Today, it seems audiences know "Bye Bye Birdie" only from the prominent mention of it on "Mad Men," when the Sterling Cooper agency tried to copy Ann-Margret's minimalist opening number for a diet soda commercial. But when the movie musical premiered 50 years ago (on April 4, 1963), it was a huge smash. It made an instant star out of the Swedish-born actress, as well as boosting the fame of co-stars Dick Van Dyke and Paul Lynde. Based on the Broadway hit musical, "Bye Bye Birdie" was seen as a trenchant pop cultural satire at the time. Everyone knows that Conrad Birdie, the hip-swiveling rocker who is drafted into the Army, and who stages a publicity stunt on the Ed Sullivan show by agreeing to kiss a teen fan before reporting for duty, is inspired by Elvis Presley, who had to put his career on hold in 1958 when he was drafted. But...
- 4/4/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
By Todd Garbarini
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Bye Bye Birdie (1963) is an exuberant, squeaky clean musical comedy from Columbia Pictures that is based upon the 1960 Broadway musical of the same name. It is also extremely dated by today’s standards and flat-out corny at times. Overall, however, it is a fun ride that sports a good number of memorable musical interludes, the title song easily giving the viewer a severe case of earworm. Director George Sidney was no stranger to musicals as he was also responsible for Ziegfeld Follies (1945), The Harvey Girls (1946), Holiday in Mexico (1946), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Showboat (1951) and Scaramouche (1952). Here, he brings to the screen the story of Kim MacAfee (twenty-two year-old Ann-Margret in her breakout performance) as a high school girl who becomes the envy of her peers when she is given the opportunity to kiss teen rock idol Conrad Birdie on the...
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Bye Bye Birdie (1963) is an exuberant, squeaky clean musical comedy from Columbia Pictures that is based upon the 1960 Broadway musical of the same name. It is also extremely dated by today’s standards and flat-out corny at times. Overall, however, it is a fun ride that sports a good number of memorable musical interludes, the title song easily giving the viewer a severe case of earworm. Director George Sidney was no stranger to musicals as he was also responsible for Ziegfeld Follies (1945), The Harvey Girls (1946), Holiday in Mexico (1946), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Showboat (1951) and Scaramouche (1952). Here, he brings to the screen the story of Kim MacAfee (twenty-two year-old Ann-Margret in her breakout performance) as a high school girl who becomes the envy of her peers when she is given the opportunity to kiss teen rock idol Conrad Birdie on the...
- 10/17/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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