Funny Lady

In this musical sequel to Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand reprises her Oscar-winning role as comedienne Fanny Brice, James Caan portrays songwriter/producer Billy Rose, and Omar Sharif returns as gambler Nicky Arnstein. For his final film, cinematographer James Wong Howe fuses his trademark starkness with old-style Hollywood glamour. There are the requisite lavish production numbers (original songs by Chicago’s Fred Ebb & John Kander), but the film is at its best when Streisand sings alone on a bare stage under a naked light bulb. –M. Berlin