MGM/UA Releases Feature Double Bills of ‘50s Musicals

Not every musical out of the MGM musical factory was “Singin’ in the Rain.” Some were little more than pleasant-to-fair interludes that gave folks something to do on a Saturday afternoon.

Some of Leo’s minor ‘50s musicals being packaged as $45 double features by MGM/UA Home Video still serve that function. For those into natural fabrics, they’re something you can iron to. They highlight some of the studio’s up-and-coming young musical stars, often paired with more established actors, singing and dancing their way through rather silly stories that now seem quaint, if not plain antiquated.

The transfers all capture the rich Technicolor of the era. None is letterboxed, since all predate the wide-screen era.

A young Jane Powell is the main attraction in a double bill of “Two Weeks With Love” (1950) and “Rich, Young and Pretty” (1951). In “Two Weeks”--shades of a lame sitcom--she faces the tough issue of whether, at 17, she’s too young for a corset. One memorable number--”Abba Dabba Honeymoon,” featuring the young Debbie Reynolds--did come out of “Two Weeks,” which also features Ricardo Montalban.

MGM’s other major Latino star of the day, Fernando Lamas, is featured in “Rich, Young and Pretty.” French actress-singer Danielle Darrieux, who plays the mother unknown to Powell, offers a couple of interesting if not particularly memorable moments. Vic Damone makes his first film appearance as the young Powell’s young love in a screenplay co-written by Sydney Sheldon. The film boasts the most ingratiating musical numbers of the batch: “How Do You Like Your Eggs in the Morning,” “Old Piano Roll Blues” and the Damon-Powell duet “I Can See You.”

The double bill of “The Belle of New York” (1952) and “I Love Melvin” (1953) offers superior dancing stars, if not in particularly noteworthy dances. “Belle” pairs Fred Astaire with Vera-Ellen in a pale “Guys and Dolls”-like story, salvaged by second-rate Astaire dance numbers (although a case could be made that second-rate Astaire is better than any other dancer’s first-rate effort).

The special effects that should make one rooftop dance captivating are surprisingly poorly done.

“I Love Melvin” (1953), with an I-can-get-your-picture-in-Look-magazine plot, teams an exuberant Donald O’Connor and a Debbie Reynolds filled to the brim with perkiness. You have to see Reynolds as a human football to appreciate the special absurdity of this film.

A once-more winsome Powell is the star of 1953’s “Small Town Girl,” a single MGM/UA release ($35) with Farley Granger in another plot that could have been must reading for early TV sitcom writers. Ann Miller hoofs her way through a couple of numbers. Worth noting are appearances by Nat King Cole (as himself) and Bobby Van as a human pogo stick. Busby Berkeley turned out a disembodied orchestra and Fay Wray is featured in a character role.

Both “Small Town Girl” and these MGM double features are reminders that some films and stars might be better served by “That’s Entertainment”-type compilations than full-feature transfers to laser.

* “Two Weeks With Love” (1950) (MGM/UA): 1 hour 32 minutes; 28 chapter stops; original theatrical trailer; paired with “Rich, Young and Pretty” (1951), 1 hour, 35 minutes; 35 chapter stops; original theatrical trailer; two discs, four sides; digital sound; original theatrical trailer; CLV (extended play); $45.

* “The Belle of New York” (MGM/UA) (1952) : 1 hour 21 minutes; 12 chapter stops; paired with “I Love Melvin” (MGM/UA) (1953): 1 hour, 22 minutes; original theatrical trailer; 17 chapter stops; four discs, three sides; CLV; digital sound; $45.

* “Small Town Girl” (MGM/UA) (1953): 1 hour 33 minutes; original theatrical trailer; 19 chapter stops; one disc; digital sound; CLV; $35.