Anything Goes is a Technicolor-and-Vistavision remake of the 1936 film of the same name, which in turn was based on
Cole Porter's hit 1934 Broadway musical. The 1956 bears little relationship plotwise to its predecessors, except for the fact that most of the story takes place aboard a luxury liner.
Bing Crosby and
Donald O'Connor star as Bill Benson and Ted Adams, a pair of top Broadway tunesmiths who agree to collaborate on their next musical just as soon as they complete their respective vacations. Complications arise when, unbeknownst to one another, Bill and Ted each sign up a potential leading lady; Bill's choice is ballerina Gaby Duval (
Zizi Jeanmaire), while Ted's selection is brassy chanteuse Patsy Blair (
Mitzi Gaynor). Retained from the original
Cole Porter score are such standards as "You're the Top", "I Get a Kick Out of You" (with appropriately laundered lyrics), "Blow, Gabriel Blow", and the title tune. New songs, penned by
Sammy Cahn and
Jimmy Van Heusen, include "You Gotta Give the People Hoke" and "A Second-Hand Turban and a Crystal Ball". To avoid confusion with the 1956 adaptation of Anything Goes, the 1936 version was for many years retitled Tops is the Limit for television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide