Very well executed

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

OK, OK, everyone, save a few, think this movie is a real mish-mosh. The title is misleading, in that you would expect a Broadway type atmosphere to what you are going to see. Not so. You have to think of this effort as a Waldorf Salad. Loved the nuts, hated the raisins. The apples were OK, the dressing, an abomination. Vera Zorina delightful, Kenny Baker pathetic. Andrea Leeds certainly no actress, Menjou could sleep walk (and did) through his part. See what I mean? Pick yer spot. For instance, not many people understand or appreciate the Ritz Brothers today. Me, I think they were super talented, European night club trained comedians with a finely honed edge to their bits, especially the pussy cat number. Edgar Bergen's lips moved. So what? His timing and handling of his partner, Charlie, and his wit are superb. The American Ballet (and I'm no fan of the Ballet) were a treat for the eyes and they certainly knew their craft. There's just enough to make you appreciate it, not enough to make you fast forward. The same goes for the Opera segments, just enough. Forget the story. It's an insult to the intelligence of a 10 year old. A girl gets picked to become an adviser to a movie producer, after he overhears her comments on a movie in progress at a location near her home. Gee, just like real life! Did I enjoy it? Yeah, I guess. Would I buy it to watch again? Probably not.

The only real compensation for watching THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES is the pleasing Technicolor--but, unfortunately, none of the plot is believable nor are any of the characters likely to resemble anyone in real-life Hollywood.There are some worthwhile bits. The opera sequence with HELEN JEPSON is well done--including a lovely version of "Siempre Libre"; EDGAR BERGEN and CHARLIE McCARTHY are pros in a few amusing sketches; KENNY BAKER does a professional job on songs like "Love Walked Right In"; VERA ZORINA adds some dancing magic and ANDREA LEEDS lends her bland presence to the role of a naive young girl asked to give ADOLPHE MENJOU pointers on what the public wants. Leeds looks an awful lot like either Donna Reed or Olivia de Havilland in her close-ups.ADOLPHE MENJOU, too, is professional enough as the producer foolish enough to get ideas from a romantic young girl so he can produce the right kind of movie. Too bad Goldwyn didn't get some advice from good script-writers on how to stage this sort of thing.Summing up: Noteworthy only for the color cinematography and some of the talented bits, but the script is full of dull clichés, lifeless and unbelievable. I found Bergen and McCarthy gave the film its most enjoyable moments.

This movie should be called The Goldwyn Floppies! It was a lame attempt to present some of George Gershwin's music, shortly after his death, in a plot less musical. The movie itself looks like it was filmed in someone's backyard. The Ritz Brothers were wannabe Stooges. They're skit about them rowing in a boat in a pool was utterly pointless. Also their song about the pussy cat can make a modern audience cringe. The Charlie McCarthy bits were better suited for younger audiences, however, Charlie was no Howdy Doody. Avoid this movie at all costs. If you're a fan of Gershwin, buy his albums or watch the classic movies "Rhapsody in Blue", and "An American in Paris."

Sam Goldwyn's creative juices must have been frozen when he came with the idea of this film, a bad remake of the more successful "Ziegfeld Follies". This movie shows how imitation was the worst form of flattery. The ingredients that went into this "stew", might have appeared to be right at the super market, but what comes out as a result is an indelible mess.George Marshall doesn't show any inspiration in the way the material is presented. The timing is off and the movie feels fake from the start.Giving the film makers the benefit of the doubt, this project appeared to have been doomed from the start. The mere idea of a big Hollywood producer like Oliver Martin relying on the taste of a naive young woman with not an ounce of sophistication, or any idea what the movies were about, is not to be believed. Granted, those were other times, but it asks a lot from the viewer. The other thing that is wrong in the movie is the way the musical numbers are presented. The horrible ballet sequence about Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending and danced by half of the company tap dancing, while the rest are in tutus and toe shoes, is not to be believed, even if the creator was George Ballanchine, himself.The Ritz brothers are obnoxious every time we see them. That song about the pussy cats has to be one of the worst ever. Kenny Baker singing "Love Walked In" while frying hamburgers is laughable, at best. Vera Zorina's Olga is another annoying figure, as is Edgar Bergen, whose only job is to act as a buffer between numbers. Adolph Menjou does what he can in a thankless job. Andrea Leeds appears as Hazel, who Oliver calls Miss Humanity.Not even the wonderful Gershwin songs, or the cinematography of the great Gregg Toland can save this pastiche. As Wayne Malin has commented in this forum, "The Goldwyn Follies" turns out to be a camp fest about two hours too long!