There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
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69% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
61% of users liked it
(6,884 ratings)
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… More 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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Walter Lang
- Written By
- Henry Ephron, Phoebe Ephron
- Genres
- Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Dec 1, 1954 Wide
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
If you're looking for a good film that features Irving Berlin tunes, this one is not the film you're looking for.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Though Marilyn Monroe was the country's biggest movie star, this plotless musical, a tribute to the genius composer Irving Berlin, belongs to Ethel Merman.
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Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
The movie does not blend the magic of music, dance, and emotion in the way which the best musicals do.
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Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
The decline of the musical starts here. Faux Kelly just doesn't work.
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Corny, loud, splashy, but it has Merman and solid cast
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Cast
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Ethel Merman
as Molly Donahue
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Donald O'Connor
as Tim Donahue
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Marilyn Monroe
as Vicky
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Dan Dailey
as Terrance Donahue
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Johnnie Ray
as Steve Donahue
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Mitzi Gaynor
as Katy Donahue
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Richard Eastham
as Lew Harris
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Hugh O'Brian
as Charles Gibbs
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Frank McHugh
as Eddie Duggen
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Rhys Williams
as Father Dineen
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Lee Patrick
as Marge
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Eve Miller
as Hat check girl
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Robin Raymond
as Lillian Sawyer
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Lyle Talbot
as Stage manager
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Alvy Moore
as Katy's Boyfriend
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Chick Chandler
as Harry
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Henry Slate
as Dance director
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Nolan Leary
as Archbishop
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Gavin Gordon
as Geoffrey
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Mimi Gibson
as Katy at Age 4
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Linda Lowell
as Katy at Age 8
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Jimmie Baird
as Steve at Age 6
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Donald Gamble
as Tim at Age 6
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Charlotte Austin
as Lorna
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Billy Chapin
as Steve at Age 10
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John Doucette
as Stage Manager
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Donald Kerr
as Bobby Clark
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George Melford
as Stage Doorman
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Isabelle Dwan
as Sophie Tucker
- Irving Berlin
