I'm so grateful to Tom Minton and John for introducing me to this song: It's "Thanks a Lot but no Thanks" from MGM's "It's always Fair Weather," sung by Dolores Gray.
I'll put up a few snapshots and a small sample of the lyrics.
Dolores throws her arm up and a big, brassy orchestral blast kicks in.
There she goes, right into the De Chirico background as the curtains part.
Her sidemen drop from the sky, somersault, and slide into scene...
DOLORES GRAY (ALTERNATES SONG AND SPEECH)
...until she's surrounded by them. They freeze in place...
...then they leap to their feet and do a manic scramble exit.
Three rush back and strike a cool pose. They're hoping she'll dump her old boyfriend and go out with them.
On the line "Thanks a lot but but no thanks" Dolores banishes the men with a flick of her arm.
Three new sidemen rush in and strike immensely cool poses. I'll dispense with the lyrics so I can concentrate on the visuals.
These guys make a great counterpoint to what's going on in the song. Seeing this reminds me of my promise to myself that if I become rich I'll have a have a troop of chorus girls follow me around all day, ready to back me up with choreography in case I decide to sing or emphasize a point.
The men do some great moves then Dolores banishes them again with another "Thanks a lot but no Thanks!"
Now (above) some of the sidemen waddle walk back in. Dolores sings about the man she loves.
Some great moves by the side men, then she dismisses them too.
Actually, she shoots them. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
It doesn't do her any good because a whole bunch of new sidemen strut in from behind camera.
They try to impress Dolores...
...but it's no deal...she's not buying it. She's loyal to the man she loves, who's "like Marlon Brando and Clifton Webb combiiiiined."
She banishes them. too.
Undeterred, new sidemen appear from trapdoors and offer Dolores expensive jewelry.
Nope! She's not interested. Her man has what it takes to top that.
Dynamite! Just the thing to get rid of those pests!
Haw!
In desperation the horny sidemen make one last appeal,
en masse. It's no use. She pulls a lever and the men are banished to the Netherworld.
'Thanks a lot but no thanks!"
Then the big finish: "No...
NO...THAAAANKS!!!!!"
Good stuff, eh?
Good stuff for sure! Everything about this number is fantastic. I think the love song about devotion is just a vehicle for the femme fatale motif of the performance. The visuals are more important than the lyrics. You missed the part where Dolores shoots the men. Too violent perhaps? It kind of reminds me of Bugs Bunny though. The costumes are great. The guys in tuxes was a good idea and Dolores works that dress to perfection. The choreography and set is amazing too. The performance has a "current" feel to it. Hard to believe it's from 1955.
ReplyDeleteThe entire clip can be seen on YouTube from this link. Starts at about 1:30, but the commercials before the number are good too.
ReplyDeleteAnon: Holy Cow! I DID leave out the part where she shoots the men! How could I have overlooked that? Thanks! I just put it back in. You have good taste!
ReplyDeleteDon: Thanks for the great link!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!...............spoken like a true cartoonist.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you've seen Gwen Verdon as Lola in Damn Yankees, doing her comical seduction dance
ReplyDeletein the locker room for Tab Hunter. She moves like a cartoon parody of a femme fatale, starting
at about halfway into the video (the whole thing is worth watching). The high point is her weird slinky-I-don't-know-how-to-describe-it-shimmy towards Tab (and the music that leads into that moment sounds just like the Looney Tunes orchestra!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kjQmgm0r4g
("Whatever Lola Wants", from "Damn Yankees")
Ogman: Many thanks for the link! I have seen that dance and it's great! It's interesting to compare how Verdon interpreted Fosse's moves with how Reinking interpreted them in "All That Jazz." I like both styles.
ReplyDeleteI like Reinking's style best because its precision gives us a unique insight into Fosse and into what dance itself is capable of. But Verdon is still wonderful. She interprets Fosse and infuses the moves with infinite charm and appeal.
Nopenopenopenope SO much nope!
ReplyDeleteVoodoo: Haw! Yupyupyupyupyupyup SO much yup!
ReplyDelete