Musicals on Tap

[starliteyes]

Happy to oblige, Princess!  The original and second remake take place in France.  The first remake takes place in Brazil.  Also, these are all 20th Century Fox movies.

 

Hope that helps. 

  

[MilesArcher]

Well, now it's a bit easier.  The original is "Folies Bergere" or "Folies Bergere de Paris" with Maurice Chevalier in a dual role.  It also starred Merle Oberon and Ann Sothern.  The first remake is "That Night In Rio" with Don Ameche, Alice Faye, and Carmen Miranda.  The second remake is "On The Riviera" with Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney, and Corinne Calvet.

[starliteyes]

I was counting on you to come through, Miles, and you certainly did!  The thread is yours.

[MilesArcher]

Thanks.  In a musical movie, Jeanette MacDonald sang a song that has the same title as a later, but different, hit song for Bobby Darin.  Later still, Mariah Carey had yet a different song with the same title.  Can you name the song and the movie where Jeanette sang it?

[MilesArcher]

Thanks.  In a musical movie, Jeanette MacDonald sang a song that has the same title as a later, but different, hit song for Bobby Darin.  Later still, Mariah Carey had yet a different song with the same title.  Can you name the song and the movie where Jeanette sang it?

Here's a hint:  Jeanette MacDonald's movie was shown on TCM within the last week and it is due to be shown again later this week.

[Princess of Tap]

Miles, I had to go for this question because Jeanette MacDonald and Bobby Darin are two of my favorite singers.

 

However, Mariah Carey is not really a singer who is in the category of music that I buy. I don't associate her name in relationship to classic movies. Admittedly she has quite a voice, but how she uses it.

 

But Miles, if you like her, then it's okay with me.

 

the Bobby Darin song you're talking about is dream lover and Bobby wrote that song. So obviously it is not the same song that Jeanette MacDonald is singing. Her song is from The Love Parade written by Victor Schertzinger, lyrics by Clifford Grey.

 

And yes, your Mariah Carey had a hit with a song of the same name that she wrote herself.

[MilesArcher]

You got it, Princess.  "Dream Lover" by Victor Schertzinger and Clifford Grey is a song that Jeanette MacDonald sings in "The Love Parade".  The movie was shown on TCM last Thursday, and it is scheduled to be shown again this coming Friday, Feb. 5th.  Here is Jeanette:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzmuFYvbvXk  

 

By the way, Schertzinger's "Dream Lover" was used as background music in 1952's "The Greatest Show On Earth" when Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde are doing their aerial routine.

 

And here is Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover".

 

 

 

Princess, I only mentioned Mariah Carey because she had a song with the same title.  I'm not necessarily a big fan of her's, although she does have a fine voice.

 

Princess, you get the thread.

[Princess of Tap]

This Dancer was a real MGM chorus girl who became a leading lady in the movies. She was as well known for her roles in film noir, as for her musical roles.

 

She also appeared on Broadway.

 

Can you name her and at least one of her musicals and film noirs?

[Princess of Tap]

Hint--This dancing actress is associated with Ida Lupino.

[MilesArcher]

Would that be Sally Forrest?

[Princess of Tap]

Yes Miles, and that would be Sally Forrest. When I saw her in The Strip, I couldn't figure out why she wasn't a bigger dancing star. But I guess she was multi-talented and was led to do more dramatic roles.

 

However, one role did allow her to combine her dancing ability with her dramatic flair for acting. In Ida Lupino's Never Fear, she played a dancer on the verge of a great career when she is stricken with polio.

 

Miles, it's your turn--

[MilesArcher]

Thanks.  I guess I didn't finish answering the question.  Sally Forrest was a dancer in several MGM musicals, including "The Kissing Bandit" and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", both with Frank Sinatra.  Ida Lupino produced and helped write and direct a picture called "Not Wanted" that Sally starred in, playing a young unwed mother.  Ida's younger sister, Rita Lupino, was also in the movie.

 

Now,  a songwriting team appeared in cameo roles in an MGM musical that they wrote the songs for.  Can you name them and the movie?

[shutoo]

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart had bit parts in Hallelujah, I'm A Bum and wrote the music for the film (certainly not their best stuff..opinion)

[MilesArcher]

That's a great answer, shutoo.  It would have been a correct answer if "Hallelujah, I'm A Bum" had been an MGM picture, but it was not.  So now we know that another songwriting team appeared in a film where they wrote the songs.  The film I am referencing was even earlier than "Hallelujah, I'm A Bum".  

[Princess of Tap]

Well, if it's MGM, Tap Princess says it has to be the first MGM musical, The Broadway Melody written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown.

 

Circa 1929

[MilesArcher]

That's it, Princess.  Nacio Herb Brown appears as a piano player and Arthur Freed is a bystander.  By the way, Nacio is short for Ignacio.  Thanks to shutoo for playing.  Princess gets the thread.  

[Princess of Tap]

This musical is overloaded with talent - - but that didn't help a whole lot at the box office--4 singers, 3 dancers, 2 prominent character actors and 2 veteran male leads.

 

The singers specialized in popular and operatic styles of music.

 

The dancers were a mixed bag: one was a tap dancer primarily, another was an acrobatic dancer and one was an all-round dancer.

 

And the musical was based on a Broadway show.

 

If you can name the musical, you can easily get the stars. Good luck

[Princess of Tap]

Hint-- This is a MGM musical.

[starliteyes]

Could it be Hit the Deck, which was based on the stage play Shore Leave?  It had singers Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Vic Damone and Kay Armen.  The dancers were Debbie Reynolds, Russ Tamblyn and Ann Miller.  The two veteran male leads would be Walter Pidgeon and Gene Raymond, and the character actors would be Jane Darwell and J. Carrol Naish.

[Princess of Tap]

Yes Star, you can sing hallelujah!

 

I can't tell you how many times, I played that song just so I could listen to Ann Miller tap dance-- I confess, I never listened to the singing.

 

Star, good work! It's your turn - -

[starliteyes]

Sorry, but I'm going to have to leave this open.

[shutoo]

How about a quickie?

 

'It' was a popular biopic 34 years before 'it' was the opening scene of a comedy...what is it?

[shutoo]

The comedy was shot in glorious black and white..very unusual for the 70s..

[Princess of Tap]

Shutoo--Does this comedy star typical stars from the 1970's or Golden Age stars?

[shutoo]

The 70s..remember..'it' is, indeed, musical!