THE GANG’S ALL HERE [1943] [Masters of Cinema] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Hail! Hail! The Gang’s All Here in Spectacular Technicolor!
The iconic director-choreographer Busby Berkeley's first full-length film in Technicolor of the classic 1940s psychedelia musical extravaganza and well established as being perhaps the most visually stunning spectacle of any Hollywood musical. But to focus on this risks overlooking its exuberant performances, gleeful humour, sensational music and glowing romance, amidst countless other pleasures.
A young soldier's fast-struck love affair with a New York City nightclub singer, despite his long-standing betrothal to a wealthy childhood friend, provides the catalyst for this dizzying parade of home-front melodrama, comic set-pieces and mind-boggling musical numbers, including “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” and “The Polka-Dot Polka.”
Featuring some of the most popular musical stars of its day, including Alice Faye, the incomparable Carmen Miranda, and the legendary Benny Goodman, along with brilliantly funny supporting turns from Edward Everett Horton, Eugene Pallette, and Charlotte Greenwood. ‘The Gang's All Here’ is an outlandishly surprising classic from one of the Hollywood dream factory's most influential innovators. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present a world premiere of a stunning new restoration on Blu-ray.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1944 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration in Color for James Basevi, Joseph C. Wright and Thomas Little. 2014 National Film Preservation Board, USA: Win: National Film Preservation Board for ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE.’
FILM FACT No.2: ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ [1943] was the first colour film entirely directed by Busby Berkeley (he had earlier directed dance numbers for the 1930 two-color Technicolor film Whoopee!), and the extravagant production numbers were well received. While praising Busby Berkeley's work, the MPH reviewer commented that the production numbers "are opulent in highly effective Technicolor combinations and are climaxed by a finale in the cubistic and modernistic tempo which is different from anything that has passed this reviewer's way since some of the abstract treatments employed for the film ‘Fantasia’ by Walt Disney.” Although some modern sources indicate that the film was banned in Brazil because of the giant bananas featured in "The Lady with Tutti-Frutti Hat" number, the film's file in the Motion Picture Production Code Collection at the AMPAS Library contained no information about censorship in Brazil and the film was approved for export to South American countries. Noted: Drummer Louie Bellson appears uncredited in the Benny Goodman Orchestra while Carmen Miranda sings "Paducah."
Cast: Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, Benny Goodman, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Eugene Pallette, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Tony De Marco, James Ellison, Sheila Ryan, Dave Willock, Bando da Lua (Dorita's Orchestra), Leon Belasco (uncredited), Brooks Benedict (uncredited), Lee Bennett (uncredited), Ruth Brady (uncredited), Lorraine Breacher (uncredited), Gabriel Canzona (uncredited), Brooke Chapin (uncredited), Jeanne Crain (uncredited), Frank Darien (uncredited), Frankie Daye (uncredited), Jo-Carroll Dennison (uncredited), George Dobbs (uncredited), Johnny Duncan (uncredited), Herbert Evans (uncredited), Frank Faylen (uncredited), Deidre Gale (uncredited), June Haver (uncredited), Hallene Hill (uncredited), Leyland Hodgson (uncredited), Russell Hoyt (uncredited), Adele Jergens (uncredited), Miriam LaVelle (uncredited), Al Murphy (uncredited), Jean O'Donnell (uncredited), Aloysio de Oliveira (uncredited), Donna Mae Roberts (uncredited), Marion Rosamond (uncredited), Charles Saggau (uncredited), Virginia Sale (uncredited), Billie Seward (uncredited), Mary Stewart (uncredited), Blanche Taylor (uncredited), Fred Walburn (uncredited), Virginia Wilson (uncredited) and Lillian Yarbo (uncredited)
Director: Busby Berkeley
Producers: William Goetz and William LeBaron
Screenplay: Walter Bullock (screenplay), George Root Jr. (story), Nancy Wintner (story) and Tom Bridges (story)
Composers: Alfred Newman (uncredited), Arthur Lange (uncredited), Cyril J. Mockridge (uncredited), Gene Rose (uncredited) and Hugo Friedhofer (uncredited)
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 103 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox / EUREKA! Entertainment Ltd
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: The great choreographer Busby Berkeley [1895 – 1976] learned his craft as a US army officer orchestrating parades during the First World War and became famous in the 1930s regimenting chorus girls in black-and-white art deco musicals at Warner Brothers. THE GANG’S ALL HERE was his first picture in Technicolor, made on loan from a very conservative M-G-M to 20th Century Fox, which specialised in conventional, brightly lit Technicolor musicals, usually starring Alice Faye and Don Ameche. His wildest, most delirious picture, and it is of quoted on a regular basis and totally justified when it was said, “Those who consider Busby Berkeley a master consider this his masterpiece,” especially in the 1940s.
