User reviews

I'm sure that when Gene Kelly and Van Johnson wandered into that quaint Scottish village called Brigadoon they must have thought they were entering a Scottish theme park. Certainly no modern conveniences around and everyone dressed in costume. But there's a reason for it, a most enchanting reason, the heart and secret of Brigadoon.

Brigadoon ran in the 1947-1948 season on Broadway for 581 performances in the initial production. It was Alan Jay Lerner's and Frederick Loewe's first really big Broadway success though it was their second collaboration. MGM bought the property for the Arthur Freed unit and it lay dormant for a few years while a lot of creative and financial differences got worked out.

Gene Kelly curiously enough had the reverse problem with this that his Broadway hit Pal Joey had. The original production of Pal Joey was his first big musical hit and he never went back to Broadway after. But when the film for Pal Joey finally got made it was with Frank Sinatra in the lead and the part was changed to a singer's as opposed to dancer's role.

Similarly the original Broadway Tommy Albright was a singer named David Brooks and Fiona was played by Marion Bell both pretty good singers. Kelly who could carry a tune had a whole lot of trouble with some of the songs, in fact he himself asked that his version of There But For You Go I be cut from the final film.

Changing over to dancing leads, Kelly got Cyd Charisse as his partner and as was usual, Cyd's singing was dubbed with Carole Richards's voice. They did do some mighty nice dancing though, especially The Heather on the Hill ballet and Kelly's lighthearted romp to Almost Like Being in Love which was the big hit from Brigadoon.

Kelly wanted to shoot the film on location in Scotland, but MGM eying budgetary problems and director Vincente Minnelli's desire to do it on their sound stage the film was shot indoors with Brigadoon recreated at Culver City.

One of my favorite numbers from Brigadoon is My Mother's Wedding Day which the character Meg Brockie sings. It was eliminated by the Breen office censors would you believe. They thought it inappropriate for drunken Scotsmen to be cavorting about on a solemn occasion like a wedding. As a result the character of Meg Brockie was cut down to nothing. A pity because Pamela Britton won rave reviews for her Broadway performance and Dody Heath is left with next to nothing in the role.

Still there's enough of Brigadoon for audiences to still enjoy and dream about an enchanted Scottish village we might all like to escape the travails of the world to.

The story is one that is very fanciful and enjoyable. Two incongruous friends, Tommy and Jeff (Gene Kelly and Van Johnson) are hunting in Scotland when they come upon a town not on any map. Brigadoon is a lovely village but it soon becomes obvious it's a town out of time. Actually, it's a magical town that is stuck in the 18th century and it appears and then disappears every 100 years--which is a serious problem as Tommy has fallen in love with one of the residents (Cyd Charisse).

I liked this film quite a bit, though it did have two flaws. The sound stage was too often an obvious sound stage--with obviously painted mountains as a backdrop. Also, I think it might have benefited if they'd made Jeff less of a completely cynical jerk. It was odd seeing a nice-guy actor like Van Johnson playing a nasty little alcoholic and they part could have been better without the crabby aspects of the character. However, the music is lovely, the story sweet and there is still a lot to admire in this film.

I happened to watch the 1966 made for TV version of "Brigadoon" a week ago--and I enjoyed it enough that I sought out the original theatrical version from 1954. Both, naturally, are very similar though there are a few differences. First, because Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse were in this Hollywood production, naturally there would be more dancing than singing. Second, oddly, the story of how Brigadoon came to be was changed for the 1954 version. I have no idea why. And, finally, the 1954 version was made to look like a typical Hollywood production that was, as I mentioned above, made in a sound stage--and the 1966 version had a few actual outdoor scenes and much of the rest looked like it was on a theater stage. Both are very watchable, though I prefer the 1954 film. If you would like to see the 1966 version (starring Robert Goulet), it is available to watch free at archive.org.

