Song of the Open Road

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Song of the Open Road
Song of the Open Road.jpg
Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Written by Albert Mannheimer
Story by Irving Phillips
Edward Verdier
Produced byCharles R. Rogers
Starring Edgar Bergen
Charlie McCarthy
Bonita Granville
W.C. Fields
Sammy Kaye
Jane Powell
Peggy O'Neill
Jackie Moran
Bill Christy
Reginald Denny
Regis Toomey
Rose Hobart
Pat Starling
Condos Brothers
Hollywood Canteen Kids
Catron & Popp
Cinematography John W. Boyle
Edited byTruman K. Wood
Music byCharles Previn
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • June 1944 (1944-06)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Song of the Open Road is a 1944 musical comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon, from a screenplay by Irving Phillips and Edward Verdier. It was the debut film of teenage singer Jane Powell. Powell's real name was Suzanne Burce, but prior to the release of this film MGM assigned her the stage name "Jane Powell" (the name of the character she portrays in this film). [1]

Contents

Plot

Child film star Jane Powell, tired of her life being run by her stage mother, runs away from home and tries to lead a "normal" life at a Crops Corps camp. [2] When a crop needs picking, Powell enlists the help of some celebrity friends.

Cast

Production

Director S. Sylvan Simon had difficulty filming scenes with W. C. Fields because of Fields' alcoholism.

Lobby card Song of the Open Road - Lobby Card (1944).jpg
Lobby card

Although Fields often made fun of singers and singing in general, he had a fondness for the promising young singer Jane Powell and even referred to her (as "little Janie Powell") on one of his CBS radio broadcasts (preserved on transcription discs). Powell sang several songs in the film and made such an impression that MGM signed her to a contract to make a number of musical comedies for them, through the mid-1950s.

Location shooting was done in Palm Springs, California and at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. [3]

This was W. C. Fields's next-to-last film; his last ( Sensations of 1945 ) would be released only 9 days after this film was issued. In the film, Fields—who began his career as an accomplished juggler—plays himself and juggles some oranges for a few moments. He remarks "This used to be my racket". Then, missing a catch, he drops the oranges and walks away muttering "used to be my racket, but it isn't anymore!"

The film also has a brief continuation of the long-running feud between Fields and woodenhead dummy Charlie McCarthy with a new twist: "Charlie McCarthy Jr." is a miniature version of the dummy that sits on the larger dummy's knee with Charlie as his ventriloquist. The sight of this has Fields throwing away his bottle and vowing to give up drinking.

The film's copyright was renewed in 1971. [a]

Award nominations

YearResultAwardCategoryRecipient
1945Nominated Academy Award Best Music, Original Song ("Too Much in Love") Walter Kent (Music) & Kim Gannon (Lyrics)
1945Nominated Academy Award Best Music, Scoring of a Musical PictureCharles Previn
1945Nominated Academy Award Best Art Direction, Black and WhiteN/A (nomination withdrawn)

References

  1. ↑ Reel Memories: Jane Powell, Turner Classic Movies, 1995. Included on the DVD Classic Musicals Double Feature: Nancy Goes to Rio/Two Weeks with Love (Warner Home Video, 2008)
  2. ↑ Moskowitz, Daniel B., "The Crops Corps: How Agriculture Helped Win the War", HistoryNet, February 20, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  3. ↑ Song of the Open Road at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  1. ↑ Under R507035
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