DVD release: ‘Anything Goes’ from 1954

On April 7, a revival of Cole Porter’s classic 1934 musical “Anything Goes” is set to open on Broadway. But if you can’t make it to New York, Entertainment One has just released the DVD of the 1954 live-TV production of the musical-comedy. It stars Ethel Merman, who caused a sensation in the original production as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney. Frank Sinatra, fresh from his success in “From Here to Eternity,” plays her former agent and lover, and Bert Lahr is Moonface Martin, Public Enemy No. 13. The show has been cut to 53 minutes, and several other Porter songs have been added to the score. Merman and Sinatra don’t have a lot of chemistry but are in fine voice singing the title tune, plus “You’re the Top” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.”

— Susan King