@@markmc23 She was very good in the role. I don't dispute that. I'll even go as far as saying she was the best thing about the film. I just don't feel she was perfect casting. Sorry.
Every actress in Hollywood was after that role and when Mitzi was cast, there were many raised eyebrows. She soon proved them all wrong - well done Josh Logan!@@dmnemaine
+DDumbrille marilyn was'nt mitzi gaynor either,, mitzi had talent, great dancer,singer triple threat entertainer, marilyn wiggled and pouted,very photogenic and probably the greatest sex bomb ever,,but talent?
A self deprecating and marvelous gal. She left Hollywood on her own terms . She admitted the camera didn't love her . She found success in Vegas where she performed variety acts for years . I wonder what parts came her way in Hollywood and which ones she turned down . I wonder if it was on someone's advice that she seek another medium to display her talents. A wonderfully talented. Honest. Caring. Person Bless you
Now I know why you got the part in the movie, Mitzi you are beautiful, you can sing and you can dance and you are very talented, Go Girl.....🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖
So - Doris Day had been considered for the part. But politics and manoeuvring saw her off. Much as I adore Doris, it was great that Mitzi came through with flying colours. Bravo....
She had been seriously injured in an auto accident as a teenager and was not in love with dancing on screen (although she made an exception for Love Me or Leave Me (1955).
Absolutely wonderful powerful performance.I like the lighter movie version of this but it sure is a great example of what a musical powerhouse this beautiful woman was.Even after she finished singing look at the emotion on display as she holds that hat close to herself.
This phenomenal film was part of my childhood, our parents had the soundtrack LP, we saw it at the cinema & I always watch it whenever it’s on TV & never tire of it. I saw the latest stage production last night at the Sadlers Wells theatre in London, a brilliant production, I sang along to every number, pure magic. Mitzi Gaynor made this film what it is, such talent & beauty.
I think I like this version better than the finished version in the movie. She's got her voice pitched a little lower and she sings the song a little more slowly.
Most interesting! She took the piece at slightly faster vocal pace in the released film, and with a little more energy, but this is a so enjoyable and altogether fascinating live to mic alternative. What a brilliant all round performing package she was - very good actress, excellent singing voice and a fine dancer. She deserves to be remembered as one of the greats.
i presume mitsy is miming to her own voice here. or not. but if doris day or judy garland or whoever had gotten the role that went to mitzi, we would still be swooning over them!! what i mean is, we would never know what we wouldhave missed ifmitsy had NOT gotten her ;part here. SHE IS WONDERFUL. I CANNOT IMAGINE ETHEL MERMAN GETTING THE PART!!
One of my fave Movie Musicals.. i loved her short hair in the Movie.. and she sings tbe last note higher than on the Audition.. which sounds great it is on the word GUY.. i just had to mention it.. as i am a singer too..🤗
Hi, Linda! Yes, this clip came from the 2 DVD set of "South Pacific"...lots of cool stuff about the film one the second disc. I have also posted her screen test #1. Yes, she Was born to play that roll! I can't imagine anyone else being "Nellie"! Thanks so much for watching it! Jim
Grable was definitely too old in 1958. 1958 Garland had lost a lot of her "innocent" persona. I don't think she could have pulled off small town naivete.
@sorrowfulflower Thank you Heather! Yes, the end of another week. I am so glad you enjoyed this. It was neat to see this as a bonus selection on the DVD set! Yes, Delightful and Perky, for sure...and I would like to add Gorgeous! Thank you so much for watching and have a Great weekend! Jim
My apologies. I don't have a wide screen TV and watching the actual film on my PC I realise my TV was somehow stretching her body to make her look wider. By all means scrub my comments as they are an irrelevance...but I did enjoy watching her again. She is fabulous. Thanks for your time.
And never will again, these young people of this horrible world will never understand this because they don,t want to and don,t care about this kind of incredible talent from the past Period !!!!!
OMG....how did I ever miss this upload, Jim?? One of my subscribers directed me to it today!! Where DID you find this amazing gem? Mitzi was born to play this role. Thanyou for the clip!! ~Linda
Someone wrote Ms.Gaynor was born to play this part, but if so how about Mary Martin, whom R & H reportedly always had in mind for the Broadway production even while writing the songs. My late mother, an avid theatergoer, and not a Martin fan said she was brilliant.
You are very welcome! Thank you for watching and thank you for your comments! All the lovely actresses that you mention are some of my very favorites and were all capable of playing any role offered them. Ms. Gaynor will always be Nellie Forbush to me. Thanks Again! ~~ Jim
Great clip! Thank you. But I was also somehow seeing Shirley Jones, Debbie Reynolds (who might've been a bit too young at the time) in the role. Would've been great to have seen try-out clips of Shirley, Debbie and Doris Day, alongside this one, just for comparison's sake.
