Praise for the Good Old Days

This being Movie Monday, you probably were expecting to read something about the new Star Trek movie or the Wolverine movie or some such. But the biggest movie in the past week for me was the 1950 Technicolor blockbuster "Annie Get Your Gun."

Let me explain...

There's an amazing old theater on the north side of Minneapolis called The Heights which has been around since 1926, and although they still do a number of first-run films (as you'll see if you go to your website), they also celebrate old movies in a way that no new-fangled theater can do it. They're so well-known for their old movies that they sell tickets in advance and -- occasionally -- even sell out. Christopher found out that "Annie Get Your Gun" was going to be showing at The Heights, and suggested it as a date night for us. (Christopher must really like me, considering that he's not a fan of musicals!)

When we arrived at the theater, there was music coming from inside. That's because there was a gentleman named Harvey Gustafson playing the mighty WCCO Wurlitzer Organ. (No. Really. That's what it's called.) When time came for the movie to actually start, the organ sank back into the floor and the lights dimmed until the only lights were the twinkling "candles" in the chandeliers. 

Of course, there was a short film, first. This focused on Tex Williams, and included some amazing moments, like the song "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette" and a book called "How to be the Life of the Party." It was grainy and a little choppy (after all, the film was from 1947!), but it was fun and a great lead-in to our main feature.

If you haven't seen "Annie Get Your Gun" in the original, and have only seen the "politically correct-ed" stage versions of the past few years, you don't know what you're missing. Howard Keel is dashing as Frank Butler, and Betty Hutton is alternately scruffy and stunning as Annie Oakley. And there are some amazing turns by the supporting cast, which includes a huge cast of Cowboys, Indians (very non-politically-correct ones), and crowned heads of Europe. There are also fabulous songs, beautiful production numbers, songs that stay with you for days, and the kind of movie musical magic that you really don't see in modern movies. 

Okay... So some of the cleaning-up that has been done to the stage show are probably for the better. But if you take it all with a grain of salt, the movie is really fun. 

So... Ratings... If you take the kids, will you need to explain a few things? Probably. Should you take them, even so? Definitely. Overall grade: A. And, if it's at The Heights Theater, then A+.