That's more than an "American Cinema"-style write-up. Sarris's entry for Stanley Donen in "The American Cinema" is cribbed from this review, mostly verbatim.
Sarris has never had a great feel for horror, or for comedy, or for musicals. There's a lot to say about Donen, and Sarris says some of it, but he gets lost in the hyphenated history. Gene Kelly was not a good director without Stanley Donen, and George Abbott's solo work (almost all of which came before 1931) isn't terribly distinguished either. Donen's name is on two films that are often cited on lists of the greatest films ever made (SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and FUNNY FACE), and a half-dozen of his other films are major achievements as well. Sarris is dismissive of CHARADE but people have always loved the film, and sixty years later it's still popular as a Criterion selection.
Sarris probably has Donen ranked in about the right spot, but he never did quite figure him out. Donen didn't seem to know quite who he was either, and his career fizzled not long after this film, with one desultory project after another, though he lived for another half century.
That's more than an "American Cinema"-style write-up. Sarris's entry for Stanley Donen in "The American Cinema" is cribbed from this review, mostly verbatim.
Sarris has never had a great feel for horror, or for comedy, or for musicals. There's a lot to say about Donen, and Sarris says some of it, but he gets lost in the hyphenated history. Gene Kelly was not a good director without Stanley Donen, and George Abbott's solo work (almost all of which came before 1931) isn't terribly distinguished either. Donen's name is on two films that are often cited on lists of the greatest films ever made (SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and FUNNY FACE), and a half-dozen of his other films are major achievements as well. Sarris is dismissive of CHARADE but people have always loved the film, and sixty years later it's still popular as a Criterion selection.
Sarris probably has Donen ranked in about the right spot, but he never did quite figure him out. Donen didn't seem to know quite who he was either, and his career fizzled not long after this film, with one desultory project after another, though he lived for another half century.