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5.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. A Musicale Melange remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
So, A Musicale Melange. This one’s a definite watch if you’re into the quirks of older variety shows, or maybe just feeling nostalgic for a time when entertainment felt a bit less… slick. It’s ideal for a quiet afternoon, perhaps with a cup of tea, when you’re not expecting anything too demanding. But honestly, if you need a strong plot or sleek production values, you’ll probably find this whole thing a bit baffling. It’s a film that asks for patience.
Right from the start, the whole vibe is just *off* in a way that becomes endearing. The opening number, all red velvet and a slightly wobbly spotlight, feels like it’s trying to be grand, but the stage itself is just a little too small. It reminded me a bit of the earnest attempts at spectacle in Everywoman, but without the underlying moralizing. Just pure, unadulterated performance.
Murray Roth is in this, and he’s… well, he’s Murray Roth. He pops up a few times, first with a surprisingly melancholic ballad about lost umbrellas ☔. His voice is smooth, of course, but the lyrics, oh my. They almost make you laugh, then you realize he’s really *feeling* it, and then you’re just kind of along for the ride. That one close-up, where he just stares past the camera for a solid five seconds after the last note fades? It’s a moment that just hangs there. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters, and it does, in its own peculiar way.
Then there’s this sequence, maybe about twenty minutes in, where a quartet performs a song about baking bread. It’s got these oddly specific hand gestures for kneading dough and shaping loaves. The costumes are these bright, almost cartoonish baker outfits. The whole thing goes on about 20 seconds too long, and the silence afterwards starts to feel awkward rather than emotional. It's like nobody quite knew when to cut, or perhaps they just really loved the idea of a bread-baking ballet.
The ‘melange’ part of the title really comes through here. It’s not just a variety show; it’s a *mix* of everything. We go from Roth’s heartfelt umbrella song to bread-baking, then to a surprisingly intense tap dance number that seems to have no connection whatsoever to anything else. The dancer, I didn’t catch their name, but their energy was palpable, almost too much for the small stage. The camera work during this piece felt a little shaky, like the operator was trying to keep up. It added a raw, almost documentary feel to it.
I kept making notes during the viewing, just little things:
The crowd scenes have this oddly empty feeling sometimes, like half the extras wandered off for a snack break. You see a lot of people just sort of staring blankly, not quite engaged. It makes you wonder about the actual live recording, if there even was one. It doesn’t feel faked, just… sparse.
And Murray Roth again! He returns near the end with a spoken word piece. It’s not poetry, exactly, more like a rambling reflection on time and forgotten socks. He’s wearing a different, equally questionable outfit this time – a tweed jacket with far too many patches. His delivery is so earnest, you can’t help but be a little charmed, even if you’re completely lost on the meaning. It’s a moment that sticks with you, not for its profundity, but for its sheer, unadulterated Murray-ness.
The movie gets noticeably better once you stop trying to find a cohesive thread. It’s like a box of old photos; some make sense, some are completely random, but they all carry a certain warmth. The technical aspects are, shall we say, charmingly imperfect. Sound levels fluctuate a bit, and sometimes the background music for a singer is a little too loud, almost drowning them out. But it just adds to the overall homemade feel.
There’s a segment where a young woman plays a harp, and honestly, the harp itself looks like it’s been through a few too many tours. The strings are a bit discolored. But the music itself is quite lovely, a real bright spot in the chaos. Then there’s a sudden cut to a magician who performs a trick with doves that clearly doesn't go as planned. A dove flaps off into the wings, and you hear a little thud. They just kept that in! 🤣
Overall, A Musicale Melange isn't going to redefine cinema, not by a long shot. But it has this genuine, almost vulnerable quality. It's a film made by people who clearly loved what they were doing, even if they weren't always entirely sure *how* to do it. It’s for the niche audience, the ones who appreciate the sincerity over the polish. It's not a must-see in the traditional sense, but if you happen across it, give it a chance. You might find its oddball heart. ❤️
IMDb 5.2
1927
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