Hitchcoc
The only way to get much enjoyment out of this film, just grab a few vignettes. For instance the "Ed Sullivan" song. Or perhaps the scene where Ann-Margret changes under her sweater. I agree with one reviewer who talks about how the Elvis character became passé before this musical came out. His star was fading and he was going underground and making horrible movies. As a result, this is one of the dullest musicals I have ever seen, but some of the songs are pretty good. The adulation of Conrad and the anticipation of his arrival just doesn't seem to work. I saw this in high school. Hooray for Paul Lynde, but beyond him I can't think of any other significant moments.
Vern Sheldon-Witter
All that Progesterone and Testosterone packed into one movie? It looks innocent now,but in it's time it was a bit racy. Thinly veiled parody of Elvis going into the service,and how one lucky(?) young teenage girl scintillatingly played by Ann Margaret (straight out of Northwestern)as the symbol for all that hormone driven lust (as we are supposed to believe it)from Sweet Apple Ohio representing all female teenagers getting "One Last Kiss". The high spots of the movie were the side stories,Paul Lynde as Ann's Dad who develops a pill to speed up agriculture gone horribly right-and Dick Van Dyke with a constantly frustrated girl-patiently played by Janet Leigh. It is more of a snap of an era and less of a musical-but I would have given my right arm to have seen it played out on stage. Dick Gauthier would have made a better (and more believable) Conrad Byrdie.
mark.waltz
The original Kim McAfee on Broadway was a typical small town girl, not a big-breasted pin-up. As charismatic as Ann-Margret was in this, her presence is a major distraction and by having her belt the newly written title song over both the opening and closing credits shows where the focus will be. She's certainly soft, and sells "How Lovely to Be a Woman" very well, changing from teen glam to jeans, sweat shirt and baseball cap, and for this, she can be forgiven the excesses given to her by the film's producers. She certainly gives her all, singing tenderly with Bobby Rydell the film's major love song "One Boy", and it isn't her fault that she was shapelier than most teens of the era. Like Marilyn in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", this changes the mood of the film and results in a different "Bye Bye Birdie" than what was seen on stage.The stars on Broadway were Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera, and while Van Dyke returns for this, his film debut, Rivera has been replaced by the non-Latina Janet Leigh. Unlike Rita Moreno, who was an extremely appropriate recast for the film version of "West Side Story", Leigh's obvious American looks sneak through the short black wig, even if the character of Rose is obviously American born. Still, Leigh puts forth her best effort, appearing only a little embarrassed at times for taking over a part she knew deep inside she wasn't quite right for and should be praised for her bravery in possible public backlash. Rivera would prove her screen mettle only once, as Shirley MacLaine's sidekick in "Sweet Charity", and even if producers felt she didn't have the box office appeal for this film, Ms. Moreno would have fit the part better.Van Dyke, however, is outstanding, but this is barely even close to what he had done on stage. Yes, he is the songwriter and rock star agent for Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson) and takes Sweet Apple Ohio by storm by getting him to kiss Kim before he goes off to the army, with the Ed Sullivan Show present to record it for posterity. Kim's parents are aghast by the invading of their home by Birdie and company, none more than Harry McAfee (Paul Lynde) who isn't happy until he finds out that his hero ("Ed, I Love You!") will be recording his daughter being kissed on National Television. In the Broadway versions, Van Dyke sings his big number, "Put on a Happy Face", to a group of teens at the train station to cheer them up over Birdie's drafting. But here, it's changed to a duet between Van Dyke and Leigh's happy conscience as she sits there in a grumpy mood watching. Disney might as well have produced this by the presence of some silly animation. Still, this is one of the great standards of Broadway, so it is great to hear in any shape or form. More successful is Birdie's "Honestly Sincere" in which all the women of the town (and a few young men) pass out at the swiveling of his hips. After years of fame on Broadway, Maureen Stapleton was now famous enough on screen to garner the role of Van Dyke's harpy mother, clad in mink coat and rubbers covering sensible shoes. The stage version was much more comical than what is written here, Stapleton directed to overplay the bossy condescension towards Leigh and as a result, her character is much more characterature than flesh and blood. She's really hard to take, especially when she pushes her way between Lynde and his wife as they sit alone in the school auditorium.Everything comes together for two late musical sequences, "Gotta Lot of Living to Do!" and Leigh's "Shriner Ballet" in which her grave miscasting is all of a sudden forgiven. Columbia obviously had no faith in the success of the original Broadway version, adding in a Russian ballet that is somehow speeded up thanks to medication in the conductor's milk, resulting in a silly sequence that slows down the action and really serves no purpose than to add tension if Birdie will have time to sing his final song and get to kiss Kim.What is more heartbreaking about this movie is the fact that it was directed by George Sidney, responsible for many of MGM's great musicals of their golden era. But Van Dyke and Lynde, both then becoming very famous thanks to their television appearances, save the day, Van Dyke's rubber face and legs prominent yet never hiding his handsome looks, and Lynde's cynical line delivery perfect for his big show-stopper, "Kids" ("What's wrong with Sammy Kaye?") and of course his declaration of affection towards the undisputed king of the variety show, Ed Sullivan, who is amusing in his few scenes in this film, as he was in the first big nun musical, "The Singing Nun", several years later.
Dalbert Pringle
Released in 1963 - Bye Bye Birdie's story was inspired by the sensation caused when Elvis Presley was drafted into the US Army in 1957.In this light-hearted Musical/Comedy/Romance it was actor Jack Pearson who played the role of the hip-shaking teen idol, Conrad Birdie. Birdie's name was a word-play on the name of another pop singer of that era, Conway Twitty.Elvis Presley, himself, was the first choice for the part of Birdie, but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, rejected the idea as he didn't want Presley to appear in any roles that were parodies of himself.Ed Sullivan, the popular TV host of his long-running show on CBS, appeared as himself.Set in the small town of Sweet Apple, Ohio, Bye Bye Birdie's story has a lively, good-natured feel to it, but its situations do sometimes get a bit silly and overblown.Before the swaggering pop-star, Conrad Birdie is officially drafted into the service he is scheduled by his publicity agent to appear in a final, farewell performance on the ever-popular Ed Sullivan Show.At this gala event he will sing "One Last Kiss" and, then, bestow upon the one, lucky girl (chosen at random), a "symbolic" goodbye kiss at the finale.Needless to say, Birdie's much-anticipated arrival in Sweet Appple causes hysteria amongst the teenage girls, resentment amongst the teenage boys, and great concern amongst the parents who believe that Birdie is a bad influence on the morals of their impressionable children.Bye Bye Birdie's 2 most notable musical numbers were "Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do" and "Put On a Happy Face". This film also featured a good cast which included Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, and Bobby Rydell.
