Funny Girl (1968)

The story of Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) from a young teen trying to get a break in vaudeville to her journey as one of the greatest stars of the Ziegfeld Follies. Based on the Broadway musical and directed by William Wyler. As a film, there wasn't much the veteran director could do with this rags to riches to heartbreak biopic but handle the hackneyed story as tastefully as he could and keep out of his Star's way. The star is, of course, Barbra Streisand in quite possibly one of the greatest film debuts in movie history. She emerges a full blown Movie Star right out of the gate and with a screen presence that would make Joan Crawford green with jealousy. The songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill are very good and Streisand makes them sound even better than that. Omar Sharif as Nick Arnstein is often unfairly dismissed but he's actually quite decent. Walter Pidgeon makes an imposing Florenz Ziegfeld but Anne Francis and Kay Medford are wasted. With Frank Faylen, Gerald Mohr, Lee Allen, Gertrude Flynn and Penny Santon.