Tres chicas con suerte

While certainly not one of MGM's "classic" musicals, GIVE A GIRL A BREAK has its moments of fun and suspense. Of the three girls auditioning for a role in a musical, which one will land it. The audition itself is quite strange in that each of the three girls just dances a couple of minutes and all three do a different number. Shouldn't they be doing the same one? Also, this is supposed to be a musical revue, yet no one is asked to sing or do a scene. Aside from that, there are many moments of real entertainment, especially be two soon-to-be Broadway choreographers, Bob Fossee and Gower Champion. Debbie Reynolds is in there doing her usual perky singing and dancing to good effect. The unknown Helen Wood, while not very convincing in her acting scenes, is one hell of a dancer. Reminds one of Cyd Charisse, but with a warmer quality. GIVE A GIRL A BREAK is part of the Warner Archive collection with a fairly good disc pressing. For those who enjoy the "old style" musicals with a weakish plot but great musical numbers, this is one to see.

Acrobatic musical from 1953 that spreads screen time between three couples instead of the usual romantic pair. Apparently the movie flopped at the box office (IMDB) despite MGM pedigree. For a musical the screenplay is more plot heavy than usual as three dancers compete for the lead in a Broadway musical. Not only does this divide screen time between the three, but generates unusual suspense for this kind of film. After all, which of the trio of talents will be selected. Also unusual is the general absence of romantic dance numbers. Instead it's flying feet, acrobatic tumbles, and super wide leg-splits-- no Astaire-Rogers here. That's surprising since the Champions would be expected to cuddle up in a few routines, but instead they're separated by plot wrinkles. So, all in all, I suspect normal audience expectations were let down.

Nonetheless, Reynolds projects her usual charm and sparkle. But will she win. In my view, screen time should have featured her, with Marge and Gower, who are better dancers than actors, in support. At the same time, the incredibly nimble Fosse makes a compact visual match for Debbie. Anyway, MGM injects its usual color splash along with a load of extras. And fans of acrobatic fast shoe should find much to marvel at. Meanwhile, that opening marathon of the splits still has me crossing my legs. Amazing what they can do.

'Give a Girl a Break' deserves to be better known; it's certainly not one of MGM's greatest musicals, but it has many bright spots and some pleasant tunes by Burton Lane with excellent lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Modern viewers will probably be most interested in Bob Fosse's excellent performance, in a supporting role.

Some aspects of this movie are clearly derived from earlier and better musicals. At one point, Gower Champion's character (a Broadway director) is besieged by struggling chorus dancers who want parts in his new musical. To escape them, he climbs up the wall of his theatre. This is apparently meant to show us how virile and athletic Champion is ... but it reminded me of the scene in 'Singin' in the Rain' when Gene Kelly escapes his fans by climbing up the side of a bus. The fact that 'Give a Girl a Break' is directed by Stanley Donen (co-director of 'Singin' in the Rain') only makes the link more obvious.

Gower Champion plays Ted Sturgis, the big-shot director of a new Broadway musical still in rehearsal. Bob Fosse plays Bobby, his assistant and dance captain, although Sturgis usually keeps Bobby busy fetching coffee. (Prophetically, Champion later became a major director of Broadway musicals... as did Fosse.) Kurt Kasznar plays Leo Belney, the show's musical director: a role that should have been played by Oscar Levant. Sturgis's ex-wife (played by Gower Champion's real wife Marge) is Madelyn Corlane, a former star whose popularity has faded, but who is hopeful of a comeback.

When Sturgis's leading lady throws a tantrum and walks out (not likely!), he needs a new leading lady in a hurry. Whoever he chooses for the role is destined to become a star. Will Madelyn get the job? Meanwhile, Bobby has become enamoured of Suzie Doolittle (the excellent Debbie Reynolds), a talented newcomer. The more classically-minded Leo wants the leading role to go to Joanna Moss (Helen Wood), a ballet dancer he secretly hopes to romance.

There's some genuine suspense as we try to guess which of these three women will get the big break. Unfortunately, the three candidates aren't equal: it's extremely obvious that highbrow ballerina Joanna hasn't got a chance against the more conventional chorines Madelyn and Suzie.

