Pluskylang Great Film overall

ShangLuda Admirable film.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Cristi_Ciopron A musical biopic with an all-star cast, and if Johnson looked a bit goofy, there are scenes with Cyd Charisse and Esther Williams; Heflin plays the 2nd lead, doing what he can with his role as the arranger and repentant procrastinator. He has been well chosen to make scenes watchable, as his style had brio, and the script also allowed for some depth, if the word isn't too grand, or at least plausibility, to his character. The movie signifies also the dawn or the spring of a few careers, of players who were then in their blessed prime. People like A. Lansbury and Sinatra went on to great careers. The Sally Hessler's selfishness subplot stank of hypocrisy and paternalist judgmental meanness (also, Kern's submissiveness when depriving Sally of her tune, and acknowledging the absolute authority of the producer to cut as he likes). The storyline has the cautiousness of such biopics, with few anecdotes (the Hessler family, Frohman's demise, Herbert the dean, the courtship in the British countryside, Sally's subplot). If the sentiment was phony, it also defines this genre of tributes to Broadway, with their MGM insipidity. There is though a moment, when Jerry, after he had just visited the prodigal Sally, feels the grandeur of the river …. The tunes that I liked very much were those not sugary: 'Life Upon the Wicked Stage', 'Till the Clouds Roll By', 'She Didn't Say Yes' (Lyn and Lee Wilde), 'Ol' Man River' sung by Sinatra; 'Show Boat' seemed indeed the nicest of Kern's works.Mainly, enjoy the music. That's why this movie has been made for. 'Ol' Man River', from the legendary 'Show Boat', thrilled Whale, 10 yrs before this movie has been made. A musical movie isn't always an ambitious experiment in narration, often it's a musical show, which may require a narrative convention, and this, in its turn, however conventional, asks for craft, in order to be achieved. I find it puzzling how many reviewers, when dismissing the musicals for their pretended lack of a plot, seemed to ignore that these were mainly musical shows and that it was as unfair to complain about story as in the situation of an operetta, a revue or a variety. In our age, objecting seems a sign of cleverness.Who would care much if an operetta hasn't a plot, and who would care about the contemporary reviews, other than for historical research? Perhaps some deplored that the songs haven't been matched by plot, etc., that a better movie could of been made, yet this thought remains sour and unfair. Quibbles, indeed. As for Crowther, he used to dismiss many things, and I don't find him a dependable reviewer. Many of his disparaging takes are too whimsical.

vincentlynch-moonoi I avoided this film for all these years (I am 64 now), and only watched it now because I had just watched the Marilyn Miller biopic ("Look For The Silver Lining"), and so many mentioned Judy Garland's portrayal of Miller here as so much better than June Haver's in "Look For...". Well, let's get a couple of things straight. Judy Garland didn't look anything at all like Marilyn Miller, nor did she sound anything at all like Marilyn Miller. So this nonsense about how wonderful Garland's portrayal of Marilyn Miller in this film is just hogwash. I don't even think she sang "Look For The Silver Lining" very well here; she did a wonderful rendition of "Who" here, however. But for those of you who think she was so exquisite here, I guess you base your opinion on the one thing they had in common. Know what it was??? But now, back to this film. To be honest, the film was an excuse for MGM to develop another lavish musical...something that no other studio did so well. They came up with a darned good script, albeit another highly fictionalized biography of a famous entertainment figure. To be honest, I enjoyed the fictionalized story more than I did the production numbers...even though I admire Kern's work a great deal.Odd thing about the casting. I don't enjoy film performances by either Robert Walker or Van Heflin. Yet, in this film I thought they were both excellent! As to the negatives of casting -- Lucille Bremer's performance late in the film was very unconvincing.Now, the big controversy in the film was the concluding production number -- Frank Sinatra singing "Old Man River". If you're having a problem with that White guy singing a Black song...get over it. It was written by a White guy (the film is about that White composer). It was written for Broadway of that era...so it was mostly written for White audiences. But MOST importantly, music knows no race. Nat King Cole can interpret "Dance Ballerina, Dance", just as Frank Sinatra can interpret "Old Man River". A jazz musician can interpret a pop classic. Music belongs to everyone. And, incidentally, the best rendition of "Old Man River" I ever heard was Sinatra's interpretation on his Reprise album "The Concert Sinatra" from 1962. But even here, in 1946, Sinatra's performance of the number is strong and flawless (unless you obsess about a pigmentation problem). And just for the record, I generally disdain Sinatra recordings from before the mid-1950s.While not at the top of my list of MGM movie musicals and biopics, this is a good one. Recommended.

earlytalkie This was MGM's slogan throughout most of it's heyday, and it's never more apparent than in this lavish Technicolor film, which was the studio's big Christmas 1946 release. This may have been released somewhat earlier, if not for a strike at Technicolor which held up sufficient release prints for a general release. If some criticize the story for taking liberties with Jerome Kern's less-than-thrilling real life story, this is more than made up for by showcasing MGM's finest talent in a Niagara Falls cascade of terrific musical numbers. The first section of the film is devoted to a capsule digest version of "Show Boat", and that whets the appetite for the many now-classic numbers which follow. This film exemplifies why the MGM musical is held in such high regard. Beautiful orchestrations, top-talent, and an overall lavishness that would have made Ziegfeld himself proud. Back in 1973, this film made headlines with the fact that the MGM lawyers failed to renew the copyright on this picture, so it, along with Royal Wedding and several others, have made it, over the years, to the public-domain VHS and DVD releases. This is one of many classic all-star films which MGM released over the years. While this film is rather long, it goes by quickly due to the constant stream of great musical numbers contained within. If you love "classic" talent, the kind our parents and grandparents grew up with, you will enjoy "Till The Clouds Roll By".

Petri Pelkonen Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) tells the story of composer Jerome Kern.In this movie he's played by Robert Walker.Van Heflin is James Hessler.Lucille Bremer is his daughter Sally.It has many fine musical numbers.My favorite has to be the one with Angela Lansbury where she's singing How'd You Like to Spoon With Me? and swinging at the same time.There are lot of names appearing in the movie.Judy Garland is in a rather big role as Marilyn Miller.Lena Horne is Julie in Show Boat.Tony Martin is Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat.Cyd Charisse does a dance specialty in Roberta.Van Johnson is Bandleader in elite club.Esther Williams makes a cameo appearance.Silent era's 'Snub' Pollard appears as Orchestra Drummer.James Finlayson is Candy Vendor.Frank Sinatra sings the very last piece Ol' Man River.Watch this movie and enjoy all that lovely music.