I Could Go On Singing
United Artists, 1963, Color, 99 minutes, ***
Released May, 1963

In her final film appearance, Judy Garland plays a concert singer who has given up everything important to reach the top. Top-notch acting by Bogarde and Garland make for a captivating drama filled with "live" concert numbers by Judy. The story parallels Judy's own personal life in many ways, and is a hauntingly poignant look at the personal life of a major star. A favorite among Judy's many concert era fans.

Produced by: Stuart Millar and Lawrence Turman
Directed by: Ronald Neame
Assistant Director: Colin Brewer
Screenplay by: Mayo Simon
Story by: Robert Dozier
Title Song: "I Could Go On Singing," Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by E. Y. Harburg
Music by: Mort Lindsey
Musical Supervisor: Saul Chaplin
Music Director: Mort Lindsey
Production Designer: Wilfred Shingleton
Set Decorator: John Hoesli
Miss Garland's Costumes: Edith Head
Additional Costumes: Beatrice Dawson
Makeup: Harold Fletcher
Hair Stylist: Pearl Tipaldi
Sound: Buster Ambler, Red Law
Director of Photography: Arthur Ibbetson
Filmed in Panavision, Color by Technicolor
Editor: John Shirley

Cast: Judy Garland [Jenny Bowman], Dirk Bogarde [David Donne], Jack Klugman [George Kogan], Aline MacMahon [Ida], Gregory Phillips [Matt], Russell Waters [Reynolds], Pauline Jameson [Miss Plimpton], Jeremy Burnham [Hospital Surgeon], Eric Woodburn, Robert Rietty, Gerald Sim [Assistant Manager of Palladium], David Lee [Pianist], Leon Cortez [The Busker], Al Paul

Musical Program: [0:00] I Could Go On Singing (sung by Judy Garland behind titles); [0:24] excerpt from H.M.S. Pinafore (sung by Boys performing the opera); [0:26] British National Anthem ("God Save the Queen") (sung by Boys and Audience); [0:29] I Am the Monarch of the Sea (sung by Judy Garland and Boys); [0:37] Hello Bluebird (sung by Judy Garland in concert); [0:47] It Never Was You (sung by Judy Garland in concert); [1:07] By Myself (sung by Judy Garland in concert); [1:33] I Could Go On Singing (sung by Judy Garland in concert)

For more details see the I Could Go On Singing page on JGDB:


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I Dood It
MGM, 1943, B/W, 102 minutes, ***
Released September, 1943

Slapstick musical-comedy, directed by Vincente Minnelli and based on Buster Keaton's "Spite Marriage," stars Red Skelton as a hapless taylor's apprentice whose dream girl (Eleanor Powell) agrees to marry him only after her beau jilts her. With Sam Levene, Lena Horne, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra; songs include "Star Eyes," "Taking a Chance on Love," "One O'Clock Jump."

Even though it's a Minnelli film, it's not quite up to MGM's usual standards. It seems a little disjointed, as though it were hastily done or made with a small budget. Still, it's a fun film saved mostly by Skelton's comical sequences and Eleanor Powell's fantastic Rope Dance. Jimmy Dorsey's "One O'Clock Jump" is a standout, as is "Star Eyes."

Produced by: Jack Cummings
Directed by: Vincente Minnelli
Screen Play by: Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Song Score: Lew Brown, Ralph Freed and Sammy Fain
Dance Direction: Bobby Connolly
Musical Presentation: Merrill Pye
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associate: Jack Martin Smith
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associate: Helen Conway
Costume Supervision: Irene
Associate: Sharaff
Men's Costumes by: Gile Steele
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Ray June
Film Editor: Robert J. Kern

Cast: Red Skelton [Joseph Rivington Reynolds], Eleanor Powell [Constance "Connie" Shaw], Richard Ainley [Larry West], Patricia Dane [Suretta Brenton], Sam Levene [Ed Jackson], Thurston Hall [Kenneth Lawlor], Lena Horne [Herself], Hazel Scott [Herself], John Hodiak [Roy Hartwood], Butterfly McQueen [Annette], Marjorie Gateson [Mrs. Spelvin], Andrew Tombes [Mr. Spelvin], Morris Ankrum [Brinker], Charles Judels [Stage Manager], Helen O'Connell, Bob Eberly, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra [Themselves], Additional Cast: Tommy Dorsey [Cameo], Joe Yule [Stage Doorman]

Musical Program: [0:00] One O'Clock Jump (played by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra behind titles); [0:05] So Long, Sarah Jane (Title Card Reads: "USO BAZARR / Miss Constance Shaw / in her / Western Rope Dance / assisted by / Bob Eberly / and / Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra" (sung by Bob Eberly and Chorus with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Western Rope Dance by Eleanor Powell and Chorus); [0:19] Star Eyes (instrumental arrangement played by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, comedy dance by Eleanor Powell and Red Skelton); [0:32] Star Eyes (sung by Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra); [0:50] Skelton comedy sequnce: trying to put sleeping Eleanor Powell on the bed; [1:04] Hola E Pae (Skelton dream sequence, sung by Chorus, danced by Eleanor Powell in grass skirt - this film footage was lifted from the film Honolulu); [1:10] Taking a Chance on Love (played by Hazel Scott at the piano); [1:12] Jericho (sung and danced by Lena Horne, Hazel Scott and Chorus, Hazel Scott on piano); [1:25] comedy sequence: Skelton fills in for Hodiak in the play; [1:40] Swinging the Jinx Away / Anchors Aweigh (Finale Production Number: instrumental arrangement danced by Eleanor Powell and Chorus dressed as Navy Band, all on battleship set; Chorus sings an excerpt of "Anchors Aweigh")

I Dream of Jeanie
Republic, 1952, B/W, 102 minutes, ***
Released June, 1952

A musical biography and celebration of the works of Stephen Collins Foster. Foster was the first major American songwriter. Includes many of Foster's greatest songs, most of which are still very popular today. Much of his music is timeless, including "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair," "Beautiful Dreamer," "Oh! Susanna," "My Old Kentucky Home," and many others. Very enjoyable film! The title is erroneously spelled "Jeannie" on the videotape sleeve, and consequently it is misspelled on many video stores' web sites (minor detail).

Producer: Herbert J. Yates
Directed by: Allan Dwan
Written by: Alan LeMay
Music Adapted and Directed by: Robert Armbruster
Song Score: Stephen Foster
Dance Direction: Nick Castle Company
Art Director: Frank Hotaling
Set Decorations: John McCarthy, Jr.; James Redd
Costumes Designed by: Adele Palmer
Makeup Supervision: Bob Mark
Hair Stylist: Peggy Gray
Sound: T. A. Carman, Howard Wilson, John A. Stransky, Jr.
Photographed by: Reggie Lanning
Special Effects: Howard and Theodore Lydecker
Film Editor: Fred Allen

Cast: Ray Middleton [Edwin P. Christy], Bill Shirley [Stephen Foster], Muriel Lawrence [Inez McDowell], Dick Simmons [Dunning Foster], Rex Allen [Mr. Tambo / Narrator], Lynn Bari [Mrs. Dowell], Louise Beavers [Mammy], Eileen Christy [Jeanie McDowell], Robert Neil [Milford Wilson], Percy Helton [Mr. Horker], James Kirkwood [Doctor], James Dobson [Spike], Fred Moultrie [Chitlins], Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer [Freddie], Andrew Tombes [R. E. Howard], Glen Turnbull [Specialty Dancer]

Musical Program: [0:01] Oh! Susanna (excerpt sung by Chorus and played on Calliope); [0:05] Oh! Boys, Carry Me 'Long (sung by Chorus); [0:10] Old Dog Tray (sung by Bill Shirley and Tray the Dog); [0:12] Oh! Susanna (sung by Bill Shirley and Eileen Christy); [0:13] De Camptown Races (sung by Bill Shirley and Eileen Christy); [0:14] Soirée Polka (introduced as "Jeanie's Own Polka") (played on flute by Bill Shirley onscreen, danced by Eileen Christy); [0:16] On Wings of Song (sung by Muriel Lawrence and Bill Shirley); [0:29] Lo! Here the Gentle Lark (sung by Muriel Lawrence, accompanied by Bill Shirley on flute onscreen and other musicians); [0:31] The Glendy Burk (sung by Ray Middleton); [0:35] Nelly Bly (sung by Ray Middleton); [0:37] Melinda May (sung by Ray Middleton); [0:38] My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night (sung by Ray Middleton); [0:40] Gentle Annie (excerpt sung by Ray Middleton); [0:42] Medley of Foster's songs played and sung during Christy's parade; [0:46] Ring de Banjo (sung by Christy's Minstrels); [0:49] Old Folks at Home (sung and danced by Christy's Minstrels); [0:52] Beautiful Dreamer (sung by Bill Shirley serenading Inez); [0:58] Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming (sung by Rex Allen and Christy's Minstrels); [1:02] Medley of Foster's songs danced by Glen Turnbull; [1:03] Some Folks (sung and danced by Christy's Minstrels); [1:08] Head Over Heels (sung and danced by Eileen Christy); [1:15] Ribbon in Your Hair (sung by Muriel Lawrence and Eileen Christy); [1:17] Old Black Joe (sung by fisherman as steamboat passes by); [1:19] The Jeannie Polka (?) (reprised by Bill Shirley on flute onscreen); [1:21] The Glendy Burk (reprised by Ray Middleton); [1:23] I See Her Still in My Dreams (sung by Eileen Christy and Bill Shirley); [1:27] Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (sung by Bill Shirley, Ray Middleton, Eileen Christy and Chorus)

I Love Melvin
MGM, 1953, Color, 76 minutes, ***½
Released March, 1953

A favorite of mine, I Love Melvin finds Judy LeRoy (Debbie Reynolds) an aspiring Broadway star. She's just landed a part in a Broadway college musical... playing the part of the football in a college football game! She meets Melvin Hoover (Donald O'Connor), photographer from "Look" Magazine, and he suggests a photo spread in the magazine might help Judy's career. He even offers to try to get her on the cover. Lots of laughs in this musical comedy. Musical highlights include Debbie's "A Lady Loves," Debbie and Donald's "Where Did You Learn to Dance?" and Noreen Corcoran's cute rendition of "Life Has Its Funny Little Ups and Downs."

Produced by: George Wells
Directed by: Don Weis
Assistant Director: Marvin Stuart
Screen Play by: George Wells
Additional Dialogue by: Ruth Brooks Flippen
Story by: Laslo Vadnay
Music Direction: Georgie Stoll
Musical Arrangements by: Skip Martin
Songs: Lyrics by Mack Gordon, Music by Josef Myrow
Dances Staged and Directed by: Robert Alton
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Jack Martin Smith, Eddie Imazu
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Jacque Mapes
Costumes Designed by: Helen Rose
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle
Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Harold Rosson
Special Effects: A. Arnold Gillespie
Montage Sequence by: Peter Ballbusch
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Consultant: Henri Jaffa
Color Consultant: Alvord Eiseman
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Cast: Donald O'Connor [Melvin Hoover], Debbie Reynolds [Judy LeRoy], Una Merkel [Mom Schneider], Richard Anderson [Harry Flack], Allyn Joslyn [Pop Schneider], Les Tremayne [Mr. Hennenman], Noreen Corcoran [Clarabelle], Jim Backus [Mergo], Barbara Ruick [Studio Guide], Robert Taylor [Guest Star]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [2:00] A Lady Loves (sung and danced by Debbie Reynolds with Mens Chorus); [0:09] We Have Never Met As of Yet (sung by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor); [0:15] Saturday Afternoon Before the Game (sung and danced by Chorus); [0:22] Where Did You Learn To Dance? (sung and danced by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor - fantastic number!); [0:33] Life Has Its Funny Little Ups and Downs (sung by Noreen Corcoran, danced by Noreen and Donald O'Connor on roller skates - really cute!); [0:39] I Wanna Wander (instrumental excerpt danced by Chorus in movie); [0:45] I Wanna Wander (danced by Donald O'Connor); [1:01] Judy's Dream Sequence: And There You Are (danced by Debbie Reynolds with three Fred Astaires and three Gene Kellys); [1:08] Saturday Afternoon Before the Game (reprised by Orchestra behind montage)


Title Card

I Married an Angel
MGM, 1942, B/W, 84 minutes, ***
Released July, 1942

In their final film together, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy make heavenly music together. Playboy banker Eddy thinks he's found the girl of his dreams in MacDonald, but is she (literally) an angel in disguise? The songs include "Spring Is Here," "Tira Lira La" and the title tune.

