Daddy Long Legs
20th Century-Fox, 1955, Color, 126 minutes, ***½
Released May, 1955

Lavish, dance-filled extravaganza starring Leslie Caron as a French orphan whose schooling is sponsored by an anonymous American millionaire, played by Fred Astaire. After ignoring her for four years, the millionaire's secretary finally persuades her boss to visit the girl, and romance soon blooms. Terry Moore, Thelma Ritter co-star; songs include "Something's Got to Give."

Musical remake of the classic "Daddy Long Legs" tale of a wealthy middle-aged bachelor anonymously adopting a young orphan girl and ultimately falling in love with her (see also: Shirley Temple's Curly Top). A charming film, often overlooked. Leslie Caron is at her best - dancing and acting. A high-point of the film is Fred and Leslie's "Sluefoot" dance!

Produced by: Samuel G. Engel
Directed by: Jean Negulesco
Assistant Director: Eli Dunn
Screen Play by: Phoebe and Henry Ephron
From the novel by Jean Webster
Words and Music by: Johnny Mercer
Ballets by: Roland Petit
Music Supervised and Conducted by: Alfred Newman
Vocal Supervision: Ken Darby
Paris, Hong Kong, Rio Ballet Music: Alex North
Orchestration: Edward B. Powell, Skip Martin, Earl Hagen, Bernard Mayers, Billy May
Dances Staged by: Fred Astaire and David Robel
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John De Cuir
Set Decorations: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Wardrobe Direction: Charles Le Maire
Modern Wardrobe Designed by: Kay Nelson
Ballet Costumes Designed by: Tom Keogh
Makeup Artist: Ben Nye
Hair Styling by: Helen Turpin
Sound: Alfred Bruzlin, Harry M. Leonard
Director of Photography: Leon Shamroy
Special Photographic Effects: Ray Kellogg
Filmed in CinemaScope, Color by De Luxe
Color Consultant: Leonard Doss
Film Editor: William Reynolds

Awards: Academy Award Nominations for Best Score - Musical, Best Song ("Something's Gotta Give") and Best Art Direction / Set Decoration - Color

Cast: Fred Astaire [Jervis Pendleton], Leslie Caron [Julie Andre], Terry Moore [Linda Pendleton], Thelma Ritter [Miss Pritchard], Fred Clark [Griggs], Charlotte Austin [Sally McBride], Larry Keating [Ambassador Alexander Williamson], Kathryn Givney [Gertrude Pendleton], Kelly Brown [Jimmy McBride], Kathryn Card [Mrs. Carrington], Sara Shane [Pat], Numa Lapeyre [Jean], Ann Codee [Mme. Sevanne], Steven Geray [Emile], Percival Vivian [Professor], Hellen Van Tuyl [College Dean], Damian O'Flynn [Larry Hamilton], Joseph Kearns [Guide], Larry Kent [Butler], Charles Anthony Hughes [Hotel Manager], Ralph Dumke [Mr. Bronson], Tim Johnson [Bellhop], Harry Seymour [Cab Driver], Olan Soule [Assistant Hotel Manager], J. Anthony Hughes [Delivery Man], George Dunn [Chauffeur], Ray Anthony and His Orchestra [Themselves], The Pied Pipers [Themselves]

Musical Program: [0:00] "Something's Gotta Give" (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:06] History of the Beat (played by Fred Astaire on drums accompanied by a record); [0:13] C-A-T Spells Cat (sung by Leslie Caron); [0:27] Daddy Long Legs (Chorus); [0:32] Welcome Egghead (sung by Girls at Walston College); [0:44] The Daydream Sequence (Julie Andre's dream sequence): 1) Texas Millionaire (instrumental with Chorus, danced by Fred Astaire), 2) International Playboy (instrumental, danced by Fred Astaire and Chorus Girls), 3) Guardian Angel (instrumental danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron); [0:54] Spring Dance (music provided by Ray Anthony and His Orchestra); [1:03] Sluefoot (sung by the Pied Pipers with Ray Anthony and His Orchestra, danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, with Chorus); [1:09] Dream (Fred Astaire sings along with record); [1:17] Something's Gotta Give (sung by Fred Astaire, danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron); [1:40] Dancing Through Life (Julie Andre's second dream sequence: instrumental, ballet danced by Leslie Caron and Chorus); [2:03] Dream (begins in background, then danced by Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron);

Dames
Warner Bros. / Vitaphone, 1934, B/W, 90 minutes
Released August, 1934

It's call Dames for many gorgeous young reasons, but reviewers past and present label this blissful musical romp Gold Diggers of 1934 because of its stars from the prior year's Gold Diggers movie, its showbiz story and its glorious Busby Berkeley razzmatazz.

Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler again have eyes only for each other in this tale of stage hopefuls versus a disapproving decency group. And all audience eyes are on the screen as Berkeley reinvents filmmaking via a subway dream ("I Only Have Eyes for You"), a staggeringly kaleidoscopic arrangement of showgirls in black tights (Dames) and other bravura imaginings. It's geometry in motion. You won't believe your eyes!  [from back of DVD case]

The Busby Berkeley Collection DVD box set (shown right) contains this film and Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Gold Diggers of 1935, 42nd Street, and The Busby Berkeley Disc anthology of Busby Berkeley musical numbers.

Producer: Robert Lord
Directed by: Ray Enright
Numbers Created and Directed by: Busby Berkeley
Screen Play by: Delmer Daves
Story by: Robert Lord & Delmer Daves
Music and Lyrics by: Warren & Dubin, Fain & Kahal, Dixon & Wrubel
Vitaphone Orchestra Conducted by: Leo F. Forbstein
Art Directors: Robert M. Haas, Willy Pogany
Gowns by: Orry-Kelly
Photography by: Sid Hickox, George Barnes, Sol Polito
Edited by: Harold McLernon

Cast: Joan Blondell [Mabel Anderson], Dick Powell [Jimmy Higgens], Ruby Keeler [Barbara Hemingway], ZaSu Pitts [Mathilda Hemingway], Guy Kibbee [Horace], Hugh Herbert [Ezra Ounce], Arthur Vinton [Bulger], Phil Regan [Johnny Harris], Arthur Aylesworth [Conductor], Johnny Arthur [Billings, Secretary], Leila Bennett [Laura the Maid], Berton Churchill [H. Ellsworthy Todd], Additional Cast: Sammy Fain [Buttercup Baumer], Pat Harper, Ruth Eddings, De Don Blunier, Gloria Faythe, Diana Douglas [Chorus Girls], Lester Dorr [Elevator Starter], Eddy Chandler [Guard], Harry Holman [Spanish War Veteran], Fred "Snowflake" Toones [Porter], Frank Darien [Druggist], Eddie Kane [Harry, Stage Manager], Charles Williams [Dance Director], Phil Tead [Reporter]

Musical Program: [0:09] When You Were a Smile on Your Mother's Lips (sung by Dick Powell to Ruby Keeler); [0:24] I Only Have Eyes for You (sung by Dick Powell); [0:33] Try to See It My Way (sung by Dick Powell); [0:46] rehearsal (danced by Ruby Keeler); [0:46] rehearsal (danced by Ruby Keeler and Chorus Girls); [0:57] The Girl at the Ironing Board (sung by Joan Blondell and Girls Chorus); [1:05] I Only Have Eyes for You (big production number sung by Dick Powell and Chorus, sung and danced by Chorus Girls -- lots of special effects); [1:16] Dames (big production number sung by Dick Powell with Busby Berkeley Girls -- lots of special effects); [1:27] Try to See It My Way (sung by Joan Blondell and Chorus)

Damn Yankees
Warner Bros., 1958, Color, 111 minutes, ***
Released September, 1958

Step up to the plate for Damn Yankees, the rousing movie of the 1,019-performance Broadway grand-slam that imports nearly all the original New York lineup, including Tony Award-winning stars Gwen Verdon as luscious vamp Lola and Ray Walston as Satanic boss Applegate. Hollywood's Tab Hunter suits up as potential lost soul and Washington Senators slugger Joe Hardy, revealing a freewheeling fun side unseen in previous roles. The Pajama Game duo of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross serve up an out-of-the-park home-run score, including "Whatever Lola Wants" and "Heart." Choreographer Bob Fosse provides all the right moves, and he joins Verdon on screen in performing "Who's Got the Pain?" No pain here, just pure pleasure.  [from back of DVD case]

Produced and Directed by: George Abbott and Stanley Donen
Associate Producers: Frederick Brisson, Robert Griffith, Harold Prince
Assistant Director: Ivan Volkman
Screenplay by: George Abbott
Based upon the play "Damn Yankees" book by George Abbott and Douglas Wallop
From Douglas Wallop's Novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Produced by Brisson, Griffith and Prince
Music and Lyrics by: Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Song Score: Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Choreography by: Bob Fosse
Production and Costumes Designed by: William and Jean Eckart
Art Director: Stanley Fleischer
Set Decorator: John P. Austin
Makeup Supervisor: Gordon Bau
Sound by: Stanley Jones, Dolph Thomas
Director of Photography: Harold Lipstein
In Technicolor
Film Editor: Frank Bracht

Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Score - Musical

Cast: Tab Hunter [Joe Hardy], Gwen Verdon [Lola], Ray Walston [Applegate], Russ Brown [Van Buren], Shannon Bolin [Meg], Nathaniel Frey [Smokey], Jimmie Komack [Rocky], Rae Allen [Gloria], Robert Shafer [Joe Boyd], Jean Stapleton [Sister], Albert Linville [Vernon], Additional Cast: Bob Fosse [Mambo Dancer], Elizabeth Howell [Doris], William Fawcett [Hawkins], Frank J. Scannell, Joseph Mell [Reporters]

Musical Program: [0:03] Six Months Out of Every Year (sung by Shannon Bolin, Robert Shafer and Chorus); [0:13] Goodbye, Old Girl (sung by Robert Shafer then by Tab Hunter); [0:19] Heart (sung by Russ Brown, James Komack, Nathaniel Frey, Albert Linville); [0:32] Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo. (sung and danced by Rae Allen and the The Senators); [0:39] There's Something About an Empty Chair (sung by Shannon Bolin); [0:50] A Little Brains, a Little Talent (sung by Gwen Verdon); [1:01] Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets) (sung and danced by Gwen Verdon); [1:09] Those Were the Good Old Days (sung by Ray Walston); [1:18] Who's Got the Pain (sung and danced by Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse - cute number!); [1:23] Heart (sung by Jean Stapleton and Boys); [1:35] Two Lost Souls (sung and danced by Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon and Chorus); [1:49] There's Something About an Empty Chair (sung by Shannon Bolin and Robert Shafer)

A Damsel in Distress
RKO, 1937, B/W, 98 minutes, ***½
Released November, 1937

The dancing talents of Fred Astaire (with new partner Joan Fontaine alongside), a marvelous musical score by the Gershwins, and comic relief from Burns and Allen combine in this enchanting romantic treat about an American dancer finding a place in his heart for a sheltered British aristocrat while in London. Co-written by P.G. Wodehouse and directed by George Stevens; songs include "Sing of Spring."

Great fun with Astaire pursuing Fontaine and Burns and Allen getting to do their thing. The funhouse scene is especially memorable, as is another of Reggie's impersonations of a great orchestra leader. Wonderful rendition of "A Foggy Day" by Fred Astaire.

