Brigadoon

Filmmaker Vincente Minnelli's 1954 big screen adaptation of the titular hit Lerner and Loewe musical stars Gene Kelly and Van Johnson as a couple of American hunters who get lost in the Scottish highlands and come upon an enchanted village stuck in the 18th century. A charming Kelly plays Tommy, a man at a crossroads in life and unsure about his direction. He finds both grounding and love with Fiona (a weak Cyd Charisse) in Brigadoon. Johnson is terribly miscast as the cynical Jeff, unable to make the snarly, wisecracking interloper crackle with any substantial humor. And Charisse and Johnson are just the tip of the iceberg of Brigadoon's problems: Minnelli, ordinarily a captivating, fluid master of visuals, is curiously wooden here, filling the wide CinemaScope screen with static spectacle but no energy. And the village boasts no special onscreen magic, the dances (choreographed by Kelly) are wanting, and some of the best songs from the Broadway show are not on the soundtrack. Overall, Brigadoon is rudderless, a rare instance where Minnelli clearly had no heart for a project. Extras include outtake musical numbers and an audio outtake. A disappointing Golden Age of Hollywood film, this should still be considered a strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh)