I suppose that seeing the infamous 1966 version of Doctor Dolittle finally solves a mystery as to why musicals went out of fashion. First of all the music by LESLIE BRICUSSE is banal as it can be. It's really terrible and to add insult to injury it won the Oscar for Best Song that year: " Talk to the Animals " a total farce, arguably the worst song ever in Academy History to take home the big prize. Sounds like something fishy! Any of the other nominees could/should have won:
The Bare Necessities - The Jungle Book
The Eyes of Love - Banning
The Look of Love - Casino Royale
Thoroughly Modern Millie - Thoroughly Modern Millie
The song is so bad, the score for this so-called family musical, the inane plot... everything is putrid. A Doctor who talks to animals! How Stupid! Why would Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley and Richard Attenborough, Rex and Richard later SIRS, take on this truly nasty piece of work. It had to be for GREED! The name is DO LITTLE because the movie, in all truth, does NOTHING. It pretty well ruined the career of the lovely Samantha Eggar who was doing just fine and had received an Oscar Nomination for THE COLLECTOR with Terrance Stamp.. Along with 20th Century's Musical STAR with Julie Andrews it just about bankrupted 20th Century Fox. After Columbia's take on William Wyler's second last film and his FIRST musical FUNNY GIRL in 1968, the musical went the way of the dinosaur. Odd musicals sprang up like Godspell to RENT... all were failures. It was to take 40 years for another musical to win Best Picture. Namely CHICAGO which electrified things for awhile, but the musical went sour again with "NINE" and "INTO THE WOODS" of 2014 is probably more hated than loved by the general public. But it is the Critics' Darling.
And to think that Eddie Murphy did a re-make of the Dolittle disaster! So there are now two doctors out of business!
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