Produced by: Pandro S. Berman
Directed by: George Stevens
Assistant Director: Argyle Nelson
Music by: George Gershwin
Lyrics by: Ira Gershwin
Screen Play by: P.G. Wodehouse, Ernest Pagano, S. K. Lauren
From the Story by: P. G. Wodehouse
Musical Director: Victor Baravalle
Orchestral Arrangements by: Russell Bennett
Additional Arragnements by: Ray Noble and George Bassman
Choreography: Hermes Pan and Fred Astaire
Art Director: Van Nest Polglase
   Associate: Carroll Clark
Recorded by: Earl A. Wollcott
Set Dressing by: Darrell Silvera
Special Effects by: Vernon L. Walker
Photographed by: Joseph H. August
Edited by: Henry Berman

Cast: Fred Astaire [Jerry Halliday], George Burns [George Burns], Gracie Allen [Gracie Allen], Joan Fontaine [Lady Alyce Marshmorton], Reginald Gardiner [Keggs], Ray Noble [Reggie], Constance Collier [Lady Caroline Marshmorton], Montagu Love [Lord John Marshmorton], Harry Watson [Albert], Jan Duggan [Mrs. Ruggles] Additional Cast: Pearl Amatore, Betty Rone, Mary Dean, Jack George [Madrigal Singers], Joe Niemeyer [Halliday Impersonator], W. J. O'Brien [Chauffeur], Mary Gordon [Cook], Ralph Brooks, Fred Kelsey [Sightseers], Major Sam Harris [Dance Extra], Mario Berini [Keggs' singing voice]

Musical Program: [0:12] I Can't Be Bothered Now (sung and danced by Fred Astaire in a busy London street); [0:25] The Jolly Tar and the Milkmaid (sung by Jan Duggan, Mary Dean, Pearl Amatore, Betty Rone and Chorus, joined by Fred Astaire); [0:39] Put Me to the Test (instrumental arrangement danced by Fred, George and Gracie with whiskbrooms); [0:48] Stiff Upper Lip (sung by Gracie Allen, danced by Gracie, George Burns, Fred Astaire and Chorus at the amusement park); [1:05] Things Are Looking Up (sung by Fred Astaire, danced by Astaire and Joan Fontaine); [1:09] Sing of Spring (sung by Madrigal Singers); [1:14] A Foggy Day (sung by Fred Astaire); [1:19] Nice Work If You Can Get It (sung by Jan Duggan, Mary Dean, Pearl Amatore, Fred Astaire and Chorus); [1:25] Ah! che a voi perdoni Iddio (from the opera MARTHA, sung by Mario Berini dubbing for Reginald Gardiner); [1:36] Put Me to the Test (instrumental arrangement, Fred Astaire dances and plays drums)

Dancing Lady
MGM, 1933, B/W, 90 minutes, **½
Released November, 1933

Backstage musical finds Franchot Tone and Clark Gable vying for Burlesque-to-Broadway dancer Mommie Dearest. Tone goes slumming and finds Crawford dancing in a Burlesque house, which is raided by the cops. He bails her out and provides a contact for her to try her talents in a real musical production. When she lands a part, Tone provides the financial backing, but later withdraws his support in order to get Crawford to go globe-hopping with him. Needless to say, Crawford is not happy when she finds out what Tone has done!

This "backstage" musical format was used almost exclusively from the advent of "talkies" in the late 1920s up until the late 1930s, when the movie-going public began to tire of the fixed menu and ticket sales slumped.

Plays much like Forty-Second Street. The story takes place mostly backstage. The Stooges are on hand for a bit of stooging; Fred Astaire and Nelson Eddy make appearances as famous Broadway personalities (which they were). Benchley plays a muddled gossip columnist. The most interesting thing about this film is that it's Fred Astaire's Hollywood debut. The show numbers are quite good - once they get to them! Staging and costumes are wonderful!

Executive Producer: David O. Selznick
Associate Producer: John W. Considine, Jr.
Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard
Screen Play by: Allen Rivkin and P. J. Wolfson
From the Book by: James Warner Bellah
Music Director: Louis Silvers
Song Numbers: "Let's Go Bavarian," "Heigh Ho," "Everything I Have Is Yours;" Music by Burton Lane, Lyrics by Harold Adamson
"That's the Rhythm of the Day" Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
"My Dancing Lady" Music by John McHugh, Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Orchestra Conducted by: Louis Silvers
Musical Ensembles Directed by: Sammy Lee and LeRoy Prinz
Art Director: Merrill Pye
Interior Decoration by: Edwin B. Willis
Gowns by: Adrian
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Special Effects by: Slavko Vorkapich
Photographed by: Oliver T. Marsh
Film Editor: Margaret Booth

Cast: Joan Crawford [Jane Barlow], Clark Gable [Patch Gallagher], Franchot Tone [Tod Newton], May Robson [Dolly Todhunter], Winnie Lightner [Rosette Henrietta La Rue], Fred Astaire [Himself], Robert Benchley [Ward King], Ted Healy and His Stooges [Steve], Supporting Players: Art Jarrett [Art], Grant Mitchell [Bradley, Sr.], Nelson Eddy [Himself], Maynard Holmes [Jasper Bradley, Jr.], Sterling Holloway [Pinky, the Author], Gloria Foy [Vivian Warner], Moe Howard, Jerry Howard, Larry Fine [The Three Stooges], Additional Cast: Florine McKinney [Grace Newton], Bonita Barker, Dale Dean, Shirley Aranson, Katharine Barnes, Lynn Bari [Chorus Girls], Jack Baxley [Barker], Frank Hagney [Cop], Pat Somerset [Tod's Friend], Charles Williams [Man Arrested in Burlesque House], Ferdinand Gottschalk [Judge], Eve Arden [Marcia, the Southern Actress], Matt McHugh [Marcia's Agent], Charles Sullivan [Cabby], Harry C. Bradley, John Sheehan [Author's Pals], Stanley Blystone [Traffic Cop], Charles Wilson [Club Manager], Bill Elliott [Cafe Extra], Larry Steers, C. Montague Shaw [First Nighters]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] Hey Young Fella (sung and danced by Chorus Girls); [0:02] Hold Your Man (sung by Winnie Lightner, danced by Joan Crawford, Winnie Lightner and Chorus); [0:27] Alabama Swing (?) (danced by Joan Crawford); [0:31] Everything I Have Is Yours (sung by Art Jarrett, danced by Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone); [0:52] My Dancing Lady (sung by Art Jarrett, danced by Joan Crawford and Chorus); [0:55] Heigh-Ho the Gang's All Here (short instrumental excerpt danced by Fred Astaire and Joan Crawford); [1:06] short excerpt of Flamenco dance in Havana; [1:16] Heigh-Ho the Gang's All Here (sung and danced by Fred Astaire, Joan Crawford and Chorus); [1:19] Let's Go Bavarian (sung and danced by Fred Astaire, Joan Crawford and Chorus); [1:22] Finale: Rhythm of the Day (sung by Nelson Eddy, danced by Chorus); Many instrumental dance numbers in the background score.


Title Card

Dangerous When Wet
MGM, 1953, Color, 95 minutes, **½
General Release July, 1953

One of Esther's weaker vehicles, in my opinion, but it's still fun. She plays a champion swimmer who attempts to swim the English Channel. Charlotte Greenwood gets to do her leg-kicking dance thing, and Barbara Whiting stops the show with "I Like Men." Esther swims with MGM animated stars Tom and Jerry.

The Esther Williams, Vol. 1 DVD box set (shown right) contains this film and Bathing Beauty, Easy to Wed, On an Island with You, and Neptune's Daughter

Produced by: George Wells
Directed by: Charles Walters
Assistant Director: Sid Sidman
Written by: Dorothy Kingsley
Music by: Arthur Schwartz
Lyrics by: Johnny Mercer
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Musical Numbers Staged by: Charles Walters and Billy Daniel
Orchestrations by: Skip Martin
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Jack Martin Smith
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Emile Kuri
Costumes Designed by: Helen Rose
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle
Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer
Special Effects: Irving G. Ries
Tom and Jerry Cartoon Sequence by: Fred Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Montage Sequence by: Peter Ballbusch
Color by: Technicolor
Technicolor Color Consultant: Henri Jaffa
Color Consultant: Alvord Eiseman
Director of Photography: Harold Rosson
Film Editor: John McSweeney, Jr.

Cast: Esther Williams [Katy Higgins], Fernando Lamas [Andre Lanet], Jack Carson [Windy Webbe], Charlotte Greenwood [Ma Higgins], Denise Darcel [Gigi Mignon], William Demarest [Pa Higgins], Donna Corcoran ["Junior" Higgins], Barbara Whiting [Suzie Higgins], Bunny Waters [Greta], Henri Letondal [Joubert], Paul Bryar [Pierre], Jack Raine [Stuart Frye], Richard Alexander [Egyptian Channel Swimmer], Tudor Owen [Old Salt], Ann Codee [Mrs. Lanet], Additional Cast: Michael Dugan [Ad Lib], Roger Moore [Reporter], Reginald Simpson [Reporter], John McKee [Photographer], Arthur Gould-Porter [English Steward], Eugene Borden [French Mayor], Aminta Dyne [English Woman Guest], James Fairfax [English Cab Driver], Molly Glessing [English Waitress], Patrick O'Moore [Bob Gerrard], Jimmy Aubrey [Bartender]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "I Got out of Bed on the Right Side"; [0:02] I Got out of Bed on the Right Side (sung by William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood, Esther Williams, Barbara Whiting and Donna Corcoran; instrumental arrangement swum by Esther Williams); [0:06] Liquapep (excerpt played through loudspeaker on truck); [0:09] Liquapep (sung by Jack Carson with recording at health rally); [0:11] I Like Men (sung and danced by Barbara Whiting with four musicians); [0:26] I Got out of Bed on the Right Side (reprised by William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood, Esther Williams, Barbara Whiting and Donna Corcoran as they march down to the English Channel for training); [0:44] In My Wildest Dreams (sung by Fernando Lamas); [0:57] Tom and Jerry sequence (Esther Williams swims with Tom and Jerry in a mixed live-action / animated sequence; music used includes an instrumental arrangement of "I Got out of Bed on the Right Side" with vocals by various sea creatures, and underwater gurgling renditions of "In My Wildest Dreams"); [1:12] Ain't Nature Grand (sung by Fernando Lamas and Esther Williams; then sung by Barbara Whiting; then sung by Denise Darcel and Jack Carson; then sung by Charlotte Greenwood and William Demarest, Demarest does a few dance taps, Charlotte dances her famous leg-kicking dance at age 63!); [1:18] Esther and Fernando swim to an instrumental reprise of "Ain't Nature Grand"; [1:35] I Got out of Bed on the Right Side (sung by the Company)

A Date with Judy
MGM, 1948, Color, 113 minutes, ***
Released June, 1948

Fun film featuring Janie and Liz. Janie thinks pop (Beery) is having an affair when he takes Rhumba lessons on the sly from Carmen. Liz plays her young snooty girl with a heart of gold character, and Robert Stack has trouble deciding whether he's in love with Liz or Janie. Scotty Beckett is fun as Janie's boyfriend. Great cast. Liz is sultry when she sings "It's a Most Unusual Day," and Janie and Company (even Wallace Beery!) get to sing a bit of it too at the end of the movie. Jane singing "Through the Years" for grandpa (Cleveland) is a touching moment.

Produced by: Joe Pasternak
Directed by: Richard Thorpe
Screen Play: Dorothy Cooper and Dorothy Kingsley
Based on the Characters Created by Aleen Leslie
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Songs: "It's a Most Unusual Day" (by) Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson; "Judaline" (by) Don Raye and Gene dePaul; "I'm Strictly on the Corny Side" (by) Stella Unger and Alec Templeton
Musical Arrangements: Leo Arnaud, Albert Sendry and Robert Franklyn
Dance Direction: Stanley Donen
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associate: Richard A. Pefferle
Women's Costumes: Helen Rose
Hair Styles Designed by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Uo Created by: Jack Dawn
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe
Color by: Technicolor
Director of Photography: Robert Surtees
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Henri Jaffa
Film Editor: Harold F. Kress

Cast: Wallace Beery [Melvin R. Foster], Jane Powell [Judy Foster], Elizabeth Taylor [Carol Pringle], Carmen Miranda [Rosita Conchelias], Xavier Cugat [Himself], Robert Stack [Stephen Andrews], Selena Royle [Mrs. Foster], Scotty Beckett [Ogden "Oogie" Pringle], Leon Ames [Lucien T. Pringle], George Cleveland [Gramps], Lloyd Corrigan [Pop Scully], Clinton Sundberg [Jameson], Jean McLaren [Mitzie], Jerry Hunter [Randolph Foster], Buddy Howard [Jo-Jo Hoffenpepper], Lillian Yarbo [Nightingale], Eula Guy [Miss Clarke], Francis Pierlot [Professor Green], Rena Lenart [Olga], Sheila Stein [Little Girl in Drug Store], Paul Bradley [Headwaiter], Polly Bailey [Elderly Woman], Alice Kelley [Girl], Fern Eggen [Miss Sampson]

Musical Porgram: [0:00] Overture: "Judaline" / "I'm Strictly on the Corny Side" (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:03] It's a Most Unusual Day (sung by Jane Powell); [0:05] It's a Most Unusual Day (reprised, sultry style, by a dubbed Elizabeth Taylor); [0:13] Through the Years (sung by Jane Powell with George Cleveland); [0:22] Love Is Where You Find It (sung by Jane Powell with high school dance band conducted by Scotty Beckett); [0:49] Love Is Where You Find It (short reprisal by Jane Powell); [0:51] I'm Strictly on the Corny Side (sung and danced by Jane Powell and Scotty Beckett); [1:11] Judaline (sung by Jane Powell with Scotty Beckett and male quartet); [1:19] Home Sweet Home (sung by Jane Powell, Selena Royle and Jerry Hunter); [1:28] Judaline (reprised by Scotty Beckett and friends serenading Judy); [1:34] Cookin' with Gas (sung and danced by Carmen Miranda with Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra); [1:40] Cuanto Le Gusta (sung and danced by Carmen Miranda with Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra); [1:51] It's a Most Unusual Day (reprised in finale by Jane Powell, joined by the whole company and chorus, including Elizabeth Taylor, Wallace Beery, Xavier Cugat, Carmen Miranda, Selena Royle, Scotty Beckett and Robert Stack); several additional instrumental numbers I can't identify are played in the background for dancing

A Day at the Races
MGM, 1937, B/W, 111 minutes
Released June, 1937

Groucho is horse doctor Hugo Z. Hackenbush (which in itself is enough to bring a laugh!) treating hypochondriac Margaret Dumont, while Harpo and Chico wreak humdinging havoc at trackside. With Maureen O'Sullivan, Allan Jones. Anyone for a tootsi-fruitsi ice cream?

