Bugsy Malone (1976)

Gross

Jodie won the Best Supporting Actress award at the BAFTAs for that movie and "Taxi Driver."

I always remember the weird little girl singing "Show Business."

Think I'd rather watch the end of DAY OF THE LOCUST .........

Really good score by Paul Williams but Jodie Foster was pissed she was dubbed when she could really sing.

Never worked for me, and I'm Jodie's age and saw it in the theater with all grade-school classmates. Seemed like a good idea, but I thought it was pointless and boring.

1976 was the peak of Jodie's childhood career, with I think 4 movies which all did well, and getting the Oscar nom of course. Aside from Bugsy, I also saw Freaky Friday and loved that. It's crazy how butch she was looking back at it now.

I was in Bugsy Malone. As an adult I can see what a weird movie it is, but it was fun as hell to be in. Jesus, that's almost 40 years ago!

It had gorgeous production values, as you can see in those clips.

I saw it as a 10-year-old and really loved it.

No idea how I'd look upon it today, but I certainly wouldn't stop my kids from seeing it. I don't think "creepy" is the right word for it -- disconcerting, maybe. After all, it WAS G-rated. Creepy would be if if were really violent or overtly sexual, but it isn't.

Unsurprisingly, he boy who payed Fat Sam grew up to be ugly, although he still has charisma. More sadly, the very charming and appealing little girl who played Blowsie grew up to be quite homely

Jodie on this "Where Are They Now?" documentary is classic Jodie: "I've been acting since I was three, I was so professional, no one else knew what they were doing, the director treated me like an adult, blah blah blah."

[quote]An aberration from England, set in New York in 1929 and made with a cast of children, average age 12. The children don't play children, though. Little boys with their hair slicked down impersonate the Hollywood-movie racketeers of the Prohibition era; in their fedoras and double-breasted suits, these hoods look like midgets, and the speakeasies, molls, automobiles are all slightly miniaturized. This picture is a kiddie-gangster musical, with slapstick gang wars; it operates on darlingness and the kitsch of innocence. The almost pornographic dislocation, which is the source of the film's possible appeal as a novelty, is never acknowledged, but the camera lingers on a gangster's pudgy, infantile fingers or a femme fatale's soft little belly pushing out of her tight satin dress, and it roves over the pubescent figures in the chorus line.

I first saw this film as an adult, and it creeped the hell out of me.

All those scenes of little girls acting like vamps, there had to be at least one pedo involved in the decision-making process.

I'm surprised Jodie didn't win the Oscar that year. She really had a banner year -- TAXI DRIVER, THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE, BUGSY MALONE, FREAKY FRIDAY.

At the end of the special, they get 4 of the 5 leads together (the 5th, Dandy Dan, committed suicide), and they've all grown up to be pretty nice people. Jodie actually is very sweet with the other three, and puts them at ease and doesn't play the diva.

Florrie Duggar (Blousy) looked good for most of her life and then added weight right before the special, apparently. I liked her a lot after seeing the whole special.

Always liked this novel, quirky film. Who couldn't enjoy machine guns that sprayed ice cream instead of bullets? Gotta' give props to Fat Sam, best thing in the movie. Would be interesting to"age" the cast, and remake the film with adult actors.

[quote]I was in Bugsy Malone. As an adult I can see what a weird movie it is, but it was fun as hell to be in. Jesus, that's almost 40 years ago!

You British? Except for the leads all others were.

I hated it then and I hate it now.

R16, no, my dad was in the USAF in England. Alan Parker scoured all the American military bases to find kids with American accents. Florrie Duggar was another Air Force brat. Or maybe Army, I can't remember anymore. Besides, she was originally just the stand-in for Blousey until the girl coming over from the U.S. backed out, then it was given to her.

I always found the movie more coy than creepy. But you know, it was a far more laissez-faire culture then. Now you have the thought police accusing everyone of being a Pedo.

But overall I thought it was a good movie, and I was always a fan of Alan Parker. Talk about a director who had a sad slide. The last few films he directed were abysmal, and then I supposed he basically retired. But he was always an interesting, dynamic director (I always felt he was what someone like Adrian Lyne wanted to be) ; he was good with musicials (even if he refused to call his musicals 'musicals,') and he got a lot of great performances out of actors.

I thought it was fun.

Loved that movie. Hope they do a Broadway production. My kids love it too

Didn't want to see it then, and don't want to see it now.

Creepy. Pedo fantasy, clearly.

Umm actually, OP, the best song is 'Ordinary Fool' which was covered by the Carpenters and some other pop acts

I saw this for the first time when I was about 12 years old and I loved it. No creepiness at all. And yes, the "guns" sprayed some kind of pancake batter or something. The cars were all elaborate pedal cars. Jodie Foster was strikingly self-assured. Scott Baio in 30's suits and hats. Fun. (OK they had adults dubbing their singing, but weird stuff like that happened in movies and TV throughout my childhood and adolescence. Remember all those adult actors playing high schoolers? That didn't stop until maybe the 90's.)

At the end it was all an innocent, silly farce. You give a little love and it all comes back to you. Yes.