Shirley Jones was a little too "operatic" for this role. Debbie Reynolds wasn't too young, but while she had a serviceable singing voice, Nellie Forbush requires a solid singer.
I'm amazed at your remark about her weight--'put on a lot of weight' after this showing???????????? I say she was SLIGHTLY heavier at the time of this screen test. It would make more sense to expect weight LOSS during a hectic dance and action programme while MAKING the film, over what must have been the best part of a year, rather than at anytime before all the action began surely.
In David Kaufman's definitive biography of Doris Day, he writes Day desperately wanted the lead in the film of SOUTH PACIFIC -and Rodgers and Hammerstein (also producing the movie) were definitely interested. But Day's husband-manager asked for too much salary. However, R&H paid Gloria Grahame $200,000 to do OKLAHOMA! and Day had just made $250,000 for PAJAMA GAME. This leads to one of TWO conclusions: Either R&H wanted Day to work for LESS than her asking price as a top-rated star OR her husband-manager wanted "points' in the gross in addition to Day's salary, which R&H would never have agreed to. The result -Mitzie Gaynor got the role!
also i have read that the age difference between Rosanno Brazzi and Doris Day was only 6 years and the leading man was supposed to be middle aged and the Nellie Forbush part a lot younger and naive, Doris was not ageing well, anyway Mitzi who 27 and looked 23 was perfectly cast.
@@mauricelowe8436 Never thought of that. But, yes, that might have been a factor. Doris might also have been a little too butch for Nellie (and Emile de Becque), as she was very tomboyish in PAJAMA GAME.
@@mauricelowe8436 This was still pre-Rock Hudson comedies Doris Day. She still had her youthful look. Don't forget that Brazzi was made up to look older than he actually was. I doubt Day's age had anything to do with it. Hollywood was not known for worrying too much about ages. Consider Angela Lansbury playing Elvis's mother in "Blue Hawaii". She was less than ten years older than him.
@@mauricelowe8436 Yes. Nellie was supposed to be young & fertile. Thus, Emile's line, "I am older than you. If we have children & I die..." Doris was too old for the role.
I never noticed it before, but she and Gena Davis look a bit alike facially. Did they let her do her own singing, it seems like she could have. Doris Day also could have done the part, although she had a badly broken leg as a teenager and tried to avoid that. I wonder if they test Julie Adams who actually was from Arkansas?
In the movie her hair was cut in the ' bubble cut ' copying Mary Martin in the original Broadway production. This was done as the charactor washes her hair during the show. ua-cam.com/video/KJHj-h68EOk/v-deo.html
Mitzi was the perfect choice. With D Day And J Garland, you will always be biased from what they are and what they have accomplished in the past. With Mitzi, who was relatively unknown to the general public, you will not be and thus you will be able to fully enjoy both her and the film, not comparing their plot in the film with singing and acting in other performances.
I have to disagree very much. The film version was far more polished,uptempo and slick. She was by now fully conversant with the song and dance routine. This amazing little film (where on earth did you get it) shows EXACTLY what might be expected at a first time rehearsal etc. Slightly tentative and uncertain, gaining confidence, and ending with a great flurrish.
Yes, this is a little sluggish compared to the effervescent performance on film, which is absolute perfection. Two of the most perfect segments ever captured on film are this and Twin Soliloquies , both from SP.
Fabulous. Thanks for posting. She is so beautiful and has such a wholesome quality. I don't know how long it took to make the film after this test, but in the final version she has put on a lot of weight. I love both versions!
this is her audition, right? but was she MIMING here? i got the feeling she was miming to a recording she must have made earlier. just asking. but the movie was great. so,too, i understand, is the remake!!!
Mitzi was a perfect choice for the role. But I wonder if Doris Day was considered....she seems like an obvious choice. Were there contractual problems ?
+miltsar rogers and hammerstein did not want doris, after she refused to sing for them, also doris was such a big star, she would have been doris day, doris never had a really big movie musical, she was fantastic in calamity jane, which was a b musical at the time, and love me or leave me. where she was about the 5th choice, after ava gardner and jane russell turned it down, her other later musicals all bombed at the box office, ie pajama game and jumbo
+maurice lowe Yes, what you say makes perfect sense. Thank you. Also thanks for the info that Doris was way down the line for Love Me Or Leave Me. I didn't know that but I do remember that there was a lot of publicity about her being cast against type for the part and what a great job she did.
Please read my comment above for the REAL reason Day didn't do SOUTH PACIFIC. (BTW, films like LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME and CALAMITY JANE -both box office hits -were Definitely Big Musicals and were proof Day was both a "draw" to audiences and talented enough to do ANY musical.)