Produced by: Hunt Stromberg
Directed by: Maj. W. S. Van Dyke II
Screen Play by: Anita Loos
"Based upon the Broadway stage success produced by Dwight Deere Wiman of the musical adaptation by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart of the play by Vassary Janos." ("Angyalt Vettem Felesegul")
Songs by: Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
Added Lyrics: Bob Wright, Chet Forrest
The Music Score by: Herbert Stothart
Dance Direction: Ernst Matray
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Associates: John S. Detlie and Motley
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Costumes by: Motley
Gowns by: Kalloch
Hair Styles Created by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up Created by: Jack Dawn
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Ray June
Special Effects: A. Arnold Gillespie and Warren Newcombe
Film Editor: Conrad A. Nervig

Cast: Jeanette MacDonald [Anna Zador / Brigitta], Nelson Eddy [Count "Willie" Palaffi], Edward Everett Horton [Peter], Binnie Barnes [Peggy], Reginald Owen ["Whiskers"], Douglas Dumbrille [Baron Szigethy], Mona Maris [Marika], Janis Carter [Sufi], Inez Cooper [Iren], Leonid Kinskey [Zinski], Anne Jeffreys [Polly], Marion Rosamond [Dolly], Additional Cast: Marek Windheim [Marcel], Georges Renavent [Pierre], Max Willenz [Assistant Manager], Francine Bordeaux, Lisl Valetti, Mildred Shay [Maids], Odette Myrtil [Modiste], Tyler Brooke [Lucien], Jacques Vanaire [Max], Luis Alberni [Jean Frederique], Micheline Cheirel [Annette], Rafaela Ottiano [Madelon], Margaret Moffat [Mother Zador], Vaughan Glaser [Father Andreas], Gino Corrado [Valet], Sidney D'Albrook, Mitchell Lewis [Porters], Sig Arno [Waiter], Jacqueline Dalya [Olga], George Humbert [Taxi Driver], Ben Hall [Delivery Boy], Ferdinand Munier [Rich Man], George Davis [Pushcart Vendor], Jack Vlaskin [Milk Wagon Driver], Veda Ann Borg, Carol Hughes [Willie's Morning Ladies], Ludwig Stossel [Janitor], Robert Greig [Major-Domo], Maxine Leslie, Lillian Eggers [Willie's Evening Ladies], Fredrik Vogeding, Charles Judels [Customs Officers], Anthony Blair, Joel Friedkin, Major James H. McNamara, Earle Dewey, Bert Roach [Board Members], Maude Eburne [Juli], Suzanne Kaaren [Simone], Leonard Carey [Servant], Guy Bellis [Servant], Esther Dale [Mrs. Gherkin], Grace Hayle [Mrs. Gabby], Gertrude W. Hoffman [Lady Gimcrack], Maude Allen [Woman], Eva Dennison [Woman], Florence Auer [Mrs. Roquefort], Walter Soderling [Mr. Kipper], Dick Elliott [Mr. Scallion], Oliver Prickett (aka Oliver Blake) [Mr. Gherkin], Almira Sessions [Mrs. Scallion], Lon Poff [Mr. Dodder], Charles Brabin [Mr. Fairmind], Otto Hoffman [Mr. Flit], Beryl Wallace [Fifi], Anita Sharp Bolster [Mrs. Kipper], Frank Reicher [Driver], Rafael Storm [Berti], Cecil Cunningham [Mrs. Fairmind], Jack Lipson [Mr. Roquefort], Harry Worth, James B. Carson [Waiters], Alphonse Martell [Headwaiter], Arthur Dulac, Harry Horwitz [French News Vendors], Sam Savitsky [Doorman], Evelyn Atchinson [Marie Antoinette], Charles Bancroft [Chimney Sweep], Muriel Barr [Mermaid], Edwina Coolidge [Queen Elizabeth], Ruth Adler [Night No. 1], Leda Nicova [Night No. 2], Vivian DuBois [Night No. 3], Betty Hayward [Night No. 4], George Ford [Neptune], Guy Gabriel, Dorothy Hans, Aileen Haley [Infanta], Joe Hartman [Marc Anthony], John Marlowe [Louis XIV], Paul Power [Scottish Highlander], Robert Spencer [Peacock]

Musical Program: The music is heavily integrated into the story and dialogue along with quite a lot of verse -- similar to the way it was done in Hallelujah I'm a Bum, so it is difficult, and quite unneccessary, to time-tag all of it. I have listed the more important songs here, you will find them (and fragments of them) scattered throughout the film:
[0:15] Tira Lira La (sung by Marjorie Briggs, Betty Noyes, and Dorothy Compton dubbing for Mona Maris, Janice Carter, Inez Cooper, Marion Rosamond, and Anne Jeffreys; Twins; Nelson Eddy; Burgren Sisters Childrens Quartet dubbing for the three black children onscreen; at the Count's birthday party); [0:24] "From afar you sent for an angel," to the tune of I Married an Angel (sung by Jeanette MacDonald as she makes her angelic entry into Nelson Eddy's dreams); [0:33] I Married an Angel / I'll Tell the Man in the Street / Hey Butcher (sung by Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald and Ensemble); [0:44] Spring Is Here (sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy); [0:46] Harp concert: Villanelle (excerpt sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [0:50] May I Present the Girl (sung by Nelson Eddy); [1:01] Oh! Susanna (played by Orchestra as Brigitta endlessly rearranges the table seating); [1:06] But What of Truth (short excerpt sung by Jeannette MacDonald) / A Twinkle in Your Eye (sung and danced by Jeanette MacDonald and Binnie Barnes); [1:11] A Twinkle in Your Eye (part spoken in verse, part sung by Jeanette MacDonald); [1:16] Medley / Montage: Chanson Bohème (from the opera CARMEN / Anges Purs (from the opera FAUST / Aloha Oe (sung by Jeanette MacDonald, sung in counterpoint to Nelson's plea); [1:22] Finale medley: I Married an Angel / Spring Is Here (sung by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald)

I'll Be Yours
Universal, 1947, B/W, 94 minutes, ***
Released February, 1947

Scripter Preston Sturges adapted the Ferenc Molnar play "The Good Fairy" to suit the talents of star Deanna Durbin. The result was this delightful musical comedy in which New York theater usherette Durbin tries to help handsome attorney Tom Drake land a job with meat-packing tycoon Adolphe Menjou. With William Bendix, Franklin Pangborn, Dudley Dickerson.

Produced by: Felix Jackson
Associate Producer: Howard Christie
Directed by: William A. Seiter
Assistant Director: William Holland
Adapted by: Felix Jackson
From the Screenplay: "The Good Fairy" by Preston Sturges
Based on a Comedy by: Ferenc Molnar
Original Play Translated and Adapted by: Jane Hinton
Music: Frank Skinner
Musical Direction for Miss Durbin: Walter Schumann
Vocal Coach: Al Procter
Orchestrations: David Tamkin
Miss Durbin's Songs: "Granada" (by) Augistin Lara
"It's Dream Time" (by) Walter Schumann, Jack Brooks
"Love's Own Sweet Song" (by) Emmerich Kalman
Art Direction: John B. Goodman
Set Decorations: Russell A. Gausman
Costumes: Travis Banton
Director of Make-Up: Jack A. Pierce
Hair Stylist: Carmen Dirigo
Director of Sound: Charles Felstead
Technician: Joe Lapis
Songs Recorded by: Lawrence Aicholtz
Director of Photography: Hal Mohr
Special Photography by: David S. Horsley
Film Editor: Otto Ludwig

Cast: Deanna Durbin [Louise Ginglebusher], Tom Drake [George Prescott], William Bendix [Wechsberg], Adolphe Menjou [J. Conrad Nelson], Walter Catlett [Mr. Buckingham], Franklin Pangborn [Barber], William Trenk [Captain], William Brooks [Stagedoor Johnny], Joan Fulton [Blonde], John Phillips [in titles, but what part did he play?], Additonal Cast: Patricia Alphin (aka Audrey Young) [Usherette], Bess Flowers [Party Guest]

Musical Program: [0:15] Cobleskill School Song (sung by Deanna Durbin and Walter Catlett); [0:35] Granada (sung by Deanna Durbin with Mens Chorus); [1:07] It's Dream Time (harmonica introduction, sung by Deanna Durbin and Chorus); [1:30] Love's Own Sweet Song (sung by Deanna Durbin while dancing with Tom Drake, accompanied by Chorus); There are also a number of instrumentals used at the party, and there is one vocal used in the movie that Walter Catlett watches.

I'll Cry Tomorrow
MGM, 1955, B/W, 117 minutes, ***½
Released December, 1955

One of the finest Hollywood biopics ever made, an unflinching look at the life of singer / actress Lillian Roth and her struggle with alcoholism. Susan Hayward earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Roth and also did her own singing. With Jo Van Fleet, Richard Conte, Don Taylor.

Produced by: Lawrence Weingarten
Directed by: Daniel Mann
Assistant Director: Al Jennings
Screen Play by: Helen Deutsch and Jay Richard Kennedy
Based on the Book "I'll Cry Tomorrow" by Lillian Roth, Mike Connolly and Gerold Frank
Technical Adviser: Lillian Roth
Miss Hayward Sings: "Sing You Sinners," "When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along," "The Vagabond King Waltz"
Musical Supervision: Johnny Green
Dramatic Music Score by: Alex North
Miss Hayward's Songs Arranged and Conducted by: Charles Henderson
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Malcolm Brown
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt
Costumes by: Helen Rose
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle
Recording Supervisor: Dr. Wesley C. Miller
Director of Photography: Arthur E. Arling
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe
Film Editor: Harold F. Kress

Awards: Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Helen Rose); Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Susan Hayward), Best Art Direction / Set Decoration, Black-and-White (Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm Brown, Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Arthur E. Arling)

Cast: Susan Hayward [Lillian Roth], Richard Conte [Tony Bardeman], Eddie Albert [Burt McGuire], Jo Van Fleet [Katie Roth], Don Taylor [Wallie], Ray Danton [David Tredman], Margo [Selma], Virginia Gregg [Ellen], Don Barry [Jerry], David Kasday [David as a Child], Carole Ann Campbell [Lillian as a Child], Peter Leeds [Richard], Tol Avery [Fat Man], Additional Cast: Gail Ganley [Lillian, age 15], Anthony Jochim [Paul], Robert Dix [Henry], Eve McVeagh [Ethel], Ralph Edwards [Himself, Host of "This Is Your Life"], Jack Daley [Cab Driver], George Pembroke [Husband], Mary Bear [Wife], Nesdon Booth [Pawnbroker], Bill Walker, Joel Fluellen [Porters], Larry J. Blake [AA Member], Kenner G. Kemp [AA Patient], Veda Ann Borg [Waitress], Peter Brocco [Doctor], George Selk [Switchman], Budd Buster [Streetcar Switchman], Herbert Lytton [Streetcar Conductor], Timothy Carey [Derelict], Florence Ravenel, Elizabeth Holmes, Jeane Wood, Alyn Lockwood, Lucille Curtis [Stage Mothers], Joe Duval [Bartender], Kay English [Dress Designer], Stanley Farrar [Movie Director], Jack Gargan [Restaurant Cashier], Sam Harris [Party Guest], Bob Hopkins [MC], Sonny Howe [Acrobatic Dancer], Robert R. Stephenson [Bartender], Bess Flowers [Nightclub Patron], Henry Kulky, Marc Krah, Guy Wilkerson [Barflies], Frank Kreig [Bar Patron], Eddie Lee [Chinese Grocer], Nora Marlowe [Nurse], Alphonse Martell [Nightclub Waiter], Cheerio Meredith [Elderly Lady], Frank Mills [Dock Worker], Jimmy Ogg [Usher], Voltaire Perkins [Mr. Byrd], Vernon Rich [Club Manager], Ruth Storey [Marge Belney], Kenneth Patterson [Audition Director], Charles Tannen [Audition Stage Manager], Harlan Warde [Stage Manager], George Lloyd [Studio Messenger], Henry Brock, Harry Cody, Robert Williams [Stagehands]

Musical Program: [0:00] Main Title (played by MGM Orchestra behind titles); [0:07] Sing You Sinners (sung and danced by Susan Hayward and Chorus); [0:25] When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along (sung by Susan Hayward); [1:04] Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe (sung by Susan Hayward); [1:50] "AA Medley": When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along / ? / Sing You Sinners / Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe (sung by Susan Hayward with Eddie Albert at the piano onscreen)

I'll See You in My Dreams
Warner Bros., 1951, B/W, 110 minutes, ***
Released December, 1951

A music-filled biography of songwriter Gus Kahn (played by Danny Thomas), chronicling his early career in Chicago, his success with Ziegfeld in New York, his problems during the Depression era and his relationship with wife Grace LeBoy (played by Doris Day). Songs include "It Had to Be You," "Love Me or Leave Me," "Ain't We Got Fun," "I Never Knew" and more. With Frank Lovejoy.

