Saturday, September 4, 2010

Carol Channing Can Do A Lot For A Corset

The First Traveling Saleslady is the first film in which Carol Channing sang a song. The movie is not available on DVD.


For the INTERNET WORLD PREMIERE, I set up my camera in front of the TV and, until a better version can be had, here is vintage Channing (with some faux piano help from Ginger Rogers) singing A Corset Can Do A Lot For A Lady from The First Traveling Saleslady.


In the clip, actress Molly and saleswoman Rose (progressives) try to interest
a theatrical producer in adding a number featuring their corsets -
despite his fears of reprisal from the Purity League (conservatives).





2 comments:

  1. I guess I really am looking at the only access to this song in the world wide web. How sad. I stumbled across it on youtube while I was looking for an audition piece, and I thought "That's the one!" It's such a quirky little song, but IMPOSSIBLE to find sheet music for.
    With further research, I discovered that apparently this film was awful, and that' why there is no score to be had (hence no music for this song.) All Movie Guide says this: "Whenever asked about First Travelling Saleslady in later years, Carol Channing would blithely refer to it as 'the picture that killed RKO'; she wasn't too far wrong in this assessment." Ouch.
    If you have any more information on that...I'd be glad to hear it.
    Source:
    http://www.answers.com/topic/the-first-traveling-saleslady#ixzz1dGhtQYDG

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  2. See? World Internet Premiere! (I just saw this comment almost a year later.) I had heard that Channing quote before. I still have the movie on my DVR; it is pretty awful but so great to see Carol all young and corsetted up.

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