My Dream Is Yours

Last updated
My Dream Is Yours
Mydreamisyoursposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster and DVD Cover
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Friz Freleng (animated sequence)
Written by Harry Kurnitz
Dane Lussier
Allen Rivkin (adaptation)
Laura Kerr (adaptation)
Jerry Wald (story)
Paul Finder Moss (story)
Produced by George Amy
Michael Curtiz
Starring Jack Carson
Doris Day
Lee Bowman
Cinematography Wilfred M. Cline
Ernest Haller
Edited by Folmar Blangsted
Music by Harry Warren
Distributed by Warner Bros
Release date
  • April 16, 1949 (1949-04-16)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million [1] or $2,087,000 [2]
Box office$1.7 million [3] or $2,742,000 [2]

My Dream Is Yours is a 1949 American Technicolor musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Jack Carson, Doris Day, and Lee Bowman.

Contents

Plot

The film opens in Los Angeles, where Doug Blake is dumped as a manager by Gary Mitchell. He goes to New York City to find a new singer to replace Gary on the Hour of Enchantment radio show. While in New York, he discovers Martha Gibson turning records in a jukebox factory. He takes her to Los Angeles and tries to introduce her to Felix Hofer. His efforts lead to a series of communication failures.

Meanwhile, Martha has begun to fall in love with Gary. Doug takes her to a party at Gary's house where Gary gets drunk and is unable to sing on his radio program. Martha replaces him and becomes successful. Gary, whose ego has driven away all of the people who once helped him, cannot find anyone who will hire or even represent him. Knowing how Martha feels about Gary, Doug helps him come back, but Gary goes back to his old ways and drives Martha away. Martha then realizes that she really loves Doug and makes up with him.

Cast

Songs

The film features the following songs, mostly lyricized by Ralph Blane and composed by Harry Warren:

"Someone like You” has been subsequently recorded by Ella Fitzgerald in 1949 [7] and Peggy Lee. [8]

Production

The film serves as a remake of Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934), in which the aspiring singer was male. [9] The film Swing Hostess (1944) also had a similar plot, in which aspiring singer Judy Alvin (Martha Tilton) is spinning records in a jukebox factory, and her roommate and friend Marge (Iris Adrian) tries to help her start her career.[ original research? ]

Eve Arden has a key supporting role as Vivian "Vi" Martin, Doug Blake's co-worker in the radio show The Hour of Enchantment. She is depicted as a highly competent professional woman. She at first agrees to financially support Doug in exchange for half his business earnings. She then allows Martha and her son Freddie to move in with her. When more is needed to finance Martha's career, Vivian has to sell her own mink coat. [9]

The film features a love triangle among Doug Blake, Martha Gibson, and Gary Mitchell. Vivian Martin has her own romantic subplot with Thomas Hutchins, though it is limited to a few suggestive glances. This was the third and last time that Arden co-worked with Adolphe Menjou. [9]

According to gossip columnist Sheilah Graham, Day missed three days of shooting in May 1948, due to being sick with a fever. [9]

The film features the final, feature film appearance of comic actor Edgar Kennedy, who died on November 9, 1948.

The film is perhaps best remembered today for an extended dream sequence combining animation and live action which featured a cameo appearance by Bugs Bunny, [10] dancing with Jack Carson and Doris Day to the tune of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 , as well as an appearance by Tweety, which was a favorite of animation director Friz Freleng. The sequence has an Easter theme and features the actors in bunny suits. [9]

Reception

Box Office

According to Warner Bros records the film earned $1,994,000 domestically and $748,000 foreign. [2]

Critical

Time magazine's review was not favorable, finding that the film merely reused elements from older films. "It has all been done before—frequently much better". It did, however, find some positive aspects of the film. One was Doris Day's singing, another the caustic lines of Eve Arden. [9] John L. Scot, reviewer for the Los Angeles Times , found the basic story trite. But also praised the charm of Doris Day and her ability to sell a tune, while also favoring the comedy performance of Eve Arden. [9] Richard L. Coe, reviewer of The Washington Post , called the film a "supremely dull achievement". He found Arden's character wittier and more human than that of Doris Day. [9]

The New York Times wrote, "The only bit of novelty in this hackneyed reworking of this how-tough-it-is-to-get-a-break-in-show-business theme is the introduction of a cartoon fantasy sequence representing a child's dream of the Easter bunny....it doesn't last long enough to divert attention from the sad fact that 'My Dream is Yours' is a dull show." [11]

Tom Santopietro, in a retrospective of the film, credits Arden with the best performance of the film, praising her comic timing. [9]

Sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doris Day</span> American actress and singer (1922–2019)

Doris Day was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey" and "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" with Les Brown and His Band of Renown. She left Brown to embark on a solo career and recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Schwartz</span> American composer and film producer (1900–1984)

Arthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz.

Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis, in which Judy Garland sang three Martin songs, "The Boy Next Door", "The Trolley Song", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". The last of these has become a Christmas season standard in the United States and around the English-speaking world. Martin became a close friend of Garland and was her accompanist at many of her concert performances in the 1950s, including her appearances at the Palace Theater.

