This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Ever-earnest Stephen Boyd shows up in need of a job, and quickly gets Day's heart racing, before it's revealed he's the son of their chief rival--and what he's really after is star-attraction Jumbo the Elephant! Having previously watched and enjoyed this movie on VHS tape during the '90s, I just watched this again with Mom on DVD. 4 Did Doris Day do her own stunts in Jumbo? The actress explained that she saw Baylor during games and spent less than thirty minutes with Stone when he dropped by her house alongside other musicians. She did all her own stunts, too, which was quite a feat in what is an enormously athletic role. by BabeWilliams 12 May 2008, 17:30, Unread post It stars Doris Day as Kitty Wonder, a performer in her father's circus. Day and Durante never disappoint and turn in their usual fine performances. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The story revolves around a circus owner (Jimmy Durante), (star of the 1935 Broadway original play) with only two real attractions; his daughter (Doris Day) and a popular pachyderm Jumbo (Syd the Elephant). The preceding overture should have been deleted, as it was not memorable and was overlong. But to be honest, the movie left this viewer somewhat cold. Today. One of America's most loved actresses was born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alma Sophia (Welz), a housewife, and William Joseph Kappelhoff, a music teacher and choir master. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. In one sequence of uninterrupted takes, she jumps and flips over bars with the agility of a circus performer. Stephen Boyd was reasonable as was Doris Day, but she was miscast it seems, as she was nearing forty. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. A few years later, they became husband and wife, before adding the title of parents to the mix, when they welcomed their only child, Terry. She had six or seven close friends, who, for the most part, were still there when she died. His achievements ranged from leading his team to victory in the Nation League pennant to scoring impressively against strong teams like Chicago White Sox, playing in 14-big League seasons, retiring with a .281 batting average and 2,134 hits. She would only want to talk about [her] dogs or hear about what fan mail she had., Doris spent most of her last 10 years in her bedroom or the kitchen. Doris Day, as Durante's daughter, is a bareback rider in a tutu who is obviously not doing her own stunts. Great songs employed to only modest effect in an otherwise forgettable musical, A big-budgeted circus-locale musical with wonderful dances , hilarious shows and charming songs, Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, and Stephen Boyd star in the wonderful Billy Rose's Jumbo, Durante and Raye are great, but everything else is atrocious, If you love Doris and you love the 1950's musicals, you will love JUMBO. Stephen Boyd is magnificent! ), In the last 20 years of her life, all she cared about was her animals, said the neighbor. Doris Day Dies Nearly 2 Months After Celebrating 97th Birthday She survived a horrific car accident that cut short her career as a child dancer Day was a distinguished child dancer in her. And the staging of it is so perfect. He opined that they met at Dodgers stadium; the actress was a huge fan of his team. I worry they are not looking after her well enough.. Perhaps, as some reviewers have suggested, their comedic talents were underutilized. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Hailey Bieber's Birthday Post to Justin Bieber Derails as Fans Comment amid Selena Gomez Drama, Aimee Carreros Husband Tim Rock Is an Actor - Inside His Career & Marriage, Steven Craig Lived in a Commune Facts about Sally Field's Ex-husband, Doris Day 'Felt Married' to James Garner Although He Cracked Two of Her Ribs, Mariska Hargitay & Her Husband Are Happily Married for 18 Years after He Made Her Cry on Their First Date, Guy Fieris Blue-Eyed Wife gave Him a Mean Mug When They Met Yet He Already Knew She Is the One. Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. From the circus scenes to those wonderful musical numbers (My Romance, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, This Can't Be Love) this just shines. This is a wonderfully entertaining film. Less than one year after their marriage, he abandoned his wife. Ms. Day, already a top box office star due to her romantic comedies with Rock Hudson, is gorgeous in the film and her voice can only be described as velvety. Billy Rose's Jumbo is based on a play of the same name produced by Billy Rose. First unread post 154 posts Page 2 of 7. MGM bought the rights to the musical soon after it reached the stage. She is terrific as always, he's a damn good singer, and of course with Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye and an elephant how could it fail? Kitty, I 'think' you refer to the Golden Globe nomination - and it was Roz Russell in 'Gypsy'. JUMBO might be silly (actually very deliberately silly, therein much of the enjoyment) but it is genuinely beautiful to look at and easy to enjoy. She displayed an incredible passion by owning the stage and her characters, making it nearly impossible for viewers to remember that Day was playing a role on TV. Doris Day at a press conference at the dog friendly hotel she owns in Carmel, California July 16, 1985. As big as it could be JUMBO is solid family entertainment. Doris Day was nominated as Best actress in a musical or comedy at the Hollywood Foreign Press Awards but lost to Rosalind Russell for Gypsy. All of the circus acts were wonderful but I wish I knew which was Doris and which was not. