mark.waltz Review of Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village (1944)

Entertaining musical comedy of the golden age of the most notorious of New York's artistic spots.

[5/10 · 27 March 2010]

If you walk down the side streets of Greenwich Village today, you will feel at times that you've traveled back in time. This is an area of New York City that with the exception of people in modern day dress and trendy shops doesn't change all that much. Thankfully, films like "Greenwich Village" and the two versions of "My Sister Eileen" honor the history of this great district, and in quoting "My Sister Eileen's" Broadway musical version, "Wonderful Town", lots of interesting people live on Christopher Street! (While that is considered more the West Village, it still has the Greenwich Village feel to it, as do Bleeker Street, Minetta Lane, and Sullivan Street, where "The Fantastiks" ruled Off Broadway for over 40 years.) While the story may not be 100% realistic, it is great fun! "Greenwich Village" starts off on a high note-Carmen Miranda singing (in Spanish!) "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Don Ameche plays a classical composer who ends up writing for the "Greenwich Village Gaities", bringing people further downtown from Broadway. He falls for singer Vivian Blaine and must decide between his true passion (classical music) and what is popular. Along the way, we see all sorts of somewhat stereotypical characters, including bootleggers, floozies, local drunks and a variety of entertainers, which include the revuers. Among them are Broadway writing team Betty Comden and Adolph Green (who wrote and starred in "On the Town" the same year) and future Academy Award Winner Judy Holliday. This isn't a great script or even a new story, but it's presented like a colorful memory book that doesn't always tell the full story but gives a glimpse into what was. Take this one lightly and you'll enjoy it. It may not be an "Alexander's Ragtime Band", but it's still a lot of fun!