New Faces (1954) User Reviews

Dated but nostalgic memento of Broadway gone-by

[winstonnc-1 · 5/10 · 14 April 2009]

I can't imagine anyone but Broadway babies much liking this film more than 50 years after its release, but it offers a unique slice of American theater history and I am glad it's been preserved. "New Faces of 1952" was the most successful of Leonard Sillman's Broadway shows and introduced a raft of talent - Eartha Kitt (who became an overnight sensation), Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Ronnie Graham, Robert Clary and Carol Lawrence (five years before "West Side Story"). Mel Brooks was one of the writers and Sheldon Harnick ("Fiddler on the Roof") contributed to the score. The skits on contemporary events (a spoof of hip music and the Senate, a sketch on "degenerate" Southern writers like Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams) are, naturally, pretty flat these days. But some of the musical numbers are very nice and it's great to see some old familiar faces when they were young and starting out. The show ran more than a year on Broadway and did a short tour to the West Coast. 20th Century Fox was still eagerly showcasing its CinemaScope format and decided to film the show, rather hastily, in Hollywood. The film is a rarity in that it is one of the few films made from a Broadway with its original cast intact and perhaps the ONLY revue ever filmed pretty much as it was on B'way, though shortened (and somewhat revised to play up Kitt's fame - she didn't sing "Santa Baby" in the original show but does here). Regrettable, Fox didn't preserve the film and let its copyright lapse a number of years ago. The present DVDs, and there are several, all seem to stem from a worn print discovered God knows where. The transfer, washed out and fuzzy but widescreen (at least), seems to have made with a camera photographing a screening (and not quite getting all of the image in). I saw the film when I was very young and don't remember it being this disjointed, leading to suspicions that some short pieces are missing.

Yes, Uncle Arthur and Esmerelda were new faces, once....

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 21 August 2014]

This is a mixed bag of songs, dances and sketches, but there is no denying the talent involved. There will be a definite case of curiosity here with two future "Bewitched" supporting characters (who sometimes seemed like twins in real life), a "Hogan's Heroes" hero who was a real life concentration camp survivor, and a future "Catwoman". The rest of the cast (with the exception of Carol Lawrence who is pretty much overshadowed here) consists of obscure faces even Broadway aficionados won't recognize. The sketches range from funny to lame, and the songs for the most part are not remembered today.

Eartha Kitt is definitely instantly recognizable, and gets to sing her pop standard "Santa Baby" here which has been greatly remade but never topped. She also scores with "Monotonous" and sings a song in French with Robert Clary, the future "Hogan's Heroes" Frenchman who definitely is the most romantic presence here. Clary, the real life concentration camp survivor I mentioned, also scored highly in daytime drama, singing on-screen during his many years as Robert LeClaire on "Days of Our Lives" and also performing on both "The Young and the Restless" in its early days and years later on "The Bold and the Beautiful". Kitt purrs just like a kitten, and her brief tenure as Catwoman on "Batman" later on has made her both a sex symbol as well as camp icon.

People joke that sometimes Alice Ghostley seemed to be really Paul Lynde in drag, but they were real life close friends who just happened to share similar vocal mannerisms. Ghostley, be-speckled and frumpy, is a perfect look-alike for "Auntie Mame's" Agnes Gooch as she sings the alluring "Boston", a song written by "Fiddler on the Roof's" Sheldon Harnick. Lynde's sketches range from hysterical to eye-rolling, but he completely scores in the sketch about a hunter covered in bandages and hobbling on crutches sharing his experience while hunting big game in Africa. Lynde was one of the sketch writers, along with a future film comedy legend billed here as "Melvin Brooks".

Prints of this look extremely cheap, sort of like the recently made film version of "Top Banananna". This gives a dated and almost television look to the film. However, both movies were made for big screen release, and they pale in comparison to the musical classics released by the major studios during this time. So while the film ranks as "good", it is more because of the great talents that came out of it and individual moments rather than the film as a whole. Perhaps video and DVD are better viewings for this because at least you can fast-forward.

Interesting look at Broadway revue in its fading days.