Very entertaining biopic of Gus Kahn, one of the most gifted and prolific lyricists of the first half of the twentieth century. You'll find many of his songs right here on Class Act! Plenty of great music in this one.

The Doris Day Collection, Vol. 2 DVD Box Set includes this movie, Romance on the High Seas, My Dream Is Yours, On Moonlight Bay, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Lucky Me.

Produced by: Louis F. Edelman
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Written by: Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose
Musical Direction: Ray Heindorf
Music: Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by: LeRoy Prinz
Art Director: Douglas Bacon
Set Decorator: George James Hopkins
Wardrobe by: Leah Rhodes, Marjorie Best
Makeup Artist: Gordon Bau
Sound by: Oliver S. Garretson, David Forrest
Director of Photography: Ted McCord
Film Editor: Owen Marks

Cast: Doris Day [Grace LeBoy Kahn], Danny Thomas [Gus Kahn], Frank Lovejoy [Walter Donaldson], Patrice Wymore [Gloria Knight], James Gleason [Fred], Mary Wickes [Anna], Julie Oshins [Johnny], Jim Backus [Sam Harris], Minna Gombell [Mrs. LeBoy], Harry Antrim [Mr. LeBoy], William Forrest [Florenz Ziegfeld], Bunny Lewbel [Irene Kahn, age 6], Robert Lyden [Donald Kahn, age 8], Mimi Gibson [Irene Kahn, age 3], Christie Olson [Donald Kahn, age 4], Hans Conried [Mr. Rossiter], Richard Simmons [Bert], Else Neft [Mrs. Kahn], Jack Williams [Dancer], Clarence Landry [Dancer], Ray Kellogg [John McCormack], George Neise [Isham Jones], Vince Barnett [Comic], Dan Barton [Hollywood Producer]

Musical Program: [0:00] I'll See You in My Dreams (sung by Chorus behind titles); [0:02] It Looks Like a Big Night Tonight (two unidentified lady singers at Rossiter's); [0:03] Shine On, Harvest Moon (unidentified lady singer at Rossiter's); [0:12] I Wish I Had a Girl (Doris Day and Chorus); [0:26] Memories (Ray Kellogg as John McCormack); [0:32] Pretty Baby (Danny Thomas); [0:39] The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else (Doris Day); [0:43] Camp Tour Montage: Nobody's Sweetheart / My Buddy / Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye (Doris Day); [0:49] It Had to Be You (Danny Thomas); [0:51] Yes Sir, That's My Baby / Swingin' Down the Lane (Doris Day, Danny Thomas and kids); [1:00] Carolina in the Morning (Patrice Wymore); [1:05] Love Me or Leave Me (Patrice Wymore on telephone); [1:08] Love Me or Leave Me (sung and danced by Patrice Wymore and Chorus); [1:13] Makin' Whoopee (with special lyric, Danny Thomas and Doris Day); [1:16] No No Nora (Doris Day) / Your Eyes Have Told Me So (Danny Thomas); [1:22] It Had to Be Me (parody, Danny Thomas); [1:34] I'll See You in My Dreams (Doris Day); [1:41] Carioca (danced by marionettes); [1:47] I Wish I Had a Girl (Danny Thomas and Doris Day); [1:49] I'll See You in My Dreams (Chorus)

I'll Take Sweden
Superior / UA, 1965, Color, 96 minutes, ***
Released June, 1965

Overprotective dad Bob Hope gets transferred to Sweden in order to stop the romance between daughter Tuesday Weld and rock-and-roller Frankie Avalon. But soon she's romanced by a suave playboy, so Bob invites Frankie overseas to stop the liaison. Lively, music-filled comedy co-stars Dina Merrill, Jeremy Slate and The Vulcanes.

Produced by: Edward Small
Associate Producer: Alex Gottlieb
Production Supervisor: Harold E. Knox Directed by: Frederick de Cordova
Assistant Director: Herbert S. Green
Screenplay: Nat Perrin, Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx
Story by: Nat Perrin
Music by: Jimmy Haskell and "By" Dunham
Conducted by: Jimmy Haskell
Title Song: "I'll Take Sweden" by Diane Lampert and Ken Lauber
"The Bells Keep Ringing," "There'll Be Rainbows Again" by "By" Dunham and Bobby Beverly
"Watusi Jo" by James Economides and Jimmie Haskell
"Take It Off" by "By" Dunham and Jimmie Haskell
"Would You Like My Last Name?" by Diane Lampert and Ken Lauber
Choreography: Miriam Nelson
Art Director: Robert Peterson
Set Decorator: Frank Tuttle
Costume Designer: Paula Giokaris
Makeup by: Layne Britton
Hair Stylist: Hedwig Dimmit
Sound: Al Overton
Director of Photography: Daniel L. Fapp
Filmed in Technicolor
Supervising Film Editor: Grant Whytock

Cast: Bob Hope [Bob Holcomb], Tuesday Weld [JoJo Holcomb], Frankie Avalon [Kenny Klinger], Dina Merrill [Karin Grandstedt], Jeremy Slate [Erik Carlson], Rosemarie Frankland [Marti], Walter Sande [Bjork], John Qualen [Olaf], Peter Bourne [Ingemar], Fay De Witt [Hilda], Alice Frost [Greta], Roy Roberts [Captain], Maudie Prickett [Spinster], Beverly Hills [Electra], Siv Marta Aberg [Inter], The Vulcanes (Rock Group) [Themselves]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: I'll Take Sweden (sung by Chorus behind titles); [0:01] The Bells Keep Ringing (instrumental arrangement with bells danced by the Kids); [0:04] Would You Like My Last Name (sung by Frankie Avalon); [0:08] The Bells Keep Ringing (sung by Frankie Avalon, danced by Frankie Avalon and Kids); [0:15] Take It Off (played by band [offscreen] at the Pink Kitten); [0:49] There'll Be Rainbows Again (sung by Frankie Avalon); [1:04] I'll Take Sweden (sung by Frankie Avalon with The Vulcanes); [1:35] I'll Take Sweden (sung by Chorus behind end credits)

I'm No Angel
Paramount, 1933, B/W, 87 minutes, ***
Released October, 1933

Tira (Mae West) is an exotic dancer and lion tamer for Big Bill Barton's traveling carnival. On the side, she gets a little lovin' and other more material trinkets from stage door Johnnys she meets in every town. When she hits on the idea of putting her head in a lion's mouth, Barton is excited by the idea and signs her to a five-year contract. The act does well, and Tira hits the big time.

But just as she's about to be married and settle down, she's accused of promoting, and may have to stand trial. At a pre-trial hearing, Tira gets special permission to cross-examine the witnesses, and she slam dunks them all in one of Mae's best scenes ever. She may be no angel, but she's no dummy, either! Meet Tira -- they call her Sister Honky Tonk!

Produced by: William LeBaron
Directed by: Wesley Ruggles
Story, Screenplay and All Dialogue by: Mae West
With Suggestions by: Lowell Brentano
Continuity by: Harlan Thompson
Music by: Harvey Brooks
Lyrics by: Gladys duBois and Ben Ellison
Photographed by: Leo Tover
Film Editor: Otho Lovering

Cast: Mae West [Tira], Cary Grant [Jack Clayton], Gregory Ratoff [Benny Pinkowitz], Edward Arnold [Big Bill Barton], Ralf Harolde [Slick Wiley], Kent Taylor [Kirk Lawrence], Gertrude Michael [Alicia Hatton], Russell Hopton [The Barker], Dorothy Peterson [Thelma], William B. Davidson [The Chump], Gertrude Howard [Beulah], Libby Taylor [Maid]

Musical Program: [0:05] They Call Me Sister Honky-Tonk (sung and "wiggled" by Mae West); [0:17] (Nobody Loves Me Like) That Dallas Man (sung by Mae West); [0:44] I Found a New Way to Go to Town (sung by Mae West); [1:01] I Want You, I Need You (sung by Mae West); [1:26] I'm No Angel (sung on-screen and behind end credits by Mae West)

Iceland
20th Century-Fox, 1942, B/W, 79 minutes, ***
Released August, 1942

Marine Corporal James Murfin (John Payne), on shore leave in Iceland, flirts with native Katina Jonsdottir (Henie) and finds that his advances have obligated him to marry the lass, according to Icelandic tradition. Definitely not the marrying type, Murfin does all he can to rid himself of the girl, but she pursues him relentlessly. Lots of laughs in this cute Henie musical-comedy. Musical highlights include "Lover's Knot" and several wonderful skating numbers with Sonja.

Produced by: William LeBaron
Directed by: Bruce Humberstone
Original Screen Play by: Robert Ellis and Helen Logan
Lyrics and Music by: Mack Gordon and Harry Warren
Musical Direction: Emil Newman
Skating Ensembles by: James Gonzales
Art Direction: Richard Day, Wiard B. Ihnen
Set Decorations: Thomas Little
Costumes: Billy Livingston
Makeup Artist: Guy Pearce
Sound: Eugene Grossman, Roger Heman
Director of Photography: Arthur Miller
Film Editor: James B. Clark

Cast: Sonja Henie [Katina Jonsdottir], John Payne [Cpl. James Murfin], Jack Oakie [Slip Riggs], Felix Bressart [Papa], Osa Massen [Helga], Joan Merrill [Adele Wynn], Fritz Feld [Tegnar], Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra [Themselves], Sterling Holloway [Sverdrup Svensson], Adeline DeWalt Reynolds [Grandma], Ludwig Stossel [Valtyr's Father], Duke Adlon [Valtyr], Ilka Gruning [Aunt Sophie], Eugene Turner [Skating Partner], James Flavin [Sergeant], William Haade [Sentry], James Bush [Master Sergeant], Carol Curtis Brown [Canteen Girl]

Musical Program: [0:00] Let's Bring New Glory to Old Glory (chorus behind titles); [0:02] You Can't Say No to a Soldier (Joan Merrill and Chorus with Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra); [0:06] Let's Bring New Glory to Old Glory (Mens Chorus with Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra); [0:14] There Will Never Be Another You (sung by John Payne while dancing with Sonja); [0:25] Lover's Knot (sung and danced by Chorus and Ensemble); [0:29] Ice Carnival (production number: Sonja and Ensemble skates to choral and instrumental military songs medley and Hawaiian songs medley); [0:45] There Will Never Be Another You (Joan Merrill with Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra); [1:08] Lover's Knot (sung by Chorus, skated by Ensemble); [1:14] I Like a Military Tune (Joan Merrill and Chorus with Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra); [1:15] Finale (production number: Sonja and Ensemble skate to choral and instrumental medley of military tunes, including "I Like a Military Tune" and "Let's Bring New Glory to Old Glory")

For more information see:


Sonja Henie Snapshot
Visit this Class Act Sister Site!

Idiot's Delight
MGM, 1939, B/W, 105 minutes, ***
Released January, 1939

This film is not a musical at all, but it is a good movie. It's included here because of Clark Gable's rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz," which is a must-see! He sings and dances with Chorus Girls, and he does a pretty good job, too. Clark Gable and Norma Shearer sing "Onward Christian Soldiers."

