Frank’s second choice is a 1953 musical.  “Call Me Madam was buried in the vaults for years by the Irving Berlin estate and this is a great, underappreciated musical.  While it is now dated with references to Harry S. Truman’s presidency, the songs are terrific, along with a cast of Ethel Merman, Donald O’Connor, Vera-Ellen and George Sanders.  I’m surprised this musical has never been revived, as a little change here and there could bring it up to date.”

 

Irving Berlin is indeed the focal point of this 20th Century-Fox recreation of his big Broadway stage production, as he is referenced not once, but twice, during the film! The plot has to do with the brouhaha surrounding the new American Ambassador to the fictional duchy of Lichtenburg, a Washington socialite utterly unprepared for the job (based on Harry S. Truman’s appointment of Perle Mesta as Ambassador to Luxembourg).  On the other hand, the new Ambassador is portrayed by Ethel Merman.

Merman is the whole show and then some in a role cinema historians Clive Hirschhorn and Stanley Green describe as the best role of her career.  She belts out such Berlin standards as “International Rag,” “The Hostess with the Mostess,” and “Can You Use Any Money Today?” with her usual brassy style, a manner some people love and others cannot abide.  Yet there is one number late in the film, “The Best Thing for You Would Be Me,” a duet with George Sanders (!) in which Merman tones down her fortissimo to the point that she is charming rather than dominating (she cannot help but overwhelm Donald O’Connor in their duet, “You’re Just in Love”).

This is George Sanders’ only musical performance, and he is terrific in two numbers, while O’Connor shines as a singer and dancer, paired with Vera-Ellen as Lichtenburg’s princess.  Vera-Ellen isn’t much of an actress and her singing is dubbed by Carole Richards, but she is a marvelous dancer; her sequences with O’Connor are superb.

While dated and rather frightening politically as a comedy, Call Me Madam is a charmer.  Directed with colorful flair by Walter Lang, this musical remains bouncy and entertaining by anyone’s standards.  Although rather thin dramatically — like most musicals — and certainly not deep, it is a lot of fun, especially to see Donald O’Connor at his best (his rendition of “What Chance Have I with Love” is a joy), George Sanders in a rare romantic, musical role, and, of course, Ethel Merman at the top of her form.  My rating:  ✰ ✰ ✰.  (6:4).