The Marx Brothers Collection DVD Box Set (shown right) contains this film and A Night at the Opera, A Night in Casablanca, Room Service, At the Circus, Go West and The Big Store.

Producer: Max Siegel and Sam Wood
Director: Sam Wood
Screenplay: Robert Pirosh, George Seaton and George Oppenheimer
Musical Score: Gus Kahn, Walter Jurmann and Bronislau Kaper
Song Score: Gus Kahn, Walter Jurmann and Bronislau Kaper
Music Director: Franz Waxman
Choreography: Dave Gould
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Film Editing: Frank E. Hull

Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Dance Direction (Dave Gould)

Cast: Groucho Marx [Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush], Chico Marx [Tony], Harpo Marx [Stuffy], Allan Jones [Gil], Maureen O'Sullivan [Judy], Margaret Dumont [Mrs. Upjohn], Leonard Ceeley [Whitmore], Douglas Dumbrille [Morgan], Esther Muir [Flo], Sig Rumann [Dr. Steinberg], Robert Middlemass [Sheriff], Charles Trowbridge [Dr. Wilmerding], Frank Dawson, Edward Le Saint, Max Lucke [Doctors], Frankie Darro [Morgan's Jockey], Pat Flaherty [Detective], Si Jenks [Messenger], Hooper Atchley [Race Judge], John Hyams, Wilbur Mack [Judges], Mary MacLaren [Nurse], Jack Norton [Drunk], Vivian Fay [Solo Dancer], Ivie Anderson and the Crinoline Choir [vocals]

Musical Program: [0:43] Blue Venetian Waters (sung by Allan Jones and Chorus Girls, danced by Chorus Girls; entire scene in blue-tone); [0:54] Chico plays unidentified number on piano; [0:57] Harpo plays unidentifued comedy number on piano, then plays unidentified number on harp; [1:04] Blue Danube (comedy dance by Groucho); [1:23] Tomorrow Is Another Day (sung by Allan Jones); [1:26] Barn Sequence (sung and danced by Allan Jones, Marx Brothers and Crinoline Choir featuring Ivie Anderson) inludes excerpts of All God's Chillun Got Rhythm, "A Message from the Man in the Moon", "Cosi Cosa"

Deep in My Heart
MGM, 1954, Color, 132 minutes, ***½
Released December, 1954

Musical biography of Sigmund Romberg (Johann Sebastian Romberg, 1887-1951), one of the most prolific and successful American musical composers, with over 2000 songs to his credit and more than 80 musical scores. Ferrer's "Jazza-Do" one man show is unforgettable, as is Helen Traubel's singing. Traubel and Ferrer dance "The Leg of Mutton," (a true classic scene), Gene Kelly and his brother - in their only screen appearance together - "Go Swimmin' with Wimmen," and Jane Powell and Vic Damone sing a beautiful rendition of "Will You Remember (Sweetheart)." Many other great musical numbers too. Don't miss it!

Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory Vol. 3 DVD Box Set (shown right) includes this film and Hit the Deck, Kismet, Nancy Goes to Rio, Two Weeks with Love, Broadway Melody of 1936, Broadway Melody of 1938, Born to Dance and Lady Be Good.

Produced by: Roger Edens
Directed by: Stanley Donen
Assistant Director: Robert Vreeland
Screen Play by: Leonard Spigelgass
From the Book by: Elliott Arnold)
Music Supervised and Conducted by: Adolph Deutsch
Orchestrations by: Hugo Friedhofer and Alexander Courage
Choral Arrangements by: Robert Tucker
Music: Sigmund Romberg
Choreography by: Eugene Loring
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Edward Carfagno
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Arthur Krams
Women's Costumes by: Helen Rose
Men's Costumes by: Walter Plunkett
Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Recording Supervisor: Wesley C. Miller
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe
Director of Photography: George Folsey
Photographed in Eastman Color
Print by Technicolor
Color Consultant: Alvord Eiseman
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Cast: Jose Ferrer [Sigmund Romberg], Merle Oberon [Dorothy Donnelly], Helen Traubel [Anna Mueller], Doe Avedon [Lillian Romberg], Walter Pidgeon [J. J. Shubert], Paul Henreid [Florenz Ziegfeid], Tamara Toumanova [Gaby Deslys], Paul Stewart [Bert Towsend], Isobel Elsom [Mrs. Harris], David Burns [Lazar Berrison, Sr.], Jim Backus [Ben Judson], Guest Stars: Rosemary Clooney, Gene Kelly, Fred Kelly, Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Ann Miller, William Olvis, Cyd Charisse, James Mitchell, Howard Keel, Tony Martin, Joan Weldon, Additional Cast: Douglas Fowley [Harold Butterfield], Russ Tamblyn [Lazar Berrison, Jr.], Robert Easton [Cumberly], Suzanne Luckey [Arabella Bell], Ludwig Stossel [Mr. Novak], Else Neft [Mrs. Novak], Norbert Schiller [Card Player], Torben Meyer [Card Player], Ruben Wendorf [Man], Franz Roehn [Man], Laiola Wendorf [Woman], Henri Letondal [Francois], Lane Nakano [Japanese Butler], John Alvin [Mr. Mulvaney], Jean Vanderpyl [Miss Zimmerman], Mary Alan Hokanson [Miss Cranbrook], Maudie Prickett [Lady], Henry Sylvester [Judge], Robert Carson [Orchestra Leader], Bobby Watson [Florist], Marjorie Liszt [Waitress], Gail Bonney, Jean Dante [Woman Guests], Dulce Daye, Margaret Bacon, Gloria Moore, Lulu Mae Bohrman, Tailor Boswell, Richard Beavers [bits], Gordon Wynne [Treasurer], Mitchell Kowal [Oscar Hammerstein], Joe Roach [Groom], Dee Turnell [Bride], Carole Richards [singing voice of Cyd Charisse], Betty Wand [singing voice of Tamara Toumanova]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: Instrumental medley of Romberg melodies (played by Orchestra, excerpt of Deep in My Heart sung by Chorus); [0:09] You Will Remember Vienna (sung by Helen Traubel); [0:13] Leg of Mutton (sung and danced by Helen Traubel and Jose Ferrer); [0:19] Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise (excepty played by Jose Ferrer at the Piano onscreen); [0:22] Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise ("hot" arrangement sung by Betty Wand dubbing for Tamara Toumanova and Chorus); [0:25] Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise (ballad arrangement sung by Helen Traubel); [0:31] Mr. and Mrs. (from "Midnight Girl," sung and danced by Rosemary Clooney and Jose Ferrer); [0:33] I Love to Go Swimmin' with Wimmen (from "Dancing Around," sung and danced by Gene Kelly, his brother Fred Kelly and Chorus Girls); [0:40] Will You Remember (Sweetheart) (from "Maytime," sung by Vic Damone and Jane Powell); [1:02] "Jazza-Doo" (one-man show performed by Jose Ferrer); [1:23] It (from "Artists and Models," sung and danced by Ann Miller and Chorus); [1:31] Serenade (from "The Student Prince," sung by William Olvis and Mens Chorus); [1:38] One Alone (from "The Desert Song," sung and danced by Cyd Charisse and James Mitchell, Cyd Charisse dubbed by Carole Richards); [1:46] Your Land and My Land (from "My Maryland," sung by Howard Keel and Mens Chorus); [1:51] Auf Wiedersehn (sung by Helen Traubel); [1:54] Lover, Come Back to Me (from "New Moon," sung by Tony Martin and Joan Weldon); [2:03] Stout Hearted Men (sung by Helen Traubel); [2:09] When I Grow Too Old to Dream (sung by Jose Ferrer and Chorus)

Delightfully Dangerous
Astor Pictures Corp. / United Artists, 1945, B/W, 92 minutes, ***
Released March, 1945

Jane Powell's second feature film finds her attending Fernridge School for Girls. Her sister is a well-known burlesque star, but she covers that up by telling Jane that she's a big star on the New York stage. Trouble brews when Jane arrives unannounced in the big city to visit her sister. Cute film with a bright young singing actress on the verge of superstardom!

This film is apparently in public domain. As far as I know, only print-mastered tapes are available. The one I bought is of very poor quality, but I still think it's worth watching. I recently bought the DVD Box set shown here, and it is mastered from a much better print.

Produced by: Charles R. Rogers
Associate Producer: Joseph S. Tushinsky
Production Manager: Joseph H. Nadel
Directed by: Arthur Lubin
Dialogue Director: Joan Hathaway
Screen Play by: Walter DeLeon and Arthur Phillips
Based on a Story by: Irving Phillips, Edward Verdier and Frank Tashlin
Original Music and Arrangements by: Morton Gould
Lyrics for Original Songs and Adaptations by: Edward Heyman
Original Songs: "Once Upon a Song," "I'm Only Teasin'," "In a Shower of Stars," "Through Your Eyes... To Your Heart"
Associate Musical Director: Charles Previn
Musical Numbers Staged by: Ernst Matray
Art Director: Duncan Cramer
Set Dressing: Jacques Mapes
Make-up by: Ern Westmore
Costumes Supervised by: Maria Donovan
Sound Engineer: Max Hutchinson
Costume Supervisor: Maria Dencran
Director of Photography: Milton Krasner
Film Editor: Harvey Manger

Cast: Jane Powell [Cheryl Williams], Ralph Bellamy [Arthur Hale], Constance Moore [Josephine Williams, Bubbles Barton], Morton Gould and His Orchestra [Themselves], Arthur Treacher [Jeffers], Louise Beavers [Hannah], Ruth Tobey [Molly], Ruth Robinson [Mrs. Jones], Andre Charlot [Professor Bremond], Shirley Hunter Williams [Nadine], Chris Drake [Sailor Jimmy Burns], Sunny Burkette [Cathy Gahagan], Bess Flowers [Mrs. Hopkins], Earle Hodgins [Burlesque Barker]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind credits and into opening scene); [0:03] In a Shower of Stars (sung by Jane Powell); [0:18] The Show at the Girls School with a dance by the Chorus to the background score, which was scored to fit the action - contains strains of many popular tunes, classical music and opera arias; [0:22] Once upon a Song (sung by Jane Powell on a tight-rope); [0:34] That Rocky Feeling (?) (Burlesque number sung and danced by Chorus Girls); [0:35] I'm Only Teasin' (sung by Connie Moore at the Burlesque house); [1:01] Through Your Eyes...To Your Heart (sung by Jane Powell with Morton Guold and His Orchestra); [1:21] Mr. Strauss Goes to Town (consisting of a medley of jazzed-up Strauss Waltzes played by Orchestra, danced by Constance Moore, Jane Powell and Chorus; partly sung by Constance Moore; partly sung by Jane Powell); [1:25] In a Shower of Stars (sung by Jane Powell and Constance Moore); [1:29] In a Shower of Stars (reprised by Jane Powell);

The Desert Song
Warner Bros, 1929, B/W and Color, 125 minutes
Released April, 1929

This was the first talkie version of the popular Romberg stageplay. Warner Bros. would produce it two more times: 1944 and 1953 (see below).

Producer: none credited
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Screenplay: Harvey Gates (based on the operetta by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Lawrence Schwab and Frank Mandel)
Music: Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II and Sigmund Romberg
Musical Director: Ernest G. Rooney
Costume Design: Earl Luick
Recording Engineer: George R. Groves
Cinematography: Barney McGill
Film Editing: Ralph Dawson

Cast: John Boles [The Red Shadow], Carlotta King [Margot], Louise Fazenda [Susan], Johnny Arthur [Benny Kidd], Edward Martindel [General Bierbeau], Jack Pratt [Pasha], Robert E. Guzman [Sid El Kar], Otto Hoffman [Hasse], Marie Wells [Clementine], John Miljan [Paul Fontaine], Del Elliott [Bebel], Myrna Loy [Azuri]

Musical Program: The Desert Song (sung by John Boles and Carlotta King); The Riff Song; One Alone (sung by John Boles); Sabre Song; Then You Will Know; The French Military Marching Song (sung by Carlotta King); Romance (sung by Carlotta King)

The Desert Song
Warner Bros, 1943, Color, 90 minutes
Released December, 1943

I have yet to see this second making of the film based on the popular operetta, but I've heard from those who have seen it that it is the best version. As far as I know, it has never been released on videotape, but can sometimes be seen on TV.