Producer: Hunt Stromberg
Director: Clarence Brown
Screenplay: Robert E. Sherwood (based on his play)
Music Director: Herbert Stothart
Song Score: various
Choreography: George King
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Wade B. Rubottom
Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis
Gowns: Adrian
Cinematography: William Daniels
Film Editing: Robert J. Kern

Cast: Norma Shearer [Irene Fellara], Clark Gable [Harry Van], Edward Arnold [Achille Weber], Charles Coburn [Dr. Waldersee], Joseph Schildkraut [Capt. Kirvline], Burgess Meredith [Quillery], Laura Hope Crews [Mme. Zuleika], Skeets Gallagher [Donald Navadel], Peter Willes [Mr. Cherry], Pat Paterson [Mrs. Cherry], William Edmunds [Dumptsy], Fritz Feld [Pittatek], Virginia Grey [Shirley Laughlin], Lorraine Krueger [Bebe], Paula Stone [Beulah Tremeyne], Virginia Dale [Francine], Joan Marsh [Elaine Messiger], Bernadene Hayes [Edna Creesh], Edward Raquello [Chiari], Frank Orth [Benny Zinssar], George Sorel [Major], Hobart Cavanaugh [Frueheim, the Theater Manager], Bernard Suss [Auguste], William Irving [Sandro], Harry Strang [Sergeant], Emory Parnell [Fifth Avenue Cop], Bud Geary [Ambulance Driver], Mitchell Lewis [Indian], Joe Yule [Comic], Gertrude Bennett [Woman with Powders], Jimmy Conlin [Stagehand], Bonita Weber [Woman with Catsup], Rudolph Myzet [Czech Announcer], Adolph Milar [Fellara], Clem Bevans [Jimmy Barzek], Claire McDowell [Mother], Robert Middlemass [Hospital Commandant], Evalyn Knapp [Nurse], Eddie Gribbon [Cop], Buddy Messinger [Usher], Charles Judels [Greek Restaurant Owner], Paul Panzer [Greek Chef], E. Alyn Warren [Clerk, Grand Hotel], Frank Faylen [Ed], Frank M. Thomas [Bert], Garry Owen [Newsstand Man], Lee Phelps [Train Announcer], Francis McDonald [Flight Captain]

Musical Program: Puttin' on the Ritz (sung and danced by Clark Gable and Girls); Onward Christian Soldiers (Clark Gable and Norma Shearer)

If I Had My Way
Universal, 1940, B/W, 94 minutes, ***
Released May, 1940

When Patricia's (Gloria Jean) father is killed in an accident, Buzz (Bing Crosby) takes her back east to live with her closest relatives. Little does he know she will be thrust into the middle of a family feud.

Buzz's close friend and traveling companion Axel (El Brendel) discovers a long-lost friend now has a restaurant, which is not doing well, and in a moment of weakness (and more than a bit tipsy), he buys the restaurant so his friend can go back home to Minnesota. This means Buzz and Axel are liable for all of the restaurant debts, so they decide to throw themselves into making the restaurant work to avoid jail! For publicity, they throw a party with some of their old vaudeville friends putting on acts to draw in the customers, and the night is a big success!

Fun movie. Gloria Jean is sweet as ever and serves up some great songs. And old-timers like Blanche Ring reprise some of their best-remembered vaudeville acts.

This film is included in the DVD Box Set (shown right), along with Waikiki Wedding, Double or Nothing, East Side of Heaven, and Here Come the WAVES

Produced and Directed by: David Butler
Assistant Director: Joseph A. McDonough
Screen Play: William Conselman, James V. Kern
Original Story: David Butler, William Conselman, James V. Kern
Musical Director: Charles Previn
Orchestration: Frank Skinner
Original Songs: Lyrics by Johnny Burke, Music by James V. Monaco
"Ida" words and music by Eddie Leonard
"If I Had My Way" words by Lou Klein, music by James Kendis
"Rings on My Fingers" words by Weston & Barnes, music by Maurice Scott
"Little Grey Home in the West" words by D. Eardley-Wilmot, music by Hermann Lohr
Art Director: Jack Otterson
Associate: Richard H. Riedel
Set Decorations: R. A. Gausman
Gowns: Vera West
Sound Supervisor: Bernard B. Brown
Technician: Charles Carroll
Director of Photography: George Robinson
Film Editor: Irene Morra

Cast: Bing Crosby [Buzz Blackwell], Gloria Jean [Patricia Johnson], Charles Winninger [Joe Johnson], El Brendel [Axel Swenson], Allyn Joslyn [Jarvis Johnson], Claire Dodd [Brenda Johnson], Moroni Olsen [Mr. Blair], Nana Bryant [Marian Johnson], Donald Woods [Fred Johnson], Kathryn Adams [Miss Corbett], Brandon Hurst [Hedges], Emory Parnell [Gustav Erickson], Verna Felton [Mrs. DeLacey], Barnett Parker [Floorwalker], Joe Whitehead [Si], Del Henderson [Mr. Harris], Blanche Ring, Eddie Leonard, Trixie Friganza, Julian Eltinge, Grace La Rue, Six Hits and a Miss [Guests], Additional Cast: Selmer Jackson [Mr. Melville], Virginia Brissac [Mrs. Blair], Janet Waldo [Miss Courtney], Rod Cameron [Slim], Richard Keene [Soda Jerk], Edward Earle [Headwaiter], Larry McGrath [Waiter], Louis Mercier [Chef], Al Bridge [Doorman], Rafael Corio [Rhumba Teacher], Lillian West [Saleslady], Paul Gordon [Bicyclist], Lew Harvey [G-Man], Joe King [Bank Guard], Lee White [Bus driver]

Musical Program: [0:07] Meet the Sun Halfway (with opera parody introduction) (sung by Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean, joined by Chorus); [0:11] Doodle Dum Da (sung and played on jugband instruments by "Joe Bluett and His Rolicking Riveteers"); [0:14] My Friend the Bridge (poem recited by Gloria Jean and Bing Crosby); [0:26] I Haven't Time to Be a Millionaire (sung by Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean, joined by El Brendel at the end); [0:36] Little Grey Home in the West (sung by Gloria Jean); [0:44] The Pessimistic Character (With the Crab Apple Face) (sung by Bing Crosby, Charles Winninger, Gloria Jean, El Brendel, Nana Bryant, Emory Parnell; Winninger plays bridge on trombone; all accompanied by small band onscreen - fun number!); [0:50] If I Had My Way (sung by Bing Crosby to Gloria Jean); [1:17] Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider (sung and danced by Eddie Leonard, joined by Six Hits and a Miss); [1:20] Unicycle act (Paul Gordon); [1:23] I've Got Rings on My Fingers (sung by Blanche Ring, joined by Six Hits and a Miss); [1:25] April Played the Fiddle (sung by Bing Crosby, joined by Six Hits and a Miss); [1:32] Meet the Sun Halfway (reprised by Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean)

If I'm Lucky
20th Century-Fox, 1946, B/W, 79 minutes, ***
Released September, 1946

This vivacious remake of the film Thanks a Million [1935] stars Hollywood legends Carmen Miranda, Perry Como, Edgar Buchanan, Vivian Blaine and Harry James. When the vocalist (Como) for an underemployed swing band is hired to perform at a gubernatorial candidate's rally, he's delighted. But before he realizes it, he's part of a corrupt scheme to make him the candidate! And even after he tells the public that his backers are crooks, he still wins the election! Featuring Miranda's dynamic numbers "Follow the Band" and "Bet Your Bottom Dollar," this classic hit is one you'll feel lucky to add to your DVD collection.   [from back of DVD case]

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

Produced by: Bryan Foy
Directed by: Lewis Seiler
Screen Play by: Snag Werris, Robert Ellis, Helen Logan and George Bricker
From a Story by Edwin Lanham
Music and Lyrics by: Josef Myrow and Edgar De Lange
Dances Staged by: Kenny Williams
Musical Director: Emil Newman
Associate Musical Director: Charles Henderson
Art Direction: James Basevi, Leland Fuller
Set Decorations: Thomas Little
Associate: Frank E. Hughes
Costumes: Eleanor Behm
Costumes for Carmen Miranda Designed by: Sascha Brastoff
Makeup Artist: Ben Nye
Sound: W. D. Flick, Roger Heman
Special Photographic Effects: Fred Sersen
Director of Photography: Glen MacWilliams
Film Editor: Norman Colbert

Cast: Vivian Blaine [Linda Farrell], Perry Como [Allen Clark], Harry James [Earl Gordon], Carmen Miranda [Michelle O'Toole], Phil Silvers [Wallingham M. Jones], Edgar Buchanan [Darius J. Magonnagle], Reed Hadley [Jed Conklin], Harry James' Music Makers [Themselves], Lewis L. Russell [P. H. Gillingwater], Dewey Robinson [Mug in Leather Jacket], Larry Nunn [Messenger Boy], Charles C. Wilson [Police Chief]

Musical Program: [0:08] Follow the Band (performed by Phil Silvers, Carmen Miranda and Vivian Blaine with Harry James and His Music Makers); [0:13] If I'm Lucky (sung by Perry Como); [0:21] If I'm Lucky (sung by Vivian Blaine and Perry Como); [0:27] If I'm Lucky (instrumental version played by Harry James and His Music Makers, Harry James on Trumpet); [0:32] One More Kiss (sung by Perry Como); [0:39] Bet Your Bottom Dollar (sung by Vivian Blaine and Carmen Miranda accompanied by Harry James' Music Makers); [0:47] One More Vote (sung by Perry Como with Girls Chorus); [0:53] Jam Session in Brazil (The Batacada) (production number performed by Carmen Miranda and Chorus with Harry James and His Music Makers); [1:07] If I'm Lucky (reprised by Vivian Blaine); [1:17] Follow the Band (reprised by Phil Silvers, Carmen Miranda, Vivian Blaine, Perry Como and Chorus with Harry James and His Music Makers)

In Old Chicago
20th Century-Fox, 1938, B/W, 96 minutes, ***
Premiere release January, 1938
General release April, 1938

Follows the story of Mrs. O'Leary (legend has it that Mrs. O'Leary's cow started the great Chicago fire) and two of the O'Leary boys as they grow and gain power in Chicago. Climaxed by the great Chicago fire of 1871. Unsurpassed special effects were probably designed to compete with MGM's earthquake footage in the film San Francisco (1936).

Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
Associate Producer: Kenneth MacGowan
Director: Henry King
Screenplay: Lamar Trotti and Sonya Levien
Music Director: Louis Silvers
Song Score: Lew Pollack and Sidney Mitchell
Art Direction: William Darling, Rudolph Sternad
Set Decoration: Thomas Little
Costume Design: Royer
Sound: Eugene Grossman, Roger Heman
Special Effects: Ralph Hammeras, Fred Sersen and Louis J. White
Photographed by: J. Peverell Marley
Film Editing: Barbara McLean

Awards: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Alice Brady); Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Original Story (Niven Busch), Best Score, Best Sound Recording (E.H. Hansen) and Best Assistant Director (Robert Webb). Note that this film, though released in April 1938, competed in the 1937 Academy Awards.

Cast: Tyrone Power [Dion O'Leary], Alice Faye [Belle Fawcett], Don Ameche [Jack O'Leary], Alice Brady [Molly O'Leary], Andy Devine [Pickle Bixby], Brian Donlevy [Gil Warren], Phyllis Brooks [Ann Colby], Tom Brown [Bob O'Leary], Madame Sultewan [Hattie], Berton Churchill [Senator Colby], Sidney Blackmer [General Sheridan], June Storey [Gretchen O'Leary], Paul Hurst [Mitch], J. Anthony Hughes [Patrick O'Leary], Gene Reynolds [Younger Dion O'Leary], Bobs Watson [Younger Bob O'Leary], Billy Watson [Younger Jack O'Leary], Spencer Charters [Beavers], Russell Hicks [Man in Jack's Office], Rondo Hatton [Body Guard], Thelma Manning [Carrie Donahue], Eddie Collins [Drunk], Clarence Wilson [Lawyer], Gustav von Seyffertitz [Man in Jack's Office], Tyler Brooke [Specialty Singer], Ruth Gillette [Miss Lou], Scotty Mattraw [Beef King], Charles Lane [Booking Agent], Frank Dae [Judge], Harry Stubbs [Fire Commissioner], Joe King [Ship's Captain], Francis Ford [Driver], Robert (Bob) Murphy [Police Officer], Wade Boteler [Police Officer]

Musical Program: [0:00] In Old Chicago (instrumental, played by Orchestra); [0:16] I've Taken a Fancy to You (excerpt sung and danced by Chorus Girls); [0:16] Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (Alice Faye, Male Quartet and Chorus Girls); [0:30] In Old Chicago (sung and danced by Alice Faye and Chorus Girls); [0:37] I'll Never Let You Cry (Alice Faye and Male Quartet); [0:44] Sweet Genevieve (excerpt sung by O'Leary Family); [0:57] Take a Dip in the Sea; (excerpt sung and danced by Tyler Brooke and Chorus Girls); Many short excerpts of a variety of songs sprinkled throughout film.

