).
