MGM had the rights to the musical but couldn't think of what to do with it - and wound up giving Ken Russell a go. The result is actually more traditional than you might think - Russell clearly has genuine affection for the piece, and the era, and old stage shows.
It's too long - it's 2 hours 18 minutes with an intermission - I think because he tried to jam in too much. I wish Russell had gotten a co writer on board instead of doing it all himself. Russell whinged about MGM cutting off 25 minutes but I'm sympathetic to the studio.
There is a lot of charm. The visuals re impressive. I think the idea of a show within a show completely works. I got confused about the Twiggy-Chris Gable romance - when did they fall in love? I didn't like Twiggy not accepting the Hollywood role at the end.
Twiggy is very likable and can sing and dance. She surely would have had a bigger career in a decade where they made more musicals. It helps that support actors like Chris Gable and Tommy Tune are the real deal and can sing and dance. The support cast is very good - Glenda Jackson has a fun came. I loved the use of old tropes (the star twisting an ankle so the understudy goes on, the long lost son, etc)... I just wish it wasn't so damn long!
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