And that is exactly the story BRIGADOON tries to tell. Two urbanites from New York, Tommy (Gene Kelly) and Jeff (Van Johnson), are grouse-hunting in Scotland--yes, they've come all the way to Scotland to shoot grouse, if you can believe that to begin with!--when they happen upon the tiny magical little Scottish village of Brigadoon, a (very literal) throwback to the mid-18th century in customs, livelihood and people. The Campbells are holding a wedding for their daughter Jean, whose sister Fiona (Cyd Charisse) is the first person who doesn't treat the strangers like... well, strangers. It doesn't take long, just a walk through 'The Heather On The Hill', for Tommy and Fiona to fall deeply in love. The only problem is that Brigadoon, thanks (or not) to their eager chaplain Mr. Forsythe, surfaces once every hundred years--it's been two hundred since Mr. Forsythe made his 'contract with God', and only two days have passed for the villagefolk in that same year in 1754. The question becomes one of love, of whether one is able to give up everything for a miracle: just as Mr. Forsythe has to give up his beloved Brigadoon to bring it its miracle, Tommy and Fiona, because 'if you love someone deeply enough, anything is possible', get their miracle as well.

There is certainly charm aplenty in BRIGADOON: the morning fair 'Down On MacConnachy Square' is lively and bustling; the beautiful dance between Kelly and Charisse as they gather 'The Heather On The Hill' is tender and beautiful, with more balletic romance than any choreography of Kelly's to date; even the forward girl who tries to turn Jeff's head (only to disappear from the movie thereafter) is cute in her way and her fervent belief that she might actually have a romance like that of her parents. BRIGADOON most certainly sets out to charm--even the general dodginess of the Scottish accents does not really detract from the rest of the film.

However, there is an element of uneasiness in BRIGADOON, perhaps conscious, perhaps not, that somewhat undermines its message. It wants us to believe that it really is the humanity, the *kind* of humanity that one gets in Brigadoon and in New York that makes one place preferable to the other. This is quite unsubtly displayed in the merry dreaminess that surrounds Brigadoon, in contrast with the almost *too* loud chattering that goes on in the New York bar teeming with humanity. Yet one is never quite sure whether Brigadoon is really the utopia it appears to be: this is underscored by the fact that (despite Kelly's pleas for on-location filming in Scotland) the scenery is obviously constructed on a set. It's still eerily beautiful in a fake way, and this is the trouble with the village portrayed in the film. Everything *seems* perfect, idyllic--happy and charming and easy and light. But then you learn the real history of the village, and the aura surrounding it doesn't look so much as magic but as *black* magic. Mr. Forsythe sounds more like an authoritarian dictator obsessed with his Brigadoon than a benign sweet old chaplain, and when Harry Beaton (Hugh Laing) tries to make a break for it, the hunt for him and the subsequent covering up of his death has such sinister undertones that one really starts to feel uncomfortable about what the people have become in the two short days (for them) that they have known about their village's uniqueness.

Of course, the film itself actually states this uneasiness that the audience will feel, not merely suggests it. This is evident in how Tommy performs a gentle reprise of his courtship dance with Fiona and rushes off, full of glee and love, to tell Jeff that he is staying in Brigadoon... only to be persuaded by a few curt sentences from Jeff that he should really give up the love of his lifetime to return to reality, to return to New York. Jeff plays the cynical, hard-headed pragmatist in all of us, and is then immediately depicted as a drunkard who spends all his days lounging in a bar, broken by his own inability to have faith in a 'miracle'. It's fitting for this film full of contradictions that the person who saved Brigadoon was the one who refused to believe it, and that the people of Brigadoon were saved by the death of one of its number.

Perhaps this is far too much analysis than BRIGADOON can bear. If one doesn't poke beyond its shiny, lavish MGM surface (and there really is no need to), then it is merely a star vehicle for Kelly, not a particularly good one, but one that is moderately entertaining and does allow him to showcase his talents (though again, not too effectively). The best number is probably the most famous song in it, 'Almost Like Being In Love', sung by a heart-light and foot-merry Kelly as he dances through a Scottish farm. The runner-up would be the beautiful 'Heather On The Hill' couples ballet--Kelly's ballet training really comes to the fore in BRIGADOON, his other films having been more influenced by tap dancing.