Producer: Robert Buckner
Director: Robert Florey
Screenplay: Robert Buckner (based on the operetta by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Lawrence Schwab and Frank Mandel)
Music: Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II and Sigmund Romberg; new music by Sigmund Romberg, new lyrics by Jack Scholl, Serge Walters, and Mario Silva
Choreography: LeRoy Prinz
Art Direction: Charles Novi
Set Decoration: Jack McConaghy
Costume Design: Marjorie Best, Leah Rhodes
Cinematography: Bert Glennon
Film Editing: Frank Magee

Filmed on location in Gallup, New Mexico
In limited release December 1943, general release in 1944

Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Interior Decoration

Cast: Dennis Morgan [Paul Hudson], Irene Manning [Margot], Bruce Cabot [Colonel Fontaine], Victor Francen [Caid Yousseff], Lynne Overman [Johnny Walsh], Gene Lockhart [Pere FanFan], Faye Emerson [Hajy], Marcel Dalio [Tarbouch], Felix Basch [Heinzelman], Gerald Mohr [Haasan], Noble Johnson [Abdel Rahman], Curt Bois [Francois], Alberto Morin [Muhammad], Jack LaRue [Lt. Bertin], William Edmunds [Suliman], Wallis Clark [Pajot], Sylvia Opert [Dancer], Nestor Paiva, Fritz Leiber, Georges Renavent, Egon Brecher, Duncan Renaldo [Bits]

Musical Program: The Desert Song (Dennis Morgan); One Alone (Dennis Morgan and Irene Manning); The Riff Song (Dennis Morgan and Mens Chorus); The French Military Marching Song (Irene Manning); Romance (Irene Manning); Gay Parisienne; One Flower Grows Alone in Your Garden; Long Live the Night; Fifi's Song

The Desert Song
Warner Bros, 1953, Color, 111 minutes, ***½
Released May, 1953

It's French-occupied Africa during the early years of the twentieth Century, and Gordon MacRae is secretly leading a double life as mild-mannered Professor Paul Bonnard and the tough rebel leader, El Khobar. Whenever trouble brews, Paul slips into a phone booth, whips off his glasses, and... El Khobar to the rescue! Sort of a North African version of El Zorro. Kathryn Grayson is the coy French General's daughter who falls for El Khobar. Dick Wesson is onhand as an American newspaper reporter to deliver some comic relief, and Allyn McLerie provides some sexy native dancing.

Although this is the third film production of Romberg's highly successful play, it's still fun. And it's a bit different than the average musical fare, with adventure and romance in the North African desert and some of the most beautiful music ever written for the American stage! Don't miss it!

Produced by: Rudi Fehr
Directed by: Bruce Humberstone
Assistant Director: Russell Saunders
Screen Play by: Roland Kibbee
Based upon the play by Lawrence Schwab, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, Sigmund Romberg & Frank Mandel
Musical Direction by: Ray Heindorf
Music Adapted by: Max Steiner
Vocal Arrangements: Norman Duboff
Song: "Gay Parisienne" by Jack Scholl and Serge Walter
Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by: LeRoy Prinz
Technical Advisor: D. R. O. Hatswell
Art Director: Stanley Fleischer
Set Decorator: William L. Kuehl
Wardrobe by: Dean Rhodes, Marjorie Best
Makeup Artist: Gordon Bau
Sound by: C. A. Riggs, David Forrest
Director of Photography: Robert Burks
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Consultant: Mitchell G. Kovaleski
Film Editor: William Ziegler

Cast: Kathryn Grayson [Margot Birabeau], Gordon MacRae [Paul Bonnard/El Khobar], Steve Cochran [Captain Claude Fontaine], Raymond Massey [Sheik Yousseff], Dick Wesson [Benjamin Kidd], Allyn McLerie [Azuri], Ray Collins [General Birabeau], Paul Picerni [Hassan], Frank De Kova [Mindar], William Conrad [Lachmed], Trevor Bardette [Neri], Mark Dana [Lt. Duvalle]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] The Riff Song (sung by Gordon MacRae and Mens Chorus); [0:08] The Riff Song (sung by Mens Chorus); [0:20] Romance (sung by Kathryn Grayson); [0:29] The Desert Song (sung by Gordon MacRae); [0:33] Gay Parisienne (sung by Kathryn Grayson and Legionaires); [0:51] Azuri's Dance (hummed and danced by Chorus Girls, danced by Allyn McLerie and Chorus Girls); [1:06] One Alone (sung by Kathryn Grayson, joined by Gordon MacRae); [1:20] The Desert Song (sung by Gordon MacRae and Kathryn Grayson); [1:39] Long Live the Night (sung by Kathryn Grayson); [1:48] One Alone (sung by Gordon MacRae and Kathryn Grayson); [1:49] The Riff Song (sung by Mens Chorus)

Diamond Horseshoe
(aka Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe)
20th Century-Fox, 1945, Color, 104 minutes
Released May, 1945

Dick Haymes, a medical student, falls for Betty Grable, the star performer at Haymes' father's (William Gaxton) nightclub. He decides to drop out of med school and take up a career as a hoofer - just to be near Grable, much to his father's chagrin. Father blames Grable for the trouble, but she convinces Haymes to return to med school, and everyone is happy again.

Producer: William Perlberg
Director: George Seaton
Screenplay: George Seaton (based on a play by John Kenyon Nicholson)
Music Director: Charles Henderson and Alfred Newman
Song Score: Mack Gordon and Harry Warren
Choreography: Hermes Pan
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Joseph C. Wright
Set Decoration: Ernest Lansing, Thomas Little
Costume Design: Sascha Brastoff, Bonnie Cashin, René Hubert, Kay Nelson
Special Effects: Fred Sersen
Cinematography: Ernest Palmer
Film Editing: Robert Simpson

Cast: Betty Grable [Bonnie Collins], Dick Haymes [Joe Davis, Jr.], Phil Silvers [Blinky Walker], William Gaxton [Joe Davis, Sr.], Beatrice Kay [Claire Williams], Margaret Dumont [Mrs. Standish], Roy Benson [Harper], George Melford [Pop], Hal K. Dawson [Carter], Bess Flowers [Duchess], Kenny Williams [Dance Director], Reed Hadley [Interne], Eddie Acuff [Clarinet Player], Edward Gargan [Grogan], Ruth Rickaby [Wardrobe Woman], Carmen Cavallaro and His Orchestra [Themselves], Willie Solar [Specialty]

Musical Program: Welcome to the Diamond Horseshoe (Betty Grable and Chorus); Cooking Up a Show (William Gaxton and Chorus); In Acapulco (sung and danced by Betty Grable and Chorus); I Wish I Knew (sung by Dick Haymes, reprised by Betty Grable); The More I See You (Dick Haymes); Carrie (Carrie Marry Harry) (Beatrice Kay and William Gaxton); Play Me an Old Fashioned Melody (Beatrice Kay and William Gaxton); A Nickel,s Worth of Jive (sung and danced by Betty Grable); Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Beatrice Kay); You'll Never Know (Betty Grable); Shoo Shoo Baby (Betty Grable); (The) Aba-Daba Honeymoon (sung by Willie Solar); (I'd Climb the Highest Mountain) If I Knew I'd Find You (sung by unidentified male singer); Dessert Finale (Phil Silvers, Betty Grable and William Gaxton)

Dimples
20th Century-Fox, 1936, B/W, 78 minutes, ***
Released October, 1936

That loveable moppet is back in her only screen appearance with rascally Frank Morgan. Shirley plays an orphan (doesn't she always?) and Morgan plays her adopted grandfather. Troubles begin when Morgan attempts to purloin some furs from the home of the rich widow Westley while Shirley and her gang are entertaining the guests downstairs. Shirley is in a minstrel show in this film, and plays a bit of Uncle Tom's Cabin. She also sings "Dixie-Anna" with the Hall Johnson Choir - a moving number.

Setting: New York, 1850

In Charge of Production: Darryl F. Zanuck
Associate Producer: Nunnally Johnson
Directed by: William A. Seiter
Assistant Director: Booth McCracken
Screen Play by: Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin
Music and Lyrics: Jimmy McHugh and Ted Koehler
Dances Directed by: Bill Robinson
Musical Direction: Louis Silvers
Art Direction: William Darling
Set Decorations by: Thomas Little
Costumes: Gwen Wakeling
Sound: Eugene Grossman, Roger Heman
Photography: Bert Glennon
Film Editor: Herbert Levy

Cast: Shirley Temple [Dimples Appleby], Frank Morgan [Prof. Eustace Appleby], Robert Kent [Allen Drew], Helen Westley [Caroline Drew], Astrid Allwyn [Cleo Marsh], Delma Byron [Betty Loring], The Hall Johnson Choir [Choir], Berton Churchill [Colonel Loring], Paul Stanton [Mr. St. Clair], Julius Tannen [Hawkins], John Carradine [Richards], Billy McClain [Rufus], Jack Clifford [Uncle Tom], Betty Jean Hainey [Topsy], Arthur Aylesworth [Pawnbroker], Leonard Kibrick Warner, Walter and George Weidler, Jesse Scott, Thurman Black [The Two Black Dots], Additional Cast: Stepin Fetchit [Cicero], Herman Bing [Proprietor], Greta Meyer [Proprietor's Wife], Warner Weidler [Member of Children's Band]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01] Hey, What Did the Bluebird Say? (sung and danced by Shirley Temple with Children's Band); [0:06] He Was a Dandy (sung by Shirley Temple with Children's Band) / "Shirley and the Two Black Dots" (danced by Shirley Temple and The Two Black Dots); [0:29] Picture Me Without You (sung by Shirley Temple); [0:35] Hey, What Did the Bluebird Say? (instrumental played by Orchestra [Children's Band onscreen], danced by Shirley Temple and Frank Morgan); [0:37] Get on Board, Little Children (sung by Shirley Temple and The Hall Johnson Choir); [1:01] Old Folks at Home (played by Orchestra in background backstage); [1:02] Uncle Tom's Cabin (acted by Shirley Temple and Ensemble); [1:09] Swing Low Sweet Chariot (sung and hummed by Hall Johnson Choir during death scene in play); [1:14] Finale: Minstrel Show Dixie-Anna (sung by Shirley Temple, The Hall Johnson Choir, Stepin Fetchit and Chorus, danced by Shirley Temple and the Two Black Dots)

Dixie Jamboree
Producers Releasing Corp., 1944, B/W, 72 minutes, **
Released August, 1944

The last of the might Mississippi showboats, the Ellabelle, provides the setting as two conniving passengers plot to hijack the ship and its inadvertent cargo of whiskey right under the watchful eyes Captain Jackson and his lovely daughter Susan.

Produced by: Jack Schwarz
Associate Producer: Harry D. Edwards
Production Manager: Clarence Bricker
Directed by: Christy Cabanne
Assistant Director: Edward Davis
Screen Play by: Sam Neuman
Based on Original Story by: Lawrence E. Taylor
Music Arranged and Conducted by: Rudy Schrager
Musical Supervision: Dave Chudnow
Songs: "No, No, No!" "You Ain't Right with the Lord," "If It's a Dream," "Big Stuff," "The Dixie Showboat" by Michael Breen and Sam Neuman
Ben Carter Choir
Dialogue Director: Edith Watkins
Art Director: F. Paul Sylos
Associate Art Director: Paul Palmentola
Set Dresser: Harry Reif
Master of Properties: George Bahr
Sound Engineer: Frank Webster
Director of Photography: Jack MacKenzie
Film Editor: Robert Crandall

Cast: Frances Langford [Susan Jackson], Guy Kibbee [Capt. Jackson], Eddie Quillan [Jeff Calhoun], Charles Butterworth [Professor], Fifi D'Orsay [Yvette], Lyle Talbot [Tony Sardell], Frank Jenks [Jack "Curly" Berger], Almira Sessions [Mrs. Ellabella Jackson], Joe Devlin [Police Sergeant], Louise Beavers [Opal], Ben Carter (Choir Leader) [Sam the Deckhand], Gloria Jetter [Azella], Additional Cast: Edward Shattuck [Henry Doakes], Ethel Shattuck [Mrs. Henry Doakes], Eddie Kane [J. M. Thornton], Tony Warde ["Double"], Angelo Cruz ["Nothing"], Emmett Lynn [Cafe Janitor], Ralph Peters [Policeman]

Musical Program: [0:07] You Ain't Right with the Lord (excerpt sung by the Ben Carter Choir); [0:15] The Dixie Showboat (sung by Frances Langford); [0:32] If It's a Dream (sung by Frances Langford); [0:38] No, No, No! (sung by Fifi D'Orsay); [0:48] Big Stuff (sung by Gloria Jetter, then sung by Frances Langford); [0:56] If It's a Dream (sung by Frances Langford)

Doctor Dolittle
20th Century-Fox, 1967, Color, 145 minutes
Released December, 1967

Rex Harrison is the 19th-century English doctor who embarks on a quest to learn the languages of animals and along the way meets such strange creatures as the two-headed Pushmi-Pullyu, the Great Pink Sea Snail, and Anthony Newley. Song-filled family gem, based on the stories of Hugh Lofting, also stars Samantha Eggar, Richard Attenborough.

Setting: Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, England, 1845

Produced by: Arthur P. Jacobs
Associate Producer: Mort Abrahams
Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Assistant Director: Richard Lang
Screenplay: Leslie Bricusse
Based on the Doctor Dolittle stories by Hugh Lofting
Music Directors: Lionel Newman and Alexander Courage
Music and Lyrics by: Leslie Bricusse
Music Scored and Conducted by: Lionel Newman and Alexander Courage
Dances and Musical Numbers Staged by: Herbert Ross
Production Designed by: Mario Chiari
Art Direction: Jack Martin Smith, Ed Graves
Set Decorations: Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss
Costumes Designed by: Ray Aghayan
Sound Supervisor: Murray Spivack
Sound: Douglas Williams, John Meyers, Bernard Freericks
Director of Photography: Robert Surtees
Special Photographic Effects: L. B. Abbott, Art Cruickshank, Emil Kosa Jr., Howard Lydecker
Color by De Luxe
Film Editors: Samuel E. Beetley, Marjorie Fowler

Awards: Academy Awards for Best Song ("Talk to the Animals") and Best Special Visual Effects (L.B. Abbott). Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Score (Lionel Newman and Alexander Courage), Best Original Score (Leslie Bricusse), Best Sound, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Cinematography (Robert Surtees) and Best Film Editing (Samuel E. Beetley and Marjorie Fowler)

Cast: Rex Harrison [Dr. John Dolittle], Anthony Newley [Matthew Mugg], Peter Bull [General Bellowes], William Dix [Tommy Stubbins], Portia Nelson [Sarah Dolittle], Samantha Eggar [Emma Fairfax], Richard Attenborough [Albert Blossom], Muriel Landers [Mrs. Blossom], Geoffrey Holder [Willie Shakespeare], Norma Varden [Lady Petherington], Diana Lee [singing voice of Samantha Eggar]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra before movie); [0:02] Main Title (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:08] My Friend the Doctor (sung by Anthony Newley); [0:18] The Vegetarian (sung by Rex Harrison); [0:30] Talk to the Animals (sung by Rex Harrison); [0:45] At the Crossroads (sung by Diana Lee dubbing for Samantha Eggar); [0:52] I've Never Seen Anything Like It (sung and danced by Richard Attenborough, Rex Harrison and Circus Performers); [1:03] Beautiful Things (sung by Anthony Newley); [1:13] When I Look in Your Eyes (sung by Rex Harrison); [1:23] Like Animals (sung by Rex Harrison); [1:27] Intermission (medley of song score played by Orchestra); [1:33] After Today (sung by Anthony Newley); [1:41] Fabulous Places (sung by Diana Lee dubbing for Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newly and Rex Harrison); [1:57] I Think I Like You (sung by Diana Lee dubbing for Samantha Eggar and Rex Harrison); [2:14] Doctor Dolittle (sung by Anthony Newley, William Dix and Children); [2:27] My Friend the Doctor (sung by Childrens Chorus)

Beautifully filmed love story set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution (1917), based on the best-selling book by Boris Pasternak, which magically escaped from behind the Iron Curtain to be published in Italy, and soon after in many other countries. The American edition was on the New York Times Best Sellers List (1958/1959) for 26 weeks.

It is nearly impossible to describe the experience of seeing this film when it was first released in December 1965. It was screened in Panavision on a large screen, accompanied by a superb sound system. It is sad that few people (if any) have the benefit of seeing the big Panavision (and other 'vision) productions as they were seen at the time. Panavision and other similar filming techniques made use of three projectors and a curved screen to provide a three-dimensional effect that was so real that the viewer was totally engulfed in the experience to the extent of feeling vertigo when the camera made sweeping movements. It was a fantastic experience! I will never forget the big productions of the 1950s and 1960s that made use of these filming techniques, and I'm truly sad that they are (apparently) lost forever.

Doctor Zhivago is not a musical, but the score is truly magnificent. Some of the most beautiful music ever written for a motion picture. Maurice Jarre won an Oscar for his brilliant score, and The Ray Conniff Singers co-released "Somewhere My Love" using the main theme from the score and lyric penned by Paul Francis Webster. The song has become as much a classic as has the film.

This is a true classic that no movie lover should miss!!

Produced by: Carlo Ponti
Executive Producer: Arvid Griffen
Directed by: David Lean
Assistant Directors: Roy Stevens, Pedro Vidal
Production Supervisor: John Palmer
Production Managers: Agustin Pastor, Douglas Twiddy
Screenplay by: Robert Bolt
From the Novel by Boris Pasternak
Production Designer: John Box
Original Music Composed and Conducted by: Maurice Jarre
Art Director: Terence Marsh
Set Decorator: Dario Simoni
Costume Designer: Phyllis Dalton
Make-Up by: Mario Van Riel
Hairstylists: Gracia de Rossi, Anna Christofani
Sound Recording: Paddy Cunningham
Director of Photography: Freddie Young
Special Effects: Eddie Fowlie
In Panavision and Metrocolor
Film Editor: Norman Savage

Awards: Won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Color (Freddie Young); Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color (John Box, Terence Marsh, Dario Simoni); Best Costume Design, Color (Phyllis Dalton); Best Music, Score (Maurice Jarre); Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Robert Bolt). Academy Award Nominations: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tom Courtenay); Best Director (David Lean); Best Film Editing (Norman Savage); Best Picture (Carlo Ponti); Best Sound (A. W. Watkins, Franklin Milton).

Cast: Omar Sharif [Yuri], Julie Christie [Laura], Geraldine Chaplin [Tonya], Rod Steiger [Komarovsky], Alec Guinness [Yevgraf], Tom Courtenay [Pasha], Siobhan McKenna [Anna], Ralph Richardson [Alexander], Rita Tushingham [The Girl — is she Zhivago's daughter?], Jeffrey Rockland [Sasha], Tarek Sharif [Yuri at 8 years old], Bernard Kay [The Bolshevik], Klaus Kinski [Kostoyed], Gerard Tichy [Liberius], Noel Willman [Razin], Geoffrey Keen [Medical Professor], Adrienne Corri [Amelia], Jack MacGowran [Petya], Mark Eden [Engineer at Dam], Erik Chitty [Old Soldier], Roger Maxwell [Beef-faced Colonel], Wolf Frees [Delegate], Gwen Nelson [Female Janitor], Lucy Westmore [Katya], Lili Murati [The Train Jumper], Peter Madden [Political Officer], Additional Cast: Assad Bahador [Colonel of Dragoons], Emilio Carrer [Sventytski], Pilar Gomez [Ferrer], Inigo Jackson [Major], Maria Martin [Gentlewoman], Robert Rietty [Kostoyed], Brigitte Trace [Streetwalker], Luana Alcaniz [Mrs. Sventytski], Jose Maria Caffarel [Militiaman], Catherine Ellison [Raped Woman], Gerhard Jersch [David], Jose Nieto [Priest], Mercedes Ruiz [Tonya at age 7], Virgilio Teixeira [Captain], Maria Vico [Demented Woman]

Musical Program: None, though the song Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme), the main theme of the score, was a big hit, originally recorded by The Ray Conniff Singers with lyric by Paul Francis Webster and subsequently recorded by a number of other artists.

Doll Face
20th Century-Fox, 1946, B/W, 80 minutes, ***
Released January, 1946

As the indomitable character Chita Chula, Carmen Miranda dazzles in several production numbers, most notably "Chico Chico," in this rollicking musical based on a book written by burlesque legend Gypsy Rose Lee. Banned from an audition for a Broadway show because she lacks cultural refinement, "Doll Face" Carroll (Vivian Blaine) decides to generate publicity by writing her autobiography. But after her manager pairs her with a ghostwriter, the two seem to want to collaborate on more than just the book. Also featuring beloved song man Perry Como, Doll Face proves anybody can hit the big time if they have the "write" stuff!  [from back of DVD case]

The Carmen Miranda Collection DVD Box Set (shown right) includes this film and
The Gang's All Here, If I'm Lucky, Something for the Boys, and Greenwich Village.

Produced by: Bryan Foy
Directed by: Lewis Seiler
Screen Play by: Leonard Praskins
Adaptation by: Harold Buchman
From a Play by: Louise Hovick ("The Naked Genius")
Music and Lyrics by: Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson
Dances Staged by: Kenny Williams
Musical Direction: Emil Newman, Charles Henderson
Orchestral Arrangements: Gene Rose
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Boris Leven
Set Decorations: Thomas Little
Associate: Jack Stubbs
Costumes: Yvonne Wood
Makeup Artist: Ben Nye
Sound: Eugene Grossman, Harry M. Leonard
Director of Photography: Joseph LaShelle
Special Photographic Effects: Fred Sersen
Film Editor: Norman Colbert

Cast: Vivian Blaine ["Doll Face" Carroll], Dennis O'Keefe [Mike Hannegan], Perry Como [Nicky Ricci], Carmen Miranda [Chita], Martha Stewart [Frankie Porter], Michael Dunne (aka Stephen Dunne) [Gerard], Reed Hadley [Flo Hartman], Stanley Prager, Charles Tannen [Aides], George E. Stone [Stage Manager], Frank Orth [Peters], Donald MacBride [Lawyer], Ciro Rimac [Dancing Partner], Hal K. Dawson [Hotel Clerk], Charles Williams [Drug Store Clerk], Edgar Norton [Soho], Boyd Davis [Bennett], Alvin Hammer [Harold, the Soda Jerk], Lex Barker [Coast Guardsman], Philip Morris [Deputy Sheriff], Bando da Lua [Themselves]

Musical Program: [0:00] Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba) (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] Somebody's Walking in My Dream (sung by Vivian Blaine at audition); [0:06] Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba) (instrumental arrangement playing in drugstore); [0:08] Red Hot and Beautiful (sung by Perry Como and danced by Chorus Girls, then sung by Vivian Blaine and Male Quartet); [0:31] Here Comes Heaven Again (sung by Perry Como); [0:37] Somebody's Walking in My Dream (sung by Perry Como, then sung by Martha Stewart); [0:52] Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba) (introduced by Alvin Hammer, sung by Perry Como and Martha Stewart, danced by Como, Stewart and Chorus -- great number!); [0:56] Here Comes Heaven Again (reprised by Perry Como); [0:59] Here Comes Heaven Again (sung by Vivian Blaine); [1:04] Chico-Chico (From Porto Rico) (sung and danced by Carmen Miranda, Ciro Rimac, Bando da Lua and Chorus); [1:16] Finale: Somebody's Walking in My Dream / Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba) / Here Comes Heaven Again (sung by Perry Como and Vivian Blaine)

The Dolly Sisters
20th Century-Fox, 1945, Color, 114 minutes
Released November, 1945

Haver and Grable are a vaudeville sister act with the usual entanglements of romance, but this time it's an auto accident which threatens to break up the act. June and Betty are fun together and put on some better-than-average song and dance numbers. Loosely based on the life story of the famed Dolly Sisters of vaudeville.

The story begins in New York, 1904.

The Betty Grable Collection Vol. 1 DVD box set (shown right) contains this film and My Blue Heaven, Moon Over Miami, and Down Argentine Way

Produced by: George Jessel
Directed by: Irving Cummings
Original Screen Play by: John Larkin and Marian Spitzer
New Songs: Lyrics by Mack Gordon, Music by James Monaco
"I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (by) Harry Carroll and Joseph McCarthy
Musical Direction: Alfred Newman, Charles Henderson
Orchestral Arrangements: Gene Rose
Dances Staged by: Seymour Felix
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Leland Fuller
Set Decorations: Thomas Little
   Associate: Walter M. Scott
Musical Settings Designed by: Joseph C. Wright
Costumes: Orry Kelly
Makeup Artist: Ben Nye
Sound: Arthur L. Kirbach, Roger Heman
Director of Photography: Ernest Palmer
Special Photographic Effects: Fred Sersen
Photographed in Technicolor
Technicolor Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Richard Mueller
Film Editor: Barbara McLean

Awards: Nominated for Best Song Academy Award ("I Can't Begin to Tell You")

Cast: Betty Grable [Jenny], John Payne [Harry Fox], June Haver [Rosie], S. Z. Sakall [Uncle Latsie], Reginald Gardiner [Duke], Frank Latimore [Irving Netcher], Gene Sheldon [Professor Winnup], Sig Rumann [Tsimmis], Trudy Marshall [Leonore], Collette Lyons [Flo Daly], Evan Thomas [Jenny as a Child], Donna Jo Gribble [Rosie as a Child], Robert Middlemass [Oscar Hammerstein], Paul Hurst [Dowling], Lester Allen [Morrie Keno], Frank Orth [Stage Manager], William Nye [Bartender], Herbert Ashley [Fields], Trudy Berliner [German Actress], Eugene Borden [Chauffeur], Claire Richards [Operator], Andre Charlot [Phillipe], Mae Marsh [Flower Lady], Virginia Brissac [Nun], Frank Ferguson [Reporter], Crauford Kent [Man], J. Farrell MacDonald [Doorman], Albert Petit [Croupier], Walter Soderling [Conductor on Train]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:01} The Sidewalks of New York (East Side, West Side) (played in background); [0:02] Hungarian Dance No. 5 (instrumental played by small orchestra at The Little Hungary Cafe, then danced by the young Dolly Sisters [Evan Thomas and Donna Jo Gribbel] at The Little Hungary Cafe, then danced by the adult Dolly Sisters still at the Little Hungary Cafe in 1912); [0:12] The Vamp (sung and danced by Betty Grable and June Haver at Bijou); [0:15] I Can't Begin to Tell You (sung by John Payne); [0:18] Seal Act (Gene Sheldon and unidentified seal); [0:20] Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl (sung and danced by Betty Grable and John Payne with one verse played on Victrola); [0:30] We Have Been Around / Carolina in the Morning (sung and danced by June Haver and Betty Grable); [0:34] Don't Be Too Old Fashioned (Old Fashioned Girl) / Powder, Lipstick and Rouge (sung and danced by June Haver, Betty Grable and Chorus Girls at Ziegfeld Midnight Frolics, 1915); [0:48] I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (sung by John Payne and Betty Grable); [0:58] Darktown Strutters Ball (sung in French and danced by June Haver, Betty Grable and Chorus Girls at the Folies Bergère); [1:03] Smiles (instrumental played at dance in London, danced by June Haver and guests); [1:07] I Can't Begin to Tell You (sung by Betty Grable while dancing with Reginald Gardiner); [1:08] Arrah Go On, I'm Gonna Go Back to Oregon (sung by Mens Chorus); [1:09] Smiles (sung by Mens Chorus); [1:17] Mademoiselle from Armentieres (Hinky-Dinky Parlex-vous) / Oh Frenchy (sung by Mens Chorus at train station); [1:20] Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile (sung by Mens Chorus at train station); [1:22] I'm Always Chasing Rainbows / Arrah Go On, I'm Gonna Go Back to Oregon / I Can't Begin to Tell You (sung by John Payne); [1:29] On the Mississippi (?) (excerpt played by Jazz Band at party); [1:45] We Have Been Around / The Sidewalks of New York (East Side, West Side) (sung and danced by June Haver and Betty Grable at Actors Guild Benefit); [1:50] I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (sung by John Payne at Actors Guild Benefit); [1:56] I Can't Begin to Tell You (sung by John Payne, Betty Grable and June Haver at Actors Guild Benefit); There are many other short fragments of songs

Don't Bother to Knock
20th Century-Fox, 1952, B/W, 76 minutes, ***
Released July, 1952

A beautiful babysitter (Marilyn Monroe) begins an affair with one of the guests (Richard Widmark) in the hotel where she is a live-in babysitter. But when the child she cares for interrupts their lovemaking, Monroe becomes a dangerous madwoman. Also starring Anne Bancroft, the chilling, provocative Don't Bother to Knock brilliantly showcases Monroe in a rare portrayal of a truly dark character.

Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II DVD Box Set contains this film and Let's Make Love, Monkey Business, Niagara and River of No Return.

Produced by: Julian Blaustein
Directed by: Roy Baker
Screen Play by: Daniel Taradash
Based on a Novel by Charlotte Armstrong ("Mischief")
Musical Direction: Lionel Newman
Orchestration: Earle Hagen, Bernard Mayers
Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, Richard Irvine
Set Decorations: Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox
Wardrobe Direction: Charles Le Maire
Costumes Designed by: Travilla
Makeup Artist: Ben Nye
Sound: Bernard Freericks, Harry M. Leonard
Director of Photography: Lucien Ballard
Special Photographic Effects: Ray Kellogg
Film Editor: George A. Gittens

Cast: Richard Widmark [Jed Towers], Marilyn Monroe [Nell Forbes], Anne Bancroft [film debut as Lyn Lesley], Donna Corcoran [Bunny Jones], Jeanne Cagney [Rochelle, Telephone Operator], Lurene Tuttle [Ruth Jones], Elisha Cook, Jr. [Eddie Forbes, Elevator Operator], Jim Backus [Peter Jones], Verna Felton [Mrs. Emma Ballew], Willis B. Bouchey [Joe the Bartender], Don Beddoe [Mr. Ballew], Additional Cast: Gloria Blondell [Janey, Photographer], Grace Hayle [Mrs. McMurdock], Michael Ross [House Detective], Charles Flynn [Cop], Dick Cogan [Bell Captain], Harry Bartell, John Call [Bellboys], Charles J. Conrad [Speaker], Emmett Vogan [Toastmaster], Bess Flowers [Woman at Awards Dinner], Harold Miller [Banquet Guest], Robert Foulk [Doorman], Marjorie Holliday [Telephone Operator], Eda Reiss Merin [Maid], Vic Perrin [Elevator Operator], Olan Soule [Desk Clerk], Tom Daly [Man in Elevator]

Musical Program: [0:00] Main Title (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] How About You (sung by Anne Bancroft); [0:10] A Rollin' Stone (sung by Anne Bancroft); [0:11] Manhattan (sung by Anne Bancroft); [0:18] There's a Lull in My Life (sung by Anne Bancroft); [0:25] How Blue the Night (sung by Anne Bancroft on hotel radio); [0:44] Chattanooga Choo-Choo (sung by Anne Bancroft on hotel radio); [0:46] A Journey to a Star (played by club orchestra on hotel radio)

Don't Knock the Rock
Clover / Columbia, 1956, B/W, 85 minutes
Released December, 1956

Rock 'n' roller Arnie Haines (Alan Dale) and his band take a long-needed break from touring and return to their hometown only to find that the mayor has banned rock 'n' roll!

With the help of disc jockey / publicist Alan Freed and legendary performances by Bill Haley and His Comets ("Hot Dog, Buddy Buddy," "Rip It Up") and Little Richard ("Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally"), Arnie and his gang hope to prove to all of the adult cats in town that rock 'n' roll may be really crazy, but it's not as dangerous as it looks!  [from back of DVD case]

Most of the early rock 'n' roll movies (there were many) were pretty bad. But there are a few standouts, and this is definitely one of them. The story deals with the general dislike that most of our parents' generation had toward the new music. Many considered it to be vulgar or a communist plot to overthrow the government and undermine the morality of our society. Just why so many of the adults of the era responded to the music this way has never really been clear, but the controversy became quite intense and often resulted in censorship, local legislation, and sometimes even violence. This film deals with that raging controversy. In the early years, rock 'n' roll had to really fight to survive!

Besides all that, Don't Knock the Rock contains some early rock performances that are legendary. Definitely worth seeing if you like the sound of early rock!

One parting thought... it seems that many adults objected to the dancing associated with rock 'n' roll. But the dance of choice in the 1950s was the jitterbug, which people were doing way back in the late 1930s! You can see some wild jitterbugging on many of the films - especially those of the World War II era - right here on this web site. So what was all the ruckus about?

Produced by: Sam Katzman
Directed by: Fred F. Sears
Assistant Director: Sam Nelson
Written by: Robert E. Kent, James B. Gordon
Music Supervision: Fred Karger, Ross DiMaggio
Songs: Recordings through the courtesy of Decca Records, Inc.: "Calling All Comets," "Hot Dog, Buddy Buddy," "Rip It Up," "Hook, Line and Sinker"
Recordings through the courtesy of Specialty Records, Inc.: "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally,"
"Don't Knock the Rock" by Robert E. Kent, Frad Karger
Dances Staged and Created by: Earl Barton
Art Director: Paul Palmentola
Set Decorator: Sidney Clifford
Sound: Josh Westmoreland
Director of Photography: Benjamin H. Kline
Film Editors: Edwin Bryant, Paul Borofsky

Cast: Bill Haley and His Comets [Themselves], Alan Dale [Arnie Haines], Alan Freed [Himself], The Treniers [Themselves], Little Richard [Himself], Dave Appell and His Applejacks [Themselves], Patricia Hardy [Francine MacLaine], Fay Baker [Arlene MacLaine], Jana Lund [Sunny Everett], Gail Ganley [Molly Haines], Pierre Watkin [Mayor George Bagley], George Cisar [Tom Everett], Dick Elliott [Sheriff], Jovada and Jimmy Ballard [Jitterbug Contest Winners], Additional Cast: Tom Fadden [Mr. Haines], Dennis Moore [Bill Haley's Booking Agent], Ralph Sanford [Cop at Stage Door]

Musical Program: [0:00] Don't Knock the Rock (sung by Bill Haley and His Comets behind titles); [0:01] I Cry More (sung by Alan Dale); [0:06] You're Just Right (sung by Alan Dale on record player, danced by kids); [0:12] Hot Dog, Buddy Buddy (sung by Bill Haley and His Comets, danced by Chorus Girls); [0:15] Goofin' Around (instrumental played by Bill Haley and His Comets); [0:18] ? (instrumental number played by ?, danced by kids at Mellondale train station); [0:25] Hook, Line and Sinker (played by Bill Haley and His Comets on record player, danced by kids); [0:27] Applejack (instrumental number played by Dave Appell and His Applejacks, danced by kids); [0:30] Your Love Is My Love (sung by Alan Dale on the beach); [0:36] Calling All Comets (instrumental played by Bill Haley and His Comets); [0:39] ? (played on piano by ?, danced by Jana Lund); [0:46] Out of the Bushes (sung by The Treniers); [0:49] Rip It Up (sung by Bill Haley and His Comets, danced by the kids at the concert); [0:53] instrumental number (danced by kids at concert); [0:55] Rockin' on Sunday Night (performed by the Treniers, danced by the kids at the concert); [0;58] Gonna Run Not Walk That Aisle (sung by Alan Dale); [1:03] Long Tall Sally (sung by Little Richard); [1:06] Tutti Frutti (sung by Little Richard, danced by jitterbug contest winners Jimmy and Jovada Ballard); [1:08] Country Dance (performed by the Dave Appell and His Applejacks); [1:22] Don't Knock the Rock (sung by Alan Dale, danced by the players at the Pageant of Art and Culture)

Double Dynamite
RKO, 1951, B/W, 80 minutes, ***
Released December, 1951

He may be an underpaid bank clerk but his voice is worth a million bucks. Frank Sinatra is $42.50-a-week teller Johnny Dalton, who comes across big money - and big trouble - in this frothy comedy.

