Mary Martin and Ethel Merman - Their Legendary Appearance on the Ford 50th Anniversary Show

Starring:Henry Ford II, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rudy Vallee, Eddie Fisher, Leland Hayward, Oscar Hammerstein II, Marian Anderson, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Wally Cox, Edward R. Murrow, Lowell Thomas
Director: Jerome Robbins
Studio: Video Artists Int'l
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The unique record of a historic event, Mary Martin and Ethel Merman's appearance on The Ford 50th Anniversary Show on June 15, 1953, united two of the 20th century's greatest musical stars, both of whom are underrepresented on film. Merman stars things off with "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in front of a combo and sings "Mademoiselle from Armentières" (best known for the line "Hinky dinky parlez-vous") among a line of World War I Doughboys. Martin appears in a fashion-show pantomime comedy sketch, then both together lip-synch to an old Vaudeville number "Your Folks and My Folks." The last line of that song is the first time Martin utters a sound. The pièce de resistance is the closing 13-minute medley with the stars side by side. They begin with solo renditions of two signature numbers ("There's No Business Like Show Business" and "A Wonderful Guy") before trading off snippets of older songs such as "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" and "Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie." More compelling is their series of "I" songs, which leads to more signature numbers ("I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" and "I Get a Kick Out of You"). From there, the medley closes in a rush, with the women singing in counterpoint then together on a reprise of "There's No Business Like Show Business." The stars have very different styles, of course, but appear to be enjoying their time together. It would have been nice to have more than 27 minutes of the two-hour show (which included, among others, Marian Anderson, Rudy Vallee, and Kukla, Fran, and Ollie), but Merman and Martin were clearly the most interesting segment, and their duet takes its place among the historic TV musical events such as the duet between Judy Garland and a young Barbra Streisand 11 years later. --David Horiuchi

Description

The famed June 15, 1953 television special brought together two of the greatest leading ladies Broadway has ever known. The highlight of the program is Merman and Martin's 13-minute duet medley, where they sing the songs that made them famous, plus much more. On their own, Merman sings two numbers and Martin performs a brilliant comedy routine about changes in fashion over the first half of the 20th century. 27 min.

Customer Reviews:

a blast from the past.......2006-07-31

I remembering seeing this on TV. It was great to see two of the greats in their prime!

The happiest 27 minutes you'll ever see.......2006-04-06

This teaming of Mary Martin and Ethel Merman was just way too short at 27 minutes. When you talk about show business greats, these two WERE Broadway!

A bet, a but, a beware, a better.......2005-09-03

As a record collector in Canada, I was not the first to fall on the 10 inches 33 rpm record of this show, buying it and listening to it over and over. Did I dream of seeing it? You bet! It is a real treasure and what fun camaraderie passes between Merman & Martin!
BUT, for Canada buyers: BEWARE of stores who sells this short DVD at 54$! It was much less expensive to buy it here + shipping!
DVD is short? It is not complete? It is much better than only hearing it!! Please, were lucky to have it anyway! There is more than the record itself (don't miss Martin's sketch on fashion passing fancies !!! Delightful!). Just imagine if the film itself had been destroyed? Just imagine all the great stuff that has not been kept through time?
Let's enjoy what we have!

Opportunity to See Two Legends of Broadway.......2005-07-13

I was so pleased to see excerpts from this legendary programme finally released on DVD. I have shared it with my theatre classes and they have generally been enthused about the performances, especially Mary Martin who is quite funny in the fashion sequence. They were generally not as receptive to Merman. Perhaps Martin knew how to play to the camera to better effect. I wish I coud find some footage to demonstrate Merman's genius but maybe someday there will be a DVD available with her performance from Gypsy.

Wonderful Duet from Two Legends!.......2004-10-10

Some may quibble at the short length of this DVD, but as far as I am concerned the second half, with the famous duet between these two divas - that lasts 13 mnutes! - is worth the price of the DVD.

JUST BRILLIANT. I see now why they were so appreciated, and it really shows more on here than ever!

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