There's No Business Like Show Business

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2:45

There's No Business Like Show Business

1954,

1h 57m,

Musical/

Comedy

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67%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Terry (Dan Dailey) and Molly (Ethel Merman) are vaudeville performers who eventually add their three children to the act to become The Five Donahues. However, their children start to go their own way in time, with Steve (Johnnie Ray) deciding to become a priest. The other grown children, Katy (Mitzi Gaynor) and Tim (Donald O'Connor), join a show starring Victoria Parker (Marilyn Monroe). The Donahue parents become a performing pair again, but the family still faces personal upheaval.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Jul 26, 2003

4/5

Overstuffed and cornball, but some great Berlin musical numbers, especially Monroe's "Heat Wave."

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Jan 3, 2026

2/10

A handful of dances are nicely staged (chiefly an O’Connor bit with fountain statues of stone that come to life), while a couple of songs reasonably resonate, but the pacing is too slow and the story too simplistic for a truly memorable movie.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Aug 7, 2012

C

If you're looking for a good film that features Irving Berlin tunes, this one is not the film you're looking for.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jul 27, 2012

B

Though Marilyn Monroe was the country's biggest movie star, this plotless musical, a tribute to the genius composer Irving Berlin, belongs to Ethel Merman.

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David Kaplan

Kaplan vs. Kaplan

Mar 1, 2008

4/5

Eric Lurio

Greenwich Village Gazette

Dec 21, 2004

2/5

The decline of the musical starts here. Faux Kelly just doesn't work.

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Albus W

Aug 26, 2018

Although it has a rather simple story, it is undoubtedly one of the best classics of the 50's. I highly recommend it.

Kylo S

Aug 2, 2017

Not something I need to see twice.

Leia G

Jun 16, 2017

With an all-star cast and an Irving Berlin score of both old and new songs, this gaudy Fox musical still doesn't have very much going for it; the corny storyline keeps getting in the way of some OK musical numbers, the highlight being Marilyn Monroe's "Heat Wave."

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Walter Lang

Director

Ethel Merman

Molly Donahue

Dan Dailey

Terence Donahue

Marilyn Monroe

Vicky Hoffman

Donald O'Connor

Tim Donahue

Johnnie Ray

Steve Donahue

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Synopsis

Terry (Dan Dailey) and Molly (Ethel Merman) are vaudeville performers who eventually add their three children to the act to become The Five Donahues. However, their children start to go their own way in time, with Steve (Johnnie Ray) deciding to become a priest. The other grown children, Katy (Mitzi Gaynor) and Tim (Donald O'Connor), join a show starring Victoria Parker (Marilyn Monroe). The Donahue parents become a performing pair again, but the family still faces personal upheaval.

Director: Walter Lang
Producer: Sol C. Siegel
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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