[foosie-2 · 19 February 2000]

NEW FACES of 1952 has a backstage structure imposed on it of the cast requiring cash in order for the show to continue; and two cast members being in love, against the wishes of the girl's Texan father. The cast mainly featured Ronnie Graham, Alice Ghostley, Robert Clary and Eartha Kitt. Additional cast members included June Carroll, Virginia DeLuce, Paul Lynde, Bill Mullins, Rosemary O'Reilly, Allen Conroy, Jimmy Russell, George Smiley, Polly Ward, Carol Lawrence, Johnny Lavery, Elizabeth Logan, Faith Burwell and Clark Ranger. The words and music were "mostly" by Ronny Graham, Arthur Siegel, June Carroll, Sheldon Harnick and Michael Brown, with additional contributions from Murray Grand, Ellisse Boyd, Alan Melville, Herbert Farjeon (who gave Joyce Grenfell her start in revues), Francis LeMarque and Peter DeVries. The sketches were written by Ronny Graham, "Melvin" Brooks, Paul Lynde, Luther Davis and John Cleveland. The numbers included: C'est Si Bon Eartha Kitt Meet the Senate Paul Lynde, Ronny Graham & Others Lucky Pierre Robert Clary Penny Candy ? Boston Beguine Alice Ghostley Love is a Simple Thing Robert Clary, Earthy Kitt Famous Southern Writer Ronny Graham Time for Tea Alice Ghostley & Others Alouette Robert Clary Santa, Baby Eartha Kitt Waltzing in Venice ? Take Off Your Mask Ronny Graham, Alice Ghostley Mr. Canker in Darkest Africa Paul Lynde Raining Memories Robert Clary I'm In Love With Miss Logan Robert Clary Pickpocket Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Ronny Graham Lizzie Borden Ronny Graham & Others Monotonous Eartha Kitt Finale Entire Cast

MEET THE SENATE was a senate investigation into jazz, with Ronny Graham in a zoot suit. PENNY CANDY is a heart tugging song by a bejeweled lady thinking back to her childhood when a piece of penny candy could make her happy as nothing in her rich life does now. BOSTON BEGUINE is a famous Sheldon Harnick number which Alice Ghostley really shines in. I couldn't figure out who the "famous Southern author" was supposed to be - Tennessee Williams; Truman Capote (the character's name is Kaput). TIME FOR TEA is a sad lament of missed opportunities in youth which lead to becoming two old maids. TAKE OFF YOUR MASK is Ronny Graham importuning Alice Ghostley to remove her mask at a ball in Vienna, but when he pulls it off, he begs her to put it back on and dashes away on a gondola. MR. CANKER IN DARKEST AFRICA is Paul Lynde in bandages and on crutches, narrating his unfortunate experiences on a recent trip to Egypt. I'M IN LOVE WITH MISS LOGAN is Robert Clary as a young boy with a crush on his teacher and not even knowing her first name. PICKPOCKET is a skit in which Paul Lynde is an unsuccessful pickpocket who is disappointed in his son, Ronny Graham, who plays baseball and gets A's on his report card, and doesn't seem to want to follow him into the family business. MONOTONOUS is Eartha Kitt as a femme fatale, bored with her life even though she "made Johnny Ray smile for me; a camel walked a mile for me."

Be very grateful for Eartha Kitt

[KlutzyGirl · 3/10 · 4 December 2013]

It's no wonder she was called "the most exciting woman in the world"-- she's certainly the most exciting person in this revue! As others have said, Alice Ghostley also shines and Paul Lynde has a couple of good moments; but the rest of the cast is either mediocre or downright awful, especially Clary and Graham. A big part of the problem is the dearth of good songs; most are forgettable or worse. The choreography is uninspired too, although the vaguely Latin number with Carol Lawrence is pretty good. I usually enjoy shows like this, so I was surprised as well as disappointed. How this became a big Broadway hit is a mystery.

okay summerstock show, but we get to see some "new faces"

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 15 July 2011]

The film opens with "Lebeau" from Hogan's Heroes (Robert Clary) running around for some reason, we're not quite sure, since the sound is so bad, although that might just be the copy I got from Amazon. Who knew he started out as a professional singer…? We see a very young Alice Ghostly and Eartha Kitt when they show the faces of the performers to come. June Carroll (the producer's sister…) sings Penny Candy, Alice Ghostly , who we all know from Bewitched, sings, and actually has a hell of a voice! And WHAT is with that dress on Virginia Wilson, who keeps popping in to introduce the next number? It looks like her top is about to drop down on a trap door.

A lot of this is very "okay"… many of the performers do their bits in a very serious manner, without expression or any emotion, so some of it is almost painful to get through. Clary, the "emcee" does several numbers, and E. Kitt does a naughty version of Santa Baby. Paul Lynde performs in a couple good "bits", but they would have been funnier if they had ended on a funny line about halfway through. The best number was the Lizzie Borden number "You can't chop your papa up in… Massachusetts" – some clever stuff. There's a very thin plot line…someone's father keeps promising to pay someone some money or something, but that very thin plot line seems to have been tacked on later. Interesting to see all these young actors before they hit the bigtime, but I'm glad I didn't pay to see this one in a theater.

One of the worst films ever made

[execelsior · 2/10 · 25 September 2007]

I saw this film in a movie house as a kid and remember thinking that this had to be one of the worst films that I have ever seen. The only 'bits' that I found worthwhile were the 'bits' with Ms Kit. She was remarkable and certainly like nothing that I had seen before. Recently, I found a copy of the film on VHS and bought it for fun - I wanted to see if it was as bad as I remembered. I have been unable to get beyond the first thirty minutes into the film. I can NOT believe revues on stage were ever this bad. The color too is dreadful. This is very sad since the cast included some very talented people.

I have been told, repeatedly, that I can not submit my comment since it does not contain 'at least 10 lines'. Tragically, I have nothing of value to add and so am wasting words here. Let us see if I have now managed to add enough gibberish.

Before they were famous

[sacca79 · 8/10 · 17 August 2006]

On the whole, I found the film disjointed and silly, BUT I'm giving it a high rating because it was so much fun to see the likes of Alice Ghostly, Paul Lynde and Eartha Kitt as young performers.

I never knew Ghostly had an actual, excellent singing voice! Always the comic, she also shines vocally in her rendition of "In Boston".

Later, Lynde and Ghostly play the parents of a disappointing son in a sketch that, while amusing, reveals one of the drawbacks of going from stage to film without coaching -- they shout as if they need to work to be heard in the back row. This is an interesting bit of history to be shared with young people today who primarily observe performers fully wired for sound.

For me, the best parts of the film were the several appearances by Eartha Kitt doing her unique and delicious vamping at a time most of us think of as uptight and way too tame. There is nothing uptight or tame about Kitt's performances here! They alone are worth the price of the DVD.

Eartha Kitt and Alice Ghostley Shine

[drednm · 28 May 2011]

A 50s Broadway revue is filmed here with a backstage story about needing money to finish the show. The bill collector is locked in a closet and the show goes on.

Many of the new faces went on to stardom and solid careers. Others never made it. Surprisingly, this small show produced a couple of hit songs: "Santa Baby" and "Love Is a Simple Thing." The musical numbers come off better than the skits. The production looks incredibly cheap and the dancing is amateurish. Yet....

It's amazing to see Eartha Kitt sizzle in her musical numbers, using her patented growl to add oomph. She could sell a song with the best on them. Alice Ghostley is terrific (who knew she could sing?) in skits and her solo number "The Boston Beguine." Paul Lynde (looking very heavy) is funny is his skits. Carol Lawrence is mostly a dancer here and has great stage presence. Virginia DeLuce (also known as Virginia Wilson) does well with her ongoing "He Takes Me Off His Income Tax." June Carroll has a shining moment singing "Penny Candy." She also wrote many of the songs for this production. Rosemary O'Reilly get to sing "Love Is a Simple Thing." However, Ronny Graham is way over the top as the show's "star." He comes off as a cross between Jerry Lewis and James Whitmore. Robert Clary is just plain obnoxious and gets ways too much screen time. The rest of the cast gets little to do other than chorus work.

