I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Disturbing yet enthralling

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

"Finian's Rainbow" is a musical that never achieves what it should have, given the talents involved.Fred Astaire plays the whimsical Finian, who travels to America in search of the perfect place to put down roots and fulfill his magical calling. Petula Clark plays his long-suffering daughter, following across glaciers and into the Grand Canyon (if you can believe the nonsensical montage during the credits) to a little valley in Kentucky that is populated with simple folk who dance and sing daily.Fred's dancing is, at times, delightful. At other times, it is too derivative of his own earlier performances. Petula Clark is the best thing in the film, with a voice that caresses the Irish dialect and makes each song special. There is some beautiful music in "Finian's Rainbow", notably "Look to the Rainbow" and "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"It is said that Hermes Pan was fired because his choreography was too dated. During some dance sequences the choreography does feel too old.Director Francis Ford Coppola created a film that has some wonderful moments mixed with some mediocre, slow sections. I prefer his very stylish take on the musical form, "One From the Heart", but "Finian's Rainbow" is worth watching, if only to see Fred and Petula.

Too bad about Fred Astaire, in this. Why not have made him Og and gotten someone else for Finian? My take is this well among poorly conceived late-1960s movie musicals. The screenplay is nearly cheerless and un-redeemable because of the integral socioeconomic and racial issues reprised possibly whole, from the late 1940s stage show. Broadway and the West End theatergoers were enthusiastic for the premier runs which both started in 1947. People swooned over the songs. Mentholated-tobacco? Black-face. Heavy-handed stereotyping galore. Irish, southern, and Negro. Tommy Steele being a 'thing'! What were the director (FF Coppola) and producers thinking? Shame about all effort to bring it back as this major movie musical 20-years-plus, later. I've read of several short-run revivals. Read, not heard of. Why ask why.

While Fred Astaire would dance and sing one more time in That's Entertainment, Part 2, and would give his final acting performance in Ghost Story, in this one would he do all three for the last time. Before I review the movie proper, I have to note that I previously watched this on VHS in a pan-and-scan version that wasn't always flattering. I have now watched a letterboxed version on the Dailymotion site but, unfortunately, the synchronization was often off by several minutes resulting in silence in the last 7. I also watched the last sequence-of several chronological ones uploaded there-on the same site with perfect sync but now it was full screen, the print wasn't as good, and it was interrupted by a commercial. Ugh! Still, despite all that, I managed to mainly understand where certain dialogue exchanges and musical numbers were fit in and highly enjoyed the performances of not only pro Astaire but also Petula Clark, Don Francks, Tommy Steele, Keenan Wynn, Al Freeman, Jr. who does a hilarious spoof of a stereotypical "shufflin' Negro" butler, and Barbara Hancock whose dancing is divine which makes her mostly silent character have a nice personality, among others in the fine cast. Many of Wynn's lines and his changing from white to Negro was quite funny especially since he's not made to look really foolish by doing that appallingly old-fashioned burnt cork appearance of minstrel days but more authentic like though he still looks like a white man pretending to be black. The songs, by E.Y. Harburg and Burton Lane, are fun and romantic and pleasingly sung by the cast. Perhaps the story, a mix of blarney, whimsy, and social satire, dates it in modern times but it's still entertaining enough. And it's wonderful seeing Astaire give it one more try in his old age. So on that note, I recommend Francis Ford Coppola's Finian's Rainbow. P.S. It's interesting to note for "Dallas" fans that two actors that played Digger Barnes were involved in different productions of this musical: Wynn-the second Digger-here and David Wayne-the first one-as Og in the original Broadway version for which he won a Tony. P.P.S. I just finished the other sequence of uploaded videos I mentioned on DailyMotion. Enjoyed it more despite the lesser print, no letterboxing, and the interrupted commercials.

Until TCM ran it, I never saw it complete. My old local TV station used to cut it to pieces for "time", I thought. Now I know they were uncomfortable with the subject matter. This movie is not "PC." It makes fun of racism in much the same way of Mel Brooks' films: with outrageous comedy. Keenan Wynn is marvelous as the white senator who gets "wished" black. The mint tobacco crop won't burn, but it puts out fires! Both Tommy Steele and Petula Clark (who is surprisingly good) are perfect. Fred Astaire, in his last musical, can still dance at age 69. To his credit, Francis Ford-Coppola does not over-direct. Harburg's lyrics are great (oh, yes, you remember that other film of his "The Wizard of Oz"?) although slightly dated; as this Broadway musical is from 1947. Several memorable songs, including: "That Ole Devil Moon","Look to the Rainbow", "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love, I Love the Girl I'm With". This film is a fantasy and a fable. It even includes a miracle: a "mute" finds her voice. (Barbara Hancock as "Silent Susan" is a beautiful dancer.) A fairy tale, this film will be way too sweet for some, but it is a better musical than anything produced today. Best seen on a big screen because of its lush outdoor settings and cinematography. Some reviewers think this film is "deeply flawed" because of it's racial humor. It's because of people with "attitude" like that that no one can buy a (legal) copy of "Song of the South".