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Show I .V. . ' .-""V V.r " . '-.i N. X - - I : , . ., ; v -. ,- ... - - -- - v. ' ' . ! - - v V V V v, ' . : r V.y ... ' ' ) Mw-,.-i,wn-.Mw,,.,M..w ,wta,m n .. -mi n A t. W ., 1 ...... '..jf . T . . V3 V, gtreisand Sharif star in fabulous 'Funny Girl' Scrutiny By Ed Ditterline . Girl" Broadway's ,lu! smash hit, transformed f S umbia Pictures to the Sits stage heroine, Barbra 2d, as Fanny Br.ce and Sharif as Nick Arnste.n, the L promises unlimited success f0, the moviemakers and unlimited entertainment for moviegoers. The move opens at Century 21 Heater on Nov. 6 and 7 with two benefit showings. The lives of Fanny Brice and Barbra Streisand are unbelievably parallel even though their careers are half a century apart. Both were raised in New York and were determined at an early age to enter the theatrical world. Each girl possessed a vivid imagination. Both Barbra's and Fanny's careers were launched by winning a talent contest, Fanny at a local vaudeville bouse and Barbra at a tiny Greenwich Village night club. Destined For Stardom Of course both personalities were spectacular. Both actresses were certainly not raving beauties, which seemed to be the prerequisite for stardom at the time. Fanny and Barbra were destined to be either tremendously successful or completely unknown. They were too different to be chorus girls. Each girl possessed a terrific tty in comic talent and an extraordinarily good singing voice, which incidentally was untrained. . Their rise to stardom was Phenomenal. Each became the most popular stars of their day ithin only a few years time. fortunately for avid moviegoers, one of these two tremendous talents is still around. Although Miss Streisand will "PPearin her first motion picture, Fl""iy Girl there seems to be t. - - - - ... . "' -. ij f ht ... -' . i . ;,'-., : I , s va - X . , v - 1 ' r 1 , I.: .1 ; ' f : , :r: r m p .1 I ' ' J no doubt that the movie will attract Motion Picture Academy consideration. Built-in Success The cast has a built-in reputation for success. The director, William Wyler, is a three . time academy award winner for his direction of "Mrs. Miniver," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Ben Hur" and an Oscar nominee 13 times. Omar Sharif, who plays Nick Arnstein, playboy-gambler, is the internationally famous romantic figure in "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago." Ray Stark, producer of the film version, also produced Funny Girl on Broadway. A major Hollywood film-maker, he is responsible for such pictures as "The Night of the Iguana" and "The World of Suzie Wong." And once again, in the production of Funny Girl unbelievable parallels can be drawn. He is married to Frances Brice, the daughter of Fanny Brice whose story is told in Funny Girl. Better Than Original Irene Sharaff, the five-time academy award winning costume designer, offered seve comments during the filming about the beauty of the women involved. "Women today are more beautiful than ever before. That's why the Ziegfield Girls in Funny Girl are more spectacular thanthe great beauties of the original Ziegfield Follies." Miss Sharaff, who has designed the costumes for some of the world's most beautiful women, said women can be as beautiful as they wish with today's inexpensive beauty aids. Anne Francis puts in her first performance in a musical. However, she has appeared in over 20 feature films and countless TV shows including her own, "Honey West." Miss Francis plays the part of Georgia, the belle of the Ziegfield girls. In the selection of the individual to play the part of Georgia, director Wyler knew he would have to find a truly believable beauty who would have the acting ability to play a showgirl on the skids. Countless Interviews After listening to hundreds of girls (some known and unknown actresses) read the script and viewing thousands of feet of film cuts, Wyler and Stark agreed that Miss Francis could play the role of the "good-bad" girl. Miss Francis has appeared in "So Young So Bad," "Girl of the Night," "Blackboard Jungle," "Bad Day at Black Rock" and others. Herbert Ross directed the film's musical numbers. The lyrics were written by Bob Merrill and the music by Jule Styne. The melodies are familiar to practically everyone and, of course, the song which gave Streisand her fame, "People," will be sung. In addition to the numbers from the play, Columbia pictures had three numbers written especially for the movie: "You're a Funny Girl," "The Swan" and "The Roller Skate Rag." Soundtrack enthusiasts will find the record version quite exciting except for a little stylizing on the part of Streisand when she sings People. , No Expense Spared As with most Hollywood movies, no expense was spared to achieve the lavish feeling of Ziegfield Follies productions.- Producer Stark's auditor came across an unusual charge on the Funny Girl budget sheet during the filming-$50 for popsicles. Mr Stark was able to satisfactorily explain the item. A temperature of 112 degrees in the shade was predicted, so Mr Stark ordered a two-day supply oi popsicles for the cast crew and 150 extras. cicnnn " As for Streisand, a 515,uuu leopard skin coat and a hat trimmed in black beaver, designed by -Irene ..Sharaff makes only a slight:: contribution to Miss I ..Streisand! eye-catching wardrobe. , i . , 1 1 1 . " , , . . ........ i. -V ' ' '" : - .... ,' 1 : - . J h rJ v A '"' I ; : .- j i ; . i i t r t - - - '. ' , r ( ' r ' 1 1 1 1 , . ,' j I ,.-.....--' ( i ' . - - . . 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