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re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman!

Posted by: bicoastal 10:12 am EST 12/06/13
In reply to: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13

I am of the school of thought that the weakest R&H Broadway show was the best R&H movie. This is very much to Ernest Lehman's credit, as well as to Robert Wise's very smart direction (I also think his film version of WEST SIDE STORY is far better structured and compelling than the play, but I know that is blasphemy in certain circles).

The other reason the film is so good is because of the acting. Julie Andrews is funny and charming and charismatic and her Maria is thinking all the time. She is a nuanced character. As is Christopher Plummer's Georg. His timing is impeccable, he's not one-dimensional. I found Moyer played the surface and not much more. And the direction didn't help--why, when he sang with his kids for the first time in years, did he sing to the backyard and not to his family?

I understand that SOM is a great title which makes it seem obvious for this kind of stunt production, but it is only a great title because it's a great film, not because it's a great play. The revivals of CAROUSEL and SOUTH PACIFIC shined but the revival of SOM did not reach those heights for a reason.


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re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman!

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:46 am EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - bicoastal 10:12 am EST 12/06/13

Lehman's screen adaptation of THE KING AND I is also exemplary. He doesn't usually get as much credit for that one because, compared to THE SOUND OF MUSIC and WEST SIDE STORY, he didn't make that many changes or do that much rewriting. But he greatly improved the story in at least two significant ways: Lady Thiang is a more sympathetic character in the movie, and even more importantly, Anna is directly involved in facilitating the romance and eventual attempted escape of Tuptim and Lun Tha, which is not the case in the stage version.


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re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman!

Posted by: Greg_M 01:24 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - Michael_Portantiere 10:46 am EST 12/06/13

Lehman also improved the screenplay for "Hello Dolly!" by having Dolly send the boys to the hat shop instead of having them wandering in by chance (among other things) which make the film more believable


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re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman!

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 02:30 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - Greg_M 01:24 pm EST 12/06/13

Yes, definitely.


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re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman!

Posted by: bicoastal 06:18 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - Michael_Portantiere 02:30 pm EST 12/06/13

Agreed. The involvement of Anna in the Tuptim romance is in the source material and Lehman wisely brought it back. He was quite a brilliant screenwriter.


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