Funny Girl starring Anne Francis

Anne Francis asked that her name be taken off the credits of Funny Girl because so many of her scenes were cut. She was NOT happy.

Babs gets the flowers and Anne doesn't.

But was any of it really Barbra's fault?

I think Streisand should have had some work on her nose. Yeah, leave it prominent, whatever - that was her thing. But take out a couple of the bumps. Whenever I see her in full profile I'm always a bit startled - her nose was really ugly and not something most actresses would want on their face.

Kay Medford got both a Tony nomination and Oscar nomination for Funny Girl

Guess she got along with Babs better than Anne

"Funny Girl starring Anne Francis"

Cunt!!!

Hugely talented Barbara. I've loved her through most of her career. Now I should be settling into the fond memories part or our "relationship." The lights dim but we still have wonderful memories ... But instead I'm finding I'm strangely ambivalent. Somewhere along the way I stopped liking or respecting her. Here talent has waned but her diva behavior seems to have no limits. She seems to lack a certain gracious quality and she seems to be devoid of humanitarianism. Was she ever really a strong gay right activist when it mattered so much? Some, yeah, but not in the way of say Elizabeth Taylor. In retrospect maybe not enough. Am I being too picky? I don't enjoy listening to her old music anymore. It hasn't aged well for me.

[quote] I think Streisand should have had some work on her nose. Yeah, leave it prominent, whatever - that was her thing. But take out a couple of the bumps. Whenever I see her in full profile I'm always a bit startled - her nose was really ugly and not something most actresses would want on their face.

You're right--it really held back her career!

Well - I know you're being fallacious, but I actually do think she would have have a wider range of offers to pick from.

factious

"Hello Dolly" starring Marianne McAndrew.

Marianne McAndrew was very cute in Dolly ..

She could a been a contender...

So glad my parents took us to see these great musicals when we were little.

R14 is 100% SOLID proof that viewing Barbra Streisand musicals at an early age creates gayness!!!!!

I beg to differ. I'm r14 and I'm proudly bisexual with a splash of queer. I am not the gay.

Is it true they sell reproductions of Anne Francis' death certificate in the gift shop of Barbra's basement mall.

Yes, mall security arrested Lainie Kazan for stealing one.

Yeah - never knew Barbra was a thing until I moved to nyc. Knew she was in Yentl and prince of tides - but not a big deal. Then ALL the ny gays thought she was a goddess. She always struck me as cunty and nasty. Good voice - but give me Dusty or Dolly or Ella or Eva Cassidy. Not complete cunts and great talent. Barbra is basically an egocentric nasty person with a hoarding problem who doesn’t give a shit about anyone but herself.

"I'm proudly bisexual with a splash of queer. I am not the gay."

Sure, Jan.

I'm not your age R7. I wasn't even born until about the time of The Broadway Album. But as a musician and singer, I am familiar with Barbra. I admire your ability to appreciated her talent and evaluate your changed feelings her. That's a sign of an active, agile mind. Your ability to clearly observe both her talent and who you were when you liked her better. And why you no longer do.

She's too obnoxious and self centered and greedy and egotistical to love. And her singing style is unique, but very dated. Her voice was a wonderful instrument but she wasn't able to convey much more than sounds and attitude with it. She was a virtuoso without much taste or sense and not enough humility to learn from others. The feelings are false in her music. She can articulate a lyric with ridiculous diction but she can't feel the meaning of words. That's true of some other hack singers, but it shows most deeply with the vocally emotive Streisand. There's a reason she makes no lists of great singers. She had a beautiful voice. But that's not even what she valued in herself. She wanted to be a beautiful movie star. Meh.

So one of the greatest talents and biggest superstars of all time ends up pretty much forgotten. Not enough of her work is good and nobody can stand the woman.

r19 totally agreed !

Barbra DID mull over having her rather protruding nose worked on by way of plastic surgery but ultimately decided against it because she thought it might affect the quality of her voice.

And she's okay just as she is.

No nose job for Babs.

Can any experts out there enlighten me as to what more Anne Francis' character could have possibly done in Funny Girl? What was she doing in all those scenes that were deleted?

Hardcore porn ... really great stuff !!

IIRC Allyn Ann McLerie (RIP) played Anne Francis' role in Funny Girl in its pre-Broadway tryout and she left the show because all of her scenes were getting cut.

Didn't Anne ever talk to Allyn Ann?

"The Golden Girls," starring Anne Francis

"What's Up, Doc?", starring Mabel Albertson.

r21 amen!

