Puttin' on a show has long been a successful movie plot. This 1954 take spins a different aspect of the premise. Terry and Molly Donahue had been a successful vaudeville team in the golden days of vaudeville. As vaudeville declined they raised two boys and a girl they hoped would take their place in show business. One son becomes a priest. The daughter and the other son make it big in show business. The show business son is soon sidetracked by an intent on making it in show business female performer. After much realistic behind the scenes look at the dark side of show business all turns out right in the end for Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe, Mitzi Gaynor, songwriter Irving Berlin, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor and Johnny Ray. Ethel rocks the boat in Tattooed and There's No Business Like Show Business. The wide screen version today marketed on commercial DVD is a joy to watch.

I love Irving Berlin and in fact, all of the stars in the movie. But I find it hard to watch. Despite the spectacular song and dance numbers, the movie is a bore-fest. It would have been better to limit the dialog and scenes in between the musical numbers to a minimum, like they do in a Broadway play. Instead, we are treated to a scene of Merman dunking O'Connor's head in a sink. Or pseudo-drama when a son says he wants to become a priest. So the father was an idiot. Who cares? The first number was Berlin's "Alexander's Rag Time Band". They sang it over and over with different nationalities in different sets. Yes, this was Berlin's first big hit, but it's not that good that we want to hear it played over and over and over again. Even Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" would get old after about the 5th consecutive replaying.The only reason to watch this movie, as others have pointed out, is to see Marilyn Monroe. Is there any scene in any movie where she is not wonderful? Obviously, my view is slanted towards her. Her voice is so rich, her singing, dancing and movements so sensual, anytime she's on the screen is magic. After her fabulous "Heat Wave" number, all Merman can do is run it down. As in the cheesiest of scripts, the characters remain fixed in their bold, brassy, rah-rah something characters.

Memo to Twentieth Century Fox: Leave the musicals to MGM. On paper, this big-budget musical extravaganza filmed in CinemaScope must have looked like a sure-fire winner. Unfortunately, if not for the presence of a delicious young Marilyn Monroe in a small but showy role, "There's No Business Like Show Business" would have been relegated to the forgotten-films bin. Overlong at 117 minutes, the corny story of a vaudeville family is regularly interrupted by musical numbers that lumber on interminably. Even standards like "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and the title tune are botched.Besides Monroe, Donald O'Connor survives the film; however, his perky performance and effortless hoofing call for a partner like Gene Kelly. Dan Dailey and Mitzi Gaynor also do well, but Ethel Merman has always been too much for the big screen; a stage icon, she plays to the rear seats in the fourth balcony. Which brings us to Johnnie Ray. The man may have an important place in music history, but definitely not in movie history. To be fair, the subplot about the eldest son becoming a priest is cloying and unconvincing to begin with; James Dean would have gagged on the lines. But Ray's voice and demeanor are just grating. When asked why he never made another film, Ray replied that he had never been asked. A viewing of "There's No Business Like Show Business" makes it perfectly clear why he was never asked.Devotees of Marilyn Monroe want to see her every performance, and she is charismatic eye-candy here. Although her sexy "Heatwave" number is already famous, she acquits herself well even in a silly routine with O'Connor and Gaynor. Beyond Monroe and O'Connor, however, little stands out. The storyline is too thin to bear scrutiny, the characters are superficial, and the direction by Walter Lang perfunctory. The best scenes have already been included in Monroe compilations; the rest can be relegated to the bin.

Movie about a show biz family called the Donahues. There's mother Molly (Ethel Merman), father Terence (Dan Dailey), brother Tim (Donald O'Connor), daughter Katy (Mitzi Gaynor) and brother Steve (Johnnie Ray). There's no real plot but most of it deals with Tim falling in love with singer Vicky (Marilyn Monroe) and his problems with drinking.I've read about this movie for years. It seems everyone says it's loud, stupid and overblown. I finally caught it on the Fox Movie Channel (a GREAT print--colorful and letterboxed) and I can see why people don't like it. The plot is--to put it mildly--slim and ridiculously melodramatic. Despite the acting talents of the cast the dramatic scenes just don't work. The dialogue is full of groaners and it just falls flat. To make matters worse Johnnie Ray is a VERY untalented man. His voice is annoying, his acting atrocious and his singing is just so bad that it had me staring at the TV slack-jawed! Seriously--he can't sing at all (even he admitted it)! Thankfully he only has two songs. All this aside I still like the movie.The production numbers (and there are LOTS of them) are big, colorful and full of energy. The "Alexander Ragtime Band" number is certainly an eye-opener! All the stars (even Monroe!) belt out the songs with plenty of energy and life. Also the numbers never stop moving--it's impossible to get bored. Gaynor and O'Connor throw in some truly incredible tap-dancing in the movie and work well together. The costumes are---interesting. They're so garish and tacky that they become sort of fun to just look at! Also (with the exception of Ray) the acting was great. Merman and Gaynor steal the show--especially Gaynor when she starts crying at the end. It all ends in a HUGE production number with the cast belting out the title tune.So it IS a bad movie but the singing and dancing are great, the acting is wonderful and the elaborate sets and costumes keep your interest. Worth catching. I give it an 8.