I'll See You in My Dreams | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
Written by | Jack Rose Melville Shavelson |
Story by | Louis F. Edelman Grace Kahn |
Produced by | Louis F. Edelman |
Starring | Doris Day Danny Thomas Frank Lovejoy Patrice Wymore James Gleason |
Cinematography | Ted D. McCord |
Edited by | Owen Marks |
Music by | Ray Heindorf |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,404,000 [1] |
Box office | $2.9 million (US rentals) [2] . |
I'll See You in My Dreams is a 1951 musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Doris Day and Danny Thomas. It was Warner Brothers' second-highest-grossing film of 1951. Curtiz teamed with Thomas again the following year for a remake of The Jazz Singer . [3]
The film is a biography of lyricist Gus Kahn and includes a number of songs written by him, including the title song. The story, which avoids Kahn's Jewish origins, is told from the point of view of his wife Grace, who was alive when the film was produced. Kahn had died in 1941. He was a prolific songwriter who met Grace LeBoy in 1908. His career ascended to spectacular heights with popular money-making hits like "Pretty Baby", "My Buddy", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie" and "Makin' Whoopee". But he lost his savings in the 1929 stock-market crash. [4]
Insecure Gus Kahn wanders into the musical publishing house where Grace LeBoy is a talent judge of some influence. She challenges him to write a love song, but she doesn't expect him to deliver it to her home the same evening. Grace's parents take an instant liking to Kahn, even after his borrowed necktie trails into his soup bowl. Grace eventually quits her job to plug Kahn's songs on her own. Their first song, "I Wish I Had a Girl," is a hit. But after failed follow-ups, Grace turns publicity over to Fred Thompson.
From there, Kahn embarks on a series of successful collaborations with composer Egbert Van Alstyne. And when tenor John McCormack makes their song "Memories" a hit, the tongue-tied Kahn finally proposes to Grace. Later, when she is expecting their first child, her pregnancy inspires Kahn and Van Alstyne to rework the Tony Jackson tune, "Pretty Baby". Then, Grace sneak-auditions Kahn's songs for New York producer Sam Harris, gaining her husband entry into the world of Broadway. From there, it is one hit after another--the one bump being his partnership with composer Walter Donaldson, despite their best-selling numbers, including "Carolina in the Morning." But Donaldson is an incorrigible playboy, and Kahn finds it tough going to adjust to his off-and-on schedule. They eventually break up. Kahn subsequently suffers serious losses in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and goes through a long period of writer's block.
Grace gets him a Hollywood contract--but her proud husband considers this needless "charity" and decides to travel to California alone. His mental block continues, and he suffers a major heart attack. This brings Donaldson to his side with a promise to be a more reliable partner. Their re-teaming leads to renewed success. At a concluding testimonial dinner, Kahn finally says publicly what the film's audience has known all along--that Grace is the "brains" of the family and he couldn't have succeeded without her.
A soundtrack album was released by Columbia Records. It contains songs sung by Day (including duets with Thomas) in the film.
The film has been cited by Berry Gordy as an inspiration for his start in songwriting. [5]