"Camelot" starring Barbra.

R25, there was a web site that showed all the scenes that were cut. Sorry I don't have the link. She actually did have a bigger role and a story arc of her drinking problem. Most of her scenes were in the last part of the movie, after Nick and Fanny were married. Anne's character shows up drunk at their house; Fanny confides in her about Nick, etc.

R10 - facetious

R21 - “ends up pretty much forgotten.” I am still laughing! Too funny. You get out much?

Streisand IS pretty much forgotten. She has less followers than Nancy Sinatra. Do you know anyone under 50?

Thanks r33 !!

r21 - Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Streisand's voice really WAS a wonderful instrument. But now it's hard to separate the voice from the person behind it.

You're welcome R37. Here is a better memory. I like Streisand when she didn't push so hard for theatrics or ornament with too many vocal modulations. Save that for the showstopper. Let a good song breathe and explore it with your voice, don't dismantle great songs just to display your arrogance.

There are some lovely vocal moments in progress here. A gorgeous song, beautifully sung. I am sure you've seen it before because there isn't much "real" footage of Streisand. You can't make much of a documentary about such an unpleasant, selfish and unreachable personality. Still, there are moments when a singer both concentrates and gets lost in the song. She almost did that, didn't she? A few times. I saw the early specials too. Starting here and now. She was a stunning vocalist.

R35, you get out much?

The Streisand hater here is hilarious LOL. What a sad troll.

Not as sad as that Charlie dude or the other 75 year old men who worship at her antiquated memory. BS is not good. People find her obnoxious and a bit of a ridiculous talent. Very overestimated now and overrated in times passed. She's not remembered enough to be mentioned much at all anymore. She doesn't impress new fans, because no one acts or sings like that. Bitch is so affected and imperious. She was seldom any good and many others were always better. Barbara Streusel never did anything for anyone but herself.

Snidely R35 I'm not the guy you're addressing but the people I know who are under 50 don't have a fucking clue.

They remind me of the story where Barbra's niece was watching clips of Funny Girl and asked why her Auntie Barbra was singing songs from Glee.

There's such a thing as staying current, and then there's just having your head in your ass when it comes to knowing what happened in the world before you dropped out of your mama's cooch and woke up for the first time.

I hate that you're making me defend the woman's reputation. I'm not even that big a fan but R35 is such a dicksmack that I have to pipe up.

Buppie at the Bat Mitzvah. She's embarrassingly bad.

I know this is going to make me sound gayer than I am already, but I was already in love with the song "People" and when I heard the soundtrack version I fell in love with the song all over again.

To R29 -

Shouldn't it be, "What's Up Doc?" starring Madeline Kahn?

Go Nana Go. This is so musical and rhythmic with trademark perfect pitch? Yikes ma. Shoot the raspy pitchy old fun bag. Streisand's so gross in her personal display. Donna Summer sings better from the literal grave.

I think Anne Francine would have been a better choice as Georgia. She would have Oscared for sure. Anne Francine, like a Lisa Rinna, was a national treasure. She should be in the Smithsonian.

Lisa Rinna would be great in Gypsy. With Catherine Zeta Jones as Mama Rose.

My uncle dated Anne Francis in high school.

Was he Walter Pigeon?

[quote] They remind me of the story where Barbra's niece

Barbra has a niece?

R46 Should be embarrassed, like Sinatra toward the end of his performing career.

"devoid of humanitarianism. Was she ever really a strong gay right activist when it mattered so much? Some, yeah, but not in the way of say Elizabeth Taylor."

She has given at least as much $ to all cause related to gay rights as Taylor- she spoke in the early 90s in LA against the first Bush policy toward AIDS and called for a Hollywood boycott of anti gay legislation in CO that led to appeals. She repeatedly advocated for gay marriage starting in the early 90s. Her foundations continues to donate millions. Her procedes from "Somewhere" went to AmFar-

There are a couple people on this thread who really hate her. WHAT is that about? She is hardly forgotten- last tour sold out and last CD went to #1.

My guess is the hypersuccessful and perhaps powerful (she really kind of untouchable) really gets to people unhappy with themselves and their lives. I also suspect misogyny and anti semetism

[quote] She has less followers

Oh, dear.

r53 - I'm the one who wrote the comment you reference r7 and I'm glad Barbra did more for gay equality - I Googled and not much came up - I should have dug deeper. But I stand by the other things I said. I've always really liked Barbra, but the last several years she's become disappointing to me as a person - so ego driven and so shallow and such an untouchable diva. I guess I expected her to mature and grow and show appreciation for her amazing success. Lot's of performers do this - they understand they've had hugely lucky lives and they have some humility. As I mentioned the person Barbra is now spoils my memories for the performer she was. I don't enjoy listening to her anymore and I take no pleasure in following her career. No - I'm not a hater. I was a big fan and I'm sorry I had to let this go.

r54 - silly queen

Poor Anne. That and Gilbert's Honey West doll. The ugliest glamorous TV character doll.....

