Yolanda And The Thief

This 1945 movie is an odd story about a very naive, convent-reared girl (Yolanda Aquaviva, played by Lucille Bremer) in the fictional country of Patria (most likely in South America since there are some Spanish words thrown about haphazardly and the occasional llama in the background). Yolanda inherits $72 million dollars thanks to a family conglomerate but knows nothing of business and little of life in the real world, making her easy prey for conman Johnny Parkson Riggs (Fred Astaire) and his partner in larceny, Victor Budlow Trout (Frank “The Wizard of Oz” Morgan).Before leaving the isolation of the convent school, the Mother Superior (Jane Green) assures Yolanda that everyone has “a guardian angel who watches over us.” (Even as she cautions Yolanda about dishonest people out there in the world; apparently, their guardian angels are asleep on the job.) Yolanda takes this advice to heart (after all, she may not know much, but she does know all the names of heaven’s angelic caste system, and so has faith that her personal guardian angel will not let her down). Later, when stressed, Yolanda prays to an angel statue in her garden and is overheard by Astaire, who has been looking for a way to relieve her of her millions. He decides to take advantage of her religious naiveté and pretends to be the incarnation of her guardian angel, come to earth to answer her prayer for help, which she accepts without reservation. Astaire convinces her to turn over the family’s business and bonds and power of attorney to him as the easy way to ease her worries. (If this were updated to today, Yolanda would be one who easily falls victim to internet scammers.)The viewer is asked to believe that after 18 years of a sequestered life in a nunnery Yolanda, mere days later, knows enough about modern swing dancing to keep up with Fred Astaire at the town’s carnival! (“Coffee Time”). So that’s what the kiddies were doing when Mother Superior wasn’t around! We’re also expected to believe Bremer is 18 when, in fact, she was 28. But she was producer/song writer Arthur Freed’s girlfriend at the time, which explains a lot, love being blind.About forty minutes into the film there is a 16-minute dream ballet in a surreal, Dali-esque landscape as Astaire wrestles with his conscience because, of course, he has fallen for Yolanda. The viewer is also asked to believe that conman Fred is adept not only at dancing but also at playing a harp, just like an angel would be. Astaire sings for the first time about an hour and four minutes into the movie (“Yolanda”) while playing said harp as if he were Harpo Marx just stepping in from another soundstage.Bremer’s singing was dubbed by Trudy Erwin, a vocalist with the Kay Kyser band, who recorded duets with Bing Crosby of “People Will Say We’re In Love” and “Oh! What a Beautiful Morning” from “Oklahoma!” A year after “Yolanda” Erwin again dubbed Bremer’s singing voice in the all-star extravaganza about composer Jerome Kern, “Till the Clouds Roll By.” Erwin also dubbed the singing voice of Lucille Ball in “Too Many Girls” (1940), sang for Martha Vickers in “Love and Learn” (1947), sang for Lana Turner in “The Merry Widow” (1952), and sang for Kim Novak in “Pal Joey” (1957).Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Also in the cast: Mildred Natwick and Leon Ames. There are no extras on this disc (apparently a download from Buy My Collectibles in Buffalo, NY), or Closed Captioning. The best one can say about “Yolanda and the Thief” is that it’s colorful, thanks to the native costumes and lavish sets.Did this movie ruin Bremer’s career? Three years later she was co-starring in “Human Gorilla.” Not a step up.

Not even Fred Astaire could save this remarkably silly film ... but that's not his fault. Pretty much all the highlights are his, whether he's partnering Lucille Bremer in the climactic dance sequence or Frank Morgan as a partner in crime. I wouldn't, as one reviewer does, rank her as his best dance partner. (Eleanor Powell deserves that distinction.) She is a better dancer than Ginger Rogers, but she's nowhere near as good an actress and she's certainly not good enough to pull this off. Besides, neither of them get much chance to dance. The 16-minute dream sequence is not only bizarre, it makes little use of their talents. I guess Minelli's direction is supposed to be the star here? The last dance is the best, but it's too little too late. I wish I hadn't bought the DVD. One viewing was enough.