The best number in the movie is 'In Our United State' performed by Fosse and Reynolds. On a couple of other occasions ('Kiss Me Kate', 'My Sister Eileen'), Bob Fosse demonstrated his ability to do a backward aerial somersault, with astonishingly good amplitude. Here, he does it while facing the camera, in medium close shot, and it's extremely impressive. Unfortunately, Donen ruins the number with some gimmicky trick photography, speeding up the action and running it in reverse. After Debbie and Bob pop some brightly-coloured balloons, it's very weird to see the balloons unpopping themselves in reverse motion.

Another number, called 'Applause', is pleasant. I also enjoyed 'Nothing Is Impossible', performed by the three men, which features a strange bit in which Gower Champion does a rapid tap dance with one foot while he keeps his other foot balanced on top of Bob Fosse's upright heel. The tubby actor Kurt Kasznar, who can't dance and can barely sing, shows some courage by performing a musical number with the athletic Champion and Fosse.

There's a clever three-way dream sequence, in which each man envisions his own favoured lady's name appearing in lights above the theatre. But there's some clumsy dialogue involving the word 'palaver'. At the end of the movie, Marge Champion does a really ludicrous bit, in which she runs down the theatre gangway with her lips and her bosom thrust forward and her arms and her head thrown back. Corny!

This is a good place to correct a misconception about Gower Champion: after a long career as a director of Broadway musicals, he supposedly died on the opening night of '42nd Street', his biggest hit. This was, of course, an extremely ironic death. ('42nd Street' is about a Broadway director who risks his own health in rehearsals while trying to make his biggest show a hit.) The truth is a bit less neat: Gower Champion actually died several days before his show opened, but producer David Merrick (recognising the publicity value of Champion's death) claimed on opening night that Champion had died earlier that day.

I'll rate 'Give a Girl a Break' 6 out of 10, and I recommend it to you.

This is a little gem for those wanting a bit of relaxed entertainment. Unfortunately it came in a period when Kelly/Donen were setting a new standard for big production and very rapid pacing, so it was out of fashion and ignored. Everyone is charming; Marge and Gower Champion are at their peak, Bob Fosse is just hitting his stride (amusing that his screen persona was so charmingly little-boyish, in contrast to the dark angular sexiness of his later stage choreographies), and Debbie Reynolds is pixie-ish as ever. Helen Wood was not a great actress, but she was necessary to provide an additional dance flavor (see below).

To differ from another reviewer, I think that Kurt Kaznar was perfect for the Leo Belney part, at least as it was written. He carries off being totally suggestible, changing opinion instantly, and having an equal conviction in each new attitude.

Though they don't make a big deal about it, the film was mirroring a real conundrum facing Broadway directors at that period: what kind of dance to use? Tap was still around but on its way out; a kind of jazz-ballet blend was becoming mainstream; the avant-garde was a more dramatic and angular "modern" dance. Which would the public go for in the next show?

Give a Girl a Break (1953)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A Broadway show is about to open but the main star walks out over a disagreement. The producers go into a panic but decide to hold an open audition. Ted Sturgis (Gower Champion) wants his ex-wife (Marge Champion) to get the part. Leo Belney (Kurt Kasznar) wants his discovery Joanna Moss (Helen Ross) to get the role while Bob Dowdy (Bob Fosse) wants his amateur (Debbie Reynolds) to get the part.

GIVE A GIRL A BREAK isn't going to be mistaken for a masterpiece but if you're a fan of the Musical genre then it's certainly worth watching and especially since you've got some famous faces before they were well-known. This here was meant to be a showcase for the Champion team but the film ended up bombing and the two of them were pretty much done with the movies. Of course, when viewing this today the main focus will be on the Reynolds-Fosse connection.

In my opinion those two legends are the main reason to watch this as they actually make for a pretty cute couple and both of them turn in fine performances. This is especially true for Fosse who really delivers a believable performance and I thought he was extremely entertaining int he role of the producer who is often pushed around. Reynolds is as beautiful and charming as ever and there's no question that very few couple pull off that small town girl better. The rest of the cast members were okay in their parts but there's no question that they take a back seat.

The biggest problem with this film is that there's really not that much of a story. We basically have the competition thrown in so that we can get various dream sequences, which usually lead to a variety of dance numbers. In all honesty, I thought the dance numbers were decent but there's certainly nothing great here. I'd also argue that there weren't any great musical numbers either. It seems MGM was wanting to show off what talent they had on hand without giving away any great moments or musical numbers.