In Search of the Castaways
Walt Disney, 1962, Color, 98 minutes, ***
Released November, 1962 (UK)
Released December, 1962 (USA)

Jules Verne's adventure story "Captain Grant's Children" becomes a spectacular Disney thriller. Hayley Mills teams with professor Maurice Chevalier on a quest to find her missing sea captain father, a search filled with such dangers as earthquakes, cannibals and a volcano. George Sanders, Keith Hamshire also star.

Begins in Glasgow, 1858.

Produced by: Walt Disney
Associate Producer: Hugh Attwooll
Directed by: Robert Stevenson
Assistant Director: Eric Rattray
Screenplay by: Lowell S. Hawley
(based on the novel Les Enfants du capitaine Grant by Jules Verne)
Music Composed by: William Alwyn
Musical Director: Muir Mathieson
Songs by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Music Director: Muir Mathieson
Art Director: Michael Stringer
Set Dresser: Vernon Dixon
Costume Design: Margaret Furse
Make-up: Harry Frampton
Hairdressing: Barbara Ritchie
Director of Photography: Paul Beeson
Special Effects: Syd Pearson
Special Photographic Effects: Peter Ellenshaw
Filmed in Technicolor
Filmed at Pinewood Studios, England
Editor: Gordon Stone

Cast: Maurice Chevalier [Prof. Jacques Paganel], Hayley Mills [Mary Grant], George Sanders [Thomas Ayerton], Wilfrid Hyde-White [Lord Glenarvan], Michael Anderson [John Glenarvan], Antonio Cifariello [Thalcave], Keith Hamshere [Robert Grant], Wilfrid Brambell [Bill Gaye], Jack Gwillim [Captain Grant], Ronald Fraser [Guard], Inia Wiata [Maori Chief]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (BBC Philharmonic Orchestra); [0:19] Merci Beaucoup (just a few bars sung and danced by Maurice Chevalier, Hayley Mills and Keith Hamshere); [0:19] Grimpsons / Let's Climb (sung in French by Maurice Chevalier, reprised in English by Maurice Chevalier, Hayley Mills, Michael Anderson and Keith Hamshere); [0:26] The Castaway's Theme (sung by Hayley Mills); [0:42] Enjoy It (sung by Maurice Chevalier and Hayley Mills) [Classic Disney, Vol. 4]; some instrumental excerpts include: Ship's Waltz (score segment played by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra) [British Film Classics]; Rumba (score segment played by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra) [British Film Classics]

In the Good Old Summertime
MGM, 1949, Color, 102 minutes, ****
Released July, 1949

A musical remake of MGM's own film The Shop Around the Corner (1940). Veronica (Judy Garland) and Andrew (Van Johnson) are lonely-heart pen-pals who write to each other on a regular basis, though they have never met. By strange coincidence, Veronica takes a job at Oberkugen's (S. Z. Sakall) Music Store where Andrew works. Sparks fly as the two simply cannot get along. Features some classic Garland comedy and musical numbers. Musical highlights include Judy's renditions of "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland" and "I Don't Care."

Produced by: Joe Pasternak
Directed by: Robert Z. Leonard
Written for the Screen by: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich and Ivan Tors
From a Screen Play by: Samson Raphaelson
And a Play by: Miklos Laszlo ("The Shop Around the Corner")
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Vocal Orchestrations: Conrad Salinger
Song: "In the Good Old Summertime" Music by George Evans, Lyrics by Ren Shields
Musical Sequences Directed by: Robert Alton
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associate: Alfred E. Spencer
Women's Costumes by: Irene
Men's Costumes by: Valles
Hair Styles Designed by: Sydney Guillaroff
Make-Up Created by: Jack Dawn
Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Harry Stradling
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: James Gooch
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Cast: Judy Garland [Veronica Fisher], Van Johnson [Andrew Delby Larkin], S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall [Otto Oberkugen], Spring Byington [Nellie Burke], Clinton Sundberg [Rudy Hansen], Buster Keaton [Hickey], Marcia Van Dyke [Louise Parkson], Lillian Bronson [Aunt Addie], Ralph Sanford [Policeman], Charles Smith [member of quartet], Liza Minnelli [toddler in final scene]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "In the Good Old Summertime" / Chicago (instrumental arrangements played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:03] In the Good Old Summertime (sung by S. Z. Sakall, Spring Byington, Buster Keaton, Van Johnson and The King's Men); [0:17] Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland (sung by Judy Garland); [0:22] Waltz from Serenade for Strings (played by Marcia Van Dyke as part of Girls string quartet with piano in restaurant); [0:28] Put Your Arms Around Me Honey (sung by Judy Garland with Van Johnson); [0:47] waltz [1:07] Wait 'Til the Sun Shines Nellie (sung by The King's Men dubbing for mens quartet onscreen); [1:08] Little Brown Jug Polka (danced by party guests); [1:11] Play That Barbershop Chord (sung by Judy Garland and The King's Men dubbing for Mens Quartet onscreen); [1:15] I Don't Care (sung by Judy Garland); [1:20] Souvenir de Moscow (played by Marcia Van Dyke); [1:33] Merry Christmas (sung by Judy Garland); [1:41] In the Good Old Summertime (reprised by Chorus at end of film)

For more details see the In the Good Old Summertime page on JGDB:


Sister Site
Featured Film

In the Navy
(aka Abbott and Costello in the Navy)
Universal, 1941, B/W, 85 minutes, ***
Released May, 1941

After wrecking the Army in Buck Privates, Abbott and Costello set sail for seafaring silliness in this service comedy. Joining them on board for laughter and musical numbers are Dick Powell, Shemp Howard and The Andrews Sisters.

Associate Producer: Alex Gottlieb
Directed by: Arthur Lubin
Assistant Director: Philip B. Karlstein
Screenplay: Arthur T. Horman, John Grant
Original Story: Original Story: Arthur T. Horman
Music Director: Charles Previn
Words and Music by: Don Raye, Gene De Paul
Music Supervisor: Ted Cain
Arrangements: Vic Schoen
Musical Numbers Staged by: Nick Castle
Technical Advisor: H. E. Harris, U.S.N. Ret.
Art Director: Jack Otterson
Associate: Harold H. MacArthur
Set Decorations: R. A. Gausman
Gowns: Vera West
Sound Supervisor: Bernard B. Brown
Technician: Charles Carroll
Director of Photography: Joseph Valentine
Special Effects: John P. Fulton
Film Editor: Philip Cahn

Cast: Bud Abbott [Smokey Adams], Lou Costello [Pomeroy Watson], Dick Powell [Tommy Halstead (Russ Raymond)], Claire Dodd [Dorothy Roberts], The Andrews Sisters [Patty, Maxene, LaVerne], Dick Foran [Dynamite Dugan], Billy Lenhart [Butch], Kenneth Brown [Buddy], Shemp Howard [Dizzy], The Condos Brothers [Dance Specialty], Additional Cast: William B. Davidson [Capt. Richards], Thurston Hall [Head of Committee], Robert Emmett Keane [Travers], Edward Fielding [Commander], Don Terry [Floor Manager], Sunnie O'Dea [Lancer], Eddie Dunn [Ticket Taker], Ralph Dunn [Traffic Cop], Richard Alexander [Big Bruiser], Lorin Raker [Small Meek Husband], Frank Penny [Bos'n], Pat Gleason [Sentry], Jack Mulhall [Lt. Scott], Mickey Simpson [Tough Civilian], Lyle Latell [Marine], Chuck Morrison [Truck Driver], Lee Kass [Band Leader], James Sullivan [Policeman], Edna Hall [Fat Woman], Claire Whitney [Gushing Mother], Joe Bautista [Mess Boy], Doris Herbert [Mother], Charles Sullivan [Sailor]

Musical Program: [0:00] You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith / Anchors Aweigh (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] Starlight, Starbright (sung by Dick Powell); [0:15] You're Off to See the World (sung by The Andrews Sisters and Mens Chorus); [0:30] Gimme Some Skin (sung and danced by The Andrews Sisters and guests of the Pal-O-Mine Dance Hall); [0:40] A Sailor's Life For Me (sung by Dick Foran, Dick Powell, Lou Costello and Mens Chorus); [0:52] unidentified instrumental (danced by the Condos Brothers); [0:54] We're in the Navy (sung by Dick Powell and Mens Chorus); [0:57] Sailor's Hornpipe (played on harmonica, danced by Lou Costello and Chorus); [1:00] Hula (danced by native girls); [1:02] Hula Ba Lua (sung by The Andrews Sisters, danced by The Andrews Sisters and Chorus Girls); [1:22] Starlight, Starbright (sung by Dick Powell and The Andrews Sisters); [1:23] We're in the Navy (sung by The Andrews Sisters, Dick Powell and Mens Chorus)

The Inspector General
Warner Bros., 1949, Color, 102 minutes, ***
Released December, 1949

Hysterical comedy, based on the Gogol play, stars Danny Kaye as a medicine show flunkie who's mistaken for a high-ranking government agent by the corrupt officials of a small European village. Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester co-star.

Produced by: Jerry Wald
Directed by: Henry Koster
Associate Producer: Sylvia Fine
Screen Play by: Philip Rapp and Harry Kurnitz
Suggested by the play by Nikolai Gogol
Lyrics and Music by: Sylvia Fine
Musical Direction and Incidental Score by: Johnny Green
Choreographed by: Eugene Loring
Art Director: Robert Haas
Set Decorator: Fred M. MacLean
Costumes by: Travilla
Makeup Artist: Perc Westmore
Sound by: C. A. Riggs
Director of Photography: Elwood Bredell
Special Effects: Edwin DuPar
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Mitchell Kovaleski
Film Editor: Rudi Fehr

Cast: Danny Kaye [Georgi], Walter Slezak [Yakov], Barbara Bates [Leza], Elsa Lanchester [Maria], Gene Lockhart [The Mayor], Alan Hale [Kovatch], Walter Catlett [Col. Castine], Rhys Williams [Inspector General], Benny Baker [Telecki], Norman Leavitt [Laszlo], Sam Hearn [Gizzick], Lew Hearn [Izzick], Byron Foulger [Burbis], Lennie Bremen [Lieutenant], Nestor Paiva [Gregor]

Musical Program: [0:06] Yakov's Elixir (sung by Danny Kaye with Walter Slezak and Gypsys); [0:40] Brodny (sung by Chorus as Villagers onscreen); [0:46] Soliloquy for Three Heads (sung by Danny Kaye); [1:02] Happy Times (sung by Danny Kaye); [1:19] Drink Gypsy (sung by Danny Kaye)

Interrupted Melody
MGM, 1955, Color, 106 minutes, ***½
Released March, 1955

Sensitive biography of Australian opera singer Marjorie Lawrence, who made a courageous comeback after polio struck her at the height of her career. The cast includes Oscar-nominated Eleanor Parker as Lawrence and Glenn Ford as the physician who helps and later marries her. Eileen Farrell dubbed Parker's voice for the opera sequences; Roger Moore co-stars.

A great film! Eleanor Parker is absolutely convincing throughout. The way she moves and lip-syncs in the opera scenes makes it very hard, indeed, to believe that she was not doing her own singing! If you enjoy the arias of some of the best operas of all time, don't miss this one!

