Rogers and Hammerstein considered this their best musical, showing that artists often have no appreciation of their own work. Some of the messages are appallingly dated -- most importantly, the baldly stated message that if a man hits you it's because he really loves you. Julie Johnson is a weak character -- R&H's least interesting female lead -- and would most likely nowadays end up on Ricky Lake in a "Women with low self-esteem who love badly" episode.
Billy Bigelow is a good character, but portrayed as such a jerk that it's hard to be sympathetic. He screws up everything in his life and doesn't even have to courage to make it right in the end (other than singing a song at the end). Further, the song "Soliloquy" is by far R&H's worst -- banal and cliched and preachy and straining for rhymes. Even worse, its placement in the plot makes it clear that its message that a sign of a good father is a willingness to steal.
The score is no where near R&H's best. The Carousel Waltz is fine, as is "If I Love You." "June is Busting Out All Over" is a strange mix of the good (the first line) and the forgettable (quick -- sing the rest of the song). "You'll Never Walk Alone" is popular, certainly, but that sort of smarmy preachiness enveloped in a strained metaphor is extremely annoying. Its use in the film really doesn't make much sense. The rest of the songs are undistingushed.
R&H had done some classic musicals, but this ain't one of them.
Billy Bigelow is a good character, but portrayed as such a jerk that it's hard to be sympathetic. He screws up everything in his life and doesn't even have to courage to make it right in the end (other than singing a song at the end). Further, the song "Soliloquy" is by far R&H's worst -- banal and cliched and preachy and straining for rhymes. Even worse, its placement in the plot makes it clear that its message that a sign of a good father is a willingness to steal.
The score is no where near R&H's best. The Carousel Waltz is fine, as is "If I Love You." "June is Busting Out All Over" is a strange mix of the good (the first line) and the forgettable (quick -- sing the rest of the song). "You'll Never Walk Alone" is popular, certainly, but that sort of smarmy preachiness enveloped in a strained metaphor is extremely annoying. Its use in the film really doesn't make much sense. The rest of the songs are undistingushed.
R&H had done some classic musicals, but this ain't one of them.