R55, you’re really pathetic.

You act as if you spent hours and days with Barbra, leading to this profound disappointment you now have in her. The fact is, you know nothing except what you’ve read. You don’t know her at all.

Lay off the wounded fan routine. You’re really tiresome.

Barbara personally had three people fired from Funny Girl - pianist Peter Matz, understudy Lainie Kazan and her co-star Sidney Chaplain.

All fired on her insistence.

[quote]Hugely talented Barbara. I've loved her through most of her career.

But not enough to spell her name correctly.

Nobody remembers how to spell her name. It's fun to do in incorrectly given her ridiculous affectations over the years. Blech. Just call her BS, or the most disliked woman in show business.

Sidney CHAPLIN, you idiot!

Lake Champlain.

Take it or leave it, Babs is a force of nature!

R64 The Mighty Babs.

r58 - I guess everyone relates to entertainers in their own way. I followed Streisand's career for many year - watched her movies, listened to her music, listened to her interviews, read reviews, discussed with my friends. Yeah, I'm comfortable. Interesting you think I'm pathetic but really I think this says more about you than it does me.

So how did Kay Medford survive not being on Babs bad side?

Bitch couldn’t even win her Oscar alone without tying with me.

I, for one, still enjoy her. She's assertive, and that's not a popular quality with women. In various interviews, it's clear that she likes to debate, to have some give and take. I think I would have a great time talking with her. Would she bother to even give me the time of day? I'll never know.

R68 A tie is not a true victory, but, rather, a shared loss. And you really did run the gamut of emotion from A to B.

R59, Streisand did not have those men fired from Funny Girl.

R66, do you discussed Barbra with your friends, and that’s why you know so much about her? LOL

Earlier in this "discussion" you called me a hater. It's actually you who is the hater. You apparently can't deal with people disagreeing with you. Well, this is DL and a good place to rant and rave anonymously. Have a nice time barking at the moon !!

Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet....

Barbra stars in Forbidden Broadway.

[quote] My guess is the hypersuccessful and perhaps powerful (she really kind of untouchable) really gets to people unhappy with themselves and their lives. I also suspect misogyny and anti semetism

They're just jealous!

[quote]Anne Francis signed to appear with Barbra Streisand in the film version of “Funny Girl.” Her character, boozing Ziegfeld Girl Georgia James, was famously pared down from the second female lead to barely a cameo. For decades the scuttlebutt was that Streisand herself had ordered the cuts because Francis was so good in her scenes and Babs was worried that she’d steal the picture. The Anne Francis accusation was always used when anyone wanted to diss Barbra and her control-freak ways. Finally, a few years ago, Francis posted an open letter to Barbra Streisand on her website:

Dear Barbra,

It has gnawed at me for years that you have believed that I blamed you for cutting most of my scenes from “Funny Girl.” I felt the sadness of the misunderstanding all over again when I read a supposed quote of yours last year saying that you had heard me blame you on a TV talk show. The only talk show I did on the subject was on Johnny Carson, and Joey Bishop was subbing that night. I tried to make it plain that I did not blame you, and had no idea why I was cut from the film. To this day, I don’t know the circumstances that caused the decision, but I am lead to believe it probably had to do with the length of the film. The sub plot of Georgia’s histrionics with Florenz Ziegfeld was really not necessary to the story about Fanny Brice.

In all fairness, I understand that the press believed that I felt that way because my public relations person, who was also a very dear friend, did believe it, and she made the statements that were attributed to me. I was caught in the middle, and rather than point a finger at her, I did the best I could to refute the story whenever confronted by an interviewer. The whole thing was messy and painful. I had never been embroiled in that sort of ruckus before. I know you were going through a lot of flack as well during those stormy days when first you hit Hollywood (or It hit you!). I had hoped then that it would all blow over quickly, but when I saw the quote you allegedly made recently, I felt awful once more.

