Brigadoon

Plot synopsis:
Act I
New Yorkers Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas have travelled to the Scottish Highlands on a game-hunting vacation, but they get lost on their first night out. They begin to hear music ("Brigadoon") coming from a nearby village that does not appear on their map of the area. They head over there to get directions back to their inn and find a fair in progress ("McConnachy Square"), with villagers dressed in traditional Scottish tartan. Andrew MacLaren and his daughters arrive at the fair to purchase supplies for younger daughter Jean's wedding to Charlie Dalrymple. Harry Beaton is madly in love with Jean and is depressed at the thought of her marrying another, unable to find comfort in Maggie Anderson's devotion to him. One of the girls asks Jean's older sister Fiona when she'll marry, and Fiona answers she's waiting for the right person ("Waitin' For My Dearie").
Tommy and Jeff wander into the village and ask where they are; the villagers answer "Brigadoon". Fiona invites the wanderers to have a meal and rest at the MacLaren home. Flirtatious dairymaid Meg Brockie immediately takes a liking to Jeff and leads him off. Charlie Dalrymple appears, rejoicing in his impending nuptials. He shares a drink with Tommy, toasting to a Mr. Forsythe whom he thanks for "postponing the miracle". When Tommy asks what that means, Fiona shushes him and leads him away as Charlie celebrates the end of his bachelorhood ("Go Home with Bonnie Jean"). Tommy tells Fiona that he has a fiancée, Jane, in New York, but he's in no hurry to marry her, and Fiona reveals that she likes Tommy very much. Tommy insists on accompanying Fiona to gather heather for the wedding ("The Heather on the Hill"). Meanwhile, Meg takes Jeff to a place in the forest with a shack and a cot. She tells him she's "highly attracted" to him, but he spurns her advances, wanting only to sleep. She reflects on her unusual love life ("The Love Of My Life").
At the MacLarens', Jean's friends help her pack her things to move into Charlie's home ("Jeannie's Packin' Up"). Charlie arrives to sign the MacLarens' family Bible. He wants to see Jean; told that it's bad luck to see her on the wedding day, he begs for her to come out anyway ("Come to Me, Bend to Me"). Tommy and Fiona return with a basket full of heather, and Fiona goes upstairs to help Jean dress for the wedding. Jeff arrives wearing a pair of Highland trews (trousers); apparently his own pants have been damaged on a "thistle". Jeff finds that Tommy is so happy that he can barely contain it ("Almost Like Being In Love"). Tommy notices that all the events listed in the family Bible, including Jean's wedding, are listed as if they had happened 200 years earlier. When he asks Fiona about this, she sends him to the schoolmaster, Mr. Lundie.
Fiona, Tommy, and Jeff arrive at Mr. Lundie's home, where he relates a story that the two New Yorkers can hardly believe: to protect Brigadoon from being changed by the outside world, 200 years ago the local minister prayed to God to have Brigadoon disappear, only to reappear for one day every 100 years. All citizens of Brigadoon are forbidden to leave the town, or it will disappear forever. Tommy asks hypothetically if an outsider could be permitted to stay. Mr. Lundie replies, "A stranger can stay if he loves someone here – not jus' Brigadoon, mind ye, but someone in Brigadoon – enough to want to give up everythin' an' stay with that one person. Which is how it should be. 'Cause after all, lad, if ye love someone deeply, anythin' is possible."
The group leaves to go to the wedding, which opens with the clans coming in from the hills. Mr. Lundie marries Charlie and Jean, and they perform a traditional celebratory wedding dance. Sword dancers appear, led by Harry, and they perform an elaborate dance over their weapons. All the town joins in the dance, but it abruptly halts when Jean screams as Harry tries to kiss her. In anguish over Jean's wedding, he announces that he's leaving the town (which would end the miracle, causing Brigadoon to disappear forever into the Highland mists) and sprints away.
Act II
The men of the town, including Tommy and a reluctant Jeff, frantically try to find Harry before he can depart the town ("The Chase"). Suddenly an agonized scream is heard. Harry, who appears to have fallen on a rock and crushed his skull, is found dead by the other men. Deciding not to tell the rest of the town until the next morning, the men carry Harry's body away. Fiona and her father arrive to see if everything is all right. As Mr. MacLaren leaves, Tommy sees Fiona, and they embrace. She reveals her love for him, and he tells her he believes he feels the same way ("There But For You Go I"). Fiona reminds him that the end of the day is near, and Tommy tells her he wants to stay in Brigadoon with her. They go to find Mr. Lundie.
