Top Banana

I remember seeing this on TV as a kid in the mid-1950s and was curious about seeing it again. Then I found it on Kanopy. What was I thinking?

I won't repeat the other comments here; they are mostly accurate. The burlesque routines are spectacular and Silvers and his friends are terrific. But musically, it's a dud all around except for the title number. I expected much more from Johnny Mercer who otherwise has a great catalog of compositions.

As I learned from the other reviews, there were more songs on Broadway than here. It is disappointing that most of Rose Marie's role was cut yet she suddenly appears in a production number in the second act. It is billed as her big song on the TV show but she shows up only at the end of a long dance sequence singing a final chorus with everyone else. You can hardly hear her voice above the din. So much for editing.

I'm a Broadway baby, so I don't mind the single camera shots of a stage. That's how I would see it in a theater. But please, edit for continuity. Silvers, in a suit at the department store, suddenly changes into an artists outfit with no explanation or set up. There are other sudden unexplained jumps that are very distracting.

This film seems like a last ditch effort to salvage something from the stage production for a quick buck in movie theaters. And it shows.