MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Judy Holliday re-creates her Broadway role of flibbertigibbet telephone operator Ella Peterson in Bells are Ringing. Ella works for Susanswerphone, a hole-in-the-wall answering service run by her cousin Sue (Jean Stapleton). Our girl Ella can't help but become involved in the lives of her customers, which brings her to the attention of a dimwitted police detective, Barnes (Dort Clark), who suspects that Susanswerphone is a front for a house of ill repute. The cop is so obtuse that he never notices the story's genuine criminal, a flamboyant German bookie (Eddie Foy Jr.) who poses as a record executive and uses the names of composers as code for the various racetracks around the country. To avoid Barnes' wiretapping, Ella goes around New York in person to minister to the needs of her clients--most notably playwright Jeffrey Moss (Dean Martin), who is in danger of becoming an alcoholic if he can't come up with a good idea for a play. Assuming a false identity, Ella prattles on about some of her other clients, notably a dentist (Bernie West) who composes pop songs on his air hose. Moss is inspired by Ella, and eventually falls in love with her. Because she will not reveal who she really is to Jeffrey, Ella decides that her relationship is founded on lies, and walks out of his life. But Moss, together with the other Susanswerphone customers who have been "rescued" by Ella, show up at Ella's doorstep for a happy ending. Bells are Ringing is not an example of MGM's Arthur Freed unit at its best, but Judy Holliday is luminescent in this, her last screen role (incidentally, Holliday's "blind date" in one scene is played by her then boyfriend, jazz musician Gerry Mulligan). The film's songs, by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Jule Styne, include the hit numbers "Just in Time" and "The Party's Over". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English, French, Spanish
• Features:
  • • cc Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
    • New featurette Bells Are Ringing: Just in Time
    • Outtake musical numbers Is It a Crime? and My Guiding Star
    • Alternate take of the song The Midas Touch
    • Theatrical trailer
    • Languages: English & Français
    • Subtitles: English, Français & Español

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Musical Score - 1960 (Andre Previn)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1960 (Vincente Minnelli)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com - 1960 (Judy Holliday)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical - 1960

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Vincente Minnelli

• Producer:

  Arthur Freed

• Screenwriter:

  Betty Comden, Adolph Green

• Cinematographer:

  Milton Krasner

• Composer (Music Score):

  Betty Comden

• Songwriter:

  Betty Comden

• Composer (Music Score):

  Adolph Green

• Songwriter:

  Adolph Green

• Composer (Music Score):

  Andre Previn, Jule Styne

• Songwriter:

  Jule Styne

• From Musical by:

  Jule Styne

• Editor:

  Adrienne Fazan

• Art Director:

  George W. Davis, Preston Ames

• Costume Designer:

  Walter Plunkett

• Choreography:

  Charles O'Curran

REVIEW:

• Not one of MGM's classic musicals, the lightweight Bells Are Ringing is nonetheless highly enjoyable and professionally produced entertainment. The film is most noteworthy for capturing Judy Holliday's powerhouse stage performance and transferring it quite effectively to the screen. Holliday is a charm and a delight; more importantly, she makes you believe that the sometimes silly situations her character gets herself in are perfectly natural and plausible. An expert singer despite her unconventional voice, Holliday wrings every wistful moment out of the big ballad, "The Party's Over," and pulls out all the stops to make "I'm Going Back" a real showstopper. Dean Martin's laid-back approach to his role contrasts effectively with Holliday's bravura performance, and there's just enough chemistry between the two stars to pull off the love story. Director Vincente Minnelli keeps things moving at a sprightly pace and his work behind the camera is solid if unexceptional. Like Holliday, he treats the Betty Comden and Adolph Green screenplay with respect, knowing that a light comedy of this sort can be destroyed with just a few false moves. And Andre Previn's lush arrangements of Jule Styne's music helps enormously in adding an extra texture to the film. The genial Bells was one of the last "midsize" Hollywood musicals; within a few years, the genre would be too expensive to support modest musicals such as this. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi