Fred Astaire was 69 years old when he left Glocca Morra as Finian McLonergan to put down roots in America. In "Finian's Rainbow," he gives us his swan song as a hoofer. It's nothing like the dazzling, sometimes complicated, yet always seemingly effortless routines he delighted audiences with through the mid-1950s. But, the lighter, softer footwork here still exudes the magical touch of the master of dance.
Astaire is joined by a superb cast for this fantasy musical that also departs from the usual stage settings for Astaire routines. Here, the dancing, songs, and story take place mostly in the outdoors of the village of Rainbow Valley and its nearby woods. Finian has come with his daughter, Sharon, to plant the pot of gold he snatched at the end of a rainbow in Ireland. He came to bury it in Missitucky which is near Fort Knox. Planted next to America's gold deposit, the pot is sure to grow - or so thinks Finian. And he wants to get his gold buried before the leprechaun that is in pursuit catches up to him. Petula Clark is superb as Sharon and Tommy Steele is fantastic as Og, the leprechaun.
In Rainbow Valley, they are welcomed by the townsfolk and join in their party after helping stave off the sheriff's attempt to auction off the village property for back taxes. Senator Billboard Rawkins wants to acquire all the land. Don Francks plays Woody Mahoney, who soon woos Sharon. A movie newcomer, Barbara Hancock, plays Susan the Silent. She is a ballerina in her first part in a movie, and she dances her heart away in this film. Keenan Wynn plays Senator Rawkins. Al Freeman Jr. Plays Howard, a researcher and partner with Woody in a project to develop a menthol tobacco plant. All of these lead characters and supporting actors are backed up by a troupe of dancers and singers who perform or support some wonderful musical and dance routines in the film.
The story and music come from a book by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg and Fred Saidy. Harburg wrote the lyrics for all of the songs and Burton Lane wrote the music. "Finian's Rainbow" was first made into a staged musical on Broadway in 1947. Five of the songs became hit tunes that year. The most popular and well known number was "How Are Things in Glocca Morra." Ella Logan first sang it on stage in the 1947 musical. The other four hit tunes were "Old Devil Moon," "If This Isn't Love," "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," and "Look to the Rainbow." Columbia Records was the first recording studio to issue an album with all the songs from a musical. The music of Finian's Rainbow was also the first LP issued by Columba, in 1947. The original Broadway production ran for 725 performances. But it took 20 years before a movie studio would take on the project. Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the beginning of the end of racial segregation of all kinds, a story like that of Finian's Rainbow was considered too hot to handle beyond the Broadway stage.
The story and film have aspects that take segregation head-on. They also have considerable humor that mock race stereotyping. Most of this is done with humor that people today can appreciate and enjoy. In that regard, the film strikes an historical chord for its portrayal of racial bigotry and prejudice that still prevailed well past the middle of the 20th century in America.
While the name Yip Harburg may not be recognizable to most people in the 21st century, a lot of his tunes are well known today and likely will be long into the future. Harburg wrote the lyrics for all 18 of the songs in "The Wizard of Oz." "Over the Rainbow" won the 1939 Oscar for best original song and became Judy Garland's theme song. It became one of the most enduring standard songs for movies through the 20th century. Harburg's original songs or reprisals of his tunes have been in 385 movies through 2015.
The movie does have some unique and some odd things about it. One that is both of these is its series of scenes in the opening while the credits are running. The scenes are beautiful panoramas mostly of scenic or historic places in America. They show Finian and Sharon (or their stand-ins) walking over hills, through fields, down steep mountain trails, and high above vistas that show many American trademarks. We see the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, Monument Valley in Arizona, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the Rocky Mountains or Cascade Mountains, a boat ride on the Everglades, and more. While the scenery is excellent, it also doesn't make sense. Finian came from Ireland and started walking across America from the West Coast? Zigzagging up and down across country?
Even with its hit songs, and an overall entertaining production, "Finian's Rainbow" doesn't have the punch that the more elaborate musicals have had. Still, the mythical Glocca Morra will likely live on from the tune itself. And the movie is a fine and fitting end of the musical film productions of a great cinema dancing legend and, as it turns out, the near end of musical films by the top British female singer of record. Astaire appeared in just a few more non-musicals and Clark sang in only two more films. But we all can still enjoy the dancing and singing of Fred Astaire and Petula Clark in the number of their recorded works that will be available for decades to come.