All in all, a charming package with a sinister underside, if one can believe that this shadowy underside to BRIGADOON--both village and film--could exist. 7/10.

I have adored Gene Kelly ever since I saw Singin' in the Rain when I was about 10, but I had never seen Brigadoon until renting it a couple of days ago. Yes, the story is far-fetched--but somehow it works. Yes, the scenery looks like it is from a high school play, but I became too caught up in the story (yes, there IS a story) to care. In reading the other comments, I'm SO glad that the Keel/Grayson team wasn't used. Keel is too macho and gruff and Grayson is too sugary. I think Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse gave their characters the necessary gentility and earthiness. My only complaint is that I wish the director let the viewer linger with the closing scene for a few more seconds. It ends a little too abruptly and with a few unanswered questions about Van Johnson's character. Despite that, it was very enjoyable and even ponders some deep points, especially in the line "Sometimes things you have faith in become more real to you than the things you can see and touch." Watch it with a light heart and you won't be disappointed.

The New Yorkers Tommy Albright (Gene Kelly) and Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson) travel in a hunting trip to the highlands of Scotland. Tommy and Jeff are best friends and Tommy is taking a break from his engagement with his fiancée Jane Ashton (Elaine Stewart).

Tommy and Jeff get lost on the hills and out of the blue, they see a small town that is out of the map. When they arrive in town, Tommy meets the local Fiona Campbell (Cyd Charisse) and they learn that the place is called Brigadoon. Further, it is the wedding day of her younger sister and they are invited to stay to the party. Meanwhile Tommy and Fiona fall in love with each other.

Later Tommy and the skeptical Jeff discover that a local preacher had prayed to God on the Eighteenth Century asking for a miracle to protect Brigadoon from witches that lived in Scotland. From that day on, when the locals go to sleep in the night, they wake up 100 years later. However, if a dweller leaves Brigadoon, the town and the citizens would all disappear forever. But an outsider could stay forever in Brigadoon provided he or she loves someone in the enchanted town.

"Brigadoon" is a fairy tale that combines "Lost Horizon" with "The Sleeping Beauty". The plot is silly and the songs are dated, but the romantic story and Cyd Charisse are delightful and the final message ("when you love someone, everything is possible, even a miracle") is very beautiful. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Lenda dos Beijos Perdidos" ("The Legend of the Lost Kisses")

Other commentors have criticized this movie up and down for its casting, props, stage, singing and dancing. I don't profess to be an expert on any of those things. I enjoy movies and I enjoyed this one. It is the story line that gets me most. That an entire village appears for just one day every 100 years may be far fetched but is great fantasy. I'll have to admit that I've enjoyed this story more in live theater than the movie version, but the movie version is much easier to pop in the VCR for anytime viewing. I think its a great movie and might make a great remake if someone was willing to address the criticisms left here by other commentors.

The tale of a magical , fantastic location , it is set 18th century Scottish village which awakens once every 100 years and the two modern-day vacationers : Van Johnson , Gene Kelly stumble upon it . In the village , Gene Kelly meets and falls in love for Cyd Charysse and they naturally dance up a storm .

This enchanting musical stars Van Johnson and Gene Kelly as two Americans who discover Brigadoon , a Scottish village with a lifespan of only one for every hundred years . However, it was a fatal mistake to penny-pinch on this one and filming it completely in in the MGM studios with no outdoors . In all , the movie offers appointingly several pleasures , though sluggish , at times. Main highlight is the Lerner and Loewe musical score including songs as Almost like being in love , Wedding dance , From this day on , Waiting for my dearie, Heather on the Hill, Once in the Highlands , and Brigadoon . Audiences for big screen musicals were waning when the famous production company Metro Goldwyn Mayer put this Lerner and Loewe's stage hit before the cameras and getting success enough . Stars three splendid actors : Van Johnson , Cyd Charysse and Gene Kelly in yet another of his more whimsical characters .