Hollywood’s response to World War II was a strange mixture of escapism and gritty heroism. The year Busby Berkeley’s ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ was released also saw such fare as the gripping ‘Edge of Darkness’ about a Swedish village that overthrows Nazi occupying forces and Action in the North Atlantic which brought the dreaded Nazi U-Boats and the War of the Atlantic right into American cinemas. Way over on the other end of the spectrum is Busby Berkeley’s film. A seemingly disconnected story filled with dazzling musical productions, surreal, often phallic symbolism, romance, and beautiful dancing showgirls by the dozens.
At the heart of ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ remains a story of a soldier, Andrew Mason [James Ellison], who, ahead of his deployment to the South Pacific to fight the Japanese, falls for the beautiful blonde, but very hard to get, showgirl Eadie Allen [Alice Faye], even though he is already engaged to his childhood sweetheart Vivian Potter [Sheila Ryan]. His return to the States and a U.S. Bond drive put on by his parents and their friends and neighbours, the parents of his betrothed, lead to an awkward situation when both Edie Allen and Vivian Potter are gathered for a big charity performance. While the situation does allow for what is probably the realest moment in the film when Edie Allen, finally made aware of Andrew Mason’s two-timing, lets him know that his status as a war hero does not give him free rein to treat all the women left back at home like rubbish. For the most part ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ is light-hearted, comical, and completely unaware of the real problems in the world at the time. Made in the midst of the big band Jazz explosion and the country’s newfound “discovery” of the South American and Latin sounds, the film also features music and appearances from Benny Goodman and his Orchestra and the wonderfully energetic Carmen Miranda, who, despite her marketing as a Latin spice, was in fact Portuguese.
When Andrew Mason and the real Sgt. Pat Casey [Dave Willock] arrive at the club, however, Eadie Allen learns the truth. Andrew Mason proclaims that he wants to marry her and not Vivian Potter, but Eadie Allen insists on breaking off their relationship, as she believes that Vivian Potter really cares for Andrew Mason. During the show, however, Vivian Potter tells Eadie Allen that she is going off to Broadway to perform as Tony De Marco's permanent partner, and reveals that she and Andrew Mason were never truly in love. As the show comes to a close, Eadie Allen and Andrew Mason reconcile their differences, and everyone joins in the final song. For the most part ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ is light-hearted, comical, and completely unaware of the real problems in the world at the time.
Musical highlights include Carmen Miranda performing an insinuating, witty version of “You Discover You're in New York” that lampoons fads, fashions, and wartime shortages of the time. The film is also memorable for Carmen Miranda's “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat,” which because of its sexual innuendo, with dozens of scantily clad women handling very large bananas, prevented the film from being shown in Miranda's native Portugal in its initial release. Even in the US the censors dictated that the chorus girls must hold the bananas at the waist and not at the hip. Alice Faye sings “A Journey to a Star;” “No Love, No Nothin'” and the surreal finale “The Polka-Dot Polka.”
