While they have come to be seen as somewhat passé (despite frequent efforts to revive the genre), the big-budget musical adaptation is a remnant of the past – there was a period where it was at its peak and a few brief moments in which it seemed to be making a return, but it has essentially been considered a genre that simply doesn’t have much of a place within the contemporary cinematic landscape, at least not in the form it used to take. Yet, there are more than enough existing ones from the Golden Age of Hollywood to keep those of us enamoured with this style of filmmaking enthralled and entertained, even when they are deeply flawed and contain several shortcomings that essentially ended up being the reason for the decline of the genre as a whole. Hello, Dolly! is a peculiar film – an adaptation of the musical in which composer and lyricist Jerry Herman worked with writer Michael Stewart to adapt the classic stageplay The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, in theory, this should have been a resounding success, especially once we see the calibre of artists involved in the production, on both sides of the camera. Yet, the adaptation is considered to be one of the more frustrating entries into the genre, for several reasons, primarily having to do with the vision attached to the film. Telling the story of the country’s most admired matchmaker who travels to Yonkers to help a grouchy “half-a-millionaire” find a wife, the 1890s-set musical comedy had a lot of potential (especially since it was nothing short of a triumph every time it was performed on stage), so getting to the root of why it hasn’t aged particularly well, despite having all the necessary elements required to succeed, is a fascinating and insightful endeavour that not only sheds light onto the genre’s popularity but also its eventual downfall. Not without its merits, but also far from definitive of the genre, as well as the careers of those involved, Hello, Dolly! is a decent film that never quite managed to attain the greatness it seemed to be aiming to achieve.

One of the most curious and notable details about Hello, Dolly! is that it was one of the handful of films in which Gene Kelly directed that he wasn’t the star. As one of the pioneers of the now-common archetype of the actor-turned-director, Kelly was responsible for some of the objectively greatest films ever made, but was also known to stay behind the camera on a few films, allowing others to take the reins in terms of the performances. In theory, Kelly is the perfect person to direct this film – not only did his name immediately guarantee that there was an audience for this film, but he also had decades of experience in musical cinema, and while technically the material is best handled by those who mounted the original Broadway production (which was not a common practice at the time – leaping between one medium to another as a director was quite rare until oddly recently), Kelly was perhaps the second-best choice. This isn’t only aligned with his knowledge of musicals, but rather a specific expertise in the particular sub-genre in which Hello, Dolly! was crafted. Despite being based on a terrific play by one of the great writers of his generation, this musical is quite lightweight when it comes to the plot – it has a solid storyline that is followed quite closely, but the actual narrative becomes somewhat secondary after a while since it is almost entirely a musical driven by the spectacle more than the story, which is surprisingly quite simple and almost inconsequential. There’s an argument to be made that the paper-thin narrative qualifies Hello, Dolly! as being more of a musical revue than an outright play, which is not at all a criticism of its storytelling (which is terrific, just not the main attraction), but rather a signifier of what the purpose was behind this adaptation. Kelly’s status as arguably the greatest musical performer and director in Hollywood history ensures that he puts these skills to good use, and he turns Hello, Dolly! Into a truly wonderful, extravagant spectacle, which seemed to be the intention, and can come as something of a surprise to those who may not have expected such an approach. 

One of the reasons Hello, Dolly! is seen as being such a timeless work of art, despite being set in a very specific time and place, is that it isn’t rigid with its casting – the titular part of Dolly Gallagher Levi, the country’s preeminent matchmaker, was equally iconic when portrayed by Carol Channing as it was by Pearl Bailey, which means that it is a role that can easily be adjusted to fit a specific actor, as well as not necessarily warranting a very particular set of qualities beforehand and can rather be tailored to the production and the person taking on the part. Unfortunately, this slightly laissez-faire approach does not quite work in Kelly’s adaptation, since the one unofficial convention when it comes to casting the role is that it is given to a woman of a particular age, solely because the character is defined by being a wise, weathered widow with unique insights and a world-weary perspective that is often undercut by the fact that she’s still a hopeless romantic after all these years. As legendary as she may have been, as well as being well on her way to becoming the biggest star of her generation, Barbra Streisand was simply too young to play the part of Dolly, and it shows in her performance. Not only does she lack the gravitas that comes with age, but her presence redefines Dolly as some airheaded, sassy young woman, rather than the sage older matriarch who is seeking a second chance at love. For whatever reason, Ethel Merman, Pearl Bailey and Carol Channing (the latter having made Dolly her signature role, playing her in several stage productions over the decades, and being brilliant in everyone) were passed over, despite being notable names in their own right and having well-received runs in the part on Broadway, in favour of Streisand, who does her best, but unfortunately falters at capturing the true essence of the character. Walter Matthau is equally as miscast, since he does embody the grouchiness of Horace Vandergelder, but never comes across as being particularly comfortable in this part (and the disdain he and Streisand held for each other is quite blatant, as they have very little chemistry), and seems to be doing the bare minimum with a relatively simple role. Both leads, as well as the supporting cast, do put in the effort, but unfortunately, stunt-casting was more important than choosing the right person for the role, which is precisely why the material never reaches the heights that it did on stage since the story is paltry as it is, and having actors ill-suited for the roles only makes its weaknesses more obvious, and prevents the film from being particularly effective.

