Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” ranks as probably my most favorite stage show of his. Oh, wait… which version ?? Well, if nothing else, this theatrical idea has lasted through several incarnations: the original Broadway run in 1934 with Ethel Merman, William Gaxton and Victor Moore; the 1936 film version with Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman and Charlie Ruggles, another film version in 1956 with Crosby, Donald O’Connor and Mitzi Gaynor that bore little resemblance to its source, and several stage revivals, right up through the current 2011 Tony-winning production.
As the score has changed a bit over the years, with interpolations of other Porter songs thrown in, or original ones restored, so has the plot. The original storyline, concerning an ocean liner in danger mid-voyage, had to be altered when such an actual news item occurred. This resulted in the change to an ocean liner bound from New York to London, with a cast that includes a nightclub singer, a gangster disguised as a missionary, and a stowaway who assumes the identity of Public Enemy Number One,
Cole Porter & Ethel Merman
For the record, the 1962 revival, that was considered the “official version” for decades, has always been my benchmark. That score’s cast featured Eileen Rogers (a Merman heir whose style fell out of fashion), a young Hal Linden, and the physical comedian Mickey Deems.
When I became a Sinatra fan, I was thrilled to discover that the original show had been adapted for television and aired on February 28,1954 as part of NBC’s “Colgate Comedy Hour”. This historic production was a departure from the show’s regular variety format, and featured Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra, and Bert Lahr. It was only available previously on tape through an old Video Yesteryear kinescope transfer. With that release, it was fun to have the original Colgate product commercials, but was disappointing due to occasional skips in the print, the abbreviated credits, and almost all of the “Friendship” number non-existent
Thanks to the work of the Archive of American Television, their latest effort has been to acquire a kinescope of “Anything Goes” from the Ethel Merman estate and release it on DVD. Gone are the commercials, but what remains is a pristine and complete copy of the show itself. Needless to say, it probably looks better today that it did on standard television sets originally.
We now can fully revel in the interplay between these three great stars, appreciate the orchestrations of Buddy Bregman, and chuckle as a hastily arranged reprise of the title song is done to fill time when the show unexpectedly runs short. Merman even brings in Lahr and Sinatra, who laughs and says “I wish I knew the words.”
As for the score, there is “Anything Goes” (Merman), “You’re The Top” (Merman & Sinatra), “Friendship” (Merman & Lahr)”, “All Through The Night” (Sinatra), the interpolated “You Do Something To Me” (Sinatra) & “Just One Of Those Things” (Sinatra, with a reprise by Merman), Merman’s “I Get A Kick Out Of You” (then reprised by Sinatra), and a young Maynard Ferguson on trumpet, wailing into the stratosphere as Merman leads the revival meeting production number of “Blow Gabriel Blow”.
At the time, the telecast was considered unique, and received great critical acclaim. With the team of Executive Producer Leland Hayward, Producer Jule Styne, and Director Al Goodman, “Anything Goes” remains a hallmark of television’s golden age.
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