"It's Only Money," Sinatra sings with his quipster pal Emil (Groucho Marx). Yet lack of it keeps him from marrying fellow bank employee Mibs (Jane Russell). Before you can say "romantic comedy," Johnny rescues a bookie from a beating and receives a betting tip in appreciation. The appreciation appreciates into thousands. But there's a catch: the bank is short $75,000. And cash-flush Johnny is Suspect #1. Maybe Johnny's lot will be just "Kisses and Tears" (a Sinatra / Russell duet and the second of the film's two Jule Styne / Sammy Cahn tunes). The good news: Double Dynamite will also be love, laughs and stardust galore.   [from back of DVD case]

This film is included in the DVD box set Frank Sinatra: The Early Years (shown right), along with Step Lively, Higher and Higher, It Happened in Brooklyn, and The Kissing Bandit

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. Presents
Produced by: Irving Cummings, Jr.
Directed by: Irving Cummings
Assistant Director: James Lane
Screen Play by: Melville Shavelson
Additional Dialogue by: Harry Crane
Story by: Leo Rosten
Based on a Character Created by: Mannie Manheim
Songs by: Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn
Musical Score: Leigh Harline
Musical Director: C. Bakaleinikoff
Art Directors: Albert S. D'Agostino, Feild M. Gray
Set Decorations: Darrell Silvera, Harley Miller
Makeup Supervision: Gordon Bau
Sound by: Phil Brigandi, Clem Portman
Director of Photography: Robert de Grasse
Film Editor: Harry Marker

Cast: Jane Russell [Mildred "Mibs" Goodhue], Groucho Marx [Emile J. Keck], Frank Sinatra [Johnny Dalton], Don McGuire [Bob Pulsifer, Jr.], Howard Freeman [R. B. Pulsifer, Sr.], Nestor Paiva ["Hot Horse" Harris], Frank Orth [Mr. Kofer], Harry Hayden [J. L. McKissack], William Edmunds [Baganucci], Russ Thorson [Tailman], Additional Cast: Joe Devlin [Frankie Boy], Hal K. Dawson [Mr. Hartman], William Bailey [Bank Guard], Helen Dickson [Bank Teller], George Chandler [Messenger], Benny Burt [Waiter], Jack Chefe [Chef], Virgil Johanson [Santa Claus], Charles Coleman [Santa Claus], Lou Nova [Hood in Santa Claus Suit], Jean De Briac [Maitre D'], Claire Du Brey [Shirt Shop Manager], Ida Moore [Sewing Room Supervisor], Al Murphy [Waiter], Jim Nolan, Lee Phelps [Detectives], Harold Goodwin [Lieutenant], Charles Sullivan [Police Sergeant], Harry Seymour [Police Dispatcher], Tom London [Police Patrol Driver], Fred Aldrich [Policeman], Kermit Kegley, Harry Kingston [Goons], Billy Snyder [Wire Service Man], Lillian West [Hotel Maid], Jack Gargan [Man], Kenner G. Kemp [Man in Bookie Parlor], Mike Lally [Man], Gil Perkins [Man], Charles Regan [Man]

Musical Program: [0:22] It's Only Money (sung by Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx); [0:42] Kisses and Tears (sung by Frank Sinatra and Jane Russell); [1:19] It's Only Money (reprised by Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx and Jane Russell at end of film)

Double or Nothing
Paramount, 1937, B/W, 91 minutes, ***
Released September, 1937

An eccentric millionaire tests New Yorkers' moral mettle with a fortune awaiting the most honest "contestant" able to double $5000 in 30 days. If none can do it, his brother will inherit the fortune. The least honest turns out to be his brother who does everything he can to see to it that none of the contestants win. See if Brother can outwit the contestants and receive the inheritance!

This film is included in the DVD Box Set (shown right), along with Waikiki Wedding, East Side of Heaven, If I Had My Way, and Here Come the WAVES

Adolph Zukor Presents
Produced by: Benjamin Glazer
Directed by: Theodore Reed
Screen Play by: Charles Lederer, Erwin Gelsey, John C. Moffitt and Duke Atteberry
Based on a Story by M. Coates Webster
Musical Direction: Boris Morros
Words and Music: Arthur Johnson and John Burke, Sam Coslow and Al Siegel, Ralph Freed and Burton Lane
Vocal Supervision: Al Siegel
Sing Band Arrangements: Max Terr
Orchestral Arrangements: Victor Young
Musical Adviser: Arthur Franklin
Dances Staged by: LeRoy Prinz
Art Direction by: Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson
Interior Decorations by: A. E. Freudeman
Costumes: Edith Head
Sound Recording: Charles Hisserich and Don Johnson
Photographed by: Karl Struss
Edited by: Edward Dmytryk

Cast: Bing Crosby [Lefty Boylan], Martha Raye [Liza Lou Lane], Andy Devine [Half-Pint], Mary Carlisle [Vicki Clark], William Frawley [Pederson], Benny Baker [Sailor], Samuel S. Hinds [Jonathan Clark], William Henry [Egbert], Fay Holden [Martha Sewell Clark], Bert Hanlon [Praxiteles], Gilbert Emery [Mr. Mitchell], Walter Kingsford [Mr. Dobson], John Gallaudet [Rutherford], Harry Barris [Orchestra Conductor], Alphonse Berge, Tex Morrissey, Frances Faye, Ames & Arno, Ed Rickard [Specialties], Steve & Andre Calgary [Specialties], Additional Cast: Ludovico Tomarchio [Hamburger Vendor], Alexandria Dean [Secretary], M. J. Pecarovich [Papouras, the Lawyer], Jack Pennick [Taxi Driver], Olaf Hytten [Butler], Jimmy Notaro [Dancing Cop], Stanley Andrews [Police Lieutenant], Arthur Housman, Charles Irwin [Drunks], Garry Owen, Charles Sherlock [Process Servers], Leonard Sues [Assistant Designer], Rolfe Sedan [Headwaiter], Herbert Ashley [Doorman], George Burton [Ticket Taker], Mack Gray [Man at Table], Ethelreda Leopold, Bess Flowers, Harry Myers, David Newell, Dennis O'Keefe, Larry Steers, Dale Van Sickel [Club Patrons]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles, with Choral excerpt of Double or Nothing); [0:03] Smarty (sung by Bing Crosby while hamburger chef sings opera excerpts trying to drown out Crosby); [0:18] All You Want to Do Is Dance (sung by Bing Crosby while dancing with Mary Carlisle); [0:29] It's the Natural Thing to Do (sung by Bing Crosby); [0:33] It's On, It's Off (sung and danced by Martha Raye); [0:45] The Moon Got in My Eyes (excerpt sung by Bing Crosby and Sing Band); [0:54] The Moon Got in My Eyes (continued by Bing Crosby and Sing Band); [0:55] Listen My Children and You Shall Hear (sung by Martha Raye, danced by Raye and Chorus Girls); [0:59] It's On, It's Off (reprised by Martha Raye); [1:02] Double or Nothing (sung by Sing Band); [1:04] Sleeping Beauty Waltz (performed by Sing Band); [1:07] comic dance (Ames and Arno); [1:11] The Moon Got in My Eyes (sung by Bing Crosby and Sing Band); [1:13] comedy act (the Calgary Brothers); [1:18] comic musical number (sung and danced by Frances Faye and Martha Raye as The Lane Sisters, joined by Bing Crosby and the Sing Band); [1:29] It's the Natural Thing to Do (reprised by Bing Crosby)

Double Trouble
MGM, 1967, Color, 92 minutes
Released April, 1967

The titular troubles that follow singer Elvis Presley around Europe in this breezy musical are a beautiful young heiress and some jewel thieves after both of them, but there's still plenty of time for him to do such songs as "Long-Legged Girl," "Could I Fall in Love?" and even "Old MacDonald"! With Annette Day, John Williams.

Produced by: Judd Bernard and Irwin Winkler
Assistant to the Producers: Patricia Casey
Directed by: Norman Taurog
Assistant Director: Claude Binyon, Jr.
Technical Advisor: Colonel Tom Parker
Screen Play by: Jo Heims
Based on a Story by: Marc Brandel
Music Score by: Jeff Alexander
Choreography by: Alex Romero
Art Direction: George W. Davis and Merrill Pye
Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt
Costumes Designed by: Donfeld
Make-up by: William Tuttle
Hair Styles by: Mary Keats
Recording Supervisor: Franklin Milton
Director of Photography: Daniel L. Fapp
Special Visual Effects: J. McMillan Johnson, Carroll L. Shepphird
Filmed in Panavision and Metrocolor
Film Editor: John McSweeney

Cast: Elvis Presley [Guy Lambert], Annette Day [Jill Conway], John Williams [Gerald Waverly], Yvonne Romain [Claire Dunham], The Wiere Brothers [Themselves], Chips Rafferty [Archie Brown], Norman Rossington [Arthur Babcock], Monty Landis [Georgie], Michael Murphy [Morley], Leon Askin [Inspector De Groote], John Alderson [Iceman], Stanley Adams [Captain Roach], Maurice Marsac [Frenchman], Walter Burke [Captain Roach's Mate], Helen Winston [Gerda], The G Men [Themselves], Additional Cast: Monique LeMaire [Flemish Desk Clerk at Hotel Olympia], Laurie Lambert [Child], Josh Harding [Seaman], Hal Bokar [Masked Man], Robert Homel [Moe], Luke Gerard [Peddler], Frank Mitchell [Customs Officer], Jan Reddin [Discotheque Dancer], Mary Hughes [Watusi Dancer], Chester Hayes [Stiltwalker], Sheryl Ullman [Patron], Bob Johnson [Juggler], George Dee [Sleepy Man], Robert Isenberg [Pirate], Bob Bergy [Chicken Truck Driver], Marilyn Keymner, Melody Keymner [Twins at London Nightclub], George Klein [Bit], Murray Kamelhar, Ted Roter, Ralph Smiley [Policemen], Barry Cole, Danny Rees, Rodney Hoeltzel [Jugglers], Ray Saunders, Audrey Saunders, Ted DeWayne, Bill Snyder, Rick Teagarden, Jack Teagarden [Acrobats], The Jordanaires [backup vocals]

Musical Program: [0:00] Double Trouble (extended intro, sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires behind titles and into first scene with dancers at London nightclub); [0:06] Baby If You'll Give Me All Your Love (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [0:12] Could I Fall in Love (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires [offscreen]); [0:26] The Long Legged Girl with the Short Dress On (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [0:31] City by Night (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [0:43] Old MacDonald (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires [offscreen]); [0:48] I Love Only One Girl (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires, danced by Elvis and people at carnival); [1:04] There Is So Much World to See (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires [offscreen])

Down Argentine Way
20th Century-Fox, 1940, Color, 92 minutes
Released October, 1940

Betty Grable and Don Ameche are members of two feuding upper class families who meet while vacationing on the pampas and fall in love in this frothy musical fiesta that features Carmen Miranda in her film debut and a dazzling dance number by the Nicholas Brothers.

Note that the name of the film is "Down Argentine Way," and the name of the song is "Down Argentina Way." Don't ask me why, that's just the way they did it.

The Betty Grable Collection Vol. 1 DVD box set (shown right) contains this film and My Blue Heaven, The Dolly Sisters, and Moon Over Miami

Produced by: Darryl F. Zanuck
Associate Producer: Harry Joe Brown
Directed by: Irving Cummings
Screen Play by: Darrell Ware and Karl Tunberg and
Story by: Rian James and Ralph Spence
Music and Lyrics by: Mack Gordon and Harry Warren
Dances Staged by: Nicholas Castle and Geneva Sawyer
Musical Director: Emil Newman
Art Direction: Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright
Set Decorations: Thomas Little
Costumes: Travis Banton
Sound: Eugene Grossman, Roger Heman
Director of Photography: Leon Shamroy, Ray Rennahan,
Technicolor Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Morgan Padelford
Film Editor: Barbara McLean

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Color Cinematography, Best Song ("Down Argentina Way") and Best Interior Decoration

Cast: Don Ameche [Ricardo Quintana], Betty Grable [Glenda Crawford], Carmen Miranda [Herself, film debut], Charlotte Greenwood [Binnie Crawford], J. Carrol Naish [Casiano], Henry Stephenson [Don Diego Quintana], Katharine Aldridge [Helen Carson], Leonid Kinskey [Tito Acuna], Chris-Pin Martin [Esteban], Robert Conway [Jimmy Blake], Bobby Stone [Panchito], Charles Judels [Ambassador], The Nicholas Brothers, Thomas and Catherine Dowling, Pepe Guizar and The Flores Brothers [Specialties], Six Hits and a Miss, Carmen Miranda Band [Themselves], Edward Fielding [Willis Crawford], Eddie Conrad [Anastasio], Fortunio Bonanova, Armand Kaliz [Hotel Managers], Frank Puglia [Montero], Additional Cast: Francisco Maran [Ship's Officer], David Thursby [Head Groom], Lucio Villegas [Official], George Humbert [Martinez], Jean Del Val [Rufino], Rafael Corio [Vallergo], Nino Bellini [Doorman], Joe Dominguez [Motorcycle Officer], Gregory Gaye [Sebastian, Headwaiter], Andre Cuyas, Eugene Borden, Lowden Adams [Waiters]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra, includes short vocal of Down Argentina Way by Chorus); [0:01] South American Way (sung by Carmen Miranda with Carmen Miranda Band offscreen, then sung by Chorus with Studio Orchestra); [0:08] Down Argentina Way (sung and danced by Don Ameche, Betty Grable and Chorus; Carlos Albert dubbing in Spanish for Don Ameche, Betty Grable and Chorus singing in English); [0:17] Two Dreams Met (sung by Six Hits and a Miss with Carmen Miranda Band); [0:28] Down Argentina Way (sung in Spanish by Fayard Nicholas, danced by both Nicholas Brothers); [0:32] Nenita (sung in Spanish by Pepe Guizar and The Flores Brothers, sung in English by Leonid Kinskey); [0:35] Conga danced by Betty Grable and Leonid Kinskey and by Thomas and Catherine Dowling); [0:38] Mama Eu Quero (sung and danced by Carmen Miranda accompanied by Carmen Miranda Band); [0:40] Bambu Bambu (sung and danced by Carmen Miranda with Carmen Miranda Band); [0:53] Sing to Your Señorita (sung and danced by Charlotte Greenwood and large Chorus at Village Fiesta); [1:01] Dos Sueños / Two Dreams Met (sung in Spanish by Pepe Guizar and The Flores Brothers, sung in English by Betty Grable and Carlos Albert dubbing for Don Ameche); [1:24] Mama Eu Quiero (danced by Betty grable); [1:25] Finale: Down Argentina Way / Two Dreams Met (sung and danced by Cast and Chorus)

DuBarry Was a Lady
(aka Du Barry Was a Lady)
MGM, 1943, Color, 101 minutes
Premiere release May, 1943
General release August, 1943

There's fun and frolicking in 17th-century France when Red Skelton finds himself sent back in time to the regal court of Madame DuBarry. Lavish musical comedy also stars Gene Kelly, Lucille Ball, Zero Mostel and Virginia O'Brien; score includes Cole Porter's "Friendship."