At the age of thirty-five (over the hill in those days!), the role of Georgia was a great gem for me, and I had high hopes (I had just come off of “Honey West”) that it would do a lot for my “career.” The flashy role, along with the drunk scene (which hit the editor’s floor) pretty much cinched the prospect of a supporting nomination with the Academy that year. So, you can understand the humiliation when each day a note would be slipped under my dressing room door, “omit scene so and so.” The scene named would always be the one I had been called in to do that day. I am not whining, dear lady. We’ve all taken our lumps in this “Business.” I’m just sharing with you what was going on at that time with me. You had your own problems. I marveled at how you handled yourself on your first encounter with the alien world of the film industry.

I have had the greatest respect for your talent and for what you have made of yourself, Barbra. You are a brilliant woman and I have always wished you the very best. One more time, it is important for me before I leave this planet to say, I have never accused you of having the role of Georgia cut to the quick.

God Bless,

Anne

[quote] At the age of thirty-five...

Miss Francis was born in 1930. Funny Girl was filmed in 1968.

Anne was nothing if not highly articulate.

I can only think that the Funny Girl film producers somehow felt they needed the presence of (quasi-name) Anne Francis as Fanny's friend Ziegfeld Girl Georgia as security against what appeared to be at the time, the very risky film debut of Barbra Streisand.

It may surprise younger people today but in 1967, no leading female star in Hollywood had ever looked or behaved remotely like Barbra Streisand. I guess Georgia's stormy story was seen as a poignant counterpoint to Fanny's rise to stardom and romance with Nick Arnstein.

The studio producers clearly realized once filming began that they were wrong.

They should've cut that boring "swan" ballet scene instead.

I agree with R81. That scene was painfully unfunny.

And I know I am in the minority here, but I have always hated the song People.

Funny Girl was filmed in '67. It opened in September '68.

Hello Dolly was filmed in '68.

I love the song People except for that first line which makes no sense. Why did Styne ok it?

Stradling and Wyler film it beautifully with Sharif just sitting and watching it so compellingly. Casting Omar was a brilliant choice. It shouldn't have worked but does it ever.

Get the blu ray. I've never seen it look so good though I imagine this is how it looked in its initial roadshow engagements. How I would have loved to have seen it at the Criterion in Times Square when it created such excitement. Anybody remember seeing it there? What was it like?

[quote] I love the song People except for that first line which makes no sense.

"People who need People"? What don't you get? They set it up in the dialogue leading to the song.

People is a dumb song. I don't even think Streisand liked it after she had some better quality original hits. You can set up any stupid song with an introductory line of dialogue.

"We're children, needing other children - and yet letting our grown up pride hide all the need inside, acting more like children than children........

Insipid. Terrible actually. And the rest of the song is even worse.

The movie would have been much better had they hired a Nicky Arnstein who could sing even a tiny amount.

Bob Merrill was oddly much better with music than with lyrics (his scores for Carnival!" and "Henry, Sweet Henry" have charming melodies in them, but the lyrics are not always that good). Yet he is most famous as a lyricist.

We travel single-o.

Maybe we're lucky,

But I don't know.

Those lines??

"Single-o" is cringeworthy.

Couldn't it be?

We travel to and fro

She certainly butchered the already dumb People lyric.

You GO, girl!

The lyrics to People are very good except for the first line:

'People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world.'

This makes no sense.

However many people have a problem with 'We travel single-o.'

This is completely legitimate. 'Single-o' was an expression meaning by one's self, alone. It has completely fallen out of use so that people think it never existed.

Merrill wasn't just filling in space.

It also exists in the song lyrics of 'I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling.'

'I used to travel single-o.'

I meant the line 'We travel single-o.' was completely legitimate.

[quote]'People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world.'

This makes no sense.

Doesn't it mean that people who don't need people (e.g., loners, egomaniacs) will never experience love, and, therefore, are unlucky?

[quote]'We travel single-o.'

Single-O was a type of rail ticket you got when you were traveling alone.

[quote]'People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world.'

The second "people" is just for emphasis. People doesn't modify people; it repeats it.

A cornflower blue Norfolk suit

A silver-plated wah-wah mute

Did I hear those right? The lyrics to Cornet Man.

Of course, R95, they spell it out plainly in the dialogue before the song, as well as the song introduction.

Well it looks like Merrill just might be misunderstood.

He always gets a bad rap.

Though his lyrics for Sugar really aren't very good.

R95 and R99, that’s why I feel all these complaints about the first line are ridiculous.

[quote]Well it looks like Merrill just might be misunderstood. He always gets a bad rap.

It isn't just your rap that is bad when you rhyme "marble" with "horrible."

Single-O?

I usually have multiple Os!