Meanwhile, in the village, Meg tells about the day her parents were drunkenly married ("My Mother's Wedding Day"), and the townsfolk dance until the sound of Highland pipes pierces the air. The gaiety is interrupted as Archie Beaton enters carrying Harry's body, led by the pipers playing a pìobaireachd. Maggie, who loved Harry, performs a funeral dance for her unrequited love. The men of Brigadoon help Archie carry his son to the burial place.
Tommy finds Jeff and announces his intention to stay. Jeff thinks the idea is absurd and argues with Tommy until he has convinced him that Brigadoon is only a dream. Jeff also reveals that he tripped Harry and accidentally killed him. Fiona and Mr. Lundie arrive, and Tommy, shaken by Jeff's confession, tells Fiona that he loves her, but he can't stay; he still has doubts ("From This Day On"). Fiona tells Tommy, as she fades away into darkness, that she will love him forever.
Four months later, Jeff is drinking heavily at a hotel bar in New York. Tommy, who has been living on a farm in New Hampshire, enters and greets Jeff. Tommy is still in love with Fiona and cannot stop thinking about her. His fiancée Jane Ashton, a beautiful socialite, talks to him about their impending wedding, but everything she says causes him to hear Fiona's voice and dream of Brigadoon ("Come to Me, Bend to Me" (reprise) and "Heather on the Hill" (reprise)). Tommy tells Jane that he cannot marry her, and she argues with him, but he continues to daydream about his true love ("Go Home With Bonnie Jean" (reprise) and "From This Day On" (reprise)). Jane leaves, and Tommy tells Jeff that he wants to return to Scotland, although he knows the village will not be there.
Tommy and Jeff return to the spot where they found Brigadoon and, as they expected, see nothing there. Tommy laments, "Why do people have to lose things to find out what they really mean?" Just as he and Jeff turn to leave, they hear the music again ("Brigadoon"), and Mr. Lundie appears. Tommy walks across the bridge in a daze to him, as Mr. Lundie explains: "Oh, it's you Tommy, lad. You woke me up. You must really love her", to which Tommy, still dazed, stammers "Wha – how....?". Mr. Lundie replies, "You shouldna be too surprised, lad. I told ye when ye love someone deeply enough, anythin' is possible. Even miracles." Tommy waves goodbye to Jeff and disappears with Mr. Lundie into the Highland mist to be reunited with Fiona.

Tags: romantic, fantasy

Review:
They did do some mighty nice dancing though, especially The Heather on the Hill ballet and Kelly's lighthearted romp to Almost Like Being in Love which was the big hit from Brigadoon.Kelly wanted to shoot the film on location in Scotland, but MGM eying budgetary problems and director Vincente Minnelli's desire to do it on their sound stage the film was shot indoors with Brigadoon recreated at Culver City.
A pity because Pamela Britton won rave reviews for her Broadway performance and Dody Heath is left with next to nothing in the role.Still there's enough of Brigadoon for audiences to still enjoy and dream about an enchanted Scottish village we might all like to escape the travails of the world to..
As well, Cyd Charisse was wonderful as Fiona, she made the character seem so believeable and was perfect for the part.Granted, Brigadoon would have been much better had it been filmed on location in Scotland, but due to budget cuts MGM was forced to film it in beautiful, sunny Culver City.
I agree that the dance sequences got to be a bit long, but with Gene Kelly, who cares?We can, however, be thankful that MGM didn't cast Howard Keel or Kathryn Grayson in Brigadoon.
And there is the music, especially Learner and Lowe's "The Heather On  the Hill" (attractively sung and danced by Kelly and Charisse), and  "It's Almost Like Being In Love." A failure by Minelli?
Two urbanites from New York, Tommy (Gene Kelly) and Jeff (Van Johnson), are grouse-hunting in Scotland--yes, they've come all the way to Scotland to shoot grouse, if you can believe that to begin with!--when they happen upon the tiny magical little Scottish village of Brigadoon, a (very literal) throwback to the mid-18th century in customs, livelihood and people.
The question becomes one of love, of whether one is able to give up everything for a miracle: just as Mr. Forsythe has to give up his beloved Brigadoon to bring it its miracle, Tommy and Fiona, because 'if you love someone deeply enough, anything is possible', get their miracle as well.There is certainly charm aplenty in BRIGADOON: the morning fair 'Down On MacConnachy Square' is lively and bustling; the beautiful dance between Kelly and Charisse as they gather 'The Heather On The Hill' is tender and beautiful, with more balletic romance than any choreography of Kelly's to date; even the forward girl who tries to turn Jeff's head (only to disappear from the movie thereafter) is cute in her way and her fervent belief that she might actually have a romance like that of her parents.