It is the visual aesthetic treat with the Busby Berkeley’s choreography that is the real draw in the film, however. His signature style of an almost monolith of dancing showgirls, wide angle overhead panning shots and a kaleidoscope of visual effects that include at one point the very obviously phallic use of giant bananas are both dazzling to watch, but also, at times, unsettling. The film ends with wonderful panoply of disembodied heads of the main characters against a background of swirling colours. It leaves one both mesmerised and also wondering what, if anything, the film might have really been all about.
The entire feeling of the film ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE,’ is in the fact, that it is not just comedic excess and camp, but one of desperately trying to avoid the darker side of reality. It ticks all the boxes of the styles that were currently in vogue in Hollywood at the time in the 1940s, but it does it in its own peculiar way, and one that exists in its own universe and that is why we love this film.
THE GANG’S ALL HERE MUSIC TRACK LIST
HAIL! HAIL! THE GANG’S ALL HERE! (uncredited) (Music by Theodore Morse and Arthur Sullivan) (Lyrics by Dolly Morse) [Sung by a chorus during the opening credits]
BRAZIL (Aquarela Do Brasil) (uncredited) (Music by Ary Barroso) (English lyrics by Bob Russell) [Sung by Aloysio de Oliveira, Carmen Miranda and chorus]
YOU DISCOVER YOUR’E IN NEW YORK (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) [Performed by Carmen Miranda, Alice Faye, Phil Baker and chorus]
MINNIE’S IN THE MONEY (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) (Arranged by Eddie Sauter) [Sung by Benny Goodman with his band and a jitterbug chorus]
SOFT WINDS (uncredited) (Written by Benny Goodman – instrumental) [Played by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra] [Danced by Alice Faye and James Ellison]
THE LADY IN THE TUTTI FRUTI HAT (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) [Performed by Carmen Miranda and chorus]
A JOURNEY TO A STAR (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) [Sung by Alice Faye and reprised by cast] [Danced by Tony De Marco and Sheila Ryan]
THE JITTERS (uncredited) (Music by Gene Rose) [Played by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra] [Danced by Charlotte Greenwood and Charles Saggau]
NO LOVE, NO NOTHIN’ STAR (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) (Arranged by Benny Carter) [Sung by Alice Faye] [Danced by Tony De Marco and Sheila Ryan]
(I've Got a Gal in) KALAMAZOO (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Mack Gordon) [Played by Benny Goodman and his band]
PADUCAH (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Mack Gordon) [Played by Benny Goodman and his orhestra] [Danced by Carmen Miranda and Tony De Marco]
THE POLKA DOT POLKA (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) [Sung by Alice Faye with dancers]
THE POLKA DOT BALLET (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) [Performed by Busby Berkeley dancers]
A HOT TIME IN THE OLD TOWN TONIGHT (uncredited) (Music by Theodore A. Metz) [Played as the car pulls up after the "Brazil" number]
SILENT SEÑORITA (uncredited) (Music by Harry Warren) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) [Sung by the chorus toward the end of the "Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat" number]
'Valse des rayons' from 'Le Papillon' (uncredited) (aka "Valse chaloupée") (Music by Jacques Offenbach) [The "Apache Dance" referred to and sung by Charlotte Greenwood and Phil Baker]
P’RA QUE DISCUTIR (uncredited) (Written by Nestor Amaral)
DIGA o ELLA (uncredited) (Written by Nestor Amaral)
LET’S DANCE (uncredited) (Written by Gregory Stone, Josef Bonime and Fanny Baldridge)
THE FLOWER SONG (uncredited) (Music by Gustav Lange)
Blu-ray Image Quality – This Technicolor spectacular from 20th Century Fox comes to the Blu-ray format in a beautiful stunning 1080p encoded image. There are some unavoidably rough spots due to the visual effects and the nature of the three-strip Technicolor format, but mostly we get a gorgeously saturated, clean image that looks totally filmic, and has superb contrast, with lots of brilliant stunning detail. