Song of the Week: The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat
Carmen Miranda
The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat
‘I have a major weakness for old musicals’ I confessed to the guy behind the counter at the Cinema Store the other week. ‘Then you will absolutely love this.‘ he enthused, waving a copy of The Gang’s All Here at me ‘It’s the campest film of all time. It. Is. Fabulous.’ So I dutifully bought a copy.
And he was right! It may have the worst plot ever, some terrible, terrible acting and Benny Goodman has all the pizzazz of a stressed IT manager, but The Gang’s All Here is fabulous. It does afterall, contain ‘The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat’, a work of musical genius if ever there was one. Busby Berkeley directing Carmen Miranda amongst a sea of oversized fake bananas and even faker smiles – it doesn’t get much better (or camper) than this.
‘The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat’ from The Gang’s All Here, 1943
Tags: j'aime le cinema, musicals, song of the week
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Can’t see this at work just now Cocktails, so it’s something to look forward to as I unwind tonight with a beer or twenty……………… ;)
Cheers!
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I really don’t understand why you can’t watch it at work Ill Man – beautful dancing girls suggestively waving inflatable bananas around is exactly the sort of thing that a bored office needs. Your colleagues should be grateful!
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
High camp, perfect the weeken – there’s a touch of the Fanny Craddock about her…
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:10 pm
No, there’s a touch of Carmen Miranda about Fanny Craddock! Did you see that drama about Fanny Craddock on BBC4 last year – wonderful and bizarre!
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Awesome!
I can’t watch any kind of video streaming on my work pc. I work for joyless, soulless dullards. Doesn’t everyone?
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
You can’t have had 20 beers already surely? ;)
I can watch stuff at work – it depends on how technologically literate and suspicious your particular powers that be in the workplace are I think. I’m lucky.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Don’t bet on it. Friday is my night to get a little ‘amphibious’. Seriously, the Carmen Miranda clip was brilliant and made me forget for just under eight minutes of my life…….
The overhead shot of the bananas closing in and out, and a few other choreographic delights in there. Also loved the ending and the way the organ grinders top and tail the scene.
What can I say!? Not a drop had passed my lips when I watched the clip…………. (“~)
January 24th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Well, you surprise me, Ill Man, I never really took you for a musical fan!
If you’re really keen and want to see some more of Busby Berkeley’s extraordinary work then check out ‘By a Waterfall’ from Footlight Parade:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv0HS6exueI
It’s not as camp, but is nontheless stunning in its choreography and execution. This was one of my favourite production numbers of all time, until I saw the Lady with the Tutti Frutti Hat last week… This looks superb on the big screen. The man is a genius.
January 25th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Wouldn’t say I was a fan of musicals as such. I doubt I’d sit through one. That particular song and the choreography however are, as Kinky Freidman would put it, ‘Killer Bee’.
I’ll check out the other Busby Berkeley link. Cheers!
January 26th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Wow! That is really cool. I love musicals myself. I’ve never seen that one before though. Thanks for posting that clip. Hope you had a fantastic weekend. Cheers!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Hey Keith, I’m pleased that you liked it. To be honest, I was fully expecting zero responses to this Song of the Week. It only goes to show you never can tell!
January 26th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Fabulous. I read once that Carmen used to keep her cocaine in a special compartment in the platform of one of her shoes. Might account for the slightly ‘wired’ quality of her smile!
January 26th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Watched the clip from Footlight Parade yesterday. Astonishing. What was Berkely smoking?
January 26th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
ISBW and Ill Man, don’t corrupt my innocent wonder with drug references. I’m sure that Carmen Miranda simply had a weakness for sherbet dabs and liked to keep packets close to hand. Similarly, all the kicks and inspiration Busby Berkeley needed were gained from looking through his pocket kaleidoscope.