Yet one is never quite sure whether Brigadoon is really the utopia it appears to be: this is underscored by the fact that (despite Kelly's pleas for on-location filming in Scotland) the scenery is obviously constructed on a set.
Mr. Forsythe sounds more like an authoritarian dictator obsessed with his Brigadoon than a benign sweet old chaplain, and when Harry Beaton (Hugh Laing) tries to make a break for it, the hunt for him and the subsequent covering up of his death has such sinister undertones that one really starts to feel uncomfortable about what the people have become in the two short days (for them) that they have known about their village's uniqueness.Of course, the film itself actually states this uneasiness that the audience will feel, not merely suggests it.
The best number is probably the most famous song in it, 'Almost Like Being In Love', sung by a heart-light and foot-merry Kelly as he dances through a Scottish farm.
The runner-up would be the beautiful 'Heather On The Hill' couples ballet--Kelly's ballet training really comes to the fore in BRIGADOON, his other films having been more influenced by tap dancing.
Lerner and Loewe's disappearing-village fable expertly combines the mysticism of the Scottish Highlands with the unbreakable dancing chops of Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse.
It is said that both Gene Kelly and Vincent Minnelli were disappointed that MGM finances prevented then from filming "Brigadoon" abroad in more "natural settings."  However, the beautiful studio sets to my mind work just fine for the whimsical fantasy being told.
If one goes with the plot's broad premise, one can sit back and enjoy a charming Lerner-Loewe score, lovely studio settings and backdrops, pleasant choreography, and fine dancing, highlighted by Kelly's and Cyd Charisse's memorable "Heather on the Hill.".
Given the dancing talents of Gene Kelly, the singing talents of most of the cast, the charm of Van Johnson, the down-home humor (especially in the character of "Meg Brockie"), and the suspense of the fleeing and hunted Harry Beaton, in the alluring and disappearing village of Brigadoon, not to mention the heartbreaking and even more suspenseful romance between the lovely Fiona in the centuries-old village and the modern-day charmer (Kelly) -- what is there not to like?
Actually, it's a magical town that is stuck in the 18th century and it appears and then disappears every 100 years--which is a serious problem as Tommy has fallen in love with one of the residents (Cyd Charisse).I liked this film quite a bit, though it did have two flaws.
However, the music is lovely, the story sweet and there is still a lot to admire in this film.I happened to watch the 1966 made for TV version of "Brigadoon" a week ago--and I enjoyed it enough that I sought out the original theatrical version from 1954.
Add to that the costuming, the Lerner & Loewe songs, great orchestration, and the balletic beauty of Cyd Charisse partnered by Gene Kelly.I don't think this film should be dismissed due to its fantastical premise (that a town like Brigadoon exists).
When Gene Kelly performs "Almost Like Being in Love," it was probably intended to echo his memorable rendition of "Singin' in the Rain"--but it comes off as someone trying a little too hard to convince us (and himself) that everything's all right (something that went on a lot in America during the 50s).Consequently, "Brigadoon" is more interesting as an accidental reflection of the time in which it was made, than as sweet, old-fashioned musical escapism.
I saved "Brigadoon" for the end because I was appalled by this folk theme: a romance in Scotland.Now, that I have seen it, I am a bit disappointed: the sets are too make-believe and it's look like a show on stage.
If they were so intent on turning this into a dancers musical why did they cut out some of the best dance numbers, the Sword Dance, "Jeannie's Packin' Up" and the ballet number associated with the revelation of Harry's death.I will admit I am very partial to the stage show, I'm currently designing my second major production of the show.For those who have difficulty with the story you should know that it based, not on any Scottish or even English language folktale but rather on an old German folktale and the title actually refers to the bridge across the river Doon (Brig O' Doon) which figures in the Robert Burns classic "Tam O' Shanter"So, if you've never seen the stage show enjoy.
(Because of existing budget problems when the movie was made about 1954, M-G-M could not film on location.) The songs were unforgettable, such as "Come Ye to the Fair", "The Heather on the Hill", "Go Home with Bonnie Jean", and "It's Almost Like Being in Love." The wedding-scene music, replete with Scottish bagpipes from eight Scottish clans, was extremely impressive.