Perhaps Doris Day was not considered for the part of South Pacific, cos of the age difference between her and the leading man Rossano Brazzi, which was only 6 years, and the Plantation Owner was supposed to be a lot older, Doris never aged well, Mitzi at 27 years of age and looked younger, Rossano looked about 20 years older than Mitzi in the film, which was perfect for the story.
Gee, no need to apologise, everyone is entitled to comment, and they all count, apart from idiots out to simply insult and annoy, and fortunately, it's unlikely on a page like this. I know what you mean about all these different screen widths, it can cause laughter sometimes, and be irritating at others.
Joshua Logan's directing was strange. He seemed to be having the entire cast act like they were in a dazed cloud of spaciness. Gaynor is the only cast member who seems to be actually trying to be even a little bit lively. And then there's the infamous color filters.
I wonder with todays technology, if those filters could somehow be adjusted? I love this show, both movie and Lincoln Center revival. The heavy color filters turn a lot of people off. @@dmnemaine
MARY MARTIN WOULD HAVE BEEN TO OLD, TOO ANCIENT, IN THE MOVIE VERSION!! now, can ANYONE upload the dance scene mitsy did with a small girl in that other, but rather boring, musical called, i think, the barrets of broadway. or something. BUT THIS PARTICULAR SCENE WILL KNOW YOU OUT. GOSH, CAN HOLLYWOOD GIVE US TODAY WHAT SHE GAVE US IN THE FORTIES AND FIFTIES. SHAME ON HER IF SHE CANNOT. THE BLOODHOUNDS OF BROADWAY, FIRST VERSION. CHECK IT OUT, NOT THE REMAKE WITH MADONNA, PLEASE!!
+mylesag2 ....The whole story line would go out the window if either Beyoncé or Halle Berry were cast in a remake. They are beautiful and talented entertainers but the point of the story is that Nellie Forbush's character could not , at first, accept that the man she was in love with had mixed race children. That was the whole point...so naturally to cast a beautiful, talented , but Black American woman in the role would make the story non sensical.
I despise the bean counters of Hollywood who hate to cast actors who can sing. They either dub the voice, i.e. Rosanno Brazzi or find some box office powerhouse who can't sing, i.e. Marlon Brando to destroy the song. I'm so glad Mitzi Gaynor got this part. I just wish they'd cast actors who could sing for the rest of the parts. The culmination of this trend was the awful movie version "Camelot" where they rejected Robert Goulet, Richard Burton and Julie Andrews.
Unfortunately, they didn't have Juanita Hall sing in the film version because they couldn't decide whether or not to cast her or the original West End Bloody Mary, Muriel Smith. They ended up compromising. Juanita Hall would appear on screen, but her musical numbers would be recorded by Muriel Smith. Juanita's renditions of the songs can be heard on the original Broadway cast album.
They knew that no man but Brazzi could pull off the over-the-top wonderful guy theme on film. Others could pull it off on stage, but not film. The exact same reason David Lean cast him for Renato De Rossi in 'Summertime' (1955). Lean knew that Rossano was the only man gorgeous enough & charming enough to make it believable that Katharine Hepburn's character would be absolutely thunderstruck by him.
@@daphneduryea9136 Hollywood in the late 1950s were top heavy with handsome, charming baritones who could have handled Emile DeBecque with ease. Personally, I would have offered the part to Howard Keel who had a great voice and screen presence. He did many musicals in the movies, and in fact, did wind up doing South Pacific on stage. And that's not counting bringing someone from Broadway. Brazzi was the go to actor when they needed a handsome Italian to romance an American single woman vacationing in Italy. Indeed, he played that role many times. But, unlike most Italian men, he couldn't sing. Gordon Macrae could have done it, but he destroyed his screen career with his drinking problem.
@@joep8787 There's no way an American could pull off a French accent, especially while singing. Though Rossano had an Italian accent, there was probably 0.1% of people in the world who could tell. And, afterall, Ezio Pinza was Italian. And, though Giorgio Tozzi was born in the U.S., he was Italian, as well. In the close-up of Rossano's face while he's singing 'Some Enchanted Evening' in Nellie's ear - the most beautiful face ever. And, he had, by far, the sexiest lips of a man ever while he was lip-syncing. And, the close-up of his face at the end, right after Nellie hands him the ladle - Lord have mercy on my soul! He was perfect! Even his ears were flat, which is very rare. And, he had the most electric blue eyes when he looked up at Nellie just before they clasped hands. He was to men what Vivien Leigh was to women - meaning beyond comparison.