What a delightful and entertaining movie! I really enjoyed it! Fred Astaire's dancing was awesome as usual and Frank Morgan (The Wizard from The Wizard of Oz) playing Fred Astaire's partner in crime was a great choice. He and Mr. Astaire played well off each other in their comedic performances. When some reviewers mention that it's too surreal, I believe they are talking about the dream sequence. It was a bit bizarre. But it was a dream. Dreams tend to be bizarre and filled with symbolism, which was the point of that sequence. Johnny (Fred Astaire) was having what he considered a nightmare initially. I can't say too much more about this without giving away the ending, which has a twist. I had my suspicions; so I wasn't totally surprised. But it was still fun to find out I was right. The only reason I didn't give this movie 5 stars is because it felt like part of the movie was missing at the end. [Vague Spoiler Alert] Like there was a crucial forgiveness and declaration of love scene cut to reduce the run time of the movie. A scene like that would have bridged everything together and made the film seem more complete. But other than that I loved it! It's a very underrated film.

This film has pretty much been forgotten and it's easy to see why. Vincent Minnelli made this a fantasy film with an odd plot to showcase his superb eye for cinematic color and design. The story takes place in a fictional country where Astaire is a con man pretending to be the guardian angel for a naïve heiress played by Lucille Bremer. The plot and most of the movie fall flat as Minnelli goes overboard trying to be artsy. Why the five star rating? Simple - Astaire dances. At the very end of this film is the number "Coffee Time" where Astaire and Bremer pull off a simply magnificent dance in 5/4 time on a floor painted to look three dimensional surrounded by exotically costumed dancers. Bremer, whose career rose and fell quickly is in my opinion Astaire's greatest dance partner. Yes, including Rogers and Charise. Watch how she blends in with him so that they are one dancer and no matter how fast he is - she's right there with him. Other Astaire partners are trying to keep up with him. Bremer blends with the great man like no other female dancer ever did. You can see this in "Ziegfeld Follies" where they do two terrific numbers. If you're a Fred Astaire lover then buy this film solely for Coffee Time. Play it again and again to see just how great dancing can be.

Actually, for myself I would give this film five stars because of the incredible dancing in the Dream and, especially, in the amazing Coffee Song toward the end. Despite the silliness of much of the script, I do enjoy it, especially all the nonsensical things that Aunt Amarilla says. Lucille Bremer was one of Astaire's best dance partners, almost rivalling even the incomparable Vera Ellen, who danced with him in "The Belle of New York" (1952). The surreal Dream seems to have been very influential for subsequent musicals. This film came out in 1945. There are even a few echoes of it in "The Red Shoes" (1948), as well as all the '50s musicals into which--fortunately for us--it seems to have been almost mandatory to insert at least one ballet.

Everyone I know hates this movie, except me. I love Fred Astaire in anything...well, as long as Betty Hutton doesn't co-star. Here, he's stuck with a lady who could dance, but couldn't act her way out of the proverbial torn paper bag.I also suspect her vocals are dubbed, or Lucille Bremer couldn't match her recorded vocals. And the plot...oh, rewrite the whole thing. Keep Mildred Natwick on screen far more than she is, and perhaps have her swoon over Astaire and try to set Astaire up with Lucille Bremer - anything to add some humour and life to this story.But one could find flaws everywhere; the movie was only made because, as legend has it, Bremer was Louis B. Mayer's love interest. And it killed her career; watch "Ziegfeld Follies" and 'Limehouse Blues' or 'This Heart of Mine', both with Astaire, to see her dance without having to attempt acting or singing.But to the positives. 'Coffee Time'comes too late to save the movie, but the dancing, and that floor! It is one of Astaire's best moments with a partner. Then there is the dream ballet that is ruined briefly with a silly song, 'Will You Marry Me' introduced into it - sung by Bremer, of course. But the dance, the Dali sets, the unexpected twists and turns of a plot, make it one of the very first popular ballets on film. Perhaps that is the film's main problem, a lot of Bremer and far too little of Astaire - he has only one song in the entire score. Or perhaps the movie just takes too long to get going with all that nonsense about the school teacher followed by Yolanda's leaving the nunnery. It is too precious for words. But Frank Morgan tries. Fred Astaire gives it a good shot but is overwhelmed by the cuteness of it all, and sometimes seems as bored here as in "Let's Dance". Ah, but 'Coffee Time'...and if only the title song had been given a major showing. MGM missed badly here, but they aimed high, a treatment which few musicals received. Like "The Pirate", they aimed too high, and got shot down fast

