the late 50's was a weird yet interesting time for the musical film genre. after 25 years musicals hadn't really advanced very much. and this is apparent in damn yankees. there are some excellent fosse dance numbers, and gwen verdon is great, and the guy who plays the devil (cant remember his name) is great too. Jean stapleton (edith in "all in the family") is awesome. Its just the jokes are too far and few between and i sometimes get the feeling that the main actors would rather be elsewhere and are in their own different movie. There aren't enough show stopper dance numbers and the ones they have are just half way there..'whatever lola wants number' just doesn't do it all the way but the drunken club number at the end is pretty cool in a tongue and cheek sorta way. But the best number by far is Gwen Verdon and Fosse doing the mambo number. That is HOT!! But on the whole, the film just feels like it's over itself..been there done that..and if you're a purveyor of musicals, you'll have the same feeling as well.