Much as I like Mitzi Gaynor and respect her talent, Mary Martin created this role on Broadway and if the dweeps in H-wood didn't have their checkbooks inextricably linked to their erogenous zones, she would have been the only actress considered for Nellie Forbush in the movie. I own the dvd of this movie and watch it from time to time, and I enjoy Mitzi Gaynor's performance well enough. But my 'aural' memory of this show was formed by the original Broadway cast recording sung by Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, and even the quite-lovely and very-talented Mitzi Gaynor can't meet that standard. (The obnoxious Rossano Brazzi--who couldn't sing, btw: He was dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi--was a such a big mistake that the producers regretted ever hiring him. Unfortunately, Pinza had died in 1956--before the film version was made--and they thought they needed a 'matinée idol' with an Italian name in that role. Snork.)
Mary Martin was past her "ingenue" days by 1958, nearly a decade after she originated the role on Broadway. They weren't going to cast her simply because of her age.
@@daphneduryea9136 Of course Pinza was Italian--where in my post did I imply otherwise?? The point is that when Pinza died shortly before production on the film was to begin, the producers were caught with their pants down so they went into panic mode and hired Rosanno Brazzi for his face and Italian name (even though he couldn't sing and was known as a major PITA on set...).
This is not just any audition. It's the declaration of a supreme talent.
Her voice was perfect for the role--her acting was superb! Her performance made the film for me.
Mitzi set out to win the role, for weeks she prepared for the audition, not easy to imagine South Pacific without her in it. N
I've seen enough "South Pacifics" to last a lifetime. All very bad. Only one for me in large part because of Mitzie.
SHE WAS PERFECTION in one of the very greatest movies.
Such a great movie and song .Sung so beautiful by Mitzi Gaynor
Amazing to see this...phenomenal movie...Ms Gaynor is a classic.
Tremendous all the way around Period !!!!!
She makes me smile while she sings 😁
She definitely deserved to win the part! Such a beautiful woman. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely fabulous. They chose the right person. Loved the movie loved her performance. She nailed it.
Far more suited to the role than Mary Martin. The movie was definitive.
I have to disagree. Mitzi was a little too sophisticated for the small town naivete of Nellie Forbush. The perfect casting would have been Doris Day.
Rubbish - Mitzi was born for that role.@@dmnemaine
@@markmc23 She was very good in the role. I don't dispute that. I'll even go as far as saying she was the best thing about the film. I just don't feel she was perfect casting. Sorry.
Every actress in Hollywood was after that role and when Mitzi was cast, there were many raised eyebrows. She soon proved them all wrong - well done Josh Logan!@@dmnemaine
Mitzi is the nicest person I've met. What you see is what you get. She is a real beauty.
That's what you call nailing it.
That's what they call nailing it.
My favorite musical ever.
Mitzi is the best!
Love her in this role! ❤️👍
What a fantastic performance this was! This version is even better than the movie version, hands down Period !!!!!
As good, but in a more subdued way. I love both.
Totally agree!!
She has everything that is star quality, plus a raving beauty!
"A Raving Beauty", for sure! Well Said! Thank you so much for watching these!
Jim
Jymster46 Even Gaynor admits that she wasn't a 'raving beauty'. She had tons of talent, but knew that she wasn't Marilyn Monroe.
+DDumbrille marilyn was'nt mitzi gaynor either,, mitzi had talent, great dancer,singer triple threat entertainer, marilyn wiggled and pouted,very photogenic and probably the greatest sex bomb ever,,but talent?
maurice lowe Yes, talented. Compare her to Jayne Mansfield, not to mention watch her films and you'll know what I mean.
+DDumbrille … … Monroe was overrated …
A self deprecating and marvelous gal. She left Hollywood on her own terms . She admitted the camera didn't love her .
She found success in Vegas where she performed variety acts for years . I wonder what parts came her way in Hollywood and which ones she turned down . I wonder if it was on someone's advice that she seek another medium to display her talents. A wonderfully talented. Honest. Caring. Person
Bless you
Now I know why you got the part in the movie, Mitzi you are beautiful, you can sing and you can dance and you are very talented, Go Girl.....🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖
She had such a beautiful talent. And was so under-rated. I've always liked her voice.
One of my favorite songs from South Pacific. Thanks for posting.
So - Doris Day had been considered for the part. But politics and manoeuvring saw her off. Much as I adore Doris, it was great that Mitzi came through with flying colours. Bravo....
She had been seriously injured in an auto accident as a teenager and was not in love with dancing on screen (although she made an exception for Love Me or Leave Me (1955).
This also should be a classic, she was perfect for this film!
Interesting because this is an unprotected "live' performance. She, of course, owned the role in the end.
@azw596 These screen tests sure show why they choose her, I think! She is such a Cutie! Thanks so much for watching!
Jim
Absolutely wonderful powerful performance.I like the lighter movie version of this but it sure is a great example of what a musical powerhouse this beautiful woman was.Even after she finished singing look at the emotion on display as she holds that hat close to herself.
