In early-20th-century Yonkers, a wealthy local merchant (Horace Vandergelder, played by Walter Matthau) hires matchmaker Dolly Levi (Barbra Streisand) to find a mate for him--but... more
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HELLO DOLLY
Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Zoot Sims (tenor saxophone); Hank Jones
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(piano).Recording information: New York, New York (1964); London, England (1964).All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology.Arrangers: Johnnie Spence; Henri Rene; Frank DeVol.One of Ella Fitzgerald's most overtly pop albums, 1964's HELLO, DOLLY finds the beloved jazz vocalist working almost solely with orchestral backing. The arrangements (here provided by Henri Rene, Johnnie Spence, and Frank DeVol, alternately) are often soaring and string-heavy, and horns are prominent, especially on Fitzgerald's enthusiastic, solidly swinging renditions of the showtune title track, the Beatles' Can't Buy Me Love, and Richard Rodgers's The Sweetest Sounds.The rest of the record is filled with lush, gentle tracks, including the thoughtful People, the lilting How High the Moon, and the lightly swaying Volare, which features the great Hank Jones on piano. As always, Fitzgerald's gorgeous, crystal-clear singing glides effortlessly over the instrumentation, immediately entrancing listeners with her intuitive phrasing and undeniable charisma. For fans of pop vocals, this album is an ideal portal into the extensive catalog of this legendary performer.n
Hello Dolly -
Sitting in the balcony at the final preview of this 1964 Jerry Herman show, still very
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much in school and long before my career as a critic began, I knew somehow that I was witnessing theatrical history. Even as that callow youth, I was certain that Carol Channing had been born to play the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, the meddling turn-of-the century New York widow who had been adapted from Thornton Wilder's straight playThe Matchmaker. Channing has proved me right by playing the role ever since, of course, miraculously only improving with age. Beyond Dolly herself, however, the musical emitted a synergistic exuberance (at least five years before we used the word "synergy"). The supporting cast, including David Burns, Eileen Brennan, and Charles Nelson Reilly, were terrific. Herman's tunes and lyrics were sublimely crafted both to create their characters and stand alone. (The title song took on a life of its own.) The show's designers, librettist Michael Stewart and director Gower Champion, combined to transport the audience to 60 years earlier in little old New York. This wasn't all just my opinion:Hello, Dolly!won a record 10 Tonys. The original cast recording can still take you to that other time and place, even if you didn't see the original show. But, at the risk of offending my inner adolescent, the 1994 revival, naturally starring Channing, was even better--both on stage and on disc.--Robert Windeler
Hello Dolly [1969]
They just don't make musicals like this any more. There are some who would be grateful for
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that--the plot is but a flimsy excuse to string together song and dance numbers. Some of us, however, love big, splashy, overdone musical scenes, of which there are many. Glittering stage numbers showcase a commanding Barbra Streisand as Dolly Levy, a New York matchmaker who can find a mate for anyone. Anyone but herself, that is. Determined to marry wealthy Walter Matthau, she lures him out of Yonkers and sets about wooing him. Don't worry about the lack of a solid story or Gene Kelly's pedestrian direction. Watch instead for the musical numbers and the lavish costumes. Listen to Jerry Herman's score, and dance around the living room when a sequined Streisand arrives in a club as Louis Armstrong strikes up the title tune for her benefit. (Just pull the shades first.) Based on Thornton Wilder's playThe Matchmaker,Hello, Dolly!won Academy Awards for best sound, art direction, and musical score.--Rochelle O'Gorman
Advantages: Fine score, brilliant cinematography, goof performances. Disadvantages: A few odd choreographic moments.
One of Broadway's most legendary musicals (and possibly the only one with both a comma and an exclamation mark in the title), "Hello, Dolly!"s sumptuous Hollywood adaptation is surprisingly faithful to the stage original. Most of the material which differs from the Dolly seen on Broadway and the West End it taken from Thornton Wilder's play The Matchmaker on which the stage musical was itself based. Heading the cast is Barbra Streisand, who is really ... ...Levi; she also plays Dolly far too 'Jewish', as the character is supposed to have married into a Jewish family rather than being a jewess herself. However, neither of these things seem to matter when it comes down to it - she is somehow convincing and throws herself into the role with incredible energy. The supporting players are more 'sensibly' cast and portray their roles well: Walter Mathau is brilliantly irascible as Horace Vandergelder, and ...
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Actor(s): Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Louis Armstrong, David Hurst, Marianne McAndrew, E. J. Peaker, Tommy Tune
Director(s): Gene Kelly
Genre: Musicals & Music Films - Musicals & Other Music Films
Classification: Universal
Production Year: 1969
Running Time: 2 hours 19 minutes
Plot: Based on the stage musical, and adapted from Thornton Wilder's play 'Matchmaker', in which widow Dolly Levi sets out to capture the heart of a rich Yankee merchant.
Release details
DVD Region: Region 2 (Europe)
Studio(s): 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox
Release date: 20/05/2002
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: 01001 DVD
Editor: William H. Reynolds
Set Designer: Walter M. Scott
Barcode: 5039036008778
Performer: Jerry Herman
Production Designer: Jack Martin Smith
Music Director: Lionel Newman, Lennie Hayton
Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman, Thornton Wilder
Choreographer: Michael Kidd
Composer: Lennie Hayton, Lionel Newman, Jerry Herman
Director of Photography: Harry Stradling
Author: Ernest Lehman, Thornton Wilder
Art Director: Jack Martin Smith
Special Effects: L. B. Abbott
Costume Designer: Irene Sharaff
DVD Description
In early-20th-century Yonkers, a wealthy local merchant (Horace Vandergelder, played by Walter Matthau) hires matchmaker Dolly Levi (Barbra Streisand) to find a mate for him--but instead she decides to win him over for herself. His life is further complicated by his young niece, Ermengarde, who is determined to wed an artist Horace finds entirely unsuitable, and by his two hapless employees, who against Horace's wishes leave work to venture into New York so each can kiss a girl. Miserly, curmudgeonly, irascible Horace finds that matters have gotten completely out of his control--and the only person who seems to know exactly what is going on is the widowed Dolly Levi. The film is based on a succession of source material, beginning with the 1835 British play A DAY WELL SPENT by John Oxenford, Thornton Wilder's 1938 play THE MERCHANT OF YONKERS, and Wilder's successful 1954 adaptation of his own play, renamed THE MATCHMAKER, rewritten for Ruth Gordon and then made into a film by the same name in 1958 starring Shirley Booth. In 1964, Carol Channing starred in the story's next incarnation on Broadway: Michael Stewart's play HELLO, DOLLY! on which this film's screenplay is directly based.
![Hello Dolly [1969]](http://picnic.ciao.com/uk/65497245.jpg)
