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The Happiest Millionaire: Road Show Edition

The Happiest Millionaire: Road Show Edition

List Price: $19.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic Disney...Good, Clean Fun!
Review: I, too, just saw a screening for this and thought it was brilliant! I love the music and the story is classic Disney...Good, clean fun! It was amazing how many new things I saw in this film.

I love the roadshow edition! The Sherman Brothers score brought out the best moments of the movie, and I love the last song that Greer Garson and Fred MacMurray share. You don't want to miss "There are Those" either. It's hilarious! Lesley Ann Warren is charming and who wouldn't want George and his kin for household pets?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: delightful Disney musical
Review: Fred MacMurray, Tommy Steele, Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson star in the classic Disney musical THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE, a delightful story centering on the Biddle family of Philadelphia.

Cordy Biddle (Lesley Ann Warren) becomes engaged to Angie Duke (John Davidson). When this should be a happy occasion, Angie's snooty mother (Geraldine Page) still ensures that Angie hangs onto her apron strings. Cordy's mother (Greer Garson) tries to sort things out while Aunt Mary (Gladys Cooper) engages in some bitchy repartee with Mrs Duke!

The entire production is flawless, and while Leonard Maltin has criticised this film for being too long, I think the time flies by.

The Sherman brothers songs are strong throughout, and the supporting cast, including a very young Joyce Bulifant, are wonderful.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: We love OLD Disney.
Review: WE LOVE THIS MOVIE! FUN SONGS! LIKEABLE CHARACTERS! THE BEST THING ABOUT THE MOVIE IS THAT (NO MATTER HOW FAR-FETCHED IT SEEMS) IT REALLY IS A TRUE STORY! ANTHONY BIDDLE REALLY DID KEEP PET ALLIGATORS, THEY REALLY DID FREEZE ONE TIME, HE REALLY DID GO ON A CHOCOLATE CAKE DIET, HE REALLY DID PURSUE THE MILITARY TO USE HIS BIBLE CLASS, ETC. ETC. EVEN DOWN TO HIS EXPRESSIONS...."I MIGHT HAVE DIED" "DEAD, DEAD, DEAD." READ THE BOOK WRITTEN BY HIS DAUGHTER. IT MAKES FOR A FUN COMPARISON. TRUTH REALLY IS STRANGER THAN FICTION!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Get both versions!
Review: A carefree millionaire (Disney Style) played by Fred MacMurray lives life his own way, sometimes bordering on Addams Family-esque habbits, such as keeping Alligators as pets and going on a chocolate cake diet? With his two sons soon to leave for school he is disturbed to find that his only daughter is now engaged and will be out of his life too. The story is told somewhat from the cheerful Irish butler's musical point of view. Tommy Steele portrays the butler and steels the show! The film is great traditional Disney fun. I fell in love with non-roadshow version of Happiest Millionaire a few years ago when seeing it on the Disney CHannel and it has become one of my all time favorite films. Then I found out there was a roadshow version, and when I started switching from VHS to DVD a year or so ago I decided to order both versions from Amazon. I recommend fans of the shorter version do what I did and buy both the shorter one, AND this roadshow version. Why? Well, I felt they was so different! I new I loved the shorter version, so I HAD to see the roadshow version! It's just a matter of one having more scenes than the other, but the shorter version is more simple, one you'd watch with your kids, and the longer roadshow version is like, the more adult version. Sometimes you just want to watch the simple, happy short version, and sometimes you want to watch the real deal. I don't know, but I LOVE them both, but when you started out with the short version, it just won't do to only have the roadshow.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Musical Ever!!
Review: This is my favorite movie of all time! I used to rent it over and over when I was in high school. I love the music, the story, the characters, everything. It is funny and wonderful! I loved the fact that Cordelia never could make it past a first date, because she always "knocked out" literally, all of her dates! The alligators and the butler from Ireland make for some hilarious scenes also. Don't wait, get the DVD. You'll love it!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fun and silly
Review: I remember catching this on the Disney channel back in the 80s and LOVED it! It was fun and just down right silly. I loved the music and a woman I had NEVER seen before and fell in love with, Lesley Ann Warren. I soon began to always remember this film due to her. I also really enjoyed most of Fred MacMurray's films from this time period also. A time that films were fun and innocent, or at least MORE innocent then the films now.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fred McMurray and a good musical, what a combo!
Review: My only criticism of the DVD version of this is that they edited out some of it. I'm used to seeing it with all the movie and it aggravated me that some of it was cut. But it is a very long movie (aren't all musicals?) so that may be why. The story is based on fact (exactly how close it comes I don't know!)and concerns a millionaire who is, to say the least, quite eccentric. He runs off servants constantly, but manages to hire as his butler John Lawless from Ireland, who fits in perfectly. McMurray, who plays the millionaire who hates change, was perfect in this part, as he fights sending his daughter off to finishing school and then fights even harder when she gets engaged. John Davidson plays the fiance (I think this might have been his first big screen role)and is both good-looking and likeable. The songs are good & some scenes are memorable indeed, like the high-class duel-of-words between Aunt Mary and Mrs. Duke or the hangover scene when they go to get Angie (Davidson) out of jail. Perhaps most memorable of all is the scene where the alligators have thawed out and the maid finds them -- don't ask, just watch the movie. A very enjoyable musical.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Wasn't this Walt's Final Live-Action Film?
Review: What genius decided to remove the name of Walt Disney from above the title of this film?

As the final production completed while Walt Disney was alive, this film deserved better for this DVD edition. Not only could there have been additional "special features" featuring the songs of the Sherman Brothers, but the spectacular work behind Emile Kuri's set designs should have given cause to at least feature a gallery of his work. Kuri's influence was extensive upon the films created during the final decade of Walt's life, and should be further acknowledged. This was a missed opportunity.

Most people with a VCR don't need an additional DVD. It was the FEATURES that created DVD demand, and it appears that now that there is market momentum toward this new technology, Disney, along with all other studios, is quickly retrenching in order to reduce costs. It is regrettable that they are also diminishing the value of their own brand in the process.

All in all, an unnecessary release in this version.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: my youngest likes it
Review: It's a sweet movie, and it was entertaining enough the first time, but I'll probably never watch it all the way through again. My youngest daughter liked it quite a bit when she was 4-7, and it became part of the regular rotation of comfort films. The music is good, the values are very family oriented, and it's very wholesome.

I got curious about the family on which this movie was based, and I couldn't learn much, but there was such a family, and they are apparently still around and still very rich and connected. One thing I learned is that the person on whom the John Davidson character is based died shortly after marrying the Biddle daughter, although he did leave at least one son. I can't remember much about what I discovered (it's been several years since I looked them up), but I got the distinct feeling that a factual movie about the family would have been quite interesting, and that this might be why they were picked as the subject of this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not one of Disney`s best.
Review: this, bounces from musical comedy to melodrama and back. with careless abandon. The comedy is funny at first.The music is so-so with bad singing.and the melodrama is insulting.It`s too long. since Walt; died before it`s release. my guess is, no one was in-charge and it shows.


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