Unbilled and missing from the IMDb cast list are Henry Kulky as the bill collector and Robert Emhardt as the rich daddy.

The film was directed by two men and is pretty bad with static cameras and those annoying shots that show us backstage reactions when performers are singing and dancing.

Trivia: Mel Brooks was one of the writers. Robert Clary was married to one of Eddie Cantor's daughters. Grimes and DeLuce won the 1952 Theatre World awards. Kitt's rendition of "C'est Si Bon" was not in the original show.

I rate this a 10 because of Alice Ghostley and Paul Lynde

[albrechtcm · 10/10 · 20 September 2019]

Here is is 65 years later and I still find myself wandering around humming "Penny Candy, Candy for a Penny"!!! I was quite young when I saw this. I liked Eartha Kitt of course, and remembered Robert Clary when he turned up in "Hogan's Heroes". But I can never get Paul Lynde's performance as the poor chap recounting his trip to Africe. He tried so hard to be upbeat and positive about this absolutely horrible experience, it's to die for. They were all good, but those two performances have remained fresh in my mind lo! these 65 years later. Last night I was thinking about it and decided that even at this late date, I had to say something.

A delightful filmed Broadway Revue.

[djhbooklover · 9/10 · 17 September 2012]

I initially saw this on the stage in Chicago after the show left Broadway where it was quite successful for a revue. I remember enjoying it immensely. I then saw the Cinemascope release in 1954 and was pleased that my wife could enjoy it as well. When I found it many years later on VHS and DVD I bought it and have seen it many times. As a musical theatre lover I am delighted that it has been preserved. Of course it is dated and the technical aspects of the filming and copying defects are well brought out by the other reviewers. Eartha Kitt is well represented as is Paul Lynde in two skits, the best a spoof of "Death of a Salesman" and the African travelogue; Robert Clary in two charming songs; Alice Ghostley in "Boston Beguine, hilarious, and yes she can sing!; Ronnie Graham doing a young Truman Capote; several ensemble numbers the best of which is the Lizzy Borden trial. It is clearly apparent that this is a filmed version of the stage show with the added silly plot. Theatre lovers will enjoy a rare opportunity to view an original revue as they were so frequently done in the early twentieth century but are uncommon today. I highly recommend taking a look at it

A Refreshing Film

[jromanbaker · 8/10 · 22 December 2021]

This film really should be brought out on a decent DVD. I watched it in a washed out copy with poor sound, and slim though the story line is it is a refreshing and entertaining show of songs and amusing entertainers that during the Christmas period and other parts of the year would cheer us up in dismal times. The real star of the show is the legendary Eartha Kitt. Her ' Santa Baby ' is worth 8 out of 10 alone, and some of the Broadway antics are hit and miss, but thanks to Eartha the whole experience is brilliantly raunchy in the inimitable way that she had, and if only she were here today to entertain us all ! An adventure in Cinemascope and new as freshest paint please someone out there give it that real new coat of paint and make it shine like it did on the wide screen in 1954.

Excellent ,Excellent , Excellent !

[mmcgee282 · 9/10 · 27 February 2019]