Produced by: Arthur Freed
Directed by: Roy Del Ruth
Screen Play by: Irving Brecher
Adaptation by: Nancy Hamilton
Additional Dialogue by: Wilkie Mahoney
Based on the Play Produced by B. G. DeSylva and Written by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva with Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Words and Music: Cole Porter
Additional Songs: Lew Brown, Ralph Freed, Burton Lane, Roger Edens, E. Y. Harburg
Musical Adaptation: Roger Edens
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Orchestration: George Bassman, Leo Arnaud, Alec Stordahl, Sy Oliver
Musical Presentation: Merrill Pye
Dance Direction: Charles Walters
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
   Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
   Associate: Henry Grace
Costume Supervision: Irene
   Associate: Shoup
Men's Costumes: Gile Steele
Make-Up Created by: Jack Dawn
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Karl Freund
Photographed in Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Henri Jaffa
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe
Film Editor: Blanche Sewell

Cast: Red Skelton [Louis Blore, King Louis], Lucille Ball [May Daly, Mme. Du Barry], Gene Kelly [Alec Howe, Black Arrow], Virginia O'Brien [Ginny], Rags Ragland [Charlie, Dauphin], Zero Mostel [Rami the Swami, Taliostra], Donald Meek [Mr. Jones, Duc De Choiseul], Douglas Dumbrille [Willie, Duc De Rigor], George Givot [Cheezy, Count De Roquefort], Louise Beavers [Niagara], Tommy Dorsey and His Band [Themselves], Additional Cast: Dick Haymes [Singer with Tommy Dorsey], Charles Coleman [Doorman], Cecil Cunningham, Harry Hayden [Couple], Clara Blandick [Old Lady on Subway], Marie Blake [Woman], Andrew Tombes [Escort], Don Wilson [Announcer's Voice], Richard Alexander, Art Miles, Paul "Tiny" Newlan [Men], Chester Clute [Doctor], Kay Williams, Kay Aldridge, Hazel Brooks [Girls], Lana Turner [Guest Star], Jo Stafford [Singer], Pierre Watkin [Rich Patron], Sig Arno [Nick], Hugh Beaumont [Footman], Georgia Carroll, Inez Cooper, Natalie Draper, Marilyn Maxwell, Eve Whitney [Showgirls], Ernie Alexander [Delivery Man], William Forrest [Guard Captain], Charles Judels [Innkeeper], Michael Visaroff, William Costello, Dell Henderson, Edward Cooper, Thomas Clarke, Emmett Casey [Flunkies], Christian J. Frank [Lackey], Emory Parnell [Gatekeeper], Mitchell Lewis [Renel], Maurice Costello [Passerby], Ava Gardner [Girl]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra); [0:02] Du Barry Was a Lady (sung by Martha Mears dubbing for Lucille Ball, danced by Lucille Ball and Chorus); [0:11] Kay Kyser, Guy Lombardo, Fred Waring (and others) immitation (performed by The Three Oxford Boys); [0:14] I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (played by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra); [0:20] Do I Love You? (sung by Gene Kelly); [0:24] Do I Love You? (sung by Chorus, danced by Gene Kelly and Chorus); [0:34] Salome (sung by Virginia O'Brien); [0:44] I Love an Esquire Girl (sung by Red Skelton surrounded by chorus girls and a cameo by Lana Turner; then sung by The Pied Pipers and modeled by Calendar Girls); [1:02] Ladies of the Bath (sung by Red Skelton and Girls Chorus); [1:03] Katie Went to Haiti (sung by Jo Stafford, Dick Haymes and the Pied Pipers with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra); [1:16] Madame, I Love Your Crêpes Suzettes (sung by Red Skelton, danced by Red and Lucille Ball); [1:26] Song of Rebellion (sung by Gene Kelly and Chorus); [1:37] Friendship (sung and danced by Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Virginia O'Brien, Tommy Dorsey, Rags Ragland and Zero Mostel with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra)

Duchess of Idaho
MGM, 1950, Color, 98 minutes, **½
Released July, 1950

Ellen Hallet (Paula Raymond) is Dick Layn's (Van Johnson) private secretary. She's madly in love with her boss, but he's barely aware that he exists. So, Ellen sets about finding a way to make a business trip with the boss in hopes of snaring him in the process. But Dick has his sights set on Christine (Esther Williams). Light, fun fare with some laughs and good music along the way.

Many seem to think this film was an Eleanor Powell "farewell" movie or an Eleanor Powell "comeback" movie. Not true. It was an Esther Williams - Van Johnson film. Eleanor Powell was well established as a Las Vegas star by the time this film was made. She made a guest appearance and performed one dance number. But it was her final appearance on the silver screen. She continued to perform in Las Vegas for many years.

Produced by: Joe Pasternak
Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard
Written by: Dorothy Cooper and Jerry Davis
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by: Jack Donohue
Songs: "Let's Choo Choo to Idaho," "You Can't Do Wrong Doin' Right," "Of All Things" (by) Al Rinker and Floyd Huddleston; "Baby, Come Out of the Clouds" (by) Henry Nemo and Lee Pearl
Orchestration: Skip Martin and Albert Sendrey
Musical Score: George Stoll and Al Sendrey
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
   Associate: Arthur Krams
Women's Costumes by: Helen Rose
Make-Up Created by: Jack Dawn
Hair Styles Designed by: Sydney Guilaroff
Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Charles Schoenbaum
Special Effects: A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe
Montage Sequences by: Peter Ballbusch
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Consultants: Henri Jaffa, James Gooch
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Cast: Esther Williams [Christine Riverton Duncan], Van Johnson [Dick Layn], John Lund [Douglas J. Morrissen, Jr.], Paula Raymond [Ellen Hallet], Clinton Sundberg [Matson], Connie Haines [Peggy Elliot], Mel Torme [Cyril], Amanda Blake [Linda Kinston], Tommy Farrell [Chuck], Sig Arno [Monsieur Le Blanche], Dick Simmons [Alec I. Collins], The Jubalaires [Themselves], Additional Cast: Lena Horne, Eleanor Powell, Red Skelton [Guest Stars], Charles Smith [Johnny], J. Louis Johnson [Pullman Porter], Roger Moore [Escort], Bunny Waters [Marsha], Dorothy Douglas [Eleanor], Mae Clarke [Betty, the Flower Girl], John Trebach [Waiter], Suzanne Ridgway [Cleo], Larry Steers, Harold Miller [Men at Table], Allan Ray [Elevator Man]

Musical Program: [0:00] Credits / Let's Choo Choo Choo to Idaho (sung by Chorus behind titles); [0:01] "Melody in Swimtime" (Esther Williams swimming number); [0:08] Baby Come out of the Clouds (sung by Lena Horne); [0:19] Let's Choo Choo Choo to Idaho (sung by Connie Haines, Van Johnson, The Jubilaires and boys in the band [as Dick Layn and His Music] onboard train); [0:31] Of All Things (sung by Connie Haines and Dick Layn and His Music); [0:48] You Can't Do Wrong Doin' Right (sung by Van Johnson, Connie Haines and boys in the band); [0:53] Warm Hands Beguine (instrumental danced by Eleanor Powell); [1:13] Potato Dance (medely of instrumentals danced by Esther Williams and Van Johnson and other couples, Esther is crowned Duchess of Idaho); [1:32] "Melody in Swimtime" (water ballet featuring Esther Williams and Chorus of swimmers and dancers)


Original magazine ad

Duck Soup
Paramount, 1933, B/W, 68 minutes, ***
Released November, 1933

Pointed political satire, Duck Soup is the Marx Brothers' funniest and most insane film. Groucho is Rufus T. Firefly, the hilarious dictator of mythical Freedonia. Harpo and Chico are commissioned as spies by Groucho's political rival, the calculating Trentino (Louis Calhern).

The film contains many of the Brothers' famous routines and sketches: the lemonade stand, a masterpiece of slow burn; the Paul Revere parody; the "We're Going to War" number, a beautiful spoof of 1930s musicals; the hilarious mirror scene; and a final battle episode that has been copied by everyone from Woody Allen to "Mad Magazin."

A witty and biting satirical look at governments and politicians and how their bumbling and overbearing policies and egomania generally ends in bloodshed with the citizenry generally taking the brunt of the punishment. During the Great Depressing of the 1930s, there was rebellion brewing in American - on college campuses and in Hollywood. This film fits right in by poking fun at government in general. Or was it just telling it like it is?

Directed by: Leo McCarey
Story, Music and Lyrics by: Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby
Additional Dialogue by: Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin
Choreography by: Arthur Johnston
Art Direction by: Wiard Ihnen, Hans Dreier
Photographed by: Henry Sharp
Film Editor: LeRoy Stone

Cast: Groucho Marx [Rufus T. Firefly], Harpo Marx [Pinky], Chico Marx [Chicolini], Zeppo Marx [Bob Roland], Margaret Dumont [Mrs. Teasdale], Raquel Torres [Vera Marcal], Louis Calhern [Trentino (Ambassador of Sylvania)], Edmund Breese [Zander], Leonid Kinskey [Agitator], Charles D. Middleton [Prosecutor], Edgar Kennedy [Lemonade Vendor], Additional Cast: Wade Boteler [Officer at Battle Headquarters], E. H. Calvert [Officer in battle sequence], Louise Closser Hale, Maude Turner Gordon [Reception Guests], Edward LeSaint [Secretary of Labor], Edwin Maxwell [Freedonia's Secretary of War], Dennis O'Keefe [Bridegroom at Firefly's Reception], Dale Van Sickel [A Palace Guard], Edward Arnold [Politician], Sidney Bracey [Mrs. Teasdale's Butler], Davison Clark [Minister of Finance #2], Carrie Daumery [Reception Guest], Verna Hillie [Trentino's Secretary], George MacQuarrie [First Judge], Eric Mayne [Third Judge], Frederick Sullivan [Second Judge], William Worthington [First Minister of Finance]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:04] His Excellency Is Due (sung by Zeppo Marx and Margaret Dumont); [0:05] Freedonia Hymn (sung by Chorus); [0:09] These are the Laws of My Administration (sung by Margaret Dumont, Groucho Marx and Chorus); [0:12] Sylvania Hymn (played by Orchestra); [0:19] The Lemonade Stand comedy routine (Chico, Harpo and Edgar Kennedy); [0:29] Freedonia Hymn (short excerpt reprised by Chorus); [0:32] More of the Lemonade Stand routine; [0:46] The Mirror Scene; [0:49] Freedonia Hymn / the Trial Scene (short excerpt reprised by Chorus); [0:54] The Country's Going to War (sung and danced by Groucho, Chico, Zeppo and Chorus); [0:57] The Paul Revere Parody (Harpo as Paul Revere); [0:59] The Final Battle Sequence; There are little strains of many tunes in the background score, ridiculously out of place, including: "Dixie," "The Peanut Vendor," "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf,' "Stars and Stripes Forever," "Ain't She Sweet," and many others. See if you can spot them all!