Unsinkable Molly Brown

The Unsinkable Molly Brown is loosely based on the life of Margaret Brown, who was actually known as Maggie to her friends.

Since the movie rides roughshod over Maggie's true life experiences, I'll just stick to the premise of the movie.

It opens on a scene of a small baby babbling away happily in a cradle being washed downstream, giving Molly the title of "unsinkable" even in infancy (that did not happen in real life). 

Even when bullied by her brothers, with her face in the dirt, Molly screeches that she will never, ever give up, never. As the song below attests.

She strikes out on her own, and there are quite a few disturbing scenes of sexist behavior, which Molly casually sloughs off. Eh, it was the '60s (and it takes place at the turn of the century).

Eventually, she ends up in a magnificent house in Denver, shunned by her equally nouveau riche neighbors for her lack of delicacy. But her coarseness charms, oddly enough, the nobility of Europe.

Which leads to the number below.

Her husband, Johnnie, is played by Harve Presnell, but I seem to mix him up with Howard Keel. They both look and sound alike— fabulous booming, manly voices. 

Since the plot is in no way accurate, don't use it as an historical reference. Debbie Reynolds exudes insane amounts of energy as she flails across the screen, probably to prove her worth as she was the third choice for the film. 

I adore Debbie Reynolds, until today, and not only because she's Princess Leia's mother. 

There's Carrie!

It is not the best musical, in terms of plot or character development or feminism, but it is vibrant, with breath-taking views of Colorado, and enough feverish dancing to keep me watching.