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Weidler shared similar traits with husband number one; he was a chronic cheater who lacked self-confidence. Doris Day's final musical role was in Jumbo which finally came to the screen almost 30 years after it played at the legendary Hippodrome Theater for 233 performances in 1935. These accusations were denied by Days rep. Close friends of the star paint a lonely picture of her last days. A firm favourite of Queen Victorias children, Jumbo spent his days giving visitors of the zoo rides on his back. They split in 1981, and he publicly admitted to being jealous of her beloved dogs. to foreclosing , as a spy goes undercover into the bankrupted circus to attempt to take it . We believe that every person's story is important as it provides our community with an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, share their hopes and dreams. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! The songs, especially The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Over and Over Again and My Romance are wonderful, while the script is full of snappy lines("what elephant" is a classic and it is very easy to see why), the choreography has a lot of energy and charisma and the stunts although difficult are made to look easy, a tell-tale sign of the commitment and professionalism of those involved. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. She also had a huge fanbase and enjoyed a successful career. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. She was looking for the father she never had with her husbands and even Bob.. Market data provided by Factset. It's also the ideal word to describe this big-time big-top extravaganza, bursting with laughter and love, song and dance, circus stunts and star power. The cast includes Arthur Godfrey, Rod Taylor, Paul Lynde, Dom Deluis, and Dick Martin (and a cameo of Robert Vaughn as Nepoleon Solo). These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Days third husband, producer Marty Melcher, infamously squandered her $20 million fortune a betrayal she discovered only when he died in 1969. His great passion for the art of acting often times got him into trouble with the executives in the movie industry. He died in January 1980 in Santa Monica, California. Doris Day, US actress and singer, smiling and wearing a yellow high-neck jacket, with a brooch on the right shoulder, in a studio portrait, circa 1965. She loved her career, worked with class, elegance and was grounded in acting, music, and dance. How much Hay does a horse eat in a month? A soundtrack album Billy Rose's Jumbo of the film was issued by Columbia Records in 1962. The young man developed a love for baseball at a young age and was unrelenting in his pursuit to achieve greatness through his skills an assignment that was completed before his career declined. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". It was all the more damning because Ryan whose father was Days son, Terry, who died in 2004 had never publicly spoken about the actress, known for such movie classics as Pillow Talk and That Touch of Mink.. That was a huge loss for her., The worst thing was when her son, Terry, died. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Aside from Boyd the performances are very good. (Getty Images), She used to have the right people taking care of her. As a warm, lightweight entertainment it works, but has little more to offer. On the other hand, Day explained through her autobiography that her relationship with Wills was plain. In conclusion, a pleasure to watch and recommended for Rodgers/Hart and Doris Day fans. Doris Day, as Durante's daughter, is a bareback rider in a tutu who is obviously not doing her own stunts. It's also the ideal word to describe this big-time, big-top extravaganza bursting with laughter and love, sang and dance, circus stunts and star power. We both were enthralled by Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, and even Stephen Boyd who didn't actually sing his songs but whoever dubbed his voice during his numbers certainly sounded like he did! The star married one more time, in 1976, to maitre d Barry Comden. American actress Doris Day in a fur-trimmed coat, circa 1963. Other comments will rave about Doris Day and moan about Stephen Boyd and they are all very right. Doris sings with moving conviction and ends the song fighting back her tears. Good-looking hokum, if your tastes run to squeaky-clean backlot romps. I also thought i would dislike it because i never was into the circus but it was really thrilling watching all those people do stunts. 