Editing Mervyn LeRoy (section)

=== Musicals and romantic comedies: 1952–1954 ===

In the aftermath of his successful epic ''Quo Vadis'', LeRoy turned away from spectacles to lighter productions:<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 179: After finishing ''Quo Vadis'' "you don't try to top it with a film of the same genre, you do something far removed from it." And p. 180: LeRoy reports rejecting new M-G-M head [[Dore Schary]]'s suggestion to make The Plymouth Adventure: "I decided to shift gears..."</ref><ref>Barson, 2020: "From that height [of the ''Quo Vadis'' success], LeRoy returned to more-routine projects."</ref>

'''''[[Lovely to Look At]]''''' (1952): A re-make of the 1935 [[Fred Astaire|Astaire]]-[[Ginger Rogers|Rogers]] musical scored by [[Jerome Kern]], [[Roberta (1935 film)|''Roberta'']], directed by [[William A. Seiter]]. [[Vincente Minnelli]] organized the extravagant fashion show finale, with costumes by [[Adrian (costume designer)|Adrian]]<ref>Canham, 1976 p. 184. And p. 161: "The musical remakes, such as Lovely To Look At...reunited LeRoy with Busby Berkeley but there was less emphasis on the mechanics of the numbers than on the vocal abilities of the singing stars."</ref><ref>Barson, 2020: "Lovely to Look At (1952), with Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, was a handsome if unnecessary remake of Roberta (1935)."</ref>

'''''[[Million Dollar Mermaid]]''''' (1952): An aquatic-themed biopic loosely based on the life of Australian swimmer [[Annette Kellermann|Annette Kellerman]], portrayed by [[Esther Williams]] and aided by LeRoy's "competent direction." [[Busby Berkeley]] stages his lavishly produced underwater Oyster ballet.<ref>Canham, 1976 p. 161-162: "...competent direction..." and Berkeley's "gloriously spectacular' water ballet.</ref><ref>Cox, 2004 TCM: "a story loosely based on the real-life Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman. The movie, full of romance, music, and dazzling underwater spectacles, remains one of the definitive films of Williams' career...Dominating the film are, of course, water extravaganzas orchestrated by the Million Dollar Dance Director himself, Busby Berkeley."<br />Barson, 2020: "a biopic about Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman (Williams), who became a Hollywood star in the silent era; Berkeley handled the musical numbers."</ref>

'''[[Latin Lovers (1953 film)|''Latin Lovers'']]''' (1953): A romantic musical comedy starring [[Lana Turner]] and [[Ricardo Montalbán]].<ref>Canham, 1976 p. 184-185</ref><ref>LoBianco, 2009 TCM</ref>

'''[[Rose Marie (1954 film)|''Rose Marie'']]''' (1954): An adaptation of a stage operetta by [[Otto Harbach]] and previously filmed by M-G-M in silent and sound versions, the LeRoy adaptation starred [[Ann Blyth]] and [[Howard Keel]].<ref>Barson, 2020: "Rose Marie (1954) was another inferior remake of a 1930s classic."<br />Passafiume, 2011. TCM: "Rose Marie was based on the famous stage operetta originally written by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II and [[Rudolf Friml]] that was first produced for the New York stage in 1924. The story had already been filmed twice before at MGM, both times to great success. The 1928 silent version featured Joan Crawford in the title role, and the 1936 version starred Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald."<br />Canham, 1976 p. 161: "LeRoy must take some blame for [Lovely To Look At and Rose Marie], although they reflect the gulf between the major companies and their audiences that characterized American films in the post-war period."</re And p. 185: "...LeRoy's farewell to M-G-M...</ref> his final effort with M-G-M before he returned to Warner Brothers.<ref>Passafiume, 2011. TCM: "Rose Marie would be the last film that Mervyn LeRoy ever directed for MGM. LeRoy had worked successfully at MGM for over 20 years, but he and new studio head Dore Schary butted heads frequently, and LeRoy wanted out. Rose Marie would be his MGM swan song before moving to Warner Bros."</ref>

LeRoy attributes his disaffection from M-G-M to a professional incompatibility with [[Dore Schary]], who had recently replaced [[Louis B. Mayer]] as head of production: "[Schary] and I never really did see eye-to-eye on most things...since he was then running the studio, it didn't seem to make much sense for me to stick around."<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 184:</ref>