Bells are Ringing (1960)

This is the truly last Arthur Freed MGM musical. it wasn't supposed to be. Planned and pre-cast was a musical about Irving Berlin's life called "Say it With Music". It was mean to star Julie Andrews and, IIRC, Richard Burton. It was not to be, however. Management changed and productions were halted and assets were sold off and, except on paper and in our memories and in the vaults of TCM and Warner Archives, the MGM we loved ceased to exist.That said, "Bells Are Ringing" fell into an early 60s "let's not spend too much money" spirit (especially since the studio was putting a lot of money into films like "Cimarron", "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" [both flops] and "Mutiny on the Bounty"). Despite that, director Vincente Minnelli (of "Gigi" fame) and screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green (who wrote the play) prepared a production that clearly highlighted the incandescent Judy Holliday (in a role written FOR her) and Dean Martin, who truly displays charm and talent in his role.And since it's a musical, I might as well say right out loud that, in the hands of Andre Previn, this score has never shone so brightly. Helping was the MGM studio orchestra in its prime. Supporting performers are uniformly excellent, especially Frank Gorshin, Jean Stapleton and Eddie Foy Jr.I highly recommend this Blu ray to anyone who loves musicals or loves this film. The sound is astonishingly beautiful stereo. The image is clear and sharp. You won't be disappointed!

Love it. Have watched it several times; it always makes me laugh; just had to have it in my library. Judy Holiday was a comic genius; Dean Martin was in top form; Eddie Foy at the top of his game as the con-artist bookie; 1960s New York City is lovingly preserved in Milton Krasner's cinematography; Vincente Minelli's direction, especially of crowds is fascinating; Comden and Green's script is hilarious; Jules Styne's score, conducted by Andre Previn, is unforgettable. I was glad to get a copy in great condition fast and efficiently. Thanks, Amazon and seller!

Judy Holliday is wonderful, and it's a pleasure to see her in the only(?) role that let her give free reign to her skills as a mimic. Most of her early roles had her playing a single voice but here she uses a dozen. Her early death was a great loss for American theater. Jule Styne's music is excellent and both "It's a Perfect Relationship" and "Just in Time" deserve their elevation to standards. Dean Martin is charming and certainly doesn't do any damage here. Four stars rather than five because the major subplot about the government inspectors has aged poorly and because some of the production seems a bit rushed — there are painted backdrops of the East River that look entirely fake, and some extremely sloppy ADR where the actors' mouths don't line up at all with the words they are supposedly saying.

Never got around to reviewing this, I guess. First of all, this is a review of the Blu-ray pictured on this page - most of the others are reviews for VHS and heaven knows what other formats that aren't the item on this page. Bells Are Ringing has never fared well on home video, so I'm thrilled to say that Warner Archive has come through with a winning transfer - great color, sharp, and in beautiful stereo.I love the film itself, although Vincente Minnelli seems to be just shuffling through this one - it has no style at all and just kind of plods along. But Judy Holliday is the show and she's brilliant and Dean Martin is terrific, too. The supporting players are all expert, especially Bernie West. The songs are pure Jule Styne/Comden and Green gold. But the Blu-ray is the thing and I could not imagine a better transfer. So, before The Party's Over you'd better just buy the thing.

Bad writing, directing, acting. Just a really dumb script for everyone involved to have to work with. It is called a musical but there is more dead space than songs. I hear this was a play before being made a movie. If so, the play should have closed within its first week and never made it to the movie screen. Nothing is funny or interesting. The songs are few and not memorable and in general not well sung. Nobody in the cast can even sing lead except Dean Martin and they don't give him much to work with. Dean's screen time and number of songs he is allowed to sing are very limited. The acting is generally bad all around. I've liked the director Minnelli in other musicals especially with Astaire and was one of the reasons for trying this, but it just doesn't work. The movie felt so very slow and dull all the way through and at the 20 minute mark I was feeling like turning it off. I kept with it to the end of its 2 hours but it felt like trudging through 6 hours and was more a chore than entertainment. Not pleased with this purchase.

One of Hollywood's irrefutable charmers, Judy Holliday, meets filmdom's perfect drunk, Dean Martin in this ebullient and tune-filled musical comedy. Just in time - Vincente Minnelli effortlessly directs a melodic and memorable musical in the waning era of the classic Hollywood musical and MGM's fading glory days to boot. Sad to think of Bells are Ringing as the 'end' of the 'end' for Metro. Better to appreciate it as one of the best movie musicals of its particular ilk and era. WAC's relatively new to Blu is a blessing for fans. This looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous. Buy today, treasure forever.

Dean Martin is good in this movie, showing us his ability to act and adding his voice to some great songs. The real star in this movie is Judy Holiday. Going from one character to another dancing the Cha Cha, and dancing with a dreamy Dean Martin and just being Judy is delightful to watch. The supporting actors prove to keep this movies light and fun seeing a young Frank Gorshin imitating a hippie is funny, Jean Stapleton as the owner of the answering service is a far cry from her role in All in the Family, Eddie Foy Jr. as the bookie is excellent. It feels as if you're watching a play. If your looking for something different and lighthearted. I recommend this movie

Excellent arrived on time very pleased thank you

As usual, excellent service and product, very pleased with it, I shall order more from the same site in the future

Many thanks. The film is very good an the delivery was very fast.

chi non ha rimpianto questa attrice intelligente e spiritosa, morta troppo presto ? Purtroppo è una fiacca commedia musicale, tirata avanti stancamente.

Per chi ama questi splendidi attori e i musical in generAle. E'un film ben fatto ottimamente recitato e con la bravura di Minelli come regista.non si puo'chiedere di piu'!