Bathtubs over Broadway

Chris says: “If a deep dive into the obscure world of 1960s industrial musicals doesn’t at least pique your interest, then this is not a documentary for you. If it at all does, however, you won’t mind spending ninety minutes with Steve Young, a nerdy comedy writer for David Letterman whom stumbled upon and became obsessed with rare cast albums of this secret, long-lost portal of musical theater known only by its selective corporate audiences and the artists who conceived and performed these unexpectedly elaborate productions.

“This last part is where BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY becomes more than just a funny peek into shows full of boisterous, song-and-dance odes to silicone and sparkplugs.. Young actually seeks out and finds various performers and composers of these opuses, acknowledging the absurdity of it all while making the case that this accidental subculture was much more than a  joke. While Young doesn’t have what you would call a dynamic screen presence, his conversations with these people are often touching and illuminating. And of course, the wonderful, rare archival footage that exists of these shows has to be seen to be believed. 3.5 cats“

Thom says: “If I’d been in a ‘whatever rocks your boat’ mood I might have given this film a rave review, but alas I wasn’t. Age setting in? Anyway Steve Young was a long time script writer for the now retired LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN. Off studio he is one of the world’s most eminent authorities on ‘Industrial Music’, record albums that featured full-Broadway-type musical numbers with singers, elaborate orchestration, dancers and full costumed routines celebrating various corporate institutions such as Xerox, Ford, McDonald’s, General Electric, DuPont, etc., done in the 60’s & 70’s, but now gone out of fashion. They were only shown at conventions and other business events. He discovered them by accident and has spent years tracking down the rare vinyl recordings from obscure dealers & fans. In so doing he also tracks down many of the performers, singers, directors, actors, & songwriters, setting up personal meetings, talking about t he life, and where the road has taken them. I have to admit that a lot of skill and talent went into these professional performances but to what end? Since I am blessed with so many demanding interests far be it for me to put down someone else’s obsessions but this one has little interest for me. That isn’t to say that the film isn’t well-made with a variety of talking heads that are all cheerful and positive about the hobby and the time spent in the creation of these bizarre industry tidbits. My film-going companion absolutely loved the film and my sense of his enjoyment was considerable. Not really pertinent is the fact that ‘industrial’ rock music is one of my favorite current genres but then it long followed the original version here. 2.5 cats“