The Happiest Millionaire (Disney) (1967)

e~ Tommy Steele Plus Alligator— Formula For Classic Dance Sequence In Disney’s ‘Happiest Millionaire” “To dance with an alligator, you’ve got to be one of two things — out of work or out of your mind,” mused Tommy Steele, as he stared at his eight-foot long, carniverous and cannibalistic dancing partner during production of Walt Disney’s “The Happiest Millionaire.” Steele, a bright musical comedy talent from England and Broadway, makes an auspicious American motion picture debut in the film in which he stars with Fred MacMurray, Greer Garson and Geraldine Page. Highlighting the performance is his delightfully goofy dance sequence with old George, a semi-retired hoofer discovered by Disney talent scouts at the California Alligator Farm near Disneyland. George is only one of twelve alliga Dancing In Disney’s “The Happiest Millionaire”’ Has Plenty Of Snap, As In Alligator An actor doesn’t have to be a millionaire to appear in Walt Disney’s new musical comedy, ‘The Happiest Millionaire,” but he does have to be a happy type who can emote with some of Hollywood and Broadway’s finest, sing on key, and, above all, hoof it like a trouper. The rollicking musical biography of eccentric Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle is filled with a dozen ragtime tunes by the Oscar-winning Sherman brothers, most of which are accompanied by dancing. Every member of the cast gets to trip the light fantastic, including Fred MacMurray, Tommy Steele, Greer Garson, Geraldine Page, Gladys Cooper, Hermione Baddeley, Lesley Ann Warren, John Davidson, Paul Petersen, Eddie Hodges, Joyce Bulifant, and an eight-foot, sharp-toothed real live alligator named George. For some of the cast, like Tommy Steele (who wowed Broadway with his starring performance in “Half a Sixpence’), Lesley Ann Warren (television’s “Cinderella”) or John Davidson (star of TV’s “Kraft Summer Music Hall’), breaking into a buck-andwing or a waltz is second nature. For others, it’s merely a matter of recalling talents that haven’t been used for a while. Fred MacMurray, for instance, hasn’t earned his living hoofing it since he and Eddie Foy did a Bavarian slap dance in a 1930 RKO comedy. Greer Garson’s last terpsichorean performance was as a chorus girl, of all things, in “Random Harvest.” According to “The Happiest Millionaire’’ choreographers Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood, the talented husband-wife team who also choreographed “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music,” the entire cast tors in the film. Ex-residents of Florida’s Everglades, they portray house pets of eccentric Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, on whose biography the screen musical is based. George, who’d been known as Lumphead until stardom changed his name, hadn’t ever done much in movies except for a close-up in a Tarzan film. Then, too, dancing had always been a challenge, mainly because he’s tone deaf and generally lacks a sense of rhythm. During filming, these startling facts prompted Steele to comment, “One doesn’t worry about whether the alligator will walk away with the scene. It’s whether he’ll walk away with you.” Gamely, Steele proceeded with re hearsal after rehearsal, and then with two days of actual filming. Getting an alligator to perform in time with the Sherman Brother’s tune, ‘“‘Fortuosity,” was pretty much a matter of luck. And luck, by the way, is the meaning of ‘“Fortuosity,” the newest of words coined for a song title by the Academy Award-winning Shermans. Tommy, who confessed to feeling half-Seminole by the scene’s completion, was not unaccustomed to encountering alligators in his dreams. “One night I woke up after seeing myself prostrate on the floor with one leg missing, while the trainer exclaimed to the director, ‘I’ve never seen an alligator do that before!’ ” Continued an almost exasperated Steele, “If this scene works it will be the most outstanding number in mov ie history. If not, people will be asking, ‘Who’s that idiot with the alligatorr” Well, work it did. On screen, George looks just like the seasoned performer he is. The result: a sequence audiences will be talking about for years. By the time Tommy boarded a jet for London and dates to film two more musicals, “Half a Sixpence” and “Finian’s Rainbow,” he had fully regained his confidence. “Dancing with an alligator,” said Tommy, “It’s a snap.” In Technicolor, “The Happiest Millionaire’’ stars Fred MacMurray, Steele, Greer Garson and Geraldine Page, and introduces Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson. Norman Tokar directed and Bill Anderson coproduced the Buena Vista release with Walt Disney. Disney Productions 7 we Getting a grip on the situation, Tommy Steele grabs George, an eight-foot alligator, by the tail in a desperate attempt to steer the family pet back into the conservatory where he belongs. Filmed in brilliant Technicolor, “The Happiest Millionaire” stars Fred MacMurray, Steele, Greer Garson and Geraldine Page, co-stars Gladys Cooper and Hermione Baddeley, and introduces Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson. Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman, whose work on “Mary Poppins” brought them two Academy Awards, have written eleven new songs for the musical comedy. is first rate. “As a matter of fact,’’ Breaux laughed, “we had remarkably little trouble with anyone until we got to the alligator.” The alligator? “Why of course,” added Dee Dee Wood. “Alligators are cold-blooded animals and they take a lot of coaxing before they’ll exert much energy. But one thing you’ve got to admit, they’re snappy pupils. Filmed in brilliant Technicolor, “The Happiest Millionaire” was di rected by Norman Tokar from a screenplay by A J Carothers. The film is based upon the book and Broadway play by Cordelia Drexel Biddle and Kyle Crichton. Bill Anderson co-produced the Buena Vista release with Walt Disney. Page7