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The 1962 screen version of Gypsy was a lavishly mounted version of the musical that made a stage legend out of Ethel Merman playing Mama Rose, the stage mother to end all stage mothers, whose lust for fame is vicariously sought after through her daughters, June and Louise, who both find different routes of escape from their mother's iron fist.
Rosalind Russell is energetic in the role of Mama Rose but what I always remember about this movie is the wonderful performance by Natalie Wood as Louise/Gypsy.
Wood was apparently very nervous about doing this film after having her singing dubbed in WEST SIDE STORYand doing her own singing here, but that didn't bother me at all. She makes Louise warm and vulnerable and her transformation into Gypsy Rose Lee is totally believable. I love when Louise sings "Little Lamb" and I also love when she gets dressed for her first big striptease as Gypsy and she sees herself in the mirror and says, "I'm pretty Mama, I'm a pretty girl." I also love a little later when she tells Rose off, telling her that she must let go of her. "I'm Gypsy Rose Lee...and I love her!" Karl Malden is solid as Herbie, Rose's long suffering love who can no longer dance to Rose's tune.
The now iconic score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim includes showstoppers like "Some People", "Let Me Entertain You", "Small World", "You'll Never Get Away From Me", "If Momma was Married", "All I Need is the Girl", "Everything's Coming up Roses", and "Rose's Turn".
The musical numbers are well-staged, especially Gypsy's rise to fame stripper sequence. I've seen better Roses on stage and film (Angela Lansbury, Bette Midler), but Wood is and always will be my favorite Louise and this film is worth seeing for her performance alone.
The 1962 screen version of Gypsy was a lavishly mounted version of the musical that made a stage legend out of Ethel Merman playing Mama Rose, the stage mother to end all stage mothers, whose lust for fame is vicariously sought after through her daughters, June and Louise, who both find different routes of escape from their mother's iron fist.
Rosalind Russell is energetic in the role of Mama Rose but what I always remember about this movie is the wonderful performance by Natalie Wood as Louise/Gypsy.
Wood was apparently very nervous about doing this film after having her singing dubbed in WEST SIDE STORYand doing her own singing here, but that didn't bother me at all. She makes Louise warm and vulnerable and her transformation into Gypsy Rose Lee is totally believable. I love when Louise sings "Little Lamb" and I also love when she gets dressed for her first big striptease as Gypsy and she sees herself in the mirror and says, "I'm pretty Mama, I'm a pretty girl." I also love a little later when she tells Rose off, telling her that she must let go of her. "I'm Gypsy Rose Lee...and I love her!" Karl Malden is solid as Herbie, Rose's long suffering love who can no longer dance to Rose's tune.
The now iconic score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim includes showstoppers like "Some People", "Let Me Entertain You", "Small World", "You'll Never Get Away From Me", "If Momma was Married", "All I Need is the Girl", "Everything's Coming up Roses", and "Rose's Turn".
The musical numbers are well-staged, especially Gypsy's rise to fame stripper sequence. I've seen better Roses on stage and film (Angela Lansbury, Bette Midler), but Wood is and always will be my favorite Louise and this film is worth seeing for her performance alone.