Gene Kelly did so well as the love-sick Tommy Albright, Van Johnson was definitely adept at playing the drunk friend of Albright named Jeff Douglas, Elaine Stewart was skillful in the role of Albright's snobbish and disgusting fiancée Jane, and truly, to be around Cyd Charisse would make a person be in love with the beautiful Fiona Campbell.
The beautiful, atmospheric set makes for a great love story, and Kelly is perfect as the well-mannered man from New York looking for what will complete his life.
Cyd Charisse gives arguably her greatest performance as Fiona Campbell, beautiful resident of the mystical town Brigadoon, which appears in the mist of Scotland only once every 100 years.
Cyd Charisse is lovely and believable as Fiona, Van Johnson very powerful as the hard-drinking cynical friend, and the cast from lovable Barry Jones as Mr. Lundy to Dody Heath as Meg all manage their accents and parts with skill.
Among the great songs that made it into the film, the best I suggest may be, "Waitin' For Ma Dearie", "The Heather On the Hill", "Harry Beaton" and "Brigadoon--the title song." Others include "It's Almost Like Being in Love", "Down at McConnaughty Square", and "I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean".
The fifties will remain Minnelli's heyday.During this decade,there are at least four masterpieces in his filmography:"lust for life","tea and sympathy","some came running" ,and definitely the crème de la crème of his musicals "Brigadoon"."Brigadoon" is perfection itself,and only "singing in the rain" can equal it,as a fifties musical:sparkling colors,dreamlike landscapes,terrific score which encompasses Irish bagpipes,peerless cast(Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse,it's a dream come true),and ,most of all, a wonderful script.A solid script is often lacking in musicals:that's the drawback,of,say,"An American in Paris",which is a feast for the eye,but does not completely satisfy,because it has not got a true story.
The same goes for "band wagon".Some scenes are at least five or seven years ahead of their time:the chase in the woods,which Minnelli treats like a ballet,predates "West Side Story".The wedding,with the torchlight procession, is impressive as well.Brigadoon story looks like a fairy tale,but it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.The village may be the fountain of perpetual mirth,but it indicates man's failure in his pursuit of happiness.Unlike other musicals, behind its cheerful characters,the movie hides a "lost paradise" feel.The return to the modern world is impossible to the hero,(the passage from Brigadoon to NYC skyscrapers climaxes the movie,as Charisse keeps on repeating "any day..
True, dancing was and is an important part of this musical, but the showstoppers give the musical its luster, its sheen, its charisma.The number 'Almost Like Being in Love' is NOTHING without both the baritone and soprano singing the part.And what's this bit with changing the surnames from MacLaren to Campbell?In my opinion, most stage musicals should be left on the stage, where they belong, NOT adapted into movies with less than legitimate musical performers (read 'West Side Story')..
Van Johnson- need I say that his of the cuff remarks add that little bit extra to the film.All in all, a great movie and one that I will enjoy watching again and again!Funniest line: "Witches?
Gene Kelly and Van Johnson, Americans wandering abroad, meet Cyd Charisse, gathering the heather in the hills in a bizarre Scots accent, and lots of singing locals.
A place called `Brigadoon.'	Directed by Vincente Minnelli and told through the music and songs of Lerner and Loewe, this 1954 musical is the story of New Yorkers Tommy Albright (Gene Kelly) and Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson) who, on a hunting trip to Scotland, become lost in the Highlands and happen upon the village of Brigadoon.
Two gentlemen on a hunting trip stumble upon the residents and one falls head over heels for a young woman.Cue the singing and dancing by Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse!A good number of songs were cut when Brigadoon made the move from Broadway to Silver Screen.Still enjoyable if you are musical movie buff!.
It's all helped considerably by the dancing talents of Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse (Van Johnson though appears out of sorts in a rather unsympathetically written role), the musical talents of Lerner & Loewe, who although guilty as charged of ethnic stereotyping, still construct a pleasant and tuneful soundtrack, especially "Bonnie Jean" and "It's Almost like being in Love", and of course maestro Vincente Minelli, who as ever displays great finesse in brightening up the screen with colour and delivering the dancing set-pieces.
This is a film I would never tire of watching and I have quite a collection of Brigadoon records and CDs. Gene Kelly is a genius,the Scottish sounding music is great and the locations are spot on whether faked or real hardly matters when films are supposed to be fantasy.
In my book Tales From Brigadoon I offered one which takes place twice,once for the dates set in the original stage musical and once for the film version.