Astaire is joined by a superb cast for this fantasy musical that also departs from the usual stage settings for Astaire routines. Here, the dancing, songs, and story take place mostly in the outdoors of the village of Rainbow Valley and its nearby woods. Finian has come with his daughter, Sharon, to plant the pot of gold he snatched at the end of a rainbow in Ireland. He came to bury it in Missitucky which is near Fort Knox. Planted next to America's gold deposit, the pot is sure to grow - or so thinks Finian. And he wants to get his gold buried before the leprechaun that is in pursuit catches up to him. Petula Clark is superb as Sharon and Tommy Steele is fantastic as Og, the leprechaun.
In Rainbow Valley, they are welcomed by the townsfolk and join in their party after helping stave off the sheriff's attempt to auction off the village property for back taxes. Senator Billboard Rawkins wants to acquire all the land. Don Francks plays Woody Mahoney, who soon woos Sharon. A movie newcomer, Barbara Hancock, plays Susan the Silent. She is a ballerina in her first part in a movie, and she dances her heart away in this film. Keenan Wynn plays Senator Rawkins. Al Freeman Jr. Plays Howard, a researcher and partner with Woody in a project to develop a menthol tobacco plant. All of these lead characters and supporting actors are backed up by a troupe of dancers and singers who perform or support some wonderful musical and dance routines in the film.
The story and music come from a book by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg and Fred Saidy. Harburg wrote the lyrics for all of the songs and Burton Lane wrote the music. "Finian's Rainbow" was first made into a staged musical on Broadway in 1947. Five of the songs became hit tunes that year. The most popular and well known number was "How Are Things in Glocca Morra." Ella Logan first sang it on stage in the 1947 musical. The other four hit tunes were "Old Devil Moon," "If This Isn't Love," "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," and "Look to the Rainbow." Columbia Records was the first recording studio to issue an album with all the songs from a musical. The music of Finian's Rainbow was also the first LP issued by Columba, in 1947. The original Broadway production ran for 725 performances. But it took 20 years before a movie studio would take on the project. Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the beginning of the end of racial segregation of all kinds, a story like that of Finian's Rainbow was considered too hot to handle beyond the Broadway stage.
The story and film have aspects that take segregation head-on. They also have considerable humor that mock race stereotyping. Most of this is done with humor that people today can appreciate and enjoy. In that regard, the film strikes an historical chord for its portrayal of racial bigotry and prejudice that still prevailed well past the middle of the 20th century in America.
While the name Yip Harburg may not be recognizable to most people in the 21st century, a lot of his tunes are well known today and likely will be long into the future. Harburg wrote the lyrics for all 18 of the songs in "The Wizard of Oz." "Over the Rainbow" won the 1939 Oscar for best original song and became Judy Garland's theme song. It became one of the most enduring standard songs for movies through the 20th century. Harburg's original songs or reprisals of his tunes have been in 385 movies through 2015.
The movie does have some unique and some odd things about it. One that is both of these is its series of scenes in the opening while the credits are running. The scenes are beautiful panoramas mostly of scenic or historic places in America. They show Finian and Sharon (or their stand-ins) walking over hills, through fields, down steep mountain trails, and high above vistas that show many American trademarks. We see the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, Monument Valley in Arizona, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the Rocky Mountains or Cascade Mountains, a boat ride on the Everglades, and more. While the scenery is excellent, it also doesn't make sense. Finian came from Ireland and started walking across America from the West Coast? Zigzagging up and down across country?
Even with its hit songs, and an overall entertaining production, "Finian's Rainbow" doesn't have the punch that the more elaborate musicals have had. Still, the mythical Glocca Morra will likely live on from the tune itself. And the movie is a fine and fitting end of the musical film productions of a great cinema dancing legend and, as it turns out, the near end of musical films by the top British female singer of record. Astaire appeared in just a few more non-musicals and Clark sang in only two more films. But we all can still enjoy the dancing and singing of Fred Astaire and Petula Clark in the number of their recorded works that will be available for decades to come.