This phenomenal film was part of my childhood, our parents had the soundtrack LP, we saw it at the cinema & I always watch it whenever it’s on TV & never tire of it. I saw the latest stage production last night at the Sadlers Wells theatre in London, a brilliant production, I sang along to every number, pure magic. Mitzi Gaynor made this film what it is, such talent & beauty.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do a screen test.
BRAVO, MITZI! WHAT A TREAT TO BE ABLE TO SEE THIS! LOVE YOU, DEAR LADY! YOU SURELY HAD AND STILL HAVE IT ALL!!!!!
Mitzi is a Doll.
Magnificent Actress & Dancer.
No wonder she got the part, perfect.
She's perfect!
Nicely done, what a talent!
Wonderful
.....just wonderful
God bless her xxxx
I think I like this version better than the finished version in the movie. She's got her voice pitched a little lower and she sings the song a little more slowly.
What an exceptionally good screen test. Mitzi was perfect for the role. Doris Day would have been great too.
Mitzi was pleasant and competent but Doris would have given the film that extra dimension.
Most interesting! She took the piece at slightly faster vocal pace in the released film, and with a little more energy, but this is a so enjoyable and altogether fascinating live to mic alternative. What a brilliant all round performing package she was - very good actress, excellent singing voice and a fine dancer. She deserves to be remembered as one of the greats.
Perhaps the music was recorded and that was THE speed the boss decided it had to be. Perhaps
Excellent points, but you make her sound deceased. Thankfully, she is very much still with us.
@@ksatriasufentonto6959 I`m very aware of that, and not my intention at all, but she is of course long retired, which was my point...
She’s really terrific. Strong, lovely voice.
Incredible. Thanks for posting.
i presume mitsy is miming to her own voice here. or not. but if doris day or judy garland or whoever had gotten the role that went to mitzi, we would still be swooning over them!! what i mean is, we would never know what we wouldhave missed ifmitsy had NOT gotten her ;part here. SHE IS WONDERFUL. I CANNOT IMAGINE ETHEL MERMAN GETTING THE PART!!
One of my fave Movie Musicals.. i loved her short hair in the Movie.. and she sings tbe last note higher than on the Audition.. which sounds great it is on the word GUY.. i just had to mention it.. as i am a singer too..🤗
She was really quite lovely--what beautiful legs!--and in fine voice.
SUPERB !!!!!
Superb !!!!!
So spooky i watched South Pacific 3 days ago.. sad and happy at the same time..😊
She's wearing Daisy Dukes 20 years before they became fashionable!
What a talent she is, beautiful too, and this is just the screen test, WOW.
Hi, Linda! Yes, this clip came from the 2 DVD set of "South Pacific"...lots of cool stuff about the film one the second disc. I have also posted her screen test #1. Yes, she Was born to play that roll! I can't imagine anyone else being "Nellie"! Thanks so much for watching it!
Jim
Do not understand those who like Mary Martin better. Mitzi IS Nellie Forbush.
Doris Day probably would have been better, but with the unavailability of Day, Gaynor was the next best choice.
WOW! Fantastic, what a beautiful lady she was, those legs!!
I love it too. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
Jim
@Lesliecptan I agree! She is someone special, for sure! One of my favorites also. Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and comment!
Jim
Mitzi is terrific in this movie, but she has marvellous back up from the orchestrations which really do justice to the Rodgers & Hammerstein songs!
Also, imagine what Judy Garland could have done in that role! Even Betty Grable. But Mitzi is wonderful and makes it her own.
Betty. Grable had fabulous legs too.
Grable was definitely too old in 1958. 1958 Garland had lost a lot of her "innocent" persona. I don't think she could have pulled off small town naivete.
Mitzi like me has the 3 Arts.. Dance, Song, and Acting.
Solid Performance!
WoW,
@sorrowfulflower Thank you Heather! Yes, the end of another week. I am so glad you enjoyed this. It was neat to see this as a bonus selection on the DVD set! Yes, Delightful and Perky, for sure...and I would like to add Gorgeous! Thank you so much for watching and have a Great weekend!
Jim
love this movie, thank you so mush for sharing this.
@ClassicDamsel You are very welcome! Yes, it wouldn't have been the same with anyone else. Thank you so much for watching!
Jim
@VEGASTOLLY I agree! Thanks so much for watching!
Jim
@huskie4ever17 Yes, She Is! Thank You so much for watching it!
Jim
My apologies. I don't have a wide screen TV and watching the actual film on my PC I realise my TV was somehow stretching her body to make her look wider. By all means scrub my comments as they are an irrelevance...but I did enjoy watching her again. She is fabulous. Thanks for your time.
