Bells Are Ringing

( 4 )

Overview

Judy Holliday re-creates her Broadway role of flibbertigibbet telephone operator Ella Peterson in Bells are Ringing. Ella works for Susanswerphone, a hole-in-the-wall answering service run by her cousin Sue Jean Stapleton. Our girl Ella can't help but become involved in the lives of her customers, which brings her to the attention of a dimwitted police detective, Barnes Dort Clark, who suspects that Susanswerphone is a front for a house of ill repute. The cop is so obtuse that he never notices the story's genuine...
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Overview

Judy Holliday re-creates her Broadway role of flibbertigibbet telephone operator Ella Peterson in Bells are Ringing. Ella works for Susanswerphone, a hole-in-the-wall answering service run by her cousin Sue Jean Stapleton. Our girl Ella can't help but become involved in the lives of her customers, which brings her to the attention of a dimwitted police detective, Barnes Dort Clark, who suspects that Susanswerphone is a front for a house of ill repute. The cop is so obtuse that he never notices the story's genuine criminal, a flamboyant German bookie Eddie Foy Jr. who poses as a record executive and uses the names of composers as code for the various racetracks around the country. To avoid Barnes' wiretapping, Ella goes around New York in person to minister to the needs of her clients--most notably playwright Jeffrey Moss Dean Martin, who is in danger of becoming an alcoholic if he can't come up with a good idea for a play. Assuming a false identity, Ella prattles on about some of her other clients, notably a dentist Bernie West who composes pop songs on his air hose. Moss is inspired by Ella, and eventually falls in love with her. Because she will not reveal who she really is to Jeffrey, Ella decides that her relationship is founded on lies, and walks out of his life. But Moss, together with the other Susanswerphone customers who have been "rescued" by Ella, show up at Ella's doorstep for a happy ending. Bells are Ringing is not an example of MGM's Arthur Freed unit at its best, but Judy Holliday is luminescent in this, her last screen role incidentally, Holliday's "blind date" in one scene is played by her then boyfriend, jazz musician Gerry Mulligan. The film's songs, by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Jule Styne, include the hit numbers "Just in Time" and "The Party's Over."
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler
Not one of MGM's classic musicals, the lightweight Bells Are Ringing is nonetheless highly enjoyable and professionally produced entertainment. The film is most noteworthy for capturing Judy Holliday's powerhouse stage performance and transferring it quite effectively to the screen. Holliday is a charm and a delight; more importantly, she makes you believe that the sometimes silly situations her character gets herself in are perfectly natural and plausible. An expert singer despite her unconventional voice, Holliday wrings every wistful moment out of the big ballad, "The Party's Over," and pulls out all the stops to make "I'm Going Back" a real showstopper. Dean Martin's laid-back approach to his role contrasts effectively with Holliday's bravura performance, and there's just enough chemistry between the two stars to pull off the love story. Director Vincente Minnelli keeps things moving at a sprightly pace and his work behind the camera is solid if unexceptional. Like Holliday, he treats the Betty Comden and Adolph Green screenplay with respect, knowing that a light comedy of this sort can be destroyed with just a few false moves. And Andre Previn's lush arrangements of Jule Styne's music helps enormously in adding an extra texture to the film. The genial Bells was one of the last "midsize" Hollywood musicals; within a few years, the genre would be too expensive to support modest musicals such as this.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/23/1995
  • UPC: 027616006332
  • Original Release: 1960

    • Rating:

  • Source: MGM (WARNER)
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Judy Holliday Ella Peterson
Dean Martin Jeffrey Moss
Fred Clark Larry Hastings
Eddie Foy Jr. J. Otto Prantz
Jean Stapleton Sue
Frank Gorshin Blake Barton
Ruth Storey Gwynne
Dort Clark Inspector Barnes
Ralph Roberts Francis
Bernie West Dr. Joe Kitchell
Steven Peck First gangster
Gerry Mulligan Ella's blind date
Paul Michael
Nancy Walters
Technical Credits
Vincente Minnelli Director
Preston Ames Art Director
Betty Comden Score Composer, Songwriter, Screenwriter
George W. Davis Art Director
Adrienne Fazan Editor
Arthur Freed Producer
Adolph Green Score Composer, Songwriter, Screenwriter
Milton Krasner Cinematographer
Charles O'Curran Choreography
Walter Plunkett Costumes/Costume Designer
André Previn Score Composer
Jule Styne Score Composer, Songwriter
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 4 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Like a musical version of I LOVE LUCY

    More than forty years after her death, the talent of Judy Holliday is still unstoppable....This film version of her Broadway hit is a wonderful introduction to her versatility....She is wonderfully comedic, able to modulate her voice to almost any pitch or style, she sings, she dances...you name it. The story is lightweight but funny and well done......like an "I LOVE LUCY" episode set to music. We Love Judy

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Wish I was Judy!!!

    LOVE THIS DVD! Great music and story! Wonderfully Romantic! Watch it over and over!!!!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 3, 2001

    Wishin' and Hoping for this on DVD!!!

    What a wonderful movie!! The songs are terrific, the story is delightful, and the team of Dean Martin and Judy Holliday is OUT OF THIS WORLD! I only wish they'd release it on DVD (not to mention releasing the soundtrack on CD!) Enjoy.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 28, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews