Unsinkable Molly Brown, The (Full Frame)

VHS, 128 minutes, WARNER

"Be sure the story is something you cannot resist," Richard Rodgers once advised Meredith Willson. After considering some 100 projects while seeking a successor to "The Music Man," Willson found one that was irresistible. And unsinkable. Debbie Reynolds plays the title role, inviting all to "Belly Up To The Bar, Boys" for the whoop-and-holler screen version of Willson's 1960 Broadway hit. Reynolds earned a 1964 Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of the plucky backwoods heroine who survives the Titanic and the cold-fish snobbery of Denver society. And screen-debuting Harve Presnell reprises his stage role of Leadville Johnny Brown, who has a heartful-and-a-half of lover for Molly. Johnny wasn't alone. Astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young admired the movie so much they named their Gemini 3 spacecraft Molly Brown.