This was a successful translation to the screen of A Broadway musical revue ,better than the screen adaption of Top Banana ,made a year earlier ,as good as Foxes screen translations of the king and I and carousal,which was owned by fox to begin with ,as well as the Gentlemen prefer blondes ,a year earlier.The surviving print wasn't that bad and the stereo was intact too,only with the Paul Lynde travel scene a momentary int shift from yellow ,but quickly back to it orange tint and in another Paul Lynde Scene ,with Alice Ghostly and Ronny Graham in Father ,son skit,the beginning scene the color was muddy ,then near the end it became normal.For the moment there was dirt noise on the sound track on the other half ,but momentarily .Here is the problem .It was originally released on VHS home video for CRT t.v.'s . By 2010 Hi def t.v.'s wide screen plasma's were taking over .There was good computer soft ware and digital equipment to fix up the print. The company distributor could of made a new digital master in H.D. for 16 by 9 t.v.'s wide screen letter box.Correct the yellow tint ,by borrowing some of the color from the other part of the print ,straighten the muddy color side of the scene and clean the dirt of the last part of the film's sound track and it would of been excellent.V.C.I. did not.They transferred the 4 by 3 widescreen letter box print analogue video master that was used for the V.H.S. version cheaply to DVD .That's the only problem resulting in a none sharp print that amplifies the already defects of the CinemaScope lens on 35mm.This is a lower end cheap video label.If this ever gets on Blu-Ray they will have to make a new digital master and fix the print up.In this film version,after hearing thousands of times the Broadway cast record on Accuradio ,some of the songs were changed or eliminated.The Gothic lyrics of the song ,"Love is a simple thing,was removed.The Gothic skit by Paul Lynde about A mother Vampire proud of her teenage daughter blooming to be a vampire, phone gossip,was not use in film version."Guess who I saw today",was not used.The good thing about this film version of the musical revue is that you saw some early stars who would make it on the screen and t.v . and stage.Paul Lynde ,Alice Ghostly ,Robert Clary ,whom would become a big hit on hogan heroes and later appearance in a day time soap opera.Carrol Lawrence ,who would become a big star in the stage version of West side story and the wife of Robert Goulet.Last but not least The sultry Eartha Kitt,I'm guessing she was a Marlene Dietrich fan cause she seem to aspire to be like her.She was a good actress and a good singer and was treated equally in the film with the rest of the white actors .I'm sure that this film did not make it to the deep south,especially Montgomery and Birmingham Alabama back in 54 -55.In spite of the cheap transfer ,when it should of been fixed up,and it still can, it was a good musical revue adapted on film although some of the skits slowed down the movie ,that's why I gave it a 9.Oh! yes ,this is where the ,popular Xmas song ,"Santa Baby,"sang by sultry Eartha began. 02/27/19

A Must-See Movie! Try to track it down!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 17 July 2017]

An Edward L. Alperson Production. Copyright 1 December 1953 by National Pictures Corp. U.S. release through 20th Century-Fox: March 1954. New York opening at the Roxy: 19 February 1954. U.K. release through British Lion: 5 February 1955. Australian release through Hoyts/Independent Film Distributors: 10 February 1955. Sydney opening at the Plaza. 98 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: A series of songs, skits and sketches, tied together with a thin backstage story about a backer, a producer and the backer's daughter who wants to be in the show.

COMMENT: CinemaScope's usefulness in recording a stage show for a wider audience was seized upon avidly and rapidly by a combination of Broadway's Leonard Sillman and New York independent (with strong ties to 20th Century-Fox), Edward L. Alperson. It's odd that despite CinemaScope's success here — both commercially and artistically — few other producers realized what a natural 'Scope was for the filmed presentation of stage shows. Paul Czinner, for example, never bothered to use 'Scope for any of his filmed records such as "The Bolshoi Ballet" (1957), "The Royal Ballet" (1959), "Der Rosenkavalier" (1961) or "Romeo and Juliet" (1966) — more's the pity!

"New Faces" itself of course, is something of a curate's egg of a show, with absolutely brilliant sketches alternating with some songs and skits that outstayed their welcome. But thanks to the compass of CinemaScope and the infectious enthusiasm of all the young players, the revue was never dull, even in its weakest moments. And the high spots — Eartha Kitt naturally, especially in "Monotonous" and Stella Lee's "Uskadara"; "Time for Tea" sung by Alice Ghostley and June Carroll; "He Takes Me Off His Income Tax"; and "Lizzie Borden" — were truly memorable.

Also unforgettable were some of the wonderful personalities "New Faces" introduced to the screen. In addition to Miss Kitt and writer Mel Brooks who went on to make more notable films, a number of these marvelous stars never made another movie: Ronny Graham, June Carroll, Bill Mullikin, Rosemary O'Reilly. A few of the other players including pint-sized comedian, Robert Clary (who joined Kitt in singing "Bal Petit Bal") and dancer Carol Lawrence, made just one more movie each. Others like Paul Lynde and Alice Ghostley had fair careers ahead. - JHR writing as George Addison.