Yes - you don't have talent like this anymore!
Agreed.
And never will again, these young people of this horrible world will never understand this because they don,t want to and don,t care about this kind of incredible talent from the past Period !!!!!
@@scottmiller6495 I understand it. I’ve understood it since I was little. Please don’t categorize us.
Nonsense.
A more beautiful lady has yet to be born
Great!!!
Immortal !!!
Love her...shes on tour....!
OMG....how did I ever miss this upload, Jim?? One of my subscribers directed me to it today!!
Where DID you find this amazing gem? Mitzi was born to play this role. Thanyou for the clip!!
~Linda
Someone wrote Ms.Gaynor was born to play this part, but if so how about Mary Martin, whom R & H reportedly always had in mind for the Broadway production even while writing the songs. My late mother, an avid theatergoer, and not a Martin fan said she was brilliant.
You get the job!
You are very welcome! Thank you for watching and thank you for your comments! All the lovely actresses that you mention are some of my very favorites and were all capable of playing any role offered them. Ms. Gaynor will always be Nellie Forbush to me. Thanks Again! ~~ Jim
Wow what fin deeper voice
pure talent.. really.!!...........🎟 🥩🦈
Great clip! Thank you. But I was also somehow seeing Shirley Jones, Debbie Reynolds (who might've been a bit too young at the time) in the role. Would've been great to have seen try-out clips of Shirley, Debbie and Doris Day, alongside this one, just for comparison's sake.
Shirley Jones was a little too "operatic" for this role. Debbie Reynolds wasn't too young, but while she had a serviceable singing voice, Nellie Forbush requires a solid singer.
❤
Awesome. She had done this for many years on broadway I think.
never on broadway, that was mary martin
she easily got the job, who else was a contender?
I'm amazed at your remark about her weight--'put on a lot of weight' after this showing???????????? I say she was SLIGHTLY heavier at the time of this screen test. It would make more sense to expect weight LOSS during a hectic dance and action programme while MAKING the film, over what must have been the best part of a year, rather than at anytime before all the action began surely.
In David Kaufman's definitive biography of Doris Day, he writes Day desperately wanted
the lead in the film of SOUTH PACIFIC -and Rodgers and Hammerstein (also producing
the movie) were definitely interested. But Day's husband-manager asked for too much
salary. However, R&H paid Gloria Grahame $200,000 to do OKLAHOMA! and Day
had just made $250,000 for PAJAMA GAME. This leads to one of TWO conclusions:
Either R&H wanted Day to work for LESS than her asking price as a top-rated star
OR her husband-manager wanted "points' in the gross in addition to Day's salary,
which R&H would never have agreed to. The result -Mitzie Gaynor got the role!
also i have read that the age difference between Rosanno Brazzi and Doris Day was only 6 years and the leading man was supposed to be middle aged and the Nellie Forbush part a lot younger and naive, Doris was not ageing well, anyway Mitzi who 27 and looked 23 was perfectly cast.
Well, how much was Marty Melcher then asking Bryna & Fox? $500,000 + maybe Doris' name above the title, which certainly R&H weren't going to do.
@@mauricelowe8436 Never thought of that. But, yes, that might have been a factor. Doris might also have been a little too butch for Nellie (and Emile de Becque), as she was very tomboyish in PAJAMA GAME.
@@mauricelowe8436 This was still pre-Rock Hudson comedies Doris Day. She still had her youthful look. Don't forget that Brazzi was made up to look older than he actually was. I doubt Day's age had anything to do with it. Hollywood was not known for worrying too much about ages. Consider Angela Lansbury playing Elvis's mother in "Blue Hawaii". She was less than ten years older than him.
@@mauricelowe8436 Yes. Nellie was supposed to be young & fertile. Thus, Emile's line, "I am older than you. If we have children & I die..." Doris was too old for the role.
I never noticed it before, but she and Gena Davis look a bit alike facially.
Did they let her do her own singing, it seems like she could have.
Doris Day also could have done the part, although she had a badly broken leg as a teenager and tried to avoid that.
I wonder if they test Julie Adams who actually was from Arkansas?
Since her hairstyle is so different from the actual movie, to me she doesn't even look like the same person.
In the movie her hair was cut in the ' bubble cut ' copying Mary Martin in the original Broadway production. This was done as the charactor washes her hair during the show.
ua-cam.com/video/KJHj-h68EOk/v-deo.html
brian rodney she was also playing a character in the military! They had to wear their hair shorter.
She's right: she's singing in Mary Martin's key, which is too low for her.
Mitzi was the perfect choice. With D Day And J Garland, you will always be biased from what they are and what they have accomplished in the past. With Mitzi, who was relatively unknown to the general public, you will not be and thus you will be able to fully enjoy both her and the film, not comparing their plot in the film with singing and acting in other performances.
