JohnHowardReid I saw this picture on first release. My memory told me that it was rather ponderous and heavy-handed. On the whole, I would have said, "The Best Things In Life" offered no more than moderate or even mediocre entertainment.Now that I have seen the film again, I find that my memory assessment is largely correct. Particularly so far as the last half of the movie is concerned. There the story becomes hopelessly bogged down in an all-friends-together-once-more and dear-old-pals-through- thick-and-thin atmosphere of ridiculous sentimentality. And needless to say the on and off romance between MacRae and North finally wins out. Yes, all these sequences are rather heavy going, the only light touch provided by the somewhat uncomplimentary portrait of Winfield Sheehan (the Fox producer whom Zanuck sacked when he took over as production chief), played with amiable aggressiveness by Larry Keating.What's more all the production numbers and almost all the good songs are in the first half too. The only decent one left for the second is "Sonny Boy", which starts life as a splendid joke but peters out somewhat in the half-strength hands of Norman Brooks' sadly diluted Al Jolson impersonation. Director Curtiz was actually working at Warner Brothers when Sonny Boy was in production, but he fails to make anything of the sequence. Maybe because he regarded Lloyd Bacon as a bum director anyway and wanted to show up his deficiencies? In any event, he disappointingly puts all the Hollywood episodes across as a nothing. On the other hand, Curtiz skilfully conveys the bustle and vitality of back-stage life, his fluid camera movement, allied with fine art direction and costumes, giving the movie an agreeably in-period flavor. The songs are lively and pleasant. Borgnine is surprisingly agile in song and dance, while his full-bodied acting imparts plenty of dramatic zing, especially in such sequences as his confrontations with gravelly-voiced gangster Murvyn Vye. The support players are great too. Roxanne Arlen provides a rather delightful Barbara Nichols imitation, while Tommy Noonan and Tony Galento are equally adept at comic relief, the first as a harassed stage director, the latter as a pocket- frisking crim. Nice to see Julie Van Zandt (her only film so far as I know) in a sizable role as Sheree North's competition. As for Miss North herself, she puts across her usual Marilyn Monroe imitation — very noticeably in "The Birth of the Blues" number where she is made up and hair styled as an MM dead ringer.The production numbers staged by Rod Alexander are undoubtedly the most appealing aspects of the movie. Not only do they take full advantage of John De Cuir's eye-catchingly smokey sets, but they feature the equally visual Sheree and company (including the energetic Jacques d'Amboise) prancing around in some vivid costumes. Alas, there are some dreary scenes of domestic bliss with Dan Dailey, Phyllis Avery and their two kids, but fortunately we don't have to contend with them for too long. All the same about twenty minutes of judicious cutting would make all the difference between middling entertainment and the most pleasantly lively. The film editing throughout is very smooth. It's obvious that the production numbers were shot by a second unit as they're photographed in an altogether different style: far glossier and sharper than the rather fuzzy, blotting-paper texture of the rest of the movie. And thank goodness for that fabulous 20th Century-Fox sound (heard to special advantage in "The Birth of the Blues" and "Black Bottom" production numbers).

ron-fernandez-pittsburgh Not a bad bio as bio's go. I'm sure what you see in the film is NOT what really happened in real life for the most part. Still an enjoyable viewing, especially some great musical numbers like BLACK BOTTOM and BIRTH OF THE BLUES. Nice performances by all, especially Ernest Borgnine. Unfortunately this Fox MOD is in the pan and scan version, not Cinemascope as presented in cinemas. Strange that Fox, who invented the Cinemascope process would release some of their scope films flat. This really ruined my viewing experience. There is a disclaimer at the beginning that THIS FILM IS FORMATTED TO FIT YOUR SCREEN. This may have been true several years ago, but now 95% of the population have wide screen TV's, so why would a company who invented the scope process send out films in pan an scan? A tragedy indeed.

judith-mcgee1025 Michael Curtiz's 1956 film "The Best Things in Life are Free" was frequently shown on Chicago television in the 1960s. I had not seen the film until it was recently broadcast on the Fox Movie Channel. Unfortunately, it was not a letterboxed print, so it was very difficult to determine the film's merits as it had the left and right margins entirely cut off. That aside, I think it was an attempt at a darkish musical with Curtiz touches and this was reflected in the script.The film is entirely done on soundstages, no exteriors at all, so it feels kind of clunky, as many of the early Cinemascope films were as well.I liked the actors, especially the wonderful actor and dancer Sheree North. Her best number, "Black Bottom", was badly impacted by the lack of a letterboxed print. She was very fortunate to be partnered by one of George Balanchine's finest male dancers, Jacques d'Amboise, photographed here in his dancing prime. Lucky Sheree North! Dancer (and future partner of Fred Astaire) Barrie Chase is also featured in the film.I was amused by Ernest Borgnine's dancing, singing and acting, puzzled by Dan Dailey's lack of dancing, and liked Gordon MacRae, who played Buddy daSylva. I liked the film, and hope to see a letterboxed print in the future.

didi-5 Henderson, De Sylva, and Brown. Not exactly in the same league as Berlin, Porter, or Rodgers and Hart/Hammerstein. Still, you may know a few of their songs as they've lingered through the years - 'The Birth of the Blues', for example, or 'Button Up Your Overcoat'; they also wrote the campus musical 'Good News'.The three mismatched songwriters are played here by Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, and Ernest Borgnine. Yep, and he even has a song or two. The stand-out though has to be MacRae's superb rendition of 'The Birth of the Blues', in which he proved yet again why he was in the top handful of singers in the movies. Girly support is from Sheree North, but she isn't very memorable. Nor, in fact, is the story of this trio - perhaps musical biopics were tired by 1956, or we were just wise to the cliches.'The Best Things In Life Are Free' is worth a look when there are no superior musicals on, and is a fairly good example of colour and Cinemascope of the period. But a great musical, it isn't.