It displays a colorful and glamorous cinematography in brilliant Technicolor by Joseph Ruttenberg . Although cameraman experienced difficulty with filling the rectangular frame in his first encounter with Cinemascope . Wonderful scenarios, worth artificial-looking production design that only emphasised its stagebound origins . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Vincente Minnelli . This filmmaker was considered to be one of the best of the Hollywood golden years , making some masterpieces , being a musical expert , though also made other genres with penchant for drama , as Minnelli shot important pics such as "Madame Bovary , Lust For Life , The Pirate , An American in París, Meet me in St Louis, Ziegfeld Follies , The Clock" , among others . Rating : 7.5/10. Better than average .

Despite all of the critical bashing of Brigadoon, I thought it was very nicely presented. Before I go any further, be forwarned that I have never seen Brigadoon on stage - only on screen - so I can't make comparisons. IMHO, MGM couldn't have casted a better Tommy; Gene Kelly is perfect and (although I agree that he may not be the best singer ever) I didn't doubt his ability to play the part a bit. Van Johnson steals the show as well. As well, Cyd Charisse was wonderful as Fiona, she made the character seem so believeable and was perfect for the part.

Granted, Brigadoon would have been much better had it been filmed on location in Scotland, but due to budget cuts MGM was forced to film it in beautiful, sunny Culver City. The painted backgrounds are obvious (the same injustice was done to "7 Brides" which, like Brigadoon, was to be done on location but was ultimately filmed at the studio) but the backdrops are not meant to be the centerpiece of the show; why are we placing so much fault on these? I agree that the dance sequences got to be a bit long, but with Gene Kelly, who cares?

We can, however, be thankful that MGM didn't cast Howard Keel or Kathryn Grayson in Brigadoon. As much as I love Keel's work in his other MGM endeavours (such as Show Boat and 7 Brides), he would have been totally wrong in Brigadoon and Grayson's operatic singing would have done Fiona a terrible injustice.

Overall I thought Brigadoon to be a wonderful screen interpretation of one of Broadway's crown jewels. It will definately be getting a second viewing here!. Rate 8/10

I've never considered this one of the top film musicals of its period but not for the reasons usually given. As is well known, there was some thought given to shooting the film on location in Scotland but the studio had to settle for shooting it on a sound stage with painted backdrops. Considering the supernatural background of the story, I'm not sure that a more naturalistic setting would have improved it any.

But the casting!!! Gene Kelly was a dancer and not a major vocalist and to some extent the songs suffer. Cyd Charisse was miscast as Fiona Campbell (originally McLaren; why did they change it?) and here can't muster enough acting ability to add anything to her character. (Her singing, as always, is dubbed.) At the end of the film, they are both reduced to dancers posturing (almost as in curtain calls.) rather than any real emotion. And I just find Van Johnson's character to be relentlessly negative and unpleasant, a major sourpuss in fact! (Oscar Levant pulled this type of character off rather more successfully, perhaps because one could understand where he was coming from. Not that I'd recommend casting him here!)

The heart of the film though is the dancing, usually male. In the "Go Home With Bonny Jean" number, Jimmy Thompson shows off his dancing as well as his high notes. I'm not sure how it was done on stage but I thought having Gene and Van join them in this number was overkill though effective enough. The use of the fifes and the parallel 5ths in the winds was also very effective and similar exotic effects were used elsewhere. But I thought the tartan tights for some of the men were probably anachronistic and looked to me more than a little silly.

In the Gathering of the Clans-Wedding Dance numbers there was a similar skirling of the bagpipes with drums early and fifes later on, again very effective. I can understand why his Sword-Dance was cut as being too similar but since Hugh Laing (Harry Beaton) was a notable dancer with the American Ballet Theater, there seemed little reason to cast him in the first place if he didn't dance.

This number is included in the extras as well as "Come to Me, Bend to Me" sung by Jimmy Thompson and "From This Day on" and the audio only of "There but for You Go I".

A very interesting DVD for many reasons but a not-successful filming of a major stage musical.

I adore Brigadoon.

Won't quibble about the authenticity of the story, the sets, or the choreography. However inauthentic the movie may be, it WORKS. For me, it works better than any of MGM's other classics.

