Bye Bye Birdie
There is no denying that Bye Bye Birdie is a fun romp. It is a lighthearted musical that loosely adapts the 1960 Tony-Award winning Broadway musical production, upon which the film was based. The film has some really entertaining moments and features a stellar ensemble cast. Dick Van Dyke and Paul Lynde reprise their roles from the Broadway production, but basically the rest of the cast is different and includes performances by Janet Leigh, Maureen Stapleton, and Ann-Margaret, and even features the one and only Ed Sullivan, as himself. You can’t help but smile during certain scenes in the film, even if, by today’s standards, the film and plot are pretty pedestrian and feature some outdated social norms, there is no denying the power of parody that oozes from this film.
At heart Bye Bye Birdie makes fun of the 1950s Elvis craze – particularly capitalizing and dramatizing the hullabaloo surrounding the rock-and-roll star’s 1957 draft notice – and concocts an outlandish story about a fictional teen heartthrob, ‘Conrad Birdie’ (Jesse Pearson), and the fandom and hysterics surrounding his impending draft. As a satirical take on all things 1950s teen culture, Bye Bye Birdie pokes fun at the antics of teenagers, which is best seen in the outrageous “Telephone Hour” number, with all the teens gossiping and tying up the phone lines.
For me, the highlights of the film include a couple of key musical numbers, namely “Kids,” featuring Paul Lynde, and “Put on a Happy Face,” featuring Dick Van Dyke. Both numbers are superbly performed, and stand up to repeat viewings. I look forward to these numbers every time I watch this film. The “Put on a Happy Face” number has become iconic, with Van Dyke ‘drawing’ in the air, as song-writer Albert Peterson, trying to cheer up a sulking Janet Leigh, playing Albert’s love interest (and secretary) Rosie. This number is truly memorable as the whole scene showcases quite a bit of cinema magic.
Beyond the sillier elements of the show, I found myself annoyed by the antics of the ‘teenagers’ in this film, and I’m clearly not the only one… Some of the cast (particularly those actors who reprised their roles from the stage production for the film) were displeased with the myriad of changes that occurred when transforming the musical for the silver screen. Paul Lynde, who portrayed Harry MacAfee both on Broadway and again in the film, is famously quoted as having observed: “I was in 'Bye Bye Birdie' on Broadway - played the father. I was in the film version, but they should have retitled it 'Hello, Ann-Margret!' They cut several of my and the other actors' best scenes and shot new ones for her so she could do her teenage-sex-bombshell act…” (IMDb.com). I cannot help but chuckle and sympathize with Lynde.
Speaking of Ann-Margret, she is one of the weakest links in the film. The entire film/musical was essentially re-worked to feature her, including the cringe-worthy opening and closing number, “Bye Bye Birdie,” which was added and written specifically for the film. While catchy, the performance feels out of sync with the rest of the film, and her dancing and exaggerated movements are totally off-putting and phony. It is hard to believe that she is a teenager (the actress being in her early twenties at the time of this performance), and her quasi-strip-tease in the “How Lovely to Be a Woman” number, although hilarious and over-the-top (I couldn’t help but get distracted by the background decorations in the character’s bedroom, including ‘Flintstone’ dolls and ‘Yogi Bear’ stuffed animals), is unnecessary and only served as a launching pad for her career. It should be of no surprise that within a year of Bye Bye Birdie’s release, Ann-Margret would go on to be cast opposite Elvis in the wildly popular film Viva Las Vegas (1964), which would re-team her with director George Sidney.
One of the truly exceptional, and surprising, performances is that of Janet Leigh as Rosie. Leigh is practically unrecognizable when compared to her more famous film performances, think Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) and that infamous shower scene, as Leigh’s ‘cool blonde’ persona is swapped for a much feistier and upbeat performance, transforming her so completely that you almost forget it is Janet Leigh. It is also important to keep in mind that the original Broadway production featured Chita Rivera in the role of Rosie, but the film essentially glosses over the more prejudiced and racists elements featured within the stage production, downplaying the fact that Rosie, as a character, is of ‘Hispanic’ origins, which upsets Albert’s mother… Leigh’s performance is a departure from her more serious acting roles, and I think she pulls off the comedy quite well, particularly her madcap performance during the Shriners meeting.
Bye Bye Birdie is a fun film from start to finish, and the perfect escapist film that I needed to revisit right now. The musical numbers, and particularly the satire embedded within the lyrics, are delightful, and the cast does an excellent job of helping you forget what is currently going on in the world, if only just for a short while… - Sarah ☎💏🎵
"I love it! It's okay... Nope, I love it again... Huh?" - Bailey's thought process while watching Bye Bye Birdie
I hate to admit it, but Bye Bye Birdie is all over the place. At times, it rivals some of the greatest movie musicals, but. at other times, I feel like I'm watching one of the worst low-budget live-action movies of the 1960s from Disney or something. It's genuinely one of my favorite movie musicals, but it's also... not... that... great. It starts strong, then stumbles over its own feet, then comes back in a big way, and in the end leaves me wondering what the heck just happened. I love it... I think?
