posted 06/01/05 03:08 AM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
Don't know whether you like to see the original reviews but this is what Variety said:
"Bing Crosby's entry into the 90-minute spectacular on CBS-TV's 'Ford Star Jubilee', Saturday night (10th) was hardly as rewarding as the auspicious occasion warranted. Out of Maxwell Anderson's 'High Tor' fancy, originally presented on Broadway 20 years ago as a straight play, the network fashioned a filmusical version, the joint effort of Arthur Schwartz and Anderson (with Schwartz also doubling as producer).
"The songs were good, at least a couple of them way up on the potential list of solid clicks. There was a stunning performance from Julie Andrews, the ex-ingenue of 'The Boy Friend', as the ephemeral Dutch phantom walking the 'High Tor' mountain for 300 years. But basically, what evolved was a flimsy, 'boy meets ghost, loses girl, boy loses ghost, gets girl' vehicle that would find it tough going as the bottom half of a theatrical double feature. Through it all, Crosby was lost. True, his ballading was good. Crosby and his bouncy 'John Barleycorn' rendition was one of the show's high spots but his love-making had just about as much substance as the Dutch ghosts on High Tor. His poetic meanderings were neither fanciful nor symbolic. It just wasn't in the film clips for a placid and, let's face it, not-so-young contented guy in a comfortable jacket to project himself as an escapist from a material world through the flights of Anderson's dream on the Tappan Zee.
"When he came upstage to do his songs (four in all) with all his muted charm and affability, it was strictly Crosby and not Van Dorn, the man in love with his mountain. For that matter the entire Dutch crew, from the captain down, had little understanding or feeling for what Anderson was trying to say.
"Strange were many things about the production. Why, for example, Crosby wasn't even given a nibble at the best of the Schwartz tunes, 'When You're In Love', to which, non-singer, Everett Sloane fell heir. Or why the camera transitions were so awkward, considering the scope that the filmization afforded. Or why Ford permitted an invitation to a tune-out even before the film got started with an elongated commercial that must have consumed five minutes.
"This musical version of bank robbers scheming to buy High Tor…..also enlisted the services of Nancy Olsen, who, at least, had a comprehensible role and therefore rang true to her performance…. It remained for Miss Andrews to really capture Anderson's elusive fantasy on life and love.
"The film was made for CBS in 12 days. It cost about $450,000. The network reserves the right to give it a couple more screenings, then it reverts to Crosby and Schwartz for any possible residual values. These are doubtful assets." -- (Variety, March 14, 1956)