The production is beautiful. The sets (however artificial) are beautiful. Kelly's choreography is beautiful. Cyd Charisse is BEAUTIFUL (honestly, my favorite woman in any musical, ever--masterful dance if I've ever seen it).

"Heather on the Hill" is a highlight of musical cinema, period. Lovely song, spectacular dancing and choreography.

The ending, however preposterous, still ranks among my favorites.

first let me say Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse are two of my favorite film musical stars. But their film version of Brigadoon is by far one of the worst translations of a great stage musical that I have ever seen, It is not a bad film, in fact if you've never seen it on stage it is really quite good. But it is an incredibly incomplete film.

Of the fifteen individual songs in the stage show only seven were used in the film and most of these were cut in half. As others have said, leaving out both of Meg's wonderfully comic numbers is criminal, as is the removal of the the beautiful love song "Come to Me Bend to Me". If they were so intent on turning this into a dancers musical why did they cut out some of the best dance numbers, the Sword Dance, "Jeannie's Packin' Up" and the ballet number associated with the revelation of Harry's death.

I will admit I am very partial to the stage show, I'm currently designing my second major production of the show.

For those who have difficulty with the story you should know that it based, not on any Scottish or even English language folktale but rather on an old German folktale and the title actually refers to the bridge across the river Doon (Brig O' Doon) which figures in the Robert Burns classic "Tam O' Shanter"

So, if you've never seen the stage show enjoy. If you have seen the stage show, enjoy anyway but know now that you will be greatly disappointed with this "half" hearted attempt

I think this movie is one of the better musicals to come out of the '50s. Gene Kelley and Van Johnson make such a great team, it's a shame they didn't do more movies together. Johnson's timing and sarcastic remarks are truly funny. Cyd Charrise is also enjoyable in her Scottish role. This movie is very enjoyable for the whole family.

You would never know why BRIGADOON was considered one of the great musicals of the Broadway stage by the M-G-M film. Something's missing. The studio originally purchased the rights as a vehicle for Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, but decided to put the emphasis on dancing, so Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse were cast. What's missing is you don't get to hear the great score sung by great singers! I'm sorry, but Gene Kelly's singing voice is LOUSY! He can carry a tune, but that's it. Great songs like "Almost Like Being In Love" and "Heather on the Hill" were written for legitimate singers!!!!!

Sometimes what you believe in becomes more real than the actual world in which you live, and isn't there some small part in everyone that's eternally searching for that special place, that world within the world that once discovered becomes the place you want to be in forever? It's the stuff with which folklore and films are filled, manifested in places like Valhalla, Shangri-la, Xanadu and even Never Never Land. A place usually found only in the heart and in the mind, but occasionally stumbled upon in the most unlikely of places, which is the case in point here, when two men-- lost in the Highlands of Scotland-- come across a place you'll not find on any map. A place called `Brigadoon.'

Directed by Vincente Minnelli and told through the music and songs of Lerner and Loewe, this 1954 musical is the story of New Yorkers Tommy Albright (Gene Kelly) and Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson) who, on a hunting trip to Scotland, become lost in the Highlands and happen upon the village of Brigadoon. Very quickly they realize that things are somehow different in this place, from the attire and attitude of the locals to the way they're received by them. But there's something else, something about this place that seems to draw Tommy to it, that makes him feel as if he belongs here. The cynical Jeff, on the other hand, can't wait to get away. And while they try to sort it all out-- especially Tommy-- they get caught up in the festivities of the day; a wedding is about to take place, and during the excitement a couple of things happen: First, Tommy overhears someone mention something about a `secret' and a `miracle.' And then he meets Fiona (Cyd Charisse), and the spell of Brigadoon is upon him.

