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Anything Goes

  • 1956
  • TV-PG
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
997
YOUR RATING
Bing Crosby, Mitzi Gaynor, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Donald O'Connor in Anything Goes (1956)
MusicalRomance

Bill Benson and Ted Adams are to appear in a Broadway show together and, while in Paris, each discovers the perfect leading lady for the plum female role. Each promises the prize role to the... Read allBill Benson and Ted Adams are to appear in a Broadway show together and, while in Paris, each discovers the perfect leading lady for the plum female role. Each promises the prize role to the girl they selected without informing the other until they head back across the Atlantic b... Read allBill Benson and Ted Adams are to appear in a Broadway show together and, while in Paris, each discovers the perfect leading lady for the plum female role. Each promises the prize role to the girl they selected without informing the other until they head back across the Atlantic by liner - with each man having brought his choice along. It becomes a stormy crossing as e... Read all

  • Director
    • Robert Lewis
  • Writers
    • Guy Bolton
    • P.G. Wodehouse
    • Sidney Sheldon
  • Stars
    • Bing Crosby
    • Donald O'Connor
    • Zizi Jeanmaire
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    997
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Lewis
    • Writers
      • Guy Bolton
      • P.G. Wodehouse
      • Sidney Sheldon
    • Stars
      • Bing Crosby
      • Donald O'Connor
      • Zizi Jeanmaire
    • 34User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos11

    Phil Harris in Anything Goes (1956)
    Phil Harris in Anything Goes (1956)
    Zizi Jeanmaire in Anything Goes (1956)
    Zizi Jeanmaire in Anything Goes (1956)
    Bing Crosby, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Donald O'Connor in Anything Goes (1956)
    Mitzi Gaynor in Anything Goes (1956)
    Bing Crosby, Mitzi Gaynor, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Donald O'Connor in Anything Goes (1956)
    Bing Crosby, Mitzi Gaynor, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Donald O'Connor in Anything Goes (1956)
    Mitzi Gaynor and Donald O'Connor in Anything Goes (1956)
    Mitzi Gaynor and Donald O'Connor in Anything Goes (1956)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bing Crosby
    Bing Crosby
    • Bill Benson
    Donald O'Connor
    Donald O'Connor
    • Ted Adams
    Zizi Jeanmaire
    Zizi Jeanmaire
    • Gaby Duval
    • (as Jeanmaire)
    Mitzi Gaynor
    Mitzi Gaynor
    • Patsy Blair
    Phil Harris
    Phil Harris
    • Steve Blair
    Kurt Kasznar
    Kurt Kasznar
    • Victor Lawrence
    Richard Erdman
    Richard Erdman
    • Ed Brent
    Walter Sande
    Walter Sande
    • Alex Todd
    Archer MacDonald
    Archer MacDonald
    • Otto
    Argentina Brunetti
    Argentina Brunetti
    • Suzanne
    Alma Macrorie
    • French Baroness
    Dorothy Neumann
    Dorothy Neumann
    • German Woman
    James Griffith
    James Griffith
    • Paul Holiday
    Linda Bennett
    • Ann
    • (uncredited)
    John Benson
    John Benson
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Jimmy Brooks
    • Dancer
    • (uncredited)
    Ralph Brooks
    • Ship's Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    Buddy Bryan
    • Dancer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Lewis
    • Writers
      • Guy Bolton
      • P.G. Wodehouse
      • Sidney Sheldon
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was Bing Crosby's last Paramount picture.
    • Goofs
      During the "Ya Gotta Give The People Hoke" number Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor go into a prop room, pick up a prop, go on stage, do a "bit" and go back to the prop room. About midway through, Bing comes out on stage wearing a Fireman's hat. There is a pile of brownish debris and several piles of white material that were not there a second before, indicating that one or more "bits" had been cut after filming.
    • Quotes

      Alex Todd: I've handled a lot of income tax cases in my time, but yours is driving me crazy.

    • Connections
      Featured in Eye for an Eye (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Ya Gotta Give The People Hoke
      Written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn

      Performed by Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor

    User reviews34

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Some Entertaining Elements
    It's easy to understand why they took their time getting around to releasing a DVD of this one. As can be seen from other comments, the 1956 film version of "Anything Goes" will generally disappoint those who love the stage version. Other than some of Cole Porter's songs and a setting on a cruise ship there is no similarity between the two productions. The very entertaining (and still frequently performed) Cole Porter musical has been transformed into a pretty lame film, and three songs by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn have been inexplicably added to the production. Even worse is the loss of most of P.G. Wodehouse's clever script, which was rewritten by a Hollywood hack into this dumbed-down version.

    This doesn't make "Anything Goes" unwatchable. The choreography is mostly first rate. Most of the musical numbers are entertaining and several are excellent. The performances are typical of each cast members career work (both good and bad) and the film has some interesting Hollywood cinema history aspects.

    You know almost immediately that this will not be a rousing bit of entertainment, instead of a high-energy opening number the film begins with a back stage party scene that is about as lively as an abandoned railroad track.

    Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor play Broadway co-stars who go to Europe to recruit a leading lady for their upcoming show. Each brings their discovery aboard a cruise ship for a transatlantic voyage. Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmaire play the girls. Since there is only one role the remainder of the film is about determining which one will be featured and keeping it secret that both were already promised the role. There are two romances, with the two actors falling for each other's girl during the ocean crossing. Suspense and comedy are in short supply.

    Gaynor manages a pretty good performance; she gets one very hot feature number (the title song-although Porter's original four letter word lyrics are toned down) and duets with O'Connor in the film's best number "It's De-lovely". O'Connor is also featured in a very original dance routine with children and a lot of bouncing balls. In this he dances to Van Heusen's "Bounce Right Back," not much of a song but a good excuse for using him in another unique routine.

    Jeanmaire was a French ballet star ("Carmen") who briefly tried her stuff in mid-50's Hollywood. She was a Leslie Caron clone complete with the same hairstyle. Her two solo numbers "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Dream Ballet" are surprisingly good, at least the dancing portions.

    Bing Crosby of course is well known to old movie buffs but others will be somewhat puzzled by his popularity. Nothing he does in "Anything Goes" sheds light on this question. He was a "popular" extremely bland singer and a horrible actor with some comic ability. In "Anything Goes" even his comedy stuff is pretty awful. Paired with Bing, O'Connor has about the same chance for success as someone trying to sneak through a balloon shop wearing a porcupine overcoat.

    The Technicolor and VistaVision completely overpower the cheap production design as well as Sidney Sheldon's (the hack writer mentioned above) weak adaptation.

    Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
    helpful•19
    5
    • aimless-46
    • Jan 14, 2007

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 1956 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Broadway-Zauber
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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