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio. For the record, Eureka Entertainment Ltd has provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Generally speaking, depth and clarity remain pleasing throughout the entire film. There is a bit of room for minor improvements in the high-frequencies, but the music performances and the dialogue sound very good. The audio balance is good and there are no sudden spikes or dramatic drops in dynamic audio activity. Lastly, there are no pops, crackles, audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme and Film Historian Ed Hulse: With this fascinating audio commentary, film critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme and film historian Ed Hulse discuss Busby Berkeley's directing style, 20th Century Fox's handling of THE GANG’S ALL HERE,’ the socio-political climate in America at the time when the film was shot and specifically the effects the war had on the manner in which the narrative was structured, especially with the romantic and patriotic overtones, the film's surrealistic qualities, the music numbers, etc. Glenn Kenny and Ed Hulse share stories from their own personal interactions with Alice Faye on the repertory circuit, and all three are quick to call out particular sequences to which they are especially attached. It’s a great balance of personal appreciation and scholarly analysis, allowing for the slight differences of opinion each person brings while allowing that diversity to prop up the film even more. Their discussion of Alice Faye in particular, was so informative and fascinating. We also here some other very interesting information, especially where they explain, among other things, how the film’s Latin flavour was due to the government’s Good Neighbour policy, as European markets closed down, the US sought to reinforce its ties with South America, and how the film became a favourite of the New York gay scene when it was revived in the 1970s. We also learn that Busby Berkeley allegedly almost clonked Carmen Miranda on the head by accident during the opening scene with one of his beloved crane shots. The audio commentary was recorded exclusively for The Masters of Cinema Series in New York in February 2014.
Special Feature: Busby Berkeley: A Journey with a Star [2007] [1080p] [1.37:1/1.78:1] [19:29] This short retrospective piece includes interviews duel conversations with USC film professor Rick Jewell and President of the Institute of the American Musical Miles Krueger. Both gentlemen have clearly steeped themselves in classic Hollywood history and are devout fans of Busby Berkeley in general. A lot of neat things are touched on here from Busby Berkeley's place in a studio system that could be both supportive and extremely restrictive to a creative mind such as his well as lots of things that he did as signatures that were part of this film as well as his others and is a very lively and passionate discussion of the brilliant Busby Berkeley.
Special Feature: Deleted Scene [1943] [480i] [1.37:1] [5:08] Here we have only one deleted scene from the film and it is quite amusing, especially near the end.
Theatrical Trailer [1943] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:10] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE.’ Sadly, they should have upgraded this trailer like the film.
PLUS: We get a wonderful printed front and inside Blu-ray Cover.
BONUS: A stunning characteristically stellar 56 Page Booklet featuring essays entitled THAT MAN ‘EES CRAZEE – Astonishing Reflections on ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ by critics David Cairns and a 2014 WHAT DO WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BUSBY BERKELY? By Karina Longworth. On top of all that, we get a plethora of very rare archival imagery from the production of ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ and we are also given the evidence of why Busby Berkeley was so brilliant at his craft and that he never stopped trying to push the boundaries of aesthetic possibilities in the cinema genre as far as Busby Berkeley could go, even if it meant going well beyond the limits of good taste. Plus we get NOTES ON VIEWING and BLU-RAY CREDITS.
Finally, Busby Berkeley's ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ is a totally phenomenal production that has to be seen on Blu-ray to be fully appreciated. Shot in beautiful Technicolor, it truly looks and feels like a giant surrealistic dream in which anything is possible. EUREKA! Entertainment's technical presentation of ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE’ is fantastic. Catch the dazzling excess, the surreal imagery, and the catchy musical escapades including “Girl in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” and “The Polka-Dot Polka” in this wonderful Technicolor wartime musical, ‘THE GANG’S ALL HERE,’ which is a classic bit of Hollywood escapism from the golden age. It’s another fantastic package from The Masters of Cinema Series, more than I ever could have dreamed this wonderful film would receive. Classic Hollywood musicals are usually held tightly by their respective studios, prohibiting access from distributors more inclined to offer scholarly appreciations, so this is an especially welcome development. I hope it is the first of many more, but even if not, it is extraordinarily valuable all its own. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
