Natalie Wood in GYPSY

[Marquise]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 5:09pm

Just finished re-watching the re-mastered Warners DVD from the Natalie Wood Collection Boxed Set.

I fell in love with her all over again as "Louise/Gypsy". She was just PERFECT in this role. If they got anything right in this adaptation it was casting her in the film. Glad it's still around for many generations to enjoy and see her in all her glory.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 6:27pm

She's still the best Gypsy, doing the transition so well from frumpy kid to stripping star. And she doesn't overdo either one. She's right on the money. I agree, a terrific performance from Natalie.

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 6:48pm

This is movie I stayed up late to watch when I was a kid. My parents were tolerant about my musical obsession. I like Wood and loved Betty Bruce, Faith Dane and Roxanne Arlen.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 7:13pm

" I like Wood"

That's what she said.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 3/10/10 at 10:20pm

Correct me if I'm wrong, but she did do her own singing in this film (or rather her own singing got to remain in the final copy)?

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 1:28am

She did do her own singing. I always thought she sounded pretty good in the film, particularly when she's playing a normal kid living in the shadow of June, even if I think "Little Lamb" was altered in a way I can't remember (maybe a lower note somewhere?).

Really, I will always enjoy this movie more than I should.

[neal1b]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 2:01am

The real stand out performances are Ann Jillian and Morgan Britney. Talk about true talents!

[WOSQ]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:06am

If you watch the strip sequences again, note that often the camera point of view is low and pointed up in the full body shots. The center of the shot is on Natalie's hips rather than her face.

The real Gypsy was tall and Natalie, at like 5'2", was anything but. By shooting up the DP made her appear slightly taller. Its an old trick, but this is a good example of same.

If you can find the soundtrack cd, they include all of Roz's vocal tracks that she laid down as well as what we hear in the film where Lisa Kirk does the comparatively high sections. Roz and Lisa are spliced back and forth.

Underrated at the time, I think people have come around with this version of Gypsy. Natalie is a big reason. It is a very natural performance. The big "problem" for me is that I never forget that it is Natalie Wood.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:17am

Natalie wasn't a bad singer. Just not a great singer, either. Fortunately, it was fine for the character of Louise/Gypsy.

Here she is with her own voice in West Side Story, singing "Tonight." They alternate with Marni Nixon's vocals, and you can hear two things:

1) Just how closely Marni matches Natalie's own voice.

2) Just how close Natalie came to being able to handle the singing herself.

Natalie is just a little wobbly, both in pitch and vibrato. Other than that ... she sounds like Marni.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n26hnzcT7SU

[D2]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:33am

As good as she is in the role, Ann Jillian was just too young to be an effective Dainty June. The point is that June is not 13 when she runs off with Tulsa (oddly, "Jerry" in the film) - it makes Rose's desperate attempt to stave off the inevitable that much more pathetic and heart-breaking when June is obviously in her late teens. Jillian was still a child at the time, and there is very little visual difference in stature between her and Morgan Brittany/Suzanne Cupito. And the difference in ages between her and Natalie Wood is jarring, particularly against the pairing of Brittany and Diane Pace, who look much closer in age. (The physical resemblance between Pace and Wood, though, is spot on and very believable.)

But I agree that Natalie Wood is outstanding in this film, and she is the main reason to see it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:49am

Ann Jillian was actually 12 when she played Dainty June. Not even 13 yet.

The real-life "Dainty" June Havoc was 15 when she eloped with Bobby Reed (aka "Tulsa").

[D2]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:56am

Actually Besty, she was closer to 18.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:10pm

That would make her 100 years old now. She says she's 97.

She did lie about her age as a child, shaving 3 years off), saying she was born in 1916 instead of 1913 (which she now claims is the truth).

She was married first in 1928,which would make her 15 at the time. She claimed she was 18 for the license, adding 3 years on, which would have made her born in 1910, making her 100 years old today. Both she and Bobby Reed lied about their ages for the marriage certificate.

I'm pretty sure she's 'fessed up to being born in 1913, and adding/subtracting years as a kid to suit the situation.

She's not the only one. Ann Miller lied about her age, adding 3 years on, in order to sign her own contract at RKO. She was 15 when she appeared in Stage Door, 16 in You Can't Take It With You. At the time, they all thought she was 18 and 19.

Oh, who the hell knows? Maybe she was really a MAN, baby.

Dainty Jude.


EDIT: And I loved that she was married to Robert Reed. LOL (Okay, not the same one!)

Updated On: 3/11/10 at 12:10 PM

[D2]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:15pm

She was born in November, 1912, so she is 97. I'd read that she married Bobby in 1930, which would have made her 17/18.

It really doesn't matter, does it? The original point is that Ann Jillian was too young in the film.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:17pm

It's a pretty perfect performance. It's hard to beat her "pretty girl" moment in the mirror.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:25pm

She's wonderful in the dressing room scene, too. It really may well be her very best performance.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:38pm

Lucky for June that Wikipedia wasn't around back then.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:40pm

She's the only thing worth watching in this movie.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:59pm

Besty...Thanks for that clip! She does sound pretty good, but I guess they made the right decision.
However, the close-up of her face touching the hands of "Tony" is beautiful and one of my favorites in all of film.

I do agree that the "Dainty June" looked too young. I saw the film about 3 years ago for the first time, and it was actually my first time to see "Gypsy" as I had not seen a stage version of it. I was, however, very familiar with the score.
Anyways, I didn't know that June ran off and got married, and I was actually kind of upset because she appeared so young on the screen.
She was great, but too young.

I also agree that the younger Louise looked like Natalie Wood!