Minnelli may have directed this picture, but there's not so much as a footnote to it that bears his signature. It does, however, have Gene Kelly written all over it from beginning to end. As the star of the show and the choreographer, everything about it has his style stamped boldly upon it, and it's Kelly's spirit that carries the film, which is far from being one of Lerner and Loewe's greatest achievements. With the exception of `It's Almost Like Being In Love,' in fact, the songs are fairly forgettable. But there's a certain enchantment to the `idea' of Brigadoon, plus having Kelly aboard to bring it to fruition, that makes this a pleasantly engaging film. And it's that fairy tale sense of finding the person and place of your heart's desire that makes it so appealing. Some viewers, jaded by the stark reality of much of today's fare, may find this offering a bit corny; but then again, with the phenomenal success of a film like the recent `Harry Potter,' it may be indicative of the fact that films like `Brigadoon' are just what audiences are hungry for, and a film like this just may be a pleasant discovery-- or rediscovery-- for many who are indeed looking for just this kind of entertainment. Ironically, in the fantasy of it there is something intrinsically down-to-earth about it that many may find attractive and refreshing.

Of course, any vehicle which affords the opportunity of seeing a great artist like Kelly doing what he does best is worth it's weight in gold. Watching Kelly dance, no matter what the setting or venue, is a transporting experience. Fred Astaire may be the Crown Prince of those who have danced their way to fame on the silver screen, but Kelly is the King, with a commanding, powerful presence that is without equal. Quite simply, nobody does it better, and his presence is definitely the strength of this film.

Cyd Charisse (whom Astaire named as his first choice of all his partners) is at her best here during her numbers with Kelly, but as good as she is-- and she is an extraordinary dancer and performer, arguably one of the screen's best ever-- in retrospect, she may not have been the best choice for this part; someone like Vera-Ellen, perhaps, may have been more able overall to capture the ethereal essence of Fiona, as Charisse is better suited to a more contemporary or modern setting. Still, there are those who will maintain that Charisse was perfect for this role, and indeed, it is an entirely subjective call.

Van Johnson gives a good performance, but there's something of a fish-out-of-water sense about it, which may have to do with the character he's playing. Jeff, after all, is the one who remains grounded while Tommy gets swept away with the fantasy in which they find themselves. And he does get a chance to show off a bit of his ability as a dancer in a brief number alongside Kelly, who very generously seems to tip his hat to Johnson by maintaining a rather reserved presence during their bit together.

The supporting cast includes Elaine Stewart (Jane), Barry Jones (Mr. Lundie), Hugh Laing (Harry), Albert Sharpe (Andrew), Virginia Bosler (Jean), Jimmy Thompson (Charlie), Tudor Owen (Archie), Dee Turnell (Ann), Dodie Heath (Meg), Owen McGiveney (Angus) and Eddie Quillan (Sandy). Also look for George Chakiris as one of the dancers. A somewhat minor, but rather charming musical, `Brigadoon' has a certain universal appeal that will ensure it's place forever among even the most memorable of movie musicals. It may lack the impact that would give it the stature of a `West Side Story,' `Oklahoma,' `Carousel' or `My Fair Lady,' but it has a quality all it's own that makes it enjoyable and entertaining to watch. And that's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 7/10.

This Vincent Minelli musical is usually considered a flop, which is unfair. Gene Kelly wanted to shoot it on site in Scotland (where Brigadoon is set), but it was vetoed as too expensive. So Minelli had to create a magical, 18th Century Scottish village on a studio set. He also was using cinema scope for the first time, and felt it lacked the compositional unity and beauty of the regular film he had been using. It is apparent it's a set, but the story and music is so superior (despite the lack of two songs, including my favorite - "My Mother's Wedding Day") that one can actually forget the artificiality of the set. Moreover, the actual issue of artificial sets seems ridiculous when considering the story. If the set was actually realistic, the film would have had to be shot in one day, because the set would have vanished for a century at the end of the day (as the village does in the story)!! Except for one five minute sequence at the end of the film, set in a noisy New York City nightspot, most of the film is set in the Scottish highlands. Tommy (Gene Kelly) and Jeff (Van Johnson) are vacationing in Scotland, when they stumble into a village that is not on their maps. The village is Brigadoon. It is later explained by the village elder, Mr Lundie (Barry Johns) that the village was granted a special wish of it's very religious minister to preserve it forever by having it only reappear once a century, so the people in it would never be hurt. There is, however, another side to the deal: the citizens have to remain (as well as their livestock) within the boundaries of the town by sundown, because they go to bed early, and awake one hundred years later the next day. If any decides to leave the town's boundaries, that person will cause the wish and blessing to dissipate, and the town will be destroyed and it's citizens destroyed. BRIGADOON is a very colorful and tuneful show, and a nice blend of humor and tragedy. It also asks what people require for happiness: simplicity or sophisticated modern life. Jeff would opt for the latter (and he does quite strenuously up to the conclusion of the movie), but he is a confirmed alcoholic - some advertisement for modern civilization and it's benefits! Tommy is more inquisitive and easier - and he finds he is not so happy with modern life. But the search for happiness is not an easy one, and it takes a tragedy and much soul searching for Tommy to reach his conclusion. And there is the music, especially Learner and Lowe's "The Heather On the Hill" (attractively sung and danced by Kelly and Charisse), and "It's Almost Like Being In Love." A failure by Minelli? Well it's not MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, or GIGI, or THE PIRATE but it is far better than many other musicals.