C'est certainement une très bonne comédie musicale de Vincente MINNELLI (en Technicolor !); mais je défie quiconque ne parle pas couramment anglais de comprendre le scénario, étant donné que ce DVD Zone 1 Import USA ne comporte (contrairement au descriptif) ni doublage ni sous-titrage en français... Quelle déception et quel dommage !

パトリア国のヨランダ(ルシル・ブレマー)は、裕福な家の出で、莫大な額の遺産相続人。ただし、遺産を受け取るには、修道院での学生生活を終えて、外界の生活で善行をすることが条件。早速、ヨランダは、叔母(ミルドレッド・ナトウィック)の住む邸へ行き、新たな生活を始める。その頃、列車の中で、ヨランダの遺産の件を知った詐欺師ジョニー・リッグス(フレッド・アステア)は、世間ずれしていないミランダに近づき、彼女の遺産をせしめようと画策するのだが…。ミュージカル作品の巨匠、ヴィンセント・ミネリが監督し、フレッド・アステアが主演したファンタジー・ミュージカルの秀作。当初、アステアとジュディ・ガーランドのコンビが予定されていたが、ガーランドが、" Harvey Girls "に出演することになり、相手役がルシル・ブレマーへと変更になった。日本では劇場未公開ながら、『ヨランダと泥棒』の題名で、WOWOWなどで数回放映されている。ミネリ監督の『 花嫁の父 』の中で、娘の結婚式が近づき悶々としているスペンサー・トレイシー演じる父親が、教会の通路を歩こうとすると、脚が地面にめり込んで前へ進めないという印象的な夢を見るシーンがあるが、同じように、足元をすくわれて、終始、不思議な夢の中をフワフワと浮遊しているような感覚に陥るのが本作だ。もちろん、それは、本作がファンタジーであり、夢のシーンが多く、重要な要素になっているという点が大きいだろう。デビュー作『 キャビン イン ザ スカイ 』をあげるまでもなく、もともと、ミネリ監督は、ファンタジーへの嗜好が強く、インタビューにおいては、夢の場面の効能を語っている(" The Men Who Made the Movies: Interviews With Frank Capra, George Cukor, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Vincente Minnelli, King Vidor, Raoul Walsh, and William A. Wellman " P258)ことからも、彼がファンタジー要素や夢というものをインスピレーションの源とみなしていたことは確かなようだ。そんなミネリが好む要素だけで出来ている本作は、ある意味、彼のフィルモグラフィーの中でも、最も純粋でパーソナルなものと言えるかもしれない。おとぎ話らしく、明るい色使いの美術セットを基調にする一方、ジョニーが見る悪夢の中では、彩度を抑え、シュール・レアリスム的な不気味で荒漠たる美術セットでみせるなど、かなり前衛的、実験的な演出も試みている(それをさらに進めたのが、『 巴里のアメリカ人 』での印象派の絵画の中のダンスと言えるかもしれない)。舞台出身のヴィジュアリストらしいミネリの繊細な画作りが細部にまで渡っている。そして、そういったミネリ的意匠を背景にして繰り広げられるアステアとブレマーの落ち着いて、流麗なダンスの美しさ。派手さはないものの、アステア主導のどこまでも優雅で色気が香るダンスだ。後年、アステア自身は、「複雑で効果的に計算されたいくつかのダンスがあったんだが、すべてがファンタジー寄りになりすぎて、あまり上手く行かなかった」と述懐して、本作の欠点を冷静に批評している。アステアの言葉の通り、ファンタジーやの要素が前面に出過ぎ、ストーリーやダンスと緊密に結びついていない点も確かにあるが、それでも、ストーリーではなく、あえて、モチーフ(ファンタジー、夢)に重きを置いている、本作におけるミネリ監督の志の高い実験精神は、やはり評価されるべきだろう。決して成功しているとは言えないものの、不思議と心に残る忘れ難い作品になっている。アステアは、詐欺師という難しい役どころ。ずる賢さを持ちつつも、ヨランダの純真に触れ、次第に良心の呵責に苛まれる様を軽妙かつしなやかに演じている。ブレマーは、どういうわけだかMGMで大成せずに終わってしまった女優だが、ほっそりと華奢な体型と上品な雰囲気を漂わせた可憐さで、ヨランダを好演。当時、すでに28歳という年齢だったにもかかわらず、ヨランダという世間知らずの女性―何の疑いもなく、ジョニーを守護天使と信じてしまう純真さだ！―を自然体で演じている。サイレント時代からのベテラン・キャメラマン、チャールズ・ロッシャーが、彼女を大変美しく撮っているのも、スター主義のMGMらしいところ。ミルドレッド・ナトウィックやフランク・モーガンといったベテラン陣のコメディ・リリーフぶりも実に楽しい。本DVD-Rは、米Warner Archiveによるオン・デマンド・DVD-R。米TCM放映用のマスターを使用したもの。レストアは一切施されていないので、細かいキズは残っているものの、画調も、オリジナルのテクニカラーを偲ばせるなかなかの画質。音声は、概して明瞭で、特に問題はない。嬉しいことに、予告編も収録。例によって、英語字幕は未収録。本DVD-Rは、北米盤ながら、R-0(=All)なので、日本のR-2 プレーヤーで問題なく視聴可能だ。ジュネス企画から、マスターの出処がわからない日本盤が出ているが、やはり、正規盤である本盤がベストだろう。 Harvey Girls花嫁の父キャビン イン ザ スカイThe Men Who Made the Movies: Interviews With Frank Capra, George Cukor, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Vincente Minnelli, King Vidor, Raoul Walsh, and William A. Wellman巴里のアメリカ人

