Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, known professionally as Carmen Miranda, was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films. As a young woman, she designed hats in a boutique before making her first recordings with composer Josué de Barros in 1929. Miranda's 1930 recording of "Taí ", written by Joubert de Carvalho, catapulted her to stardom in Brazil as the foremost interpreter of samba.
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, such as "Pick the Winner". The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine.
James Francis McHugh was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, June Christy, Bing Crosby, Deanna Durbin, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Adelaide Hall, Billie Holiday, Beverly Kenney, Bill Kenny, Peggy Lee, Carmen Miranda, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, and Dinah Washington.
Harold Campbell Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.
Seven Hills of Rome is an Italian-American film international co-production released in January 1958 and shot on location in Rome and at the Titanus studios. It was filmed in Technicolor and Technirama, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was tenor Mario Lanza's penultimate film, and Marisa Allasio’s last film.
"A Bushel and a Peck" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1950. The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, which opened at the 46th Street Theater on November 24, 1950. It was performed on stage by Vivian Blaine and a women's chorus as a nightclub act at the Hot Box. It is the first of two nightclub performances in the musical. Although Blaine later reprised her role as Miss Adelaide in the 1955 film version of the play, "A Bushel and a Peck" was omitted from the film and replaced by a new song, "Pet Me, Poppa."
Saturday Night with Mr. C was Perry Como's third RCA Victor 12" long-play album, and his first recorded in stereophonic sound. The album is structured as an extended version of the request section of his popular television show, beginning and ending with his theme songs "Dream Along With Me" and "You Are Never Far Away" and with his TV request theme, "We Get Letters" used twice in the album as an intro. At the time, Perry was seen on NBC's Saturday night schedule at 8 P.M. Eastern Time.
Zorba is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. Adapted from the 1946 novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis and the subsequent 1964 film of the same name, it focuses on the friendship that evolves between Zorba and Nikos, a young American who has inherited an abandoned mine on Crete, and their romantic relationships with a local widow and a French woman, respectively.
Down Argentine Way is a 1940 American musical film made in Technicolor by Twentieth Century Fox. It made a star of Betty Grable in her first leading role for the studio although she had already appeared in 31 films, and it introduced American audiences to Carmen Miranda. It also starred Don Ameche, The Nicholas Brothers, Charlotte Greenwood, and J. Carrol Naish.
A Date with Judy is a 1948 American comedy musical film starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, and Elizabeth Taylor. Directed by Richard Thorpe, the film was based on the radio series of the same name.
Martha Ruth Stewart Shelley, better known as Martha Stewart, was an American actress. She was noted for playing Mildred Atkinson in In a Lonely Place (1950) alongside Humphrey Bogart.
Mad Movies with the L.A. Connection is a 1985 syndicated television show produced by the comedy troupe the L.A. Connection. Every episode is a spoof of a classic movie where the video is the original but all the dialogue is overdubbed with humorous dialogue written and voiced by the L.A. Connection, in a manner similar to Woody Allen's feature-length film What's Up, Tiger Lily?. During one season, 26 half-hour episodes were produced. Before producing the series, the L.A. Connection did live comedy dubbing of films at the Ken Theater in San Diego and the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles.
Greenwich Village is a 1944 American comedy-drama musical film from Twentieth Century Fox directed by Walter Lang. It stars Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche.
Meet Danny Wilson is a 1952 American drama musical film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters and Alex Nicol.
Something for the Boys is a 1944 musical comedy film directed by Lewis Seiler. It stars Carmen Miranda, Michael O'Shea, Vivian Blaine, Phil Silvers, Sheila Ryan and Perry Como.
The Naked Genius is a 1943 American play written by Gypsy Rose Lee. The work premiered on Broadway on October 21, 1943, at the Plymouth Theatre where it ran until November 20, 1943, for a total of 36 performances. The work was produced by Mike Todd, used sets designed by Frederick Fox, and costumes designed by Billy Livingston. The play was staged by George S. Kaufman, and starred Joan Blondell as Honey Bee Carroll, Pauline Myers as Angela, Millard Mitchell as Stuart Tracy, Rex O'Malley as Fred-Eric, Byron Russell as Williams, Bertha Belmore as Lollie Adams, Doro Merande as Myrtle McGuire, Donald Randolph as Charles Goodwin, Lewis Charles as Sam Hinkle, Rosemary Rice as Emily, Georgia Sothern as Alibassi, Phyllis Povah as Pansy, John Souther as Judge Taylor, Bernice Maison as Sally Martin, and Gil Maison as Teddy Martin.
If I'm Lucky is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Vivian Blaine, Perry Como, Phil Silvers and Carmen Miranda in the leading roles. The film also featured bandleader Harry James.
"South American Way" is a 1939 song with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Al Dubin. Carmen Miranda introduced the song in the 1939 Broadway musical The Streets of Paris. Miranda performed it on-screen a year later in her breakout role for U.S. audiences in the film Down Argentine Way (1940), causing it to become very popular in the United States.
If You Knew Susie is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas and written by Warren Wilson, Oscar Brodney, Bud Pearson and Lester A. White. The film was produced by, and starred, Eddie Cantor in his final starring role in a feature film. The film also stars Joan Davis, Allyn Joslyn, Charles Dingle and Bobby Driscoll. The film was released on February 7, 1948, by RKO Pictures.
The Carmen Miranda Collection is a box set featuring five top movie titles starring Carmen Miranda. It was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on June 17, 2008.
Nicky performs "Red Hot and Beautiful" at the burlesque Gaiety Theatre.
Doll Face performs "Red Hot and Beautiful" to an enthusiastic crowd.
Nicky performing "Here Comes Heaven Again"
Doll Face on her way to make the final adjustments to her autobiography.
Frankie and Nicky perform "Somebody's Walking in My Dream".
Frankie performing "Somebody's Walking in My Dream"
Frankie and Nicky perform "Somebody's Walking in My Dream".
A worried Mike searching for Doll Face.
Mike finds Doll Face and Frederick.
Nicky and Frankie rehearses "Dig You Later (A-Hubba Hubba Hubba)".
Frederick suspects Doll Face is unhappy. Chita suggests he should know.
Rehearsing Nicky's "Here Comes Heaven Again" proves too much for Doll Face.
