The Christmas that blockbusters went ka-blooey!

These three films, which all played in Columbus, Ohio in December 1968, are tied together in my mind as big expensive movies intended to be blockbusters that, for the most part, met with critical derision and failed at the box-office. As low-budget films aimed at adults, like Bonnie & Clyde and Easy Rider, were raking in dough, big-budget family films were losing their appeal, looking awfully old-fashioned. Christmas 1968 was the beginning of the end of the Hollywood roadshow attraction, films that would be put into limited release in just a few theaters, often in reserved-seats engagements during which tickets would have to be purchased in advance--notice the list of prices and the mail-in coupons that accompany some of these ads.
 

After two world-class hits with Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, Star!, a musical biopic about actress Gertrude Lawrence, seemed like it had a sure shot at success. But, though Andrews gives it her all, the film was too long, too unimaginative, and movie audiences had forgotten poor Gertrude Lawrence, who was a big Broadway star in the 30s and 40s but made very few movies. It's not a bad movie by any means, but it lacked the magic and easy sparkle of Andrews' earlier hits.

Finian's Rainbow had been a hit on Broadway in 1947, and its race relations theme was certainly relevant in 1968, but Fred Astaire, despite being a supremely talented dance genius, was no longer a leading man, and the two young folks featured (Petula Clark and Tommy Steele) weren't exactly on the hip tip at the time. Maybe Jane Fonda and Michael Caine would have sparked more interest. The movie drew an OK audience and was nominated for awards, but like Star! felt dated right away.

With Dick Van Dyke (from Mary Poppins) starring and the Sherman Brothers (from Mary Poppins) writing the songs, this was expected to be a Disney-sized hit. But it was leaden and overlong, and though it was among the top 10 hits of the year, it actually lost money on its initial release, and its reputation is not exactly sterling. The problems these films had may have had more to do with unrealistic expectations than the quality of movies themselves, and roadshow movies kept being made for a few more years (Fiddler on the Roof, Hello Dolly, Tora Tora Tora), but this Christmas season was the beginning of the end.