There's No Business Like Show Business
Director: Walter Lang
Year Released: 1954
Rating: 1.5
A family of five stage actors, the Donahues - led by Dad Terence (Dan Dailey) and Mom Molly (Ethel Merman) - faces problems when one of their kids (Johnnie Ray) decides to enter the priesthood and their other son (Donald O'Connor) gets hopelessly distracted by the breathy, beautiful Victoria (Marilyn Monroe). A box-office wreck when it was originally released, it hasn't grown in stature much since then, still corny and drama-free (even when O'Connor leaves for a year without telling anyone it's inevitable he'll show up for a Big Number) with a few glitzy numbers scribbled in to give the impression it's on life support. The title itself is supposed to be endearing, but I don't know if it's exactly a compliment - show business is a cruel business and I'm not sure show people are people at all.
