Rose of Washington Square | |
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Directed by | Gregory Ratoff |
Written by | Jerry Horwin (story) Nunnally Johnson |
Produced by | Nunnally Johnson Darryl F. Zanuck |
Starring | Tyrone Power Alice Faye Al Jolson |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Rose of Washington Square is a 1939 American musical drama film, featuring the already well-known popular song with the same title. Set in 1920s New York City, the film focuses on singer Rose Sargent and her turbulent relationship with con artist Barton DeWitt Clinton, whose criminal activities threaten her professional success in the Ziegfeld Follies.
Although the names of the principal characters were changed, the plot was inspired by vaudeville entertainer Fanny Brice's career and marriage to gambler Nicky Arnstein (both the film's title song and "My Man" were closely associated with Brice), and Brice sued 20th Century Fox for $750,000. The studio settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
Written by Nunnally Johnson (who co-produced with Darryl F. Zanuck) and directed by Gregory Ratoff, it stars Alice Faye, Tyrone Power and Al Jolson, with a supporting cast that includes William Frawley, Joyce Compton, Hobart Cavanaugh, Moroni Olsen, Charles Lane, and Louis Prima.
Ted Cotter, a successful Broadway minstrel performer, spots Rose Sargent performing in a vaudeville amateur night. He immediately takes a personal and professional interest in her, helping her career along as she joins the famed Ziegfeld Follies and begins to achieve stardom.
Cotter has troubles with his own act. One night, emboldened by alcohol, meek Whitey Boone heckles Cotter unmercifully from a box seat. The audience loves it, thinking it is part of the show. Cotter later discovers his manager Harry Long has hired the little man as a permanent part of the act.
Rose does not recognize Ted's love for her, falling instead for Bart Clinton, a gambler and con man. Bart's nefarious activities get him arrested, and after Ted puts up his bail, Bart skips town. Rose pines away for him, until one night, when Bart goes to the Follies and hears her tearful rendition of the song "My Man", he realizes the error of his ways and sets out to make things right. As Bart is sent away for a 5-year prison sentence, Rose says "I'll be waiting, darling!" [1]
William Clement Frawley was an American Vaudevillian and actor best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the sitcom I Love Lucy. Frawley also played "Bub" O'Casey during the first five seasons of the sitcom My Three Sons and the political advisor to the Hon. Henry X. Harper in the film Miracle on 34th Street.
Isham Edgar Jones was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter.
Fania Borach, known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. She is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series The Baby Snooks Show.
"Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908 to great acclaim. It became a pop standard, and continues to be performed and recorded in the 21st century.
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Harry Akst was an American songwriter, who started out his career as a pianist in vaudeville accompanying singers such as Nora Bayes, Frank Fay and Al Jolson.
"I'll See You in My Dreams" is a popular song and jazz standard, composed by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn, and published in 1924. It was recorded on December 4 that year, by Isham Jones conducting Ray Miller's Orchestra. Released on Brunswick Records, it charted for 16 weeks during 1925, spending seven weeks at number 1 in the United States. Other popular versions in 1925 were by Marion Harris; Paul Whiteman; Ford & Glenn; and Lewis James; with three of these four reaching the Top 10.
"April Showers" is a 1921 popular song composed by Louis Silvers with lyrics by B. G. De Sylva.
Hobart Cavanaugh was an American character actor in films and on stage.
"Me and My Shadow" is a 1927 popular song. Officially the credits show it as written by Al Jolson, Billy Rose, and Dave Dreyer, with Jolson and Dreyer being shown on the sheet music as being responsible for the music and Rose the lyrics. Al Jolson was often given credits on sheet music so he could earn more money by popularizing them, but he played no actual part in writing this song. Jolson never recorded the song although he did use it in the touring version of "Big Boy" in 1927.
"My Mammy" is an American popular song with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Joe Young and Sam M. Lewis.
"Ja-Da " is a hit song written in 1918 by Bob Carleton. The title is sometimes rendered simply as "Jada." The song has flourished through the decades as a jazz standard.
James Frederick Hanley was an American songwriter and author.
"Mon Homme" ,also known by its English translation, "My Man", is a popular song first published in 1920. The song was originally composed by Maurice Yvain with French lyrics by Jacques-Charles and Albert Willemetz. The English lyrics were written by Channing Pollock.
"I'm Just Wild About Harry" is a song written in 1921 with lyrics by Noble Sissle and music by Eubie Blake for the Broadway show Shuffle Along.
"I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" is a popular Vaudeville song. The music is credited to Harry Carroll, but the melody is adapted from Fantaisie-Impromptu by Frédéric Chopin. The lyrics were written by Joseph McCarthy, and the song was published in 1917. It was introduced in the Broadway show Oh, Look! which opened in March 1918. The song was sung in the show by the Dolly Sisters. Judy Garland sang it in the 1941 film Ziegfeld Girl. It was subsequently sung by Jack Oakie in the 1944 film The Merry Monahans and was again featured in the 1945 film The Dolly Sisters, where it was sung by John Payne. It was also included for part of the run of the 1973 revival of Irene. Additionally, the pre-chorus would not have been included until later covers in the 1940s, where the song would gain it's iconic libretti.
Al Jolson was a Lithuanian-born American singer, actor, and vaudevillian.
"Avalon" is a 1920 popular song written by Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva and Vincent Rose referencing Avalon, California. It was introduced by Jolson and interpolated in the musicals Sinbad and Bombo. Jolson's recording rose to number two on the charts in 1921. The song was possibly written by Rose, but Jolson's popularity as a performer allowed him to claim composer co-credit. Originally, only Rose and Jolson were credited, and DeSylva's name was added later.
Sinatra: London is a 3CD & 1DVD Frank Sinatra box set released on November 25, 2014. It is the third in a series of city-themed box sets following Vegas and New York. The set includes the 1962 album Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain as recorded in London, as well as unreleased outtake material from those sessions and spoken introductions for each song intended for a BBC radio special. The live material consists of a 1953 session from BBC Radio's The Show Band Show, a full concert recorded in 1984 at the Royal Albert Hall, and two concerts on the DVD, both recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1962 and 1970. The liner notes are written by Ken Barnes.
Toot, Toot, Tootsie is a 1922 song with music and lyrics by Gus Kahn, Ernie Erdman and Danny Russo, per the credits on the original sheet music cover. Some other sources also credit Ted Fio Rito and Robert King for the song, but make no mention of Dan Russo. It debuted in the Broadway musical Bombo, where it was a major hit. It was first recorded by Al Jolson with Frank Crumit's orchestra for Columbia Records on September 9, 1922. It was further popularised by the racy singer-comedian Eddie Cantor.