Producer: Jack Cummings
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Screenplay: Sonya Levien and William Ludwig (based on the book by Marjorie Lawrence)
Musical Score: Adolph Deutsch
Music Directors: Adolph Deutsch, Saul Chaplin, Walter Du Cloux, Harold Gelman, Vladimir Rosing
Songs and Aria Composers: various
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Daniel B. Cathcart
Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore
Costume Design: Helen Rose
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg, Paul Vogel
Film Editing: John D. Dunning

Awards: Academy Award for Best Story and Screenplay (William Ludwig and Sonya Levien); Academy Award Nominations for Best Actress (Eleanor Parker) and Best Costume Design - Color (Helen Rose)

Cast: Glenn Ford [Dr. Thomas King], Eleanor Parker [Marjorie Lawrence], Roger Moore [Cyril Lawrence], Cecil Kellaway [Bill Lawrence], Peter Leeds [Dr. Ed Ryson], Evelyn Ellis [Clara], Walter Baldwin [Jim Owens], Ann Codee [Mme. Gilly], Leopold Sachse [Himself], Stephen Bekassy [Comte Claude des Vigneux], Charles Keane [Ted Lawrence], Fiona Hale [Eileen Lawrence], Doris Lloyd [Volunteer Worker], Alex Frazer [Adjudicator], Penny Santon [Gilly Secretary], Phyllis Altivo [Louise], Gabor Curtiz [Tenor's Manager], Claude Stroud [Tenor], Andre Charlot [M. Bertrand], Paul McGuire [Metropolitan Cashier], Doris Merrick [Nurse], Sandy Descher [Suzie], Jack Raine [Mr. Norson], Frieda Stoll [Accompanist], Gloria Rhodes [Mrs. Schultz], Stuart Whitman [Man on Beach], Eileen Farrell [Vocal Student and singing voice of Eleanor Parker]

Musical Program: Non più andrai (from THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); O don fatale (from DON CARLOS, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Excerpt from Act I finale (from IL TRAVATORE, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Vissi d'arte (from TOSCA, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Un bel di, vedremo (from MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Habanera (from CARMEN, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Seguedilla (from CARMEN, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Duet ("Parle-moi de ma mère," from CARMEN, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker and unidentified Tenor); Musetta's Waltz (from LA BOHÈME, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (from SAMSON AND DELILAH, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker and unidentified Tenor); Immolation Scene (from GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Liebestod (from TRISTAN AND ISOLDE, Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Annie Laurie (Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Over the Rainbow (Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker); Medley / Montage: Marine's Hymn / Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) / Waltzing Matilda (Eileen Farrell dubbing for Eleanor Parker)

Tony Award-winners Bernadette Peters (Best Actress - Sunday in the Park with George), Joanna Gleason (Best Actress - Into the Woods) and the rest of the original Broadway cast weave their magic spell in this masterful presentation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical classic, Into the Woods, a seamless fusion of fairy tales that strike at the child's heart within us all. A baker and his wife journey into the woods in search of a cow, a red cape, a pair of golden slippers and some magic beans - all necessary to lift the curse that has kept them childless. They meet up with a beguiling cast of characters that will leave you laughing out loud, fighting back tears and, ultimately, transformed by the whole experience. With oft-recorded songs such as "Children Will Listen" and "No One Is Alone," Into the Woods is a music lover's delight from start to finish - and will forever cement Stephen Sondheim's unparalleled position as the giant of the American musical theater.  [from back of DVD case]

Stage production recorded for television and broadcast in 1991, this is Sondheim at his best. The story is funny, witty and lots of fun! Great music, great performances by the entire cast. Not to be missed! [JJ]

Executive Producer: Michael Brandman
Producer: Iris Merlis
Associate Producer: Wendy Cornell
Book and Direction by: James Lapine
Associate Director: Alan Skog
Music and Lyrics by: Stephen Sondheim
Orchestrations by: Jonathan Tunick
Musical Director and Conductor: Paul Gemignani
Original Lighting for the Stage Designed by: Richard Nelson
Television Lighting Designed by: Richard Nelson, Danny Franks
Settings Designed by: Tony Straiges
Costumes Designed by: Ann Hould-Ward
Costumes Based on Original Concepts by: Patricia Zipprodt, Ann Hould-Ward
Musical Staging by: Lar Lubovitch
Hair Design by: Phyllis Della Illien
Make-Up: Frances Kolar, Rosemary Zurlow, Michael Laudati
Audio: Mike Shoskes
Video: Mark Sanford
Editor: Girish Bhargava

Cast: Bernadette Peters [The Witch], Chip Zien [Baker], Joanna Gleason [Baker's Wife], Tom Aldredge [Narrator / Mysterious Man], Robert Westenberg [Wolf / Cinderella's Prince], Kim Crosby [Cinderella], Danielle Ferland [Little Red Riding Hood], Ben Wright [Jack], Barbara Bryne [Jack's Mother], Chuck Wagner [Rapunzel's Prince], Pamela Winslow [Rapunzel], Merle Louise [Grandmother / Cinderella's Mother / Giant], Philip Hoffman [Steward], Lauren Mitchell [Lucinda] Kay McClelland [Florinda], Joy Franz [Cinderella's Stepmother], Edmund Lyndeck [Cinderella's Father], Cindy Robinson [Snow White], Sleeping Beauty [Maureen Davis]

Musical Program: [0:01] Prologue (performed by The Company); [0:04] Into the Woods (sung by Little Red Riding Hood); [0:05] Fly, Birds, Back to the Sky! (sung by Cinderella); [0:11] Jack, Jack, Jack, Head in a Stack (sung by Jack's mother); [0:12] You Wish to Have the Curse Reversed? (performed by the Witch); [0:13] Ladies, Our Carriage Waits (sung by the Stepsisters and Father); [0:13] The Spell Is on My House! (sung by the Baker and his wife); [0:16] Cinderella at the Grave (sung by Cinderella and her mother); [0:19] Hello, Little Girl (sung by the Wolf); [0:24] I Guess This Is Goodbye (sung by Jack); [0:25] Maybe They're Magic (sung by Baker's wife); [0:31] I Know Things Now (sung by Little Red Riding Hood); [0:35] A Very Nice Prince (performed by Cinderella and Baker's wife); [0:37] First Midnight (performed by The Company); [0:38] Giants in the Sky (sung by Jack); [0:45] Agony (sung by Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince); [0:53] It Takes Two (sung by the Baker ahd his wife); [0:57] Two Midnights Gone (performed by The Company); [0:58] Stay with Me (sung by the Witch); [1:04] On the Steps of the Palace (sung by Cinderella); [1:19] Ever After (performed by The Company); [1:21] Intermission; [1:23] So Happy (sung by The Company); [1:32] Into the Woods (reprised by the Baker and His Wife, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood); [1:34] Agony (sung by Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince); [1:44] Lament (sung by the Witch); [1:49] Any Moment (sung by Cinderella's Prince); [1:53] Moments in the Woods (sung by the Baker's wife); [1:58] Your Fault (performed by Jack, the Baker, the Witch, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella); [2:00] Last Midnight (sung by the Witch); [2:05] No More (sung by the Baker and his father); [2:15] No One Is Alone (sung by Cinderella and the Baker, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood); [2:21] Finale: includes reprisals of "No One Is Alone," "Children Will Listen," "Into the Woods" (performed by The Company)

Invitation to the Dance
MGM, 1957, Color, 93 minutes, ***
USA general release March, 1957

Gene Kelly's first solo directing job and the fruit of a long-cherished ambition to make an all-dancing film. The partially successful film contains three contrasting ballets, all of them featuring Kelly. The first, a derivative arty European ballet, "Circus," has Kelly as a love-sick Pierrot who falls to his death from a high wire while trying to impress the girl he loves. The second and best, "Ring Around the Rosy," keeps more to the traditions of the best MGM production numbers and is a La Ronde-type story. The third, "Sinbad the Sailor," has Kelly as a sailor dancing with cartoon characters.

Producer: Arthur Freed
Director: Gene Kelly
Screenplay: Gene Kelly
Musical Score: John Hollingsworth (Conductor for "Circus");
André Previn (Conductor for "Ring Around the Rosy");
Roger Edens (Music Adaptor for "Sinbad the Sailor")
Choreography: Gene Kelly, assisted by Carol Haney, Jeanne Coyne
Art Direction: Randall Duell, Cedric Gibbons, Alfred Junge
Costume Design: Rolf Gerard, Elizabeth Haffenden
Cartoon Sequence: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Special Effects: Tom Howard, Irving G. Ries
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg, Freddie Young
Film Editing: Adrienne Fazan, Raymond Poulton, Robert Watts

Cast: Gene Kelly [Host / Pierrot / The Marine / Sinbad], Diana Adams [Hat Check Girl], Belita [The Debutante], Claude Bessy [The Model], Daphne Dale [The Wife], Irving Davies [The Crooner], Carol Haney [Scheherazade], David Kasday [The Genie], David Paltenghi [The Husband], Tommy Rall [Flashy Boyfriend], Claire Sombert [The Loved], Tamara Toumanova [The Streetwalker], Igor Youskevitch [The Lover / The Artist]

Musical Program: The Circus; Ring Around the Rosy; Sinbad the Sailor

It Happened at the World's Fair
MGM, 1963, Color, 105 minutes, **½
Released April, 1963

Charter pilot Mike Edwards (Elvis Presley) flies to the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle for some fun and relaxation. There, he falls in love with nurse Diane Warren (Joan O'Brien), becomes the custodian of lost waif Sue-Lin (Vicky Tiu) and gets into a smuggling scrape with his business partner Danny (Gary Lockwood). The 1962 World's Fair makes a wonderful backdrop for this light-hearted Elvis fare.

Cute film, though it seems to drag a little at times. Joan O'Brien just doesn't seem to be Elvis' type. But little Vicky Tiu is quite an actress! The 1962 World's Fair brings back some memories of the early 1960s. Watch for a very young Kurt Russell, who kicks Elvis in the shin for a quarter!

Produced by: Ted Richmond
Directed by: Norman Taurog
Assistant Director: Al Jennings
Technical Advidor: Colonel Tom Parker
Written by: Si Rose and Seaman Jacobs
Music Score: Leith Stevens
Vocal Backgrounds by: The Jordanaires and The Mello Men
Musical Numbers Staged by: Jack Baker
Art Direction: George W. Davis and Preston Ames
Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up by: William Tuttle
Recording Supervisor: Franklin Milton
Director of Photography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Filmed in Panavision and Metrocolor
Film Editor: Fredric Steinkamp

Cast: Elvis Presley [Mike Edwards], Joan O'Brien [Diane Warren], Gary Lockwood [Danny Burke], Vicky Tiu [Sue-Lin], H. M. Wynant [Vince Bradley], Edith Atwater [Miss Steuben], Guy Raymond [Barney Thatcher], Dorothy Green [Miss Ettinger], Kam Tong [Walter Ling], Yvonne Craig [Dorothy Johnson], Red West [Fred], Hal Riddle, Don Brodie, Sid Kane [Dice Players], John Indrisano [Poker Player], Kurt Russell [Boy], The Mellomen [Vocals]

Musical Program: [0:00] Beyond the Bend (sung by Elvis Presley onscreen in his airplane behind titles); [0:08] Relax (sung by Elvis Presley to Yvonne Craig); [0:21] Take Me to the Fair (sung by Elvis Presley to Vicky Tiu [with The Mello Men offscreen]); [0:35] They Remind Me Too Much of You (sung by Elvis Presley); [0:42] One Broken Heart for Sale (sung by Elvis Presley [with The Mello Men offscreen]; [0:54] I'm Falling in Love Tonight (sung by Elvis Presley atop the Space Needle); [1:02] Cotton Candy Land (sung by Elvis Presley to Vicky Tiu); [1:13] A World of Our Own (sung by Elvis Presley to Joan O'Brien); [1:20] How Would You Like to Be (sung and danced by Elvis Presley and Vicky Tiu); [1:42] Happy Ending (sung by Elvis Presley with Joan O'Brien and Marching Band)

Jobs are scarce. Rooms to rent are scarcer. Times aren't easy for returning GIs in the years after World War II. But falling in love, that's easy.

