a_baron Musicals are not generally renowned for sophisticated plots, but this one isn't bad. Old hand Bing Crosby and the new television star played by Gene Kelly contemporary Donald O'Connor are putting on a new show. The only problem is they have each signed a leading lady, so who is going to deliver the bad news and to whom?That's about all you need to know, aside from that there are some decent wisecracks, one or two passable comedy scenes, the music largely from Cole Porter, and not least some fantastic dancing particularly by O'Connor, but also by Mitzi Gaynor and French ballet star Zizi Jeanmaire. Although Crosby has long departed this Earth and O'Connor has been dead for over a decade, the two ladies are still with us; Gaynor is 84, and Mademoiselle Jeanmaire a sprightly 92. They would probably agree that "they don't make them like that anymore".

MikeMagi Let's see...toss out the original plot of the thirties musical, replace it with a script about an endless series of misunderstandings, bowdlerize Cole Porter's lyrics (four letter words are puritanically slimmed down to three in the title tune) and stage the production numbers mechanically...and what have you got? A misfire. Or maybe proof that Paramount shouldn't have invaded MGM's territory. Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor battle the screenplay, putting some zest into their roles as a song-and-dance man and aspiring Broadway star. But Bing Crosby seems almost disinterested in the shipboard shenanigans and even his performance of Porter's "All Through the Night" lacks the song's wistful irony.

stuffkloth Sorry, we are watching this one on TCM Thanksgiving evening. Both of us have played in the pit orchestra of the stage play. Sadly, this is so far removed from the original that it should definitely NOT be called "Anything Goes." This "new" story with some of the original songs plugged in with other non-Porter songs added, is a pretty lame rehash of the worn out "Let's put on a show" theme. There are some entertaining moments but don't expect the Broadway Show. We say "Arf-Arf." Especially the crystal ball routine is more like the Three (two) Stooges! There are some of the original Cole Porter songs from the musical but they are taken out of their original context. The vocal performances also don't have the high level of Broadway intensity one expects from better film adaptations. Some of the dance routines are fun, but, again, this is NOT Cole Porter's "Anything Goes!"

glm39 It has all the trappings of an entertaining musical, but the chemistry is not there. A few of the musical numbers are worth seeing, but many are mediocre at best. The most peculiar thing about the movie is its substitution of boring, pedestrian new songs to take the place of Cole Porter's songs. Although Jimmy Van Heusen certainly composed some good songs in his day, the present "Ya Gotta Give the People Hoke," "Bounce Right Back," and "A Second-Hand Turban" are embarrassing. The producers couldn't find 3 more Cole Porter songs to use instead? Adding to the embarrassment is the bowdlerization of the song "Anything Goes," in which Mitzi Gayner is not even permitted to refer to authors' "four-letter words." Instead, we are nonsensically told that authors nowadays use only "three-letter words." Of course, such censoring of the lyrics of this song negate the entire premise of the song, which is that anything is permitted nowadays.Donald O'Connor has a very nice dance routine with children and a lot of bouncing balls in "Bounce Right Back," which is the most original number in the film. The comedy duos by O'Connor and Crosby fall flat, as does the vocal by Jeanmaire. Indeed, after hearing the mangled arrangement of her trying to sing "I Get a Kick Out of You," I actually stopped the movie and played a Frank Sinatra version in order to get the bad taste out of my ears. Mitzi Gayner is lively and attractive and does a good job in belting out her songs. Crosby is always good, although the arrangement and photography of his performance of "All Through the Night" were so anemic that one might doze through it, without danger of anything happening to wake one up.The plot is actually a very good basis for a musical comedy (a mix-up in which both Gayner and Jeanmaire are hired for the same part), but the writing is corny and stilted, there is little real humor, and the comic potential of the situation is simply not realized. Although the drama is of course not the most important part of a musical comedy, if it does not help to motivate the songs and does not create any suspense about what will happen, then the audience is just tapping its feet waiting for the next musical number.I think that if someone were to edit the film to include five or so of the best musical numbers only (no plot, no weaker songs), one might have 20 minutes of decent entertainment. But to watch the film for 106 minutes to get those 20 minutes of entertainment is not that pleasant.