Carosello Napoletano

This was a pretty mediocre Italian musical from the 50's with barely any plot.  Sophia Loren had a bit part.  That's the reason why I watched it and why it is remembered today.  Pass 

Broadway Hostess

This movie isn't that great.  However, it's worth watching for the wonderful Wini Shaw who had a great voice.  Unfortunately this was her only starring vehicle.  With her other movies she was just a bit player. (I was introduced to her in Ready Willing and Able.) One person online pointed out that with more roles she could have developed more of her own singing style.  However we have to take what is shown in this movie.  The plot is small.  Wini likes her manager but he's a gambler.  The ending surprised me because I just thought that they would get together.   2.5/5

Because of Her

In the '60s there was a genre of Asian movies.  Unfortunately, only sites like yesasia.com sell them.  Although most of them are subtitled it usually requires the viewer to buy an all-region player.  Grace Chang was, in my opinion, the best loveliest actress of that genre.  In here her boyfriend tells her that he needs to leave for three years.  She breaks up with him heartbroken. She gets a job as a dancer and singer of a musical troupe.  Learning that she's pregnant one of her employers marries her.  However, the old flame comes back.  The ending was unexpected.  I liked it but not everyone else will.  The real reason to buy this is for the musical numbers.  There are many of them.

Show Boat

The 50's version of this isn't as good as the Irene Dunne one.  (I'll have to watch the old one again.)  This was all right.  Lena Horne tried out for the Julie role which dealt with a mixed woman.  It would have been a more interesting choice than Ava.  Now I liked Ava Gardner in One Touch of Venus and The Night of the Iguana but she couldn't sing.  She was dubbed here by Annette Warren, who recorded an album in the '50s.  Imagine what Lena could have done.  Howard Keel plays the love interest for Kathryn Grayson.  Unfortunately, his gambling deteriorates their relationship.  There are many classic songs like Bill which show the musical's longevity. 

East Side Story

This is the third time that I've watched this documentary in the past sixteen years.  It's a documentary about Communist musicals from the '60s and before featuring interviews from some stars of the genre.  There are also interviews from moviegoers from that time.  I immediately watched Hot Summer afterward and it all right.  The thing is that some of these movies look good particularly My Wife wants to Sing and Beloved White Mouse.  It's a shame that most of these musicals aren't released.  There seems to be some false picture that America was the only one doing musicals and it's just not true. 

Late Spring

You can tell an Ozu movie sometimes by their plot.  He liked to do a number of movies about single daughters wanting to stay with their families.  This is no exception but it is a great movie.  This seemed to be a character role for the excellent Japanese actress Setsuko Hara.  I've been watching a number of Asian movies lately and I find them rewarding.

Too Late for Love

When I was a teenager I watched this bad movie called "The Hole."  In the movie, they played some Grace Chang music.  I learned that Grace Chang was a famous actress of the Asian musical genre of the '60s.  She was probably the best actress from that period.  It's a genre I like that not that many Americans know about.  You can't find their movies on Amazon.  I buy my musicals from yesasia.com.  Many of the musicals are subtitled in English although I had to buy a specific DVD player.  Too Late for Love stars Ivy Ling Po, another actress of the genre.  This movie is a downer though.  It's about a newly wedded couple.  The husband goes off to war and the wife has to deal with his mean mother who wants her out of there.  Ivy becomes sick though and the husband gets an injury with the war as well.  There are only three musical numbers in the movie.  The acting was weak at times.  I've seen better movies from Ivy Ling Po and the Shaw Brothers.  Still, it was ok.