Story a little thin and whimsical but the two main dance numbers are spectacular in their use of movement and colour. Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer dance divinely, such a pity that it was too far ahead of its time for the audiences of the 1940's and that we didn't get to see Miss Bremer dance again (try and watch her two numbers with Mr. Astaire in "Ziegfeld Follies of 1946" if you get the chance as she is outstanding). Unfortunately the film lost money on its first release and MGM being a business first and foremost stopped investing in her career eventually letting her go not long afterward. Mildred Natwick steals the scenes she is in and deservedly so, she is wonderfully camp.

Anyone interested in dance in Hollywood musicals should have this. Among other things it has two of the greatest dance sequences ever put on film, with marvellous choreography by Eugene Loring (who worked a lot with American Ballet Theatre at that period). The "Coffee Time" number is a knockout.Astaire is, as usual, on top form. He has a knack of making the extreme look so easy, but then he was a stickler for the ultimate work ethic and accuracy. His partner here is Lucille Bremer. She is terrific, and matches him step for step in a all the dance work. I admired Rogers very much; and there are two sequences that are way up there with the best. However, I always thought that Rita Hayworth (look at the two movies they made together) was his best partner, and Miss Bremer is as good. There is also the added attraction of the great Mildred Natwick (remember her in Hitchcock's TROUBLE WITH HARRY bakingg blueberry muffins).A lovely evening's entertainment.