I have to disagree very much. The film version was far more polished,uptempo and slick. She was by now fully conversant with the song and dance routine. This amazing little film (where on earth did you get it) shows EXACTLY what might be expected at a first time rehearsal etc. Slightly tentative and uncertain, gaining confidence, and ending with a great flurrish.
Yes, this is a little sluggish compared to the effervescent performance on film, which is absolute perfection. Two of the most perfect segments ever captured on film are this and Twin Soliloquies , both from SP.
Fabulous. Thanks for posting. She is so beautiful and has such a wholesome quality. I don't know how long it took to make the film after this test, but in the final version she has put on a lot of weight. I love both versions!
Now, is she singing that live or lip syncing to the play back there?
Why was she singing in a lower key
clap clap clap clap clap
Talent nuff said smart and not ugly lol
this is her audition, right? but was she MIMING here?
i got the feeling she was miming to a recording she must have made earlier.
just asking.
but the movie was great. so,too, i understand, is the remake!!!
It's s.o.p. for actors in film musicals to lip sync to pre-recorded music.
Melody is similar to "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy" in Oklahoma.
ooops! WRONG! It is this song in South Pacific!
Did she get the part?
The part went to Charles Nelson Reilly
@@MoeGreensRightEye Good old C N Reilly. I remember some of his work. He could make me laugh for sure!
@@MoeGreensRightEye Wow. He did a great Mitzi Gaynor impression. How come he never did it again?
Mitzi was a perfect choice for the role. But I wonder if Doris Day was considered....she seems like an obvious choice. Were there contractual problems ?
+miltsar rogers and hammerstein did not want doris, after she refused to sing for them, also doris was such a big star, she would have been doris day, doris never had a really big movie musical, she was fantastic in calamity jane, which was a b musical at the time, and love me or leave me. where she was about the 5th choice, after ava gardner and jane russell turned it down, her other later musicals all bombed at the box office, ie pajama game and jumbo
+maurice lowe Yes, what you say makes perfect sense. Thank you. Also thanks for the info that Doris was way down the line for Love Me Or Leave Me. I didn't know that but I do remember that there was a lot of publicity about her being cast against type for the part and what a great job she did.
Please read my comment above for the REAL reason Day
didn't do SOUTH PACIFIC. (BTW, films like LOVE ME OR LEAVE
ME and CALAMITY JANE -both box office hits -were Definitely
Big Musicals and were proof Day was both a "draw" to audiences
and talented enough to do ANY musical.)
no one is disagreeing with you about Doris Day's immense talent and stardom...
Perhaps Doris Day was not considered for the part of South Pacific, cos of the age difference between her and the leading man Rossano Brazzi, which was only 6 years, and the Plantation Owner was supposed to be a lot older, Doris never aged well, Mitzi at 27 years of age and looked younger, Rossano looked about 20 years older than Mitzi in the film, which was perfect for the story.
That's about the longest introduction to a song I've ever heard...
Nurse Grace it’s not an intro. It’s a verse
Gee, no need to apologise, everyone is entitled to comment, and they all count, apart from idiots out to simply insult and annoy, and fortunately, it's unlikely on a page like this. I know what you mean about all these different screen widths, it can cause laughter sometimes, and be irritating at others.
Mitzi was fine in the movie - she was big in the the 50s - the problems with the movie ha ave to do with everything else.
Joshua Logan's directing was strange. He seemed to be having the entire cast act like they were in a dazed cloud of spaciness. Gaynor is the only cast member who seems to be actually trying to be even a little bit lively. And then there's the infamous color filters.
I wonder with todays technology, if those filters could somehow be adjusted? I love this show, both movie and Lincoln Center revival. The heavy color filters turn a lot of people off. @@dmnemaine
@@frederickrogers8273 To be fair, Josh Logan was told that the color filters could be removed in post production, but that ended up not being true.
She didn't do the singing in the film
joyce cattanach yes she did
Yep, she did. While Gaynor's more well known as a dancer, she had a very good singing voice. There was no need to dub her.
MARY MARTIN WOULD HAVE BEEN TO OLD, TOO ANCIENT, IN THE MOVIE VERSION!!
now, can ANYONE upload the dance scene mitsy did with a small girl in that other, but rather boring, musical called, i think, the barrets of broadway. or something. BUT THIS PARTICULAR SCENE WILL KNOW YOU OUT. GOSH, CAN HOLLYWOOD GIVE US TODAY WHAT SHE GAVE US IN THE FORTIES AND FIFTIES. SHAME ON HER IF SHE CANNOT.
THE BLOODHOUNDS OF BROADWAY, FIRST VERSION. CHECK IT OUT, NOT THE REMAKE WITH MADONNA, PLEASE!!