Yet, despite every potential complaint we can level against the film based on its casting and how it essentially is the root of all of the flaws we encounter throughout, Hello, Dolly! is still a superbly made film, which is intrinsically tied to Kelly’s direction, which is sharp and stunning, enough to make the film mostly quite entertaining. There was an abundance of effort put into creating the world in which this film takes place – the 1890s are certainly a peculiar period in which to set a film, but it gives Kelly and his team the chance to make some bold statements regarding the visual aspects of the film. To this day, there are costumes worn by the characters in this film (particularly by Streisand herself) that remain some of the most iconic in cinema history, and the designs by Irene Sharaff are appropriately seen as not only notable but definitive of the genre. The use of colour, both in the costumes and the production design, is astonishing – no one saw the world quite as vividly as Kelly, who always paid attention to creating images that were not only entertaining but would linger with the viewer long after they had stepped out of the film. Hello, Dolly! is the very definition of a true spectacle, and while the story and its execution may be slightly lacklustre, there are elements of this film that compensate for these deficiencies – the choreography (which was crafted in tandem between the director and his close friend Michael Kidd, who signed on as choreographer) is incredible, and its not a surprise that the best moments of this film are the musical sequences, particularly those that take place with the large ensemble, since suddenly the narrative is momentarily put away, and the film descends into a colourful, chaotic collection of movements, set to some truly wonderful music that underlines the true intentions of this film, which was primarily to be an exercise in elegant excess, and a venture deep into the heart of extravagance, something that Kelly was very keen to explore, and he ultimately chose the right material, since while his film adaptation may not be as faithful to the intentions of the stage production, it was also not a sacred text that couldn’t be reconfigured to fit a different agenda, which was in this case the aim to make an elaborate, dizzying spectacle that begins by firing on all cylinders and stays that way until the final moments, when we can finally step away from this over-the-top production.

No one can state in good faith that Hello, Dolly! is the reason behind the decline of the big-budget musical film – the most likely cause is the fact that Hollywood was looking to spend its resources elsewhere, with these lavish, over-the-top productions not being entirely aligned with the slightly more gritty, earnest direction that many directors at the time we looking towards. This film simply had the disadvantage of being produced right at the intersection between the end of the Golden Age and the advent of New Hollywood, a period in which many great films struggled to get noticed, and where bigger projects such as this one were viewed as the last lingering traits of a bygone era, feverishly trying to hold onto relevancy. The film itself does leave a lot to be desired – we can only wish that Streisand hadn’t been cast based on the lingering fumes of acclaim she achieved for her performance in Funny Girl the year before, and instead, we had been given the chance to see Channing’s definitive interpretation of the character flourishing alongside the luxurious splendour of Kelly’s direction, which would have been a far more compelling affair, and one that stayed true to the intentions of the character, as well as the entire production as a whole. It is visually quite striking, and proves to be a feast for the senses – the era in which these off-the-wall, extravagant musicals could be made, in which excess was not viewed as a flaw but rather an intentional choice, designed to entertain and enthrall, which is certainly quite relevant for the material. Taken purely as a spectacle designed to be enjoyed rather than dissected, Hello, Dolly! is a solid film, and if we can focus on these elements, rather than trying to consider what it could have been with a few changes, it becomes much more bearable. Solid but not particularly memorable (and it is quite long at 150 minutes, but many musicals at the time tended to be lengthy, so it hardly something that we can use as a criticism here), but still beautiful to look at, and mostly quite enjoyable, Hello, Dolly! is one of the last pure musicals from this era, and taken for what it is, it proves to be a very entertaining affair, albeit one that does have to grapple with some shortcomings in its long and laborious journey to the screen.