TCM Film Festival-SUNNYSIDE UP

Your Email:

Your Name:

To:

Subject:

Message:
SUNNYSIDE UP This was the first talkie for Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor, who starred in numerous romantic silent films together.  Sunnyside Up was also one of the first film musicals.  The feather light story was meant to be a cheerful escape to audiences who were hoping to leave their troubles outside the theater doors.  Janet Gaynor plays a young musical comedy actress living with her roommate above a grocery store in Brooklyn.  She soon meets a wealthy Long Island playboy (Charles Farrell) who is having second thoughts about his flirtatious fianc?.  After seeing Gaynor sing and dance at a local block party, he hatches a plan for her to come to Long Island and perform in a charity revue…and to make his fianc? jealous.  Romantic complications ensue when she falls in love with him.  The film features charming and memorable songs by Broadway team of Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson including “Sunnyside Up”, “If I Had a Talking Picture of You,” and “(I’m a Dreamer) Aren’t We All.”  There is also a fantastic dance sequence that can best be described as pre-code on crack.  In the sequence a bunch of chorus girls perform a number called “Turn up the Heat”.  They begin the number wearing winter parkas and dancing around tiny igloos.  They soon strip off the parkas to reveal bikinis as the igloos melt into the stage.  They start laying on the stage writhing around as large palm trees slowly rise up complete with inflating bananas.  Nothing subtle there!!  The number was deliciously fun and entertaining.  Janet Gaynor doesn’t have a strong singing voice and can’t compare to say Judy Garland, but that hardly matters here.  She still manages to do a great job and is super charming.  She and Charles Farrell have fantastic screen chemistry. Sunnyside Up brimmed with energy and if I had only one word to describe it, I would say “delightful”.  To my knowledge, this film isn’t available on VHS or DVD, so I’m glad I got the chance to see it! http://www.filmradar.com/karies_blog/item/tcm_film_festival-sunnyside_up/