IMDb RATING
6.4/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 nominations total
Dorothy Abbott
- Showgirl
- (uncredited)
Dorothy Adams
- Nurse
- (uncredited)
Robert Adler
- Night Watchman
- (uncredited)
Aladdin
- Orchestra Violinist
- (uncredited)
Fred Aldrich
- Private Detective
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDonald O'Connor had separated from his wife of ten years. She and Dan Dailey, who played O'Connor's father, were dating during the shooting of the film. After filming wrapped, the O'Connors divorced and shortly thereafter Gwen Carter and Dan Dailey married.
- GoofsIn the "Heatwave" number, Marilyn Monroe accidentally pokes her finger in the eye of a dancer standing between the branches of a prop tree. Its pretty obvious and more so on the DVD in slow motion. The dancer jerks his head and looks down, but otherwise stays in character and continues with the number. Then Marilyn performs a twirl, sticks her head between the branches of the tree and gives him a kiss. The kiss may have been part of the choreography because she kisses another dancer before this. But it's possible it was an impromptu apology on Marilyn's part to make up for the eye poke.
- Quotes
Molly Donahue: "Don't worry." Hmm. That's a laugh. You start worrying about your kids the day they're born and you never stop. Even after they bury you, I bet you never stop.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Marilyn (1963)
- SoundtracksWhen the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam'
(uncredited)
Written by Irving Berlin
Performed by Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey
Later performed by Mitzi Gaynor and Donald O'Connor
Featured review
Good, Could've Been Great
Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think of this film, my biggest complaint with it is Marilyn Monroe. The studio shoehorned her into this film in their attempt to make the biggest musical extravaganza ever, and she just doesn't fit. She's so out of sync with the other characters that she might as well be from a different planet.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a huge Marilyn fan, but she was good (and well-cast) in "Some Like It Hot". She's just all wrong for "No Business Like Show Business", and she looks and sounds ridiculous.
To be fair, Johnnie Ray often doesn't hold up well before modern audiences, either, when he sings. It's not that he's bad; it's that his style has come and gone and hardly been seen since. Everything in this movie tends to be at least a little overdone, and asking Johnnie Ray to exaggerate his singing does not produce flattering results.
Still, Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor are as brilliant and exuberant as you could hope. Ethel Merman is, well, Ethel Merman, and exactly right for her part. Dan Dailey is like a reliable locomotive that never disappoints.
The story is a bit plodding at times, but it only exists to set up one gala musical number after another. It only really bogs down when it gets caught up with Marilyn's character. If the studio had just left Marilyn out of it, perhaps giving Mitzi Gaynor the love interest role, and toned down the general effort level just a hair, this would've been one of the all-time greats.
It's still absolutely worth seeing -- in widescreen format, if you possibly can.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a huge Marilyn fan, but she was good (and well-cast) in "Some Like It Hot". She's just all wrong for "No Business Like Show Business", and she looks and sounds ridiculous.
To be fair, Johnnie Ray often doesn't hold up well before modern audiences, either, when he sings. It's not that he's bad; it's that his style has come and gone and hardly been seen since. Everything in this movie tends to be at least a little overdone, and asking Johnnie Ray to exaggerate his singing does not produce flattering results.
Still, Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor are as brilliant and exuberant as you could hope. Ethel Merman is, well, Ethel Merman, and exactly right for her part. Dan Dailey is like a reliable locomotive that never disappoints.
The story is a bit plodding at times, but it only exists to set up one gala musical number after another. It only really bogs down when it gets caught up with Marilyn's character. If the studio had just left Marilyn out of it, perhaps giving Mitzi Gaynor the love interest role, and toned down the general effort level just a hair, this would've been one of the all-time greats.
It's still absolutely worth seeing -- in widescreen format, if you possibly can.
helpful•214
- kensmark
- Apr 1, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Irving Berlin's There's No Business Like Show Business
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,103,000
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) officially released in India in English?
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