"Gypsy" is a very difficult movie to have achieved from a writer's standpoint. As is true of "Dr. Zhivago" and "The Searchers", much of the film is told from the point of view of a younger person, who serves as the viewer's alter ego within scenes while the central character does little. This book, play and film was the result of Rose Louise Hovick's biography of herself and her mother before and at the beginning of her celebrity as "Gypsy Rose Lee", burlesque icon. The film is filled with famous songs and comedy scenes, alternating with moving confrontations that for once gain by having been real ones. Among the songs are "Some People", "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "All I Need is the Girl" and "You Gotta Have a Gimmick", "Small World" and more. The memorable comedic scenes involve the repetition of Dainty June and her boys coming onstage in various guises, with a two-person cow dancing behind her; the three strippers who try to teach Louise how to succeed; the children singing, "Momma Get Married"; and "Please Mr. Goldstone" in gratitude to the producer who inexplicably likes their corny act. The moving scenes are Herbie, Mama's boyfriend, trying to convince her to give up her hard-minded pursuit of show business fame, Louise realizing the girl a young boy dancer says he needs is not she; her realization just before she goes onstage at a burlesque theater at her mother's insistence that she has one talent--she is a pretty girl, etc. the songs by Jule Styne all work, but only some are classics. the direction of the film by Mervyn LeRoy is very good, economical, and only occasionally look staged the device of theatrically closing out a scene by artificially dimming the lights for me works in this fictionalized biography; we get as viewers the feeling we are seeing glimpses of an interesting life, partly because of this device. Costumes by Orry-Kelly, Howard Shoup and others, the cinematography of Harry Stradling, Sr., excellent period sets, art direction and more are major assets to this colorful but never-splashy musical success. not the last of director LeRoy's here is that we see theatrical scenes and scenes in a theater as well or better handled than in any other film I know. The actors including the three strippers, Faith Dane, Betty Bruce and Roxanne Arlen are wonderfully funny; Benny Lessy as Mr. Goldstone, Louis Quinn, Guy Raymond and Harry Shannon get all they can out of their small parts. the children who play Rose's girls are all good, particularly Ann Jillian as June. As Herbie, Karl Malden is energetic and first-rate at conveying his love and his desire for a normal life, for the children and himself. Natalie Wood is too thin-voiced to be great but she is a seasoned performer and underplays Louise intelligently. As Rose, Rosalind Russell occupies the active center of almost every scene. There is another way to play Rose other than as someone coldly obsessed with fame; I saw Giselle Mackenzie do the role onstage as a caring obsessive, one who would not be denied justice for her children as she was for herself. But Rosalind Russell is alternately brassy and wheedling, working everyone for exactly what she needs while pretending to be pushing for the sake of her daughters. She is intelligent, always interesting and frequently epic in her hunger for what has eluded her in her own performing career. And in "Rose's Turn" we see that her extraordinary charisma and courage were indeed something special. This is a show business biography of unusual believability and intelligence for all its laughter. And a memorable musical biography that works differently on film, but does work very effectively.

As much as I would have liked to see Ethel Merman do the screen version of her last great Broadway triumph of Gypsy, no one should have any complaints about what Rosalind Russell did with the part. In fact unlike so many of her contemporaries who did a lot of junk at this period, Ms. Russell was getting some of the best roles in her career in her later years.

Gypsy is based on the early life and career of Gypsy Rose Lee, arguably the most famous stripper of all time. But the woman was propelled in her career by the stage mother to end all in the person of Rosalind Russell. Russell lives vicariously through the lives of her daughters, one of whom who later became actress June Havoc finally got out from under by running away and marrying at the age of 13.

With one daughter left played by Natalie Wood, Russell concentrates all her efforts with her. Nothing fazes this woman, not the Depression which together with talking pictures killed vaudeville and the stage stardom she believes is her due. I'm still trying to figure out why it never occurred to her to take the act to Hollywood as so many did back in the day.

With a little help from Lisa Kirk in the vocal department, Russell delivers the Merman songs in her own style in a grand manor. Mama Rose is a difficult part because it's so easy to let a domineering role like that slip into caricature. Karl Malden is fine as well as her agent who would like to settle down, but can't because Russell will brook no interference in her life's mission.

Natalie Wood is fine as the young Gypsy Rose Lee and unlike in West Side Story, she sings her own stuff, most memorably she urges us to Let Me Entertain You. Songs like Small World and Everything's Coming Up Roses are given good production numbers.

Gypsy ran from 1959 to 1961 on Broadway for 703 performances which is a hit by anyone's standards. Only one member of the original Broadway cast Paul Wallace who plays Tulsa, one of the boys doing backup with the Hovick girls made it to the screen. He gets a specialty number, All I Need Is The Girl and sad to say that Mr. Wallace was probably born 30 years too late. He would have had a great career in screen musicals.

After Call Me Madam which Ethel Merman did do for the screen as well had mediocre box office, Jack Warner wouldn't even consider using her. He wasn't thinking of posterity, just box office. Still Rosalind Russell's performance is a good one for posterity as well.

Don't miss Gypsy the next time it's on. Mama is going to see to it that you don't.

I know that the film "Gypsy" is a beloved film to many and it was nominated for three Oscar. However, I was surprised, as I didn't particularly like the film. It's not because of the quality of the production....but the character Mama Rose. Mama Rose (Rosalind Russell) is the absolute worst sort of stage mother...selfish, manipulative, obnoxious and, worst of all, a woman who ultimately seemed to care very little for her children. Perhaps this aspect of the film impacted on me more than most folks, as I am a trained psychotherapist and saw the woman as malevolent and god- awful...perhaps because I've seen some moms like this. And, the character is supposed to be what Mama Rose actually was like!

Apart from having a difficult to like main character (her daughter, Gypsy Rose Lee, really is not the main character in this movie),there are quite a few songs. Some, such as "Everything is Coming Up Roses", are great...most are extremely forgettable and awful.

Overall, I was very surprised how little I liked the film. The production is high quality and all...but not particularly enjoyable...at least to me.