Millie

Roaring '20s musical is a fun, eager-to-please live-action cartoon with satire and slapstick. Julie Andrews plays a small town lass who has moved to New York City to land a steno job with an unmarried boss for her to conquer; Mary Tyler Moore is her timid new friend at the all-girl boarding house; Beatrice Lillie is their shady housemother; and Carol Channing (in an outrageous performance that must be seen to be believed) is a wealthy, swinging do-gooder. Tongue-in-cheek production from Ross Hunter and director George Roy Hill, inspired by the Broadway show "The Boy Friend", offers Julie Andrews one of her best film roles; whether dancing like a trouper to keep her elevator in motion or addressing the camera à la the silent movie era, Andrews is so loose and charming she even gets laughs crossing the street. There are a few slip-ups: the Jewish wedding sequence sticks out as an artifice, Moore's listlessly girlish performance is all on one note, and the Harold Lloyd-inspired comic ballet (with Julie falling out of a high-rise window) is too broad and silly. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, "Millie" picked up one Oscar for Elmer Bernstein's score (the smashing costume designs by Jean Louis probably should have won also). Overlong, and with a drab Universal backlot appearance, the film is nevertheless "delish!" Engaging, high-spirited fluff. *** from ****