It Happened in Brooklyn. And it happens with Frank Sinatra (in a performance critically hailed as the best of his then-young screen career) starring as an ex-soldier and with a lot of humor and Jule Styne / Sammy Cahn songs. "The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart," one tune says and, with Sinatra mimicking Jimmy Durante as he socks it over with the affable "Schnozzola," it has enough heart to envelop all of Flatbush. Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford and Gloria Grahame help make the movie magic happen. And most magical of all is Sinatra's silken delivery of a ballad forever linked with him afterward: "Time After Time."   [from back of DVD case]

This one gets extra-high marks because it's one of my favorites. It's a charming film with a great cast and some great music. Danny (Frank Sinatra) meets shy Jamie Shellgrove (Peter Lawford) in England after the war, and offers to teach him to be less "stuffy." Shortly after, Danny returns to home-town Brooklyn where he re-unites with his old pal Nick (Jimmy Durante), the janitor at the high school where he graduated. He also meets Anne Fielding (Kathryn Grayson), the new, young music teacher at the high school. No sooner has he settled in than Jamie shows up for his "lessons." Both Jamie and Danny fall for Anne, though she's interested only in Jamie. It seems the teacher can take some lessons from the student!

Highlights include Sinatra's "Time After Time" (reprised by Kathryn Grayson), Sinatra's "It's the Same Old Dream" (reprised by Four Hits and a Miss), "La ci darem la mano" (from the opera, "Don Giovanni") sung by Grayson and Sinatra, Durante and Sinatra doing "The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart" (with a great Durante impression by Sinatra) and Kathryn's magnificent rendition of "The Bell Song" from the opera "Lakme."

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

Produced by: Jack Cummings
Directed by: Richard Whorf
Screen Play by: Isobel Lennart
Based on an Original Story by John McGowan
Musical Supervision, Direction, and Incidental Score: Johnny Green
Orchestrations: Ted Duncan
Frank Sinatra's Vocal Orchestrations: Axel Stordahl
Piano Solos played by: Andre Previn
Music Director: Jack Donohue
Songs by: Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne
Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by: Jack Donohue
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Leonid Vasian
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associate: Alfred E. Spencer
Make-Up Created by: Jack Dawn
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Director of Photography: Robert Planck
Film Editor: Blanche Sewell

Cast: Frank Sinatra [Danny Webson Miller], Kathryn Grayson [Anne Fielding], Peter Lawford [Jamie Shellgrove], Jimmy Durante [Nick Lombardi], Gloria Grahame [Nurse], Marcy McGuire [Rae Jacobi], Aubrey Mather [Digby John], Tamara Shayne [Mrs. Kardos], Billy Roy [Leo Kardos], Bobby Long [Johnny O'Brien], William Haade [Police Sergeant], The Starlighters (vocals)

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture ("I Believe" / "It's the Same Old Dream" played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:07] Whose Baby Are You (excerpt sung by Frank Sinatra at the piano onscreen, with a little distraction by Peter Lawford); [0:12] The Brooklyn Bridge (sung by Frank Sinatra); [0:18] Bach Invention #1 (sung by Kathryn Grayson and students, joined by Frank Sinatra at the end); [0:29] I Believe (performed by Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante and Bobby Long in the gym); [0:37] Time After Time (sung by Frank Sinatra at the piano); [0:50] The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart (includes a segment of Otchichornya) (performed by Jimmy Durante and Frank Sinatra); [0:57] La ci darem la mano from the opera DON GIOVANNI (sung by Kathryn Grayson and Frank Sinatra); [1:05] It's the Same Old Dream (sung by Frank Sinatra at the music store, then sung by a group of the kids dubbed by The Starlighters, then sung again by Frank Sinatra accompanied by The Starlighters); [1:14] Time After Time (sung by Kathryn Grayson); [1:22] Whose Baby Are You (sung and danced by Peter Lawford); [1:25] Où va la jeune indoue? ("The Bell Song" from LAKMÉ) (sung by Kathryn Grayson); [1:36] Leo's Concert: Piano Sonata Op. 27, No. 2 in C# minor (Moonlight) (played by Billy Roy at the piano onscreen, dubbed by Andre Previn)

It Happened to Jane
Columbia, 1959, Color, 97 minutes, ***½
Released August, 1959

In this classic romantic comedy, Jane Osgood (Doris Day), a single mom with two children, is in the live lobster business. But when her first big order for the Marshall Town Country Club turns up dead through no fault of her own, it kills her chances for a successful season. Discovering budget cuts at the railroad are to blame, she turns to George Denham (Jack Lemmon), her longtime admirer and an attorney, to seek compensation from the railroad's tyrannical owner, Harry Foster Malone (Ernie Kovacs). Jane wins in her local courthouse, but Malone agrees to pay only for the lobsters, not damages. She refuses his offer on principle and the battle is on. The press has a field day with this modern-day David and Goliath story. And the whole country turns to Cape Anne, Maine, to watch as one woman stands up to "the meanest man in the world." It could happen to anyone, but It Happened to Jane.

Produced and Directed by: Richard Quine
Executive Producer: Martin Melcher
Assistant Director: Carter DeHaven, Jr.
Screen Play by: Norman Katkov
From a Story by Max Wilk and Norman Katkov
Music Conducted by: Morris Stoloff
Composed by: George Duning
Orchestrations by: Arthur Morton
Songs: "Be Prepared" Music by Fred Karger, Lyrics by Richard Quine
"It Happened to Jane" Words and Music by Joe Lubin and I. J. Roth
Chester Fife and Drum Corps
Art Director: Cary Odell
Set Decorator: Louis Diage
Make-up Supervision: Clay Campbell
Hair Styles by: Helen Hunt
Recording Supervisor: John Livadary
Sound: Harry Mills
Director of Photography: Charles Lawton, Jr.
Eastman Color by Pathé
Color Consultant: Henri Jaffa
Film Editor: Charles Nelson

Cast: Doris Day [Jane Osgood], Jack Lemmon [George Denham], Ernie Kovacs [Harry Foster Malone], Steve Forrest [Lawrence Clay Hall], Teddy Rooney [Billy Osgood], Russ Brown [Uncle Otis], Walter Greaza [Crawford Sloan], Parker Fennelly [Homer Bean], Mary Wickes [Matilda Runyon], Philip Coolidge [Wilbur Peterson], Casey Adams (aka Max Showalter) [Selwyn Harris], John Cecil Holm [Aaron Caldwell], Gina Gillespie [Betty Osgood], Dick Crockett [Clarence Runyon], Napoleon Whiting [Eugene, the Waiter], Dave Garroway [Host of "The Left Hand"], Bob Paige [Host of "The Big Payoff"], Garry Moore [Host of "I've Got a Secret"], Bill Cullen [Panelist on "I've Got a Secret"], Jayne Meadows [Panelist on "I've Got a Secret"], Henry Morgan [Panelist on "I've Got a Secret"], Betsy Palmer [Panelist on "I've Got a Secret"], Steve McCormick [TV Newsman], Chester Fife and Drum Corps [Themselves], Additional Cast: Carter DeHaven [Fisher], Michael J. Pollard [Lloyd], Tom Quine [Milford], Arthur Hanson [Smythe], Paul Power [Weaver], Elaine Edwards [Laura], Jack Carter [Stenographer], John Gibson [Editor], Howard Wendell [Purchasing], Burton Mallory [Station Agent], John McGovern [Conductor], Eugene Wood [Engineer], Marcel Hillaire [Chef], Daniel Ocko [Chef], Norman Katkov [Bailiff], Bess Myerson [Herself], Gene Rayburn [WTIC-TV Reporter], Ronnie Scott, Harry Stockwell [Passengers]

Musical Program: [0:00] It Happened to Jane (sung by Doris Day behind titles); [0:42] Be Prepared (sung by Doris Day, Jack Lemmon and Cub Scouts); [1:34] Yankee Doodle (played and marched by Chester Fife and Drum Corps)

It Started with Eve
Universal, 1941, B/W, 92 minutes, ***½
Released September, 1941

Jonathan Jr.'s (Bob Cummings) wealthy father (Charles Laughton) is terminally ill, and he wants to meet Junior's new fiancé before he passes on. But Gloria (Margaret Tallichet) is traveling abroad, and Jonathan Jr. is worried that his father will pass away before Gloria returns to New York. At a night club, Jonathan encounters a beautiful hat-check girl (Deanna Durbin) who is just getting off work. He offers to hire her to pose as his fiancé and meet his father, figuring that since his father is about to die it won't really matter. Deanna reluctantly goes along with the plan because she needs the money.

Anne finds Jonathan Sr. to be a perfectly charming man, and he is smitten by her as well. Not only that, but the old man has many contacts in the music world, and (of course) Anne is an aspiring opera star. The old man makes a sudden miraculous recovery and plans a party to introduce Anne to his musical friends. But now that his father has recovered, Jonathan Jr. wants Anne out of the house before his real fiancé shows up. Anne flirts with Jonathan in order to stay around and attend the party. In fact, she and Jonathan end up falling in love. Things get really complicated for Jonathan Jr. as he tries to keep Gloria, who is now back in New York, out of the way while he woos Anne. A funny film with lots of laughs, featuring a climax with Durbin and Laughton dancing La Conga - a classic moment in musical comedy!

The Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Pack DVD Box Set (shown right) includes this film and Three Smart Girls, Something in the Wind, First Love, Can't Help Singing, Lady on a Train.

Produced by: Joe Pasternak
Directed by: Henry Koster
Assistant Director: Philip Karlstein
Screenplay: Norman Krasna, Leo Townsend
Based on the story "Almost an Angel" by Hans Kraly
Musical Director: Charles Previn
Musical Score: H. J. Salter
Vocal Coach: Andres de Segurola
Art Director: Jack Otterson
Associate: Martin Obzina
Set Decorations: R. A. Gausman
Gowns: Vera West
Sound Director: Bernard B. Brown
Technician: Joseph Lapis
Director of Photography: Rudolph Maté
Film Editor: Bernard W. Burton

Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Score - Musical (Charles Previn and Hans J. Salter)

Cast: Deanna Durbin [Anne Terry], Charles Laughton [Jonathan Reynolds], Robert Cummings [J. Reynolds, Jr.], Guy Kibbee [Bishop], Margaret Tallichet [Gloria Pennington], Catharine Doucet [Mrs. Pennington], Walter Catlett [Doctor Harvey], Charles Coleman [Roberts], Leonard Elliott [Reverend Stebbins], Irving Bacon, Gus Schilling [Ravens], Wade Boteler [Newspaper Editor], Dorothea Kent [Jackie], Clara Blandick [Nurse]

Musical Program: [0:34] Sleeping Beauty Waltz (sung by Deanna Durbin at the piano onscreen); [0:56] Clavelitos (sung by Deanna Durbin at the piano onscreen); [1:06] unidentified instrumental (played by Orchestra); [1:15] Goin' Home (sung by Deanna Durbin at the piano in her apartment); [1:24] La Conga (instrumental played by Orchestra, danced by Deanna Durbin and Charles Laughton at nightclub -- a classic moment in movie history); Several instrumental numbers, which I have yet to identify, are played at the nightclub

It's a Date
Universal, 1940, B/W, 103 minutes, ***½
Released March, 1940

Pamela's (Deanna Durbin) mother (Kay Francis) is a big star in the theater, and Pamela is following in her mother's footsteps. Unbeknownst to Pamela, her mother is promised the lead in a new show being written by Carl Ober (S. Z. Sakall). Pamela forces herself on the unsuspecting Ober and convinces him that she should get a part in the show - at least a small part, like maybe the maid. But after a tryout Ober offers her the lead! Deanna is ecstatic!

Traveling to Hawaii to meet her mother, Pamela meets an older man (Walter Pidgeon) and falls in love with him. When she arrives in Hawaii, she introduces the man to her widowed mother, and they fall in love. So, Pamela and her mother are not only unwittingly competing for the same part in the new show, but they are also competing for the same man! Musical highlights include Deanna's rendition of "Musetta's Waltz" and her moving rendition of "Loch Lomond."

This film was remade in 1949 as Nancy Goes to Rio, starring Jane Powell and Ann Sothern.

