Thoroughly Modern Millie

Sad to learn that this was Beatrice Lillie's final movie. But her henchman assistants had better things ahead. Oriental #1 would go on to the 12th Precinct (Jack Soo-Barney Miller) while Oriental #2 would go on to own Arnold's in Milwaukee and help Daniel LaRusso become a karate kid (Pat Morita).

One of my favorite running gags of the movie is the elevator where you have to dance to get it going. Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore and Beatrice Lillie had to dance. Even Pat Morita and Jack Soo danced to the tune of "Japanese Sandman". The last time I ever heard "Japanese Sandman" was the theme to an old local TV farm report show in Houston, Texas (Dewey Compton).

I remember seeing this movie in college, and was impressed with it at the time; I bought the DVD recently and find it is a wonderful presentation; the colors are vibrant again and the music is well preserved and very listenable especially in surround sound....this version includes a musical intro. intermission music and exit music; unfortunately not any extras, other than the original trailer, but all in all a good package for the price....The twenties era is well portrayed, with the many fashions and fads brought into play and interwoven into the plot of the movie. The leads are all very good, with the exception of Mary Tyler Moore, whose acting is not very on key...Carol Channing is exceptional in the comic part of Muzzy, and there is a twist ending that involves her, which I won't give away to anyone who has not seen the movie....again the music and dancing make the movie with old standards such as Baby Face, Poor Butterfly, Do it again, and on and on with a few new ditties thrown in, by Elmer Bernstein and Andre Previn....this movie was nominated for several awards and one one for music...Enjoy!!

Roaring '20s musical is a fun, eager-to-please live-action cartoon with satire and slapstick. Julie Andrews plays a small town lass who has moved to New York City to land a steno job with an unmarried boss for her to conquer; Mary Tyler Moore is her timid new friend at the all-girl boarding house; Beatrice Lillie is their shady housemother; and Carol Channing (in an outrageous performance that must be seen to be believed) is a wealthy, swinging do-gooder. Tongue-in-cheek production from Ross Hunter and director George Roy Hill, inspired by the Broadway show "The Boy Friend", offers Julie Andrews one of her best film roles; whether dancing like a trouper to keep her elevator in motion or addressing the camera à la the silent movie era, Andrews is so loose and charming she even gets laughs crossing the street. There are a few slip-ups: the Jewish wedding sequence sticks out as an artifice, Moore's listlessly girlish performance is all on one note, and the Harold Lloyd-inspired comic ballet (with Julie falling out of a high-rise window) is too broad and silly. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, "Millie" picked up one Oscar for Elmer Bernstein's score (the smashing costume designs by Jean Louis probably should have won also). Overlong, and with a drab Universal backlot appearance, the film is nevertheless "delish!" Engaging, high-spirited fluff. *** from ****

Hard for me to be objective, here, since I've been madly in love with Julie Andrews since being first exposed to her crystalline voice when I was three.

But I'll try: "Millie's" first half is, to quote the screenplay, "Delish," with Andrews vamping and camping throughout. I am unable to take my eyes off her as she clowns, flirts, cavorts, and also sings and dances (getting her hotel elevator to work results in a showstopper). The vehicle--a pastiche of 1920s conventions (including "moderns") and filmgoing techniques (including iris-outs and title cards)--is the frothy light story of a British import who comes to America and finds true love.

The second half gets bogged down in the overwrought script, with all the machinations of a white slavery plot and a pair of "inscrutible" Orientals who, in this day and age of racial sensitivity, get far worse than they deserve.

Some history: Ross Hunter, the producer, wanted to film "The Boy Friend," the Broadway musical that had introduced Andrews to the U.S. stage. When the rights were unavailable, he devised his own script, using the same setting--the 1920s. A "small" musical evolved.

Then Julie's star went through the stratosphere. And the Universal "suits," smelling another payday, insisted that the movie be a road-show presentation--with a road-show running time(and at which road-show prices could be charged). Little "Millie" had an intermission added, and her running time was increased considerably.

The movie's still a lot of fun and definitely recommendable (especially to Andrews fans), but let's just say that, at times, it more than shows its stretchmarks!

I like this movie because it makes fun of itself. It knows it's silly, irreverant, and totally over the top. That's the point of the movie, and it works. It's completely void of substance-my friend claims to loose brain cells every time she sees it, yet she wants to watch it all the time. It's just plain fun and Julie Andrews (my personal fav) is at her most adorable. Even though in real life she was 31 and the mother of a 4-year-old, she's totally convincing as Millie. It does drag sometimes, but it's still a darling musical that's just full of fun-exactly how it's intended to be.