I'd like to see Beyonce or Halle Berry test for the role!!
+mylesag2 ....The whole story line would go out the window if either Beyoncé or Halle Berry were cast in a remake. They are beautiful and talented entertainers but the point of the story is that Nellie Forbush's character could not , at first, accept that the man she was in love with had mixed race children. That was the whole point...so naturally to cast a beautiful, talented , but Black American woman in the role would make the story non sensical.
I despise the bean counters of Hollywood who hate to cast actors who can sing. They either dub the voice, i.e. Rosanno Brazzi or find some box office powerhouse who can't sing, i.e. Marlon Brando to destroy the song. I'm so glad Mitzi Gaynor got this part. I just wish they'd cast actors who could sing for the rest of the parts. The culmination of this trend was the awful movie version "Camelot" where they rejected Robert Goulet, Richard Burton and Julie Andrews.
Unfortunately, they didn't have Juanita Hall sing in the film version because they couldn't decide whether or not to cast her or the original West End Bloody Mary, Muriel Smith. They ended up compromising. Juanita Hall would appear on screen, but her musical numbers would be recorded by Muriel Smith. Juanita's renditions of the songs can be heard on the original Broadway cast album.
They knew that no man but Brazzi could pull off the over-the-top wonderful guy theme on film. Others could pull it off on stage, but not film. The exact same reason David Lean cast him for Renato De Rossi in 'Summertime' (1955). Lean knew that Rossano was the only man gorgeous enough & charming enough to make it believable that Katharine Hepburn's character would be absolutely thunderstruck by him.
@@daphneduryea9136 Hollywood in the late 1950s were top heavy with handsome, charming baritones who could have handled Emile DeBecque with ease. Personally, I would have offered the part to Howard Keel who had a great voice and screen presence. He did many musicals in the movies, and in fact, did wind up doing South Pacific on stage. And that's not counting bringing someone from Broadway. Brazzi was the go to actor when they needed a handsome Italian to romance an American single woman vacationing in Italy. Indeed, he played that role many times. But, unlike most Italian men, he couldn't sing. Gordon Macrae could have done it, but he destroyed his screen career with his drinking problem.
@@joep8787 There's no way an American could pull off a French accent, especially while singing. Though Rossano had an Italian accent, there was probably 0.1% of people in the world who could tell. And, afterall, Ezio Pinza was Italian. And, though Giorgio Tozzi was born in the U.S., he was Italian, as well. In the close-up of Rossano's face while he's singing 'Some Enchanted Evening' in Nellie's ear - the most beautiful face ever. And, he had, by far, the sexiest lips of a man ever while he was lip-syncing. And, the close-up of his face at the end, right after Nellie hands him the ladle - Lord have mercy on my soul! He was perfect! Even his ears were flat, which is very rare. And, he had the most electric blue eyes when he looked up at Nellie just before they clasped hands. He was to men what Vivien Leigh was to women - meaning beyond comparison.
Wonder if they ratified the choice before or after what looks like a chin implant??!
Much as I like Mitzi Gaynor and respect her talent, Mary Martin created this role on Broadway and if the dweeps in H-wood didn't have their checkbooks inextricably linked to their erogenous zones, she would have been the only actress considered for Nellie Forbush in the movie.
I own the dvd of this movie and watch it from time to time, and I enjoy Mitzi Gaynor's performance well enough. But my 'aural' memory of this show was formed by the original Broadway cast recording sung by Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, and even the quite-lovely and very-talented Mitzi Gaynor can't meet that standard. (The obnoxious Rossano Brazzi--who couldn't sing, btw: He was dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi--was a such a big mistake that the producers regretted ever hiring him. Unfortunately, Pinza had died in 1956--before the film version was made--and they thought they needed a 'matinée idol' with an Italian name in that role. Snork.)
Mary Martin was past her "ingenue" days by 1958, nearly a decade after she originated the role on Broadway. They weren't going to cast her simply because of her age.
Umm.... Ezio Pinza was Italian, too. How could you not know that? And, even though Tozzi was born in the U.S., he was Italian, as well.
@@daphneduryea9136 Of course Pinza was Italian--where in my post did I imply otherwise?? The point is that when Pinza died shortly before production on the film was to begin, the producers were caught with their pants down so they went into panic mode and hired Rosanno Brazzi for his face and Italian name (even though he couldn't sing and was known as a major PITA on set...).
@@firstlast4413 hmmm. I keep more than one youtube channel tab up. I must've accidentally replied to the wrong commenter. Sorry.
Great audition. The lyrics are still kind of stilted and dumb, but that has nothing to with Mitzi's performance. Very natural.
The lyrics are absolutely perfect for the character she was playing.