As you might expect, the production numbers give us the best of cinema. These high-energy musical numbers, while often over-the-top and 'extra,' as the kids would say today, are so much fun, so quirkily staged, and were choreographed in a fun, unique way that influenced me to this day. "The Telephone Hour," "Honestly Sincere," and "A Lot of Livin' to Do" all capture the satirical vision of teenagehood at the core of the film, and "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" and "Kids" hilariously satirize the other side of the spectrum. Honestly, if this film were just the musical numbers, it might just be perfect. Unfortunately, we have to deal with a superfluous chemistry/Russian ballet plotline that brings the film to a grinding halt. All you have to do is give me the script and I'll tear out the right pages for you. It's that unnecessary.
The other issue that bugs me about Bye Bye Birdie is the message I'm supposed to be getting from the film. I see that it's a satire at the start, and I'm laughing along with it as the story progresses, and then it ends, and I can't help but think we got off-track somewhere. What started as a satire of mainstream American life seems to, from my point of view, solidify the value of that life by the end of the film. Looking at our two main couples, Albert and Rosie, and Kim and Hugo, we seem to settle on the decision that men should be men, not passive dorks or kowtowing mama's boys, and women should strive to maintain their virtue and innocence... This message seems to be an earnest one, and it leaves me wondering what the point of the whole film was? It was fun, but ultimately I was looking for a more satisfying sense of closure than I got.
For a musical comedy film, the humor in Bye Bye Birdie can feel pretty uneven. There are, of course, genuinely hilarious moments. Pretty much any line delivered by the caricaturish characters Harry McAfee (Paul Lynde) or Mae (Maureen Stapleton) is guaranteed to make me chuckle at the very least. However, similarly, as it happened with Into the Woods (2014, dir. Rob Marshall), many lines that I assume garnered big laughs on stage, simply fall flat on the big screen... It's not surprising that these lines mostly come from Kim and Rosie, two characters portrayed by non-stage actresses (Ann-Margret and Janet Leigh, respectively).
Speaking of unevenness and Ann-Marget, let's talk a little bit more about our lady of the month. I can't say that I don't enjoy her performances in this film, but I can at least say that they leave me feeling a little disoriented. I use the word "performances" because throughout the film Ann-Margret is portraying two distinct characters in Kim McAfee. The first is the naive yet poised young woman teetering and tottering on the edges of childhood and the womanly domesticity of the 1960s. The second is the sex symbol that the studio felt was essential to selling this movie. You can clearly see where the director yells "cut" and tells her that it was time to put on her bedroom eyes. Don't get me wrong, she plays both parts well, and you can see how one could get from "How Lovely to Be a Woman" to "A Lot of Livin' to Do" with a proper arc. However, the shifts from sweet to sultry are so jarring and ostentatious that I just feel like the character is alternating slamming the gas and the brakes over and over again, and I'm getting whiplash.
Moving on to other members of the cast, I have to acknowledge the disappointment in the film's handling of the character of Rosie, who was originally played by Chita Rivera in the Broadway production. In the film version, Janet Leigh, a white actress, is cast in the role, and the majority of the references to Rosie's Hispanic heritage are removed. Also, the whole issue of Mae's racist attitude towards Rosie is completely nonexistent in the film version. Of course, if you're going to cast a white woman to play Rosie, it's probably best to not have her singing "Spanish Rose" (a hilarious number in which Rosie's frustration with Mae's racism comes to a head, wonderfully performed by Rivera in the original play, but completely inappropriate for Janet Leigh to sing). So, congratulations, Columbia Pictures, on absolutely ‘brown facing,’ but not as much as you could have? Is that what you want me to say, Columbia? Can we also talk about how Chita Rivera was already a Broadway legend at the time this movie was produced, and yet she didn't make it into a movie musical until Sweet Charity (1969, dir. Bob Fosse)? I know I'm digressing, but damn, Hollywood is dumb!
Okay, I've been negative for long enough. It's time to talk about my pride, my joy, my golden sun: Dick Van Dyke (in his first film role)! What can I say about his portrayal of Albert Peterson? You can see that it's pretty much the same performance as his Robert Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS, 1961-1966), but that doesn't upset me as it does when other Hollywood actors essentially play themselves over and over again. There is just something so natural about Van Dyke's delivery. He doesn't try to sell his dialogue. He owns it. He's charming, sweet, and pathetic all at once (three things he does so well). Even at the moments when Albert is hair-tearingly frustrating, you can't help but think, "This poor, sweet lug. Won't he ever think of his happiness?" For Van Dyke's first film, and an adaptation of a performance he did on stage hundreds of times (at that), he seems to know exactly how to work a camera. While being one of the most energetic film performers of all time, nothing he does is ever overdone. He has a precision with his face, voice, and body that is unfathomable, and his performance of "Put On a Happy Face" is an elixir for the soul. He is a natural genius when it comes to entertaining, and all that's left to say is I, Bailey Lizotte, "being of sound mind and body do hereby promise to be loyal, courteous, steadfast, and true, to Dick Van Dyke."
Bye Bye Birdie is not the best movie musical of all time, but when you look beyond the messiness and focus on what they did right, it's too fun to not have in your rotation of musicals. - Bailey 🐢🩰🙄
What are your favorite moments in Bye Bye Birdie? Who is your favorite performer? What do you think of our reviews? Share your thoughts and comments with us and do not forget to check back in with us at the end of next week for our May Film Club Pick!
Copyright © 2020 Sarah Crane & Bailey Lizotte