I can understand why his Sword-Dance was cut as being too similar but since Hugh Laing (Harry Beaton) was a notable dancer with the American Ballet Theater, there seemed little reason to cast him in the first place if he didn't dance.This number is included in the extras as well as "Come to Me, Bend to Me" sung by Jimmy Thompson and "From This Day on" and the audio only of "There but for You Go I".A very interesting DVD for many reasons but a not-successful filming of a major stage musical..
I first saw a stage production of Brigadoon back in High School, done by our Drama class and fell in love with it.I have a copy of Brigadoon in my movie collection and watch it whenever I can,have probably worn out my copy but I love it.The music,the singing and dancing and the costumes make me wish I had lived back in a town like that.I love all the actors and actresses that were in the movie,the scenery is beautiful and I especially love the bagpipe scene.I find it hard to believe that it was shot entirely on a stage but it is still one of my all time favorite movies and was also one of my mothers all time favorite movies,I actually bought it for her for Christmas..
MGM expected BRIGADOON to be their box-office musical smash of 1954--and for good reason: the film was based on an early play by Broadway's Learner and Lowe and includes some captivating music in a winsome tale of two 20th Century hunters who stumble into a Scottish village that magically appears for one day once every hundred years.
The cast--which includes Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, and Van Johnson--is superior, the musical numbers are enjoyably staged, and although not one of his finest efforts the film bears the imprint of director Vincent Minnelli's famous touch.On the other hand, BRIGADOON is not a particularly enjoyable , exciting, or memorable film and the fanciful story is so sweetly presented that it quickly becomes off-putting.
I think Minnelli believed he could do much the same in the movie by simply filming a stage play, but with more dancing.The result looks like a rehearsal.
It's often rather slow, but there are also some entertaining sequences and some worthwhile scenes in which the characters have to make difficult decisions about their situation.Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse work together well in the dancing sequences, and in those numbers, the material fits in pretty well with the story and the atmosphere.
Some of their non-musical scenes together go more slowly, and at times it is Van Johnson, as Kelly's cynical friend, who helps keep things together.The story idea suggests some worthwhile themes about fantasy and reality, sacrifice and love.
The incomparable Gene Kelly stars opposite the ravishing Cyd Charisse as a Yankee hunter from New York, NY who, along with his cynical buddy (Van Johnson) get lost in the hills of Scotland, only to stumble across the mystical village of Brigadoon.
This arrangement has its motive in a general distrust of outsiders, as one can easily see by the locals' reaction to the pair of vacationing 20th Century Americans, and to money that is from a time that only exists in the outside world.(Heck, if I lived in a town as close to perfect as this one, I wouldn't want anybody coming in and screwing it up, either.) A romance springs up between Kelly and Charisse, with the remarkable challenge of how to bridge time so that the two new lovers can spend a lifetime together, instead of a mere day.First I have to say that if you don't like musicals, if you're not even a sometime historian of Europe, if Scotts culture in general is something you dislike, then there is a high probability that you will find this movie an object of loathing.
Gene Kelly is good as Tommy, and Cyd makes a lovely Fiona but they cut Virginia Bosler's Jeannie down to a few lines and the wedding scene!
Brigadoon is a nice musical fantasy from 1954.In the movieGene Kelly plays Tommy Albright from New York, who goes to Scotland to hunt with his buddy Jeff Douglas, played by Van Johnson.There they get lost and find a village called Brigadoon that's not even on the map.They go to that village where Tommy falls in love with a local girl called Fiona Campbell, played by Cyd Charisse.Then Tommy finds out that the people of Brigadoon sleep for 100 years.And if somebody leaves Brigadoon, the village vanishes.So Tommy and Jeff go back to New York, where Tommy should marry this Jane.
When you are sure Gene Kelly has lost the love of his life for ever - he and Van Johnson appear, back in Scotland at the site of Brigadoon and the rest, as they say "Is history".
Some of the songs including "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean", "The Heather on the Hill" and "Almost Like Being In Love" are catchy, and some of the dancing is good, but with dodgy Scottish accents and a little underdeveloped story I can see why this film is overlooked, but not a bad musical.
As long as we can get Kelly and Johnson to discover a mystical Scottish village that only appears every 100 years and houses the lovely Cyd Charisse, does it matter?
The Scottish accents attempted by the American cast are almost as fake as the sets, yet the dancing is fantastic and the musical numbers catchy and enjoyable.This is not Kelly's best work by any means, but he is never bad in the role of the love-struck foreigner and equips himself very well.