Grand Concert

If the Russians produced a Folies Bergere, it might look like Grand Concert. Although the actors are fully clothed and there is hardly any comedy, the spectacle includes grand opera, ballet, folk dancing, and scenes of joyous living on the kolkhoz farm. From several shots of the countryside, laden with produce, the camera takes you inside the Bolshoi Theatre; in Russian, bolshoi means great, but in this instance it might be translated huge. At least a hundred men roam about the stage in Prince Igor and a flock of birds scurries across the dawn at the appropriate moment.

Besides massive production and opulent costuming, the Bolshoi Theatre offers several fine singers, none of whose names are well-known. In Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet ballets, the corps, though great in number, dances with grace and precision. The six or seven minutes of Ulanova are outstandingly beautiful. But on the whole, the cameraman had difficultly in cropping action and maintaining dramatic pitch through the transitions. Especially disturbing are the frequent switches to the audience, who talk with mock enthusiasm about their kolkhoz anniversary. In spite of obvious propaganda, however, creative portrayals of the romantic, tsarist era are not re-tuned for soviet cars.

It is hard on criticize a variety show which sacrifices quantity for grandeur. Some of the selections are excellent entertainment, but others feature mediocre talent in a spectacular manner. As a rare glimpse at Russian art, nevertheless, Grand Concert is interesting throughout.

The two UPA cartoons accompanying the feature are ingenious blends of humor and imagination. Done in the style of Gerald McBoing-Boing, Rooty Toot Toot recreates the story of Frankie and Johnny as a courtroom parody and the Grizzly golfer relates the exploits of near-sighted Mr. McGoo, who mistakes at bear for his caddy. It is heartening to see a cartoon which relies more on witty dialogue and imaginative drawing than on the blatant sadism exhibited in the usual Disney production.