I was a young teenager when I first saw THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN. I
never put Debbie Reynolds in the same class as her bigger contemporaries-- Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, etc. Reynolds always managed
to charm me, even in tough roles like THE RAT RACE. She's wonderful in
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, but that's more supporting. In the 50s, she appeared in lots of fluffy movies such as TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR and as the decade
ended, she was a popular leading lady entering a decade that wouldn't be kind to the well-established studio stars. Molly Brown was a role to show that she could do it all--act, sing, dance, and demonstrate her remarkable energy. I fell in love the movie from the first frame and it's been one of my very favorites ever since. I own the DVD (after replacing my VHS edition). The choreography by
Peter Gennaro won't set any new standards, but it's athletic and exciting,
nowhere better than in the big party scene where Molly is showing off the
European royalty to Denver society. You can't help but get caught up in the
sheer joyousness of what's happening on screen.
Harve Presnell is a handsome presence as Molly's husband, Johnny Brown.
His handsome baritone is a pleasure to hear. The rest of the cast is excellent, and would be one of the last and one of the most lavish of MGM's big studio
musicals.
I've seen the film innumerable times. If you don't like musicals, MOLLY BROWN won't change your mind. But if you do, this lively story of a dirt-poor country girl who marries a miner and gets filthy rich and becomes famous for her heroics
helping survivors of the TITANIC, is pure delight. Gene Kelly and Donald
O'Connor were the center of attention in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Debbie
deserved one film to be remembered for herself and this is it.