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The usual circus fun: a determinedly old-fashioned big-top opus with animals, parades, high-wire attractions, songs by Rodgers & Hart. Melcher died from a heart attack in 1968, leaving his widow to recuperate from the financial and mental damage he had done to her. "I loved portraying Calamity Jane, who was a rambunctious, pistol-packing prairie girl (I lowered my voice and stuck . by Jas1 15 May 2008, 19:09, Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests, Powered by phpBB Forum Software phpBB Limited. When Ive had the choice Ive always opted for the character role. There, she explained that she was exercising every day, adding, I just feel young. (She previously had not made a public appearance since the 1989 Golden Globes). It was the last film producer Joe Pasternak made at MGM.[1]. He last received a letter from the star in April. Listen especially to her solos "My Romance," "Little Girl Blue," and most impressive, a nighttime duet between Day and Martha Raye in a wagon caravan entitled "Why Can't I?" And I love "Why Can't I?" Three ring pandemonium breaks out when a handsome rival (Stephen Boyd) infiltrates the circus, and father, daughter and wise cracking fiancee (Martha Raye) are suddenly at risk of losing the entire circus. During the 1930s and 1940s, MGMs output of musicals was vast. The special effects in some high-wire scenes are very clever and the tightrope act supposedly with Jummy Durante is perfectly achieved. The Wonder Circus comes to a town in the Midwest with its featured attraction, Jumbo the elephant. Id rather be the pillar that holds up the star than the star himself. stephenboydblog.com. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". by daybyday08 12 May 2008, 16:05, Unread post Day was allegedly beaten by her first husband, band leader Al Jordan, while pregnant with their son, Terry. Beach Boy frontman Mike Love claimed in his memoir, Good Vibrations, that Day may have saved her son from being murdered by Charles Manson who had pitched Terry, a music producer, some of his songs. William H. Daniels photographs and it's a Panavision/Metrocolor production out of MGM. Although she had stopped making movies, the actress was forced to make The Doris Day Show, on CBS, to pay off her debts. Rather like his Pop Wonder role in "Jumbo" he married his second wife, Marjorie Little after a 16-year courtship when she was 39 and he was 67. does anyone want to pick a movie to watch this weekend??? Now I feel that whatever talent I may have had is gone. . There is some very unkind animal scenes (especially the muzzled bear dressed in a bonnet which looks like Hannibal Lecter in a fur coat and Grandma Duck hat) which only emphasizes how public acceptance of entertainment has changed. Jimmy Durante was born James Francis Durante on 10 February 1893 in New York. (but it IS true! by jmichael 12 May 2008, 18:46, Unread post Pop Wonder owns the circus, but his continued gambling losses in crap games leaves him (and the circus) with an ever-growing number of IOUs. Though many of the characters really did exist like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, Trixie, Whitney Ellsworth, and Alma Garret were all fictional, but were inspired by people of the time. All rights reserved. A short time after these two parted, the "Lover Come Back" star became a wife again to George Weidler. Charles Walters directed the picture with Joe Pasternak and Martin Melcher producing. Her first time in love was at age 16. Other than that, this tale about life in the circus may seem predictable with a paper-thin plot. Music is scored by George Stoll, with songs written by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart. As for musicals, Jumbo gave Doris the lovely Rodgers & Hart score to sing, but the circus story based on a '30s Broadway spectacle was too old-fashioned to make any impression in 1962. . His singing and acting were sometimes understated, but I didn't find this annoying in most scenes. She was married four times during her lifetime, and despite her undying gorgeousness and talent, she did not enjoy the kind of love she desired. Stephen Boyd's singing voice was dubbed by Los Angeles studio singer, Jimmy Joyce. In one sequence of uninterrupted takes, she jumps and flips over bars with the agility of a circus performer. Wills later trained as a baseball instructor and worked as a broadcast analyst for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. Bashara did not reply to requests for comment, nor did Ryan Melcher. Their public description of this type of relationship was platonic, but he admitted that it was deeper. | Photo: Getty Images. Star Doris Day delivers the lovely Rodgers and Hart songs superbly, especially the sublime My Romance. In the 1950s and 60s,Doris Daywas Americas box-office sweetheart. Radiant Doris Day as Kitty Wonder sings beloved Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart tunes and does her own horseback riding tricks in a razzle-dazzle musical based on Billy Rose's original stage . & Hart metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source etc. Received a letter from the star himself about Doris Day and moan about stephen Boyd reasonable. Should have been deleted, as it was deeper or redistributed, traffic source, etc chronic cheater lacked! For comment, nor did Ryan Melcher Market data provided by Factset Roz! Consent for the character role you consent to the Golden Globe nomination - it. And acting were sometimes understated, but I wish I knew which was a! 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