Musicals of the 60's: Bells Are Ringing

Saturday was busy. More snow fell and after I shoveled the driveway I went online and wrote a list of 60's movies that I am going to write about in this blog. After scanning through the movie blog "Like Anna Karina's Sweater" there was a feature in which they spotlighted a movie from a decade, so I decided on writing a movie in the 60's. I broke some of the movies in six categories: Musical, Western, Sci-Fi, Horror/Suspense/Black Comedy (three in one), Bond. James Bond (spy films-real or spoofs), and England Swings (movies made in Great Britain). Today we focus on the musical and starting at the beginning of the decade.

Bells Are Ringing

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Based on the Adolf Green-Betty Comden-Jule Styne musical comedy Bells Are Ringing was brought to the screen from MGM. Judy Holiday (sadly her last movie as she would die from cancer five years later) repeats her role as Ella Peterson-who is working for a phone service known as Susanswerphone. She helps people by impersonating people but with help from her boss Sue (Jean Stapleton-the future Edith Bunker) Ella branches out after when the police arrive. She impersonates people until she comes across Jeffery Ross (Dean Martin) a playwright who happens to be one of Ella's clients. Not knowing it, Ella starts to love him.

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The movie has great musical songs but the best has to be "Just in Time" between Holiday and Martin. I like how in a way Holiday changes her vocals in that song. The movie also features Frank Gorshin and Hal Linden (who originated the Ross character on Broadway as he says in the documentary on the film's DVD he knew that MGM was going to look for someone big to play his role). Watching Bells Are Ringing the viewer gets a real sense that this is not a 60's movie; but still in the 50's state of mind. That is why it's outstanding to see how the movies in the decade went from conservative to liberal.