Sometimes a movie gets a lot of Oscar nominations, and it still isn't what I would consider great. This is such a movie.

Compared to other musicals, there just seemed to be something lacking.

It couldn't have been the sound, or the costumes, or the set decoration, as they were all superb.

Maybe it was Gene Kelly. he just didn't seem to have the spark he had in his Oscar-nominated performance in Anchors Aweigh.

Maybe it was Amarillo-born Cyd Charisse. She was beautiful, but just didn't have the magic.

I don't know, but I've seen this film, and don't expect to watch it again. At least I now know what Gareth was talking about in Four Weddings and a Funeral - It's Brigadoon! It's Bloody Brigadoon!

It is said that both Gene Kelly and Vincent Minnelli were disappointed that MGM finances prevented then from filming "Brigadoon" abroad in more "natural settings." However, the beautiful studio sets to my mind work just fine for the whimsical fantasy being told. It is true that the basic idea of the story is a bit far-fetched, but then that's what fairy tales are all about. If one goes with the plot's broad premise, one can sit back and enjoy a charming Lerner-Loewe score, lovely studio settings and backdrops, pleasant choreography, and fine dancing, highlighted by Kelly's and Cyd Charisse's memorable "Heather on the Hill."

Out of MGM, Brigadoon is a CinemaScope production filmed in Ansco Color. It's directed by Vincente Minnelli and adapted to screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner from the Broadway play of the same name. It stars Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charise. Musical numbers are by Lerner and Frederick Loewe, with orchestration by Conrad Salinger, and cinematography is by Joseph Ruttenberg. Plot has Kelly and Johnson as two Americans on a hunting trip in Scotland, who after becoming lost in the woods happen upon a village called Brigadoon. A strange place that's not on any map of Scotland……… Kicked by the critics and receiving moderate funds at the box office, Brigadoon is evidently one of the lesser lights from the musicals branch of MGM. Genuine complaints about no outdoor location work and scrimping on the songs from the play hold up under scrutiny. As does the charge that it is in fact a bit lifeless in direction and acting performances. But it's far from the dreary flop it has often been painted as. As colourful entertainment the film has enough about it to not waste the viewers time. The central idea is lovely, a mystical place inhabited by ebullient Scots that pops up once every hundred years, existing as a social comment that other parts of the world have gotten themselves into one big noise laden hurry, while a sweet finale provides the notion that love can indeed conquer all. The songs and routines, too, are enjoyable, notably Kelly doing deft harmony for "Almost Like Being In Love", the foot tapping delight of Celtic strong "The Wedding Dance" (danced by Jimmy Thompson & Virginia Bosler) and the heartily sang "The Chase" (various men during the pursuit of rebel Hugh Laing). While Ruttenberg's Scope/Color photography is most pleasing, putting vim and vigour into the very standard painted sets that form the back drops to the story.

