| re: Barbra vs Carol in HELLO, DOLLY! (long) | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 06:47 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Barbra vs Carol in HELLO, DOLLY! - LegitOnce 02:04 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
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| Not sure about Streisand being cast before FUNNY GIRL's release, but having been a movie-crazy thirteen year old when DOLLY came out, I remember Streisand's casting was a huge controversy at the time. Everyone thought she was too young and that Channing (who had earned an Oscar nomination just two years earlier) should have gotten the part. But Streisand was huge news at the time and without a doubt one of the few--if only, by then--women who were bankable. Julie Andrews had been scarred by STAR!, Doris Day had been blamed for the failure of JUMBO (and indeed her film career was on the wane due to bad choices), Shirley MacLaine was working on SWEET CHARITY (age-appropriate for her but a big flop on release), Elizabeth Taylor was not a musical star, Ginger Rogers wasn't even on a movie-goers' radar, Natalie Wood was still a star but obviously not right (and barely older than Streisand), Shirley Jones was too young and pursuing serious roles, Debbie Reynolds (who might have been good) was losing her audience. Singing aside, Lucy might have pulled it off based on how big a success YOURS, MINE AND OURS was, but at a time when tons of young stars were coming up, it makes sense that the studio went with Streisand. Also remember that 20th Century Fox paid a record sum for the rights to Dolly! and had both succeeded and failed with big-budget musicals in the recent past. While they correctly identified Streisand as a potential box-office champ (and cast Walter Matthau, who was a huge star at the time), IMHO virtually every other decision they made was wrong. There couldn't have been less charm or chemistry between Marianne McAndrew (whose feature career was very short-lived) and Michael Crawford (who I still find hard to watch) and the whole move felt labored and wheezing, even to a 13-year-old. The movie performed well at the time of its release but not well enough to make its money back, so it was considered a flop (and the critical reaction did not help its reputation). | |
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| re: Barbra vs Carol in HELLO, DOLLY! (long) | |
| Posted by: | pierce 05:43 am EDT 04/03/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Barbra vs Carol in HELLO, DOLLY! (long) - bicoastal 06:47 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
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| Julie Andrews hadn't been scarred by Star! when Hello, Dolly! was being cast; when Streisand was announced for the lead role, Andrews was still riding high with the success of Thoroughly Modern Millie (she was named the top box office star for 1967). The doomed Gertrude Lawrence biography wasn't even released in the States until after Dolly! had completed filming. And while Billy Rose's Jumbo was indeed a box office disappointment when released in 1962, Doris Day was still named the top box office star of the year thanks to the smash hit That Touch Of Mink (she was also the top box office star for 1963 and 1964 as well). But there's no question her box office pull had dwindled by the time Dolly! was being cast. With Six You Get Eggroll was actually profitable and one of her top ten box office hits, but it wasn't released until after Streisand was signed to play Dolly. Dolly! producer Ernest Lehman initially thought Carol Channing should be cast in the title role, but he changed his mind after seeing Thoroughly Modern Millie. The name most often associated with the project (when it was in development) was Elizabeth Taylor. You're right that there was a backlash when Streisand's casting was announced, but it subsided after Funny Girl was released; after that, people wanted to see what she could do with the part. Dolly! was the fifth highest-grossing film of the year, but (as you stated) that wasn't enough to cover its cost. And the critical reception wasn't as uniformly negative as some have stated; reviews were mixed in New York (the Daily News gave it 4 stars and Pauline Kael recommended the film in the New Yorker) and uniformly positive in Los Angeles. Notices across the country were mixed to positive, and most critics tended to be kinder than they were in New York. | |
| Link | Box Office Champions 1932-2011 |
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| Streisand being cast as Dolly was announced in May 1967 | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 07:04 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Barbra vs Carol in HELLO, DOLLY! (long) - bicoastal 06:47 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
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| And I think that filming of Hello, Dolly! may have been completed before Funny Girl was released, although I'm not positive (and don't feel like searching for the answer to be sure). | |
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| re: Streisand being cast as Dolly was announced in May 1967 | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 07:38 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
| In reply to: | Streisand being cast as Dolly was announced in May 1967 - AlanScott 07:04 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
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| Here's a ton of production details from the Barbra Streisand Archives site. Filming on DOLLY! started in April, 1968, was completed in July. FUNNY GIRL opened in September, 1968, looks to have finished shooting about the end of 1967. | |
| Link | http://barbra-archives.com/films/hello_dolly_streisand.html |
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| Thanks for the link (nm) | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 02:47 am EDT 04/03/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Streisand being cast as Dolly was announced in May 1967 - bicoastal 07:38 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
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| nm | |
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