<i>Its a Great Feeling</i> 1949 film by David Butler

It's a Great Feeling is a 1949 American Technicolor musical comedy film starring Doris Day, Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan in a parody of what goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood movie making. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Mel Shavelson was based upon a story by I. A. L. Diamond. The film was directed by David Butler, produced by Alex Gottlieb and distributed by Warner Bros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Carson</span> Canadian-American actor (1910–1963)

John Elmer Carson, known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including The Strawberry Blonde (1941) with James Cagney and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) with Cary Grant. He appeared in such dramas as Mildred Pierce (1945), A Star is Born (1954), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). He worked for RKO and MGM, but most of his notable work was for Warner Bros.

Roger Edens was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the "golden era of Hollywood".

<i>Move Over, Darling</i> 1963 film by Michael Gordon

Move Over, Darling is a 1963 American comedy film starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen and directed by Michael Gordon filmed in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope released by 20th Century Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. Z. Sakall</span> Hungarian actor (1883–1955)

Szőke Szakáll, known in the English-speaking world as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-American stage and film character actor. He appeared in many films, including Casablanca (1942), in which he played Carl, the head waiter; Christmas in Connecticut (1945); In the Good Old Summertime (1949); and Lullaby of Broadway (1951). Sakall played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood musicals and comedies in the 1940s and 1950s. His rotund cuteness caused studio head Jack Warner to bestow on Sakall the nickname "Cuddles".

<i>Carefree</i> (film) 1938 American musical film by Mark Sandrich

Carefree is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Ralph Bellamy. With a plot similar to screwball comedies of the period, Carefree is the shortest of the Astaire-Rogers films, featuring only four musical numbers. Carefree is often remembered as the film in which Astaire and Rogers shared a long on-screen kiss at the conclusion of their dance to "I Used to Be Color Blind," all previous kisses having been either quick pecks or simply implied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Capers</span>

"Canadian Capers" is a popular tune, written by Earl Burtnett, Gus Chandler, Bert White, and Henry Cohen in 1915. The tune has been recorded by many people over the years. A recording by Paul Whiteman was very popular in 1921.

<i>Ziegfeld Girl</i> (film) 1941 film by Robert Zigler Leonard, Busby Berkeley

Ziegfeld Girl is a 1941 American musical film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Lana Turner, Tony Martin, Jackie Cooper, Eve Arden, and Philip Dorn. The film, which features musical numbers by Busby Berkeley, was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Twenty Million Sweethearts</i> 1934 film by Ray Enright

Twenty Million Sweethearts is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright and starring Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, and the Mills Brothers. The film was remade in 1949 as My Dream Is Yours.

<i>Romance on the High Seas</i> 1948 film by Michael Curtiz

Romance on the High Seas is a 1948 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore and Doris Day in her film debut. Busby Berkeley was the choreographer. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Original Song for "It's Magic", and Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.

<i>Two Guys from Texas</i> 1948 film by David Butler

Two Guys from Texas is a 1948 American made Western-themed musical comedy film starring longtime song-and-dance partners Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson. Directed by David Butler, it was written by Allen Boretz and I.A.L. Diamond, and features Dorothy Malone and Penny Edwards in support.

<i>Ill Be Yours</i> 1947 film by William A. Seiter

I'll Be Yours is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Deanna Durbin. Based on the play A jó tündér by Ferenc Molnár, the film is about a small-town girl who tells a fib to a wealthy businessman, which then creates complications. The play had earlier been adapted for the 1935 film The Good Fairy by Preston Sturges.

<i>The Hard Way</i> (1943 film) 1943 film by Vincent Sherman

The Hard Way is a 1943 Warner Bros. musical drama film starring Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, and Joan Leslie. Directed by Vincent Sherman, it is based on a story by Irwin Shaw which was reportedly based on Ginger Rogers' relationship with her first husband, Jack Pepper and her own mother, Lela.

<i>Greenwich Village</i> (film) 1944 film by Walter Lang

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve McVeagh</span> American actress (1919–1997)

Eva Elizabeth "Eve" McVeagh was an American actress of film, television, stage, and radio. Her career spanned 52 years from her first stage role through her last stage appearance. Her roles included leading and supporting parts as well as smaller character roles in which she proved a gifted character actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ida Moore</span> American actress (1882–1964)

Ida Moore was an American film and television actress.

References

  1. Variety 18 February 1948 p 14
  2. 1 2 3 Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See "Appendix 1". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 15 (sup1): 1–31. January 1995. doi:10.1080/01439689508604551.
  3. "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. 4 January 1950. p. 59.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Hemming (1999), p. 298
  5. "DorisDayMagic.com". 26 July 2017.
  6. Christopher Young (1 January 1977). The Films of Doris Day. Citadel Press. ISBN   978-0-8065-0583-1.
  7. J. Wilfred Johnson (5 August 2010). Ella Fitzgerald: An Annotated Discography; Including a Complete Discography of Chick Webb. McFarland. pp. 128–. ISBN   978-0-7864-5039-8.
  8. Mark Lewisohn (29 October 2013). Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years. Crown/Archetype. pp. 1350–. ISBN   978-0-8041-3934-2.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tucker (2012), p. 107-109
  10. Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. p. 98. ISBN   0-8050-0889-6.
  11. "Jack Carson, Eve Arden, Doris Day in Musical at Strand—Jungle Film at Rialto." New York Times, 16 April 1949.