Search - Red Garters on DVD

Outrageous!

act3 | New York, NY USA | 04/06/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Red Garters" was so ahead of its time that they had to insert a title at the beginning that tried to point out that it was a satire! And not only a satire, but a complete re-thinking of how a movie was to look.First, the sets were skeletal cutouts against primary colors (red, yellow, blue, purple). If you look and care, the effect came from colored sawdust (?) and a cyclorama lighted in the same color. Imagine a yellow world like this with black cut-out trees, a cowboy hero in pale buckskin riding a palamino pony, singing and riding into a town of white frame-only buildings, getting sent to a barbecue celebrating the death of notorious gun-slinger who turns out to be the cowboy's brother!Most viewers would have run out by now. But if you sit and watch, one of the most fascinating and fun Hollywood musicals will play out before you.While its always about the sets, the style of "Red Garters" is brilliantly carried out by the cast. The actors play it for real,but with a little nod to the artificiality. Rosemary Clooney and Guy Mitchell are absolutely terrific together - she is soigne and world-weary, he is young and headstrong. And their voices work together like Doris Day and Gordon McCrae! The songs are wonderful - tuneful, intelligent and witty - from the guys who brought us "Buttons and Bows" among other oscar-winning titles."Red Garters" is not the greatest movie musical but it is a splendid example of imaginative thinking about where the movie musical could go. Much of this movie could fit on an MTV if MTV had begun 20 years earlier. Finally, the film is a hoot! I think the tape doesn't do justice to the colors of the backgrounds, washing them out a bit but if you crank up your "color" setting you may get some idea about what "Red Garters" brought to the party.And watch Clooney. Its her best movie performance ever. A little of it shows in "White Christmas", but in "Red Garters" she really takes off and becomes a genuiine diva."

A pure joy!

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 11/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Strikingly-filmed musical western delight with Rosemary Clooney, RED GARTERS makes it's DVD debut from Paramount with a fine transfer which does full justice to the film's bold Technicolor palette. Clooney plays Calaveras Kate (perhaps a sly dig at Calamity Jane), a saloon singer who's in love with the local golden boy Jason Carberry (Jack Carson). Though when she claps eyes on handsome cowboy Reb Randall (Guy Mitchell) she sees the perfect way of getting Jason jealous...and down the aisle! Some great Jay Livingston-Ray Evans tunes including "This Is Greater Than I Thought", "Red Garters" and "Meet a Happy Guy". Designed in avant-garde style by Hal Pereira and Roland Anderson, the striking visual look of the film is highlighted by a yellow sky backdrop and fanciful theatre-style set pieces.



Four years earlier, Clooney had been paired with up-and-comer Mitchell on a range of CALL ME MADAM cover singles for Columbia. They had a remarkable chemistry and continued their friendship through this film.



Paramount's DVD offers no extras, but the full-frame image is crisp and colourful, and will make a fine addition to your classic movie collection."

Greatest parody of a western musical ever made!

act3 | 12/24/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Red Garters was released in Europe in the mid 1950s, it created a sensation amongst European and English performing artists! The stagey sets, the great singing, the acting done straight, produced a humor not seen before on the screen. It was especially notable when you consider the flood of dead-serious westerns streaming out of Hollywood at that time. "It's the Code of the West!" became a byword for a time. When I returned to America I couldn't believe no one had paid admission to see it and that the critics had panned it."

Three generations love "Red Garters"

Marilyn R. Strovers | Grinnell, IA USA | 11/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm pleased to be able to purchase this video without commercials. My grandchildren have watched an old video that I taped from an all night movie channel many years ago and we are tired of fast forwarding the commercials. We all love the movie and young singers in the family have memorized all the song lyrics. My husband and I first saw the movie in 1956 and I longed to see it again for many years. It gives an all too brief chance to see the young Buddy Ebsen dance and Cass Daley clown around. I can't reccommednd it too highly for great family entertainment."