However, it's impossible not to yearn for more from Minnelli and MGM. Producing it all on the sound stage means it lacks air, vitality, and they must have known this would be the case because the film was originally going to be filmed on location in Scotland. The nasty weather and eventual cost cutting exercises meant the production would ultimately be surrounded by false countryside and billowing mist machines. A shame, because if ever a story called for vibrant snatches of Mother Natures Earth to realise the whimsy, then this is it. The cast are also a mixed bag, with Charise and Kelly going thru the motions and a host of iffy accents puncturing the air. Johnson is an odd casting choice, but I'm in the minority that doesn't mind his performance. He's the sarcastic cynic to Kelly's dreamy optimist, with Johnson content to rightly play in Kelly's shadow. His scenes back in the bar in New York are good value. Kelly and Minnelli were not singing from the same page, this would be common knowledge further down the line, as would the revelation that Minnelli was never a fan of the play anyway! It does show, but in spite of the obvious flaws there's enough warmth and hummable whimsy to lift it comfortably above average in the pantheon of MGM musicals. 6.5/10

Much has been made of the fact that Vincente Minnelli didn't want to direct the film version of the stage hit "Kismet" in 1955 but was forced to by mean, nasty MGM (in order for him to take on "Lust for Life"). The film he should have skipped, one year earlier, was this miserable desecration of one of the crowned jewels of Broadway musicals. All of the gossimer magic (and nearly all of the songs) were lost during the transition from stage to screen. Instead, this flat-footed bore might as well be entitled "The Gene Kelly Show." Even the few grand songs remaining are butchered into tiresome dance routines by the camera-swallowing, egomaniacal Kelly. "Almost Like Being in Love" was a soaring romantic duet on stage. Here, Kelly sings it solo, then breaks into a dance routine. Cyd Charisse is perfectly adequate as his romantic lead, but she too is shortchanged (allowed only one song--the best in the film--"Waiting for My Dearie" with her voice dubbed; dancewise, she gets short shrift from Kelly and Minnelli). Kelly & Minnelli groused because MGM's budget cutbacks prevented them from filming on-location in Scotland; thus "Brigadoon" had to be created on MGM's vast soundstages (with some of the ugliest, tackiest production design in the studio's history). That same limitation didn't hurt "Seven Bridges for Seven Brothers," MGM's modestly-budgeted "ugly step-sister" to "Brigadoon." "Brides" went on to become a box office smash and an enduring classic. "Brigadoon" (on which MGM pinned its hopes) was a deserved critical and box office dud. Any highschool (much less professionally mounted) production of "Brigadoon" is certain to be superior to the distinctively unenchanting film version. And I beg to differ with all the other IMDb commentators that MGM initially purchased the screen rights as a vehicle for Kathryn Grayson & Howard Keel--and what a disaster that would have been. Not so. At least, the classic score would have survived virtually intact, and Grayson & Keel would have sung it to absolute perfection! Fortunately, 12 years later, a glorious production of "Brigadoon" was telecast as a TV special; the deleted songs were restored and sung to perfection by the perfectly-cast Robert Goulet and Sally Ann Howes, who also recreated the wistful magic totally absent from MGM's expensive dud. "Brigadoon" should be seen, and this is the version to see!

"Brigadoon" is really one of the best musicals ever made, a stunning blend of remarkable music with an unbeatable story. This movie *had* to be popular at some point-- what ever happened?! Nobody even knows it exists anymore! Wait a minute... this is sounding very familiar. Lerner and Loewe's disappearing-village fable expertly combines the mysticism of the Scottish Highlands with the unbreakable dancing chops of Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. It is an explosion of sound, color, and (a tolerable level of) emotion. And as a Scotsman, something makes me connect to the blaring bagpipes and the fantastically well-done accents, not to mention the glorious costumes and phenomenal sets. This is the movie musical as it was originally intended, a fascinating mixture of tunes and story, of fantasy and realism, of words and the things better left unsaid. This is a lambasted masterpiece and deserves recognition for what it is: very near to the perfection many better-known copycats claim is their own (I'm talking to you, "Sound of Music" and "West Side Story").

Brigadoon is a decent tale but Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse are probably a little bit miscast here. The best numbers are performed by the ensemble cast. The story of course is enchanting and manages to put its spell on you but all in all a better casting job could have made this movie a true classic musical. Unfortunately, this one is no Gigi...