In the film adaptation of Cole Porter's stage hit, Anything Goes, pretty much everything went! At least much of Porter's score. Of the fifteen or so songs in the stage version, the film only retained four. Of those, the lyrics of "You're the Top" were substantially rewritten, and only the first line of the title song survived, sung by Merman during the opening credits. Then four new songs by various songwriters were added back into the score. This odd song-swapping, in the transition from stage to screen, was actually not uncommon in the 1930s, when the studios owned their own music publishing companies and hoped for additional profits from the new songs. Another reason in this case is that Porter's often racy lyrics couldn't always get past the Production Code's censors. Finally, it's also been said that the film's top-billed star, Bing Crosby, pressured the studio for the new songs, ones that he felt better suited to his trademark "crooner" delivery.
One of the misguided interpolations was a little nothing called "Shanghai-De-Ho" by Frederick Hollander and Leo Robin, the basis for the film's final production number. It's a cringe-making example of cultural insensitivity, typical of the period, but at least it gives us the delightfully bizarre sight of Merman all dolled up in a glamorous "oriental" drag.
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| With Charlie Ruggles. |
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| With Bing Crosby. (Five images.) |
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