Producer: Joe Pasternak
Directed by: William A. Seiter
Assistant Director: Frank Shaw
Screen Play: Norman Krasna
Original Story: Jane Hall, Frederick Kohner, Ralph Block
Musical Director: Charles Previn
Orchestrations: Frank Skinner
"Love Is All" by Pinky Tomlin and Harry Tobias
"It Happened in Kaloha" by Ralph Freed and Frank Skinner
"Rhythm of the Islands" by Eddie Cherkose, Jacques Press and Leon Beloasco
"Gypsy Lullaby" Lyrics by Ralph Freed
Song Score: various
Art Direction: Jack Otterson
Associate: Martin Obzina
Set Decorations: R. A. Gausman
Gowns: Vera West
Sound Supervisor: Bernard B. Brown Technician: Joseph Lapis
Director of Photography: Joseph Valentine
Film Editor: Bernard W. Burton

Cast: Deanna Durbin [Pamela Drake], Kay Francis [Georgia Drake], Walter Pidgeon [John Arlen], Eugene Pallette [Governor Allen], Henry Stephenson [Captain Andrew], Cecilia Loftus [Sarah Frankenstein], Samuel S. Hinds [Sidney Simpson], Lewis Howard [Freddie Miller], S. Z. Sakall [Carl Ober], Fritz Feld [Headwaiter], Virginia Brissac [Miss Holden], Romaine Callender [Evans], Joseph King [First Mate Kelly], Mary Kelley [Governor's Wife], Eddie Polo [Quarter-Master], Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians [Themselves], Additional Cast: Charles Lane [Horner], John Arledge [Newcomer], Leon Belasco [Captain], Anna Demetrio [Cook], Eddie Acuff [Ship's Steward], John Day [Sleepy-Eyed Blonde], Fay McKenzie, Linda Deane, Phyllis Ruth, Virginia Engels [Young Girls], Mary Shannon [Wardrobe Mistress], Mark Anthony [Officer]

Musical Program: [0:02] Gypsy Lullaby (sung by Kay Francis and Chorus); [0:18] Love Is All (sung by Deanna Durbin); [0:26] Loch Lomond (sung by Deanna Durbin); [0:47] Sailor's Hornpipe (excerpt played by Orchestra as ship enters the harbor at Hawaii); [1:03] It Happened in Kaloha (played by Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians, vocal by Randy Oness); [1:18] Rhythm of the Islands (played and sung by Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians); [1:28] Musetta's Waltz (referred to as "Musetta's Street Song" in the film, from the opera LA BOHÉME, sung by Deanna Durbin at the Governor's luau); [1:40] Ave Maria (sung by Deanna Durbin and Chorus); Instrumental arrangements of Aloha Oe, Love Is All, Rhythm of the Islands and It Happened in Kaloha are used in the background scrore

It's a Great Feeling
Warner Bros., 1949, Color, 85 minutes, ***
Released August, 1949

The stars are out in this musical comedy set on the Warner Bros. lot in Hollywood. Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson (as themselves) play actors whose clashing egos result in funny feuding and hilarious double-crossing, and Doris Day is the waitress whom each man promises to make a star. Cameos include Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Edward G. Robinson and many others. Score by Jules Styne and Sammy Cahn includes "Give Me a Song With a Beautiful Melody," "At the Cafe Rendezvous," and the title tune.

This has to be Doris Day's funniest movie. It will keep you laughing out loud from one end to the other!

Produced by: Alex Gottlieb
Directed by: David Butler
Screen Play by: Jack Rose and Mel Shavelson
From a story by I. A. L. Diamond
Music by: Jule Styne
Lyrics by: Sammy Cahn
Musical Direction: Ray Heindorf
Musical Number Staged and Directed by: LeRoy Prinz
Art Director: Stanley Fleischer
Set Decorator: Lyle B. Reifsnider
Wardrobe by: Milo Anderson
Makeup Artist: Perc Westmore
Sound by: Dolph Thomas and David Forrest
Special Effects by: William McGann, H. F. Koenekamp
Director of Photography: Wilfrid M. Cline
Color by Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Assosiate: Mitchell Kovaleski
Film Editor: Irene Morra

Cast: Dennis Morgan [Himself], Doris Day [Judy Adams], Jack Carson [Himself], Bill Goodwin [Arthur Trent], Irving Bacon [Information Clerk], Claire Carleton [Grace], Harlan Warde [Publicity Man], Jacqueline de Wit [Trent's Secretary], The Mazzone-Abbott Dancers [Themselves], Wilfred Lucas [Mr. Adams], Pat Flaherty [Gate Guard], Wendy Lee [Manicurist], Lois Austin [Saleslady], Tom Dugan [Wrestling Fan in Bar], James Holden [Soda Jerk], Jean Andren [Headwaitress], Dudley Dickerson [Porter], Sandra Gould [Train Passenger in Upper Berth], Shirley Ballard [Beautiful Girl on Bike], Errol Flynn [Jeffrey Bushfinkle], Sue Casey, Nita Talbot, Eve Whitney, Carol Brewster, Joan Vohs [Models], Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Sydney Greenstreet, Ray Heindorf, Danny Kaye, Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, Ronald Reagan, Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, David Butler, Michael Curtiz, King Vidor, Raoul Walsh [Guest Cameos]

Musical Program: [0:00] It's a Great Feeling (sung by Doris Day and Chorus behind titles); [0:07] Give Me a Song with a Beautiful Melody (sung by Dennis Morgan); [0:39] Blame My Absent-Minded Heart (sung by Dennis Morgan and Doris Day); [0:46] That Was a Big Fat Lie (sung by Doris Day); [0:48] That Was a Big Fat Lie (sung by Jack Carson immitating Maurice Chevalier); [0:52] That Was a Big Fat Lie (sung by Doris Day lip-syncing to Jack Carson's prerecording); [0:52] That Was a Big Fat Lie (sung by Dennis Morgan lip-syncing to Doris Day's prerecording); [1:00] Fiddle Dee Dee (sung by unidentified singing group); [1:04] At the Cafe Rendezvous (sung by Doris Day as Yvonne Amour); [1:14] Judy's Dream Sequence: There's Nothin' Rougher Than Love (sung and danced by Doris Day, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson and Ensemble); [1:18] Blame My Absent-Minded Heart (sung by Doris Day); [1:24] It's a Great Feeling (reprised by Doris Day and Chorus at end of film)


Doris Day and Jack Carson

It's a Pleasure
International, 1945, Color, 90 minutes, ***
Released March, 1945

Sonja Henie always wanted 20th Century-Fox to feature her in a color film, but they never did. So when she left Fox, the first thing she did was to finagle a color production from International Pictures. It's a slim story about an alcoholic hockey star (Michael O'Shea) who ends up getting kicked out of the league for excessive fighting and drinking. But not before Sonja falls in love with him and becomes engaged to him. O'Shea leaves Sonja and slips into oblivion, but eventually he pulls himself up and finds a job as a coach for a boys hockey team. In the meantime Sonja has become a big skating star. Eventually, they are reunited. Though the story is slim, seeing Sonja do her thing in color, and her above-average skating and dancing numbers (in addition to being a superb skater, Sonja was a great dancer!) more than make up for the weak story.

Produced by: David Lewis
Associate Producer: Don Loper
Directed by: William A. Seiter
Assistant Director: Art Black
Screen Play by: Lynn Starling and Elliot Paul
Musical Director: Arthur Lange
Song: "Romance" Lyrics by Edgar Leslie, Music by Walter Donaldson
Choreography: Don Loper
Art Direction: Wiard Ihnen
Set Decorations: Julia Heron
Makeup by: Mel Burns
Hairdressers: Nina Roberts, Ann Barr
Sound by: C. J. Jowett, Arthur Johns
Director of Photography: Ray Rennahan
Filmed in Technicolor
Technicolor Color Director: Natalie Kalmus
Associate: Morgan Padelford
Film Editor: Ernest Nims

Cast: Sonja Henie [Chris Linden], Michael O'Shea [Don Martin], Marie McDonald [Gale Fletcher], Bill Johnson [Buzz Fletcher], Cheryl Walker [Loni], Gus Schilling [Bill Evans], Iris Adrian [Wilma], Arthur Loft [Jack Weimer], Don Loper [Specialty, Sonja's Dancing Partner], Peggy O'Neill [Cricket], Alice Fleming [Maid], George Brown [Hockey Referee], Jack Chefe [Canadian Hockey Star], Tom Hanlon [Announcer], Lane Watson [Photographer], Edward Earle [Manager of Jewelry Store], Nelson Leigh [Waiter], Jimmy Conlin [Messenger], Kenneth Scott [Card Shark], Donald Kerr [Hoofer]

Musical Program: [0:07] unidentified instrumental number (skated by the "Crystal Sextettes"); [0:10] unidentified instrumental number (skated by Sonja Henie); [0:52] unidentified instrumental number (skated by Sonja Henie); [1:10] Sonja Henie skating montage with background instrumental accompaniment; [1:19] Summer Dance (instrumental danced by Sonja Henie and Don Loper); [1:25] Tico Tico (instrumental skated by Sonja Henie and Skating Chorus); [1:29] Romance (sung by chorus, skated by Sonja Henie)

For more information see:


Sonja Henie Snapshot
Visit this Class Act Sister Site!

It's Always Fair Weather
MGM, 1955, Color, 102 minutes, ***
Released September, 1955

Upon arriving stateside, Army buddies Kelly, Dailey and Kidd make plans to meet for a tenth anniversary reunion. But when the long-awaited date arrives, they find they have very little in common and end up fighting. They eventually reconcile and everyone lives happily everafter. The story line is almost non-existent, but the musical numbers are superb.

You've no doubt seen clips of the number where Kelly, Dailey and Kidd dance with trash can lids on their feet. Other musical highlights include "I Like Myself," sung and danced by Gene Kelly while skating on busy New York streets and sidewalks. And there's Cyd Charisse's number, "Baby, You Knock Me Out". Dolores Gray's number, "Thanks a Lot, But No Thanks", is a real showstopper!

Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 DVD Box Set (shown right) includes this film and Ziegfeld Follies, Till the Clouds Roll By, Three Little Words, Summer Stock.

Produced by: Arthur Freed
Directed by: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
Assistant Director: Al Jennings
Story and Screen Play by: Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Music Arranged and Conducted by: André Previn
Songs: Music by André Previn, Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Vocal Supervision by: Robert Tucker and Jeff Alexander
Dances and Musical Numbers by: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Arthur Lonergan
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt
Costumes Designed by: Helen Rose
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle
Recording Supervisor: Wesley C. Miller
Director of Photography: Robert Bronner
Special Effects: Warren Newcombe, Irving G. Ries
Filmed in CinemaScope and Eastman Color
Color Consultant: Alvord Eiseman
Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Awards: Academy Award Nominations for Best Story and Screenplay (Betty Comden and Adolph Green), Best Score - Musical (Andre Previn)

Cast: Gene Kelly [Ted Riley], Dan Dailey [Doug Hallerton], Cyd Charisse [Jackie Leighton], Dolores Gray [Madeline Bradville], Michael Kidd [Angie Valentine], David Burns [Tim], Jay C. Flippen [Charles Z. Culloran], Steve Mitchell [Kid Mariacchi], Hal March [Rocky Lazar], Paul Maxey [Mr. Fielding], Peter Leeds [Mr. Trasker], Alex Gerry [Mr. Stamper], Madge Blake [Mrs. Stamper], Wilson Wood [Roy, TV Director], Richard Simmons [Mr. Grigman], Almira Sessions [Longwood House Manager], Eugene Borden [Chef], Lou Lubin [Lefty Louie, Gym Trainer], Jud Conlin [singing voice of Michael Kidd], Carole Richards [singing voice of Cyd Charisse]

Musical Program: [0:01] March, March (sung by Mens' Chorus, Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey and Jud Conlin dubbing for Michael Kidd); [0:06] unidentified instrumental montage (danced by Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd - includes well-known segment in which Kelly, Dailey and Kidd dance with trash can lids on their feet); [0:26] Why Are We Here? (sung by Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey and Jud Conlin for Michael Kidd to the tune of "The Blue Danube Waltz", by Johann Strauss); [0:36] Music Is Better Than Words (Dolores Gray); [0:43] Stillman's Gym (Lou Lubin and Mens' Chorus); [0:46] Baby, You Knock Me Out (Cyd Charisse and Chorus, Carole Richards dubbing for Charisse); [0:56] The Time for Parting (sung and danced by Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd, Jud Conlin dubbing for Michael Kidd); [1:05] Situation Wise (sung and danced by Dan Dailey); [1:15] I Like Myself (sung and danced by Gene Kelly - includes well-known sequence of Kelly dancing on roller skates); [1:20] Klenzrite commercial (sung by Dolores Gray); [1:21] Thanks a Lot, But No Thanks (sung and danced by Dolores Gray and Mens' Chorus); [1:39] The Time for Parting (reprise sung by David Burns and Company)