Texas Carnival

Last updated
Texas Carnival
Texas Carnival (1951).jpg
Film poster
Directed by Charles Walters
Screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley
Story by George Wells
Dorothy Kingsley
Produced by Jack Cummings
Starring Esther Williams
Red Skelton
Howard Keel
Cinematography Robert H. Planck
Edited by Adrienne Fazan
Music by David Rose
Production
company
Distributed by Loew's, Inc.
Release date
October 5, 1951
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,684,000 [1]
Box office$3,820,000 [1]

Texas Carnival is a 1951 American Technicolor musical film directed by Charles Walters and starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton and Howard Keel.

Contents

Plot

A dunk tank at a Texas carnival is operated by Debbie Telford and partner Cornie Quinell. An honest man, Cornie helps the inebriated Dan Sabinas, a millionaire rancher, who is being taken advantage of at another carny booth.

A grateful Dan is put in a taxi, with Cornie promising to return his car. Dan drunkenly has the cab take him to Mexico instead.

As Cornie and Debbie drive to Dan's hotel in his car, they end up being mistaken for Dan and wealthy sister Marilla. In time, Cornie comes to enjoy the lap of luxury and is attracted to lovely Sunshine Jackson, whose dad is the sheriff. Debbie is courted by Dan's handsome foreman, Slim Shelby, who pretends not to know she is an impostor.

In a poker game, Cornie is unaware that jellybeans being used for chips are worth big money. He loses $17,000 that he is not able to repay unless he can win a Texas chuck wagon race. Debbie is in hot water, too, because the real Marilla is suspicious of her.

Dan finally returns but is not able to recall who Cornie is. In an attempt to get Dan drunk again, Cornie gets tipsy instead and needs to drive his chuck wagon that way. But all ends well when he and Debbie end up with their new loves.

Cast

Production

The film was originally called The Carnival Story and was originally envisioned as a vehicle for Betty Hutton. Then it was announced in February 1950 as a vehicle for Williams and Skelton; it was their third movie together, after Bathing Beauty and Neptune's Daughter. [2] Filming was pushed back because of Williams' pregnancy. [3] In August Howard Keel and Ann Miller joined the cast. [4]

The film was retitled Texas Carnival in November 1950. [5]

In December 1950 MGM announced Charles Walters would direct. Filming started February 1951. [6]

Prior to shooting, the Red Norvo Quintet, which backed Miller on the song "It's Dynamite," included Charles Mingus on bass. The group pre-recorded the number as normal, but when it was time to film the performance, the studio ordered Mingus replaced with a white bassist to prevent the number from being cut from prints circulating in the South, as was customary back then.

The final version ran a mere 77 minutes, making it one of the shortest of MGM's "A" musicals.

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $2,366,000 in the US and Canada and $1,454,000 in other countries, resulting in a profit of $681,000. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Keel</span> American actor and singer (1919–2004)

Harold Clifford Keel, professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the television series Dallas from 1981 to 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Grayson</span> American actress (1922–2010)

Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and coloratura soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Powell</span> American actress (1929–2021)

Jane Powell was an American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image, Powell appeared in films, television and on the stage, performing in the musicals A Date with Judy (1948), Royal Wedding (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Hit the Deck (1955).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Williams</span> American swimmer and actress (1921–2013)

Esther Jane Williams was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade, where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco. While in the city, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic gold-medal winner and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller. Williams caught the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts at the Aquacade. After appearing in several small roles, and alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film and future five-time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe, Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as "aquamusicals", which featured elaborate performances with synchronised swimming and diving.

That's Entertainment! is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film That's Dancing!, and a third installment in 1994.

<i>Thats Entertainment! III</i> 1994 film

That's Entertainment! III is a 1994 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 70th anniversary. It was the third in a series of retrospectives that began with the first That's Entertainment! (1974) and That's Entertainment, Part II (1976).

<i>Thats Dancing!</i> 1985 film directed by Jack Haley Jr.

That's Dancing! is a 1985 American compilation film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that looked back at the history of dancing in film. Unlike the That's Entertainment! series, this film not only focuses specifically on MGM films, but also included films from other studios.

<i>Athena</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Richard Thorpe

Athena is a 1954 American romantic musical comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern, Steve Reeves, and Evelyn Varden. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Kingsley</span> American screenwriter

Dorothy Kingsley was an American screenwriter, who worked extensively in film, radio, and television.

<i>Thats Entertainment, Part II</i> 1976 film directedby Gene Kelly

That's Entertainment, Part II is a 1976 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a sequel to That's Entertainment! (1974). Like the previous film, That's Entertainment, Part II was a retrospective of famous films released by MGM from the 1930s to the 1950s. Some posters for the film use Part 2 rather than Part II in the title.

<i>The Opposite Sex</i> 1956 film by David Miller

The Opposite Sex is a 1956 American musical romantic comedy film shot in Metrocolor and CinemaScope. The film was directed by David Miller and stars June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan, and Ann Miller, with Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards, Agnes Moorehead, Charlotte Greenwood, Joan Blondell, and Sam Levene.

<i>Duchess of Idaho</i> 1950 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Duchess of Idaho is a musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, it was the fourth film pairing Esther Williams and Van Johnson. It was filmed at the MGM Studios lot and exteriors shot in Sun Valley, Idaho.

John Cummings was an American film producer and director. He was best known for being a leading producer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He was the third husband of Betty Kern, daughter of Jerome Kern.

<i>Susan Slept Here</i> 1954 film by Frank Tashlin

Susan Slept Here is a 1954 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Dick Powell and Debbie Reynolds. Shot in Technicolor, the film is based on the play of the same name by Steve Fisher and Alex Gottlieb. Tashlin later revised the film's plotline and reused it in 1962 for the production Bachelor Flat. Comedian Red Skelton has a minor role.

<i>Jupiters Darling</i> 1955 film by George Sidney

Jupiter's Darling is a 1955 American Eastman Color musical romance film released by MGM and directed by George Sidney filmed in CinemaScope. It starred Esther Williams as the Roman woman Amytis, Howard Keel as Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander and George Sanders as Fabius Maximus, Amytis's fiancé. In the film, Amytis helps Hannibal swim the Tiber River to take a closer look at Rome's fortifications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Wells (screenwriter)</span> American screenwriter

George Wells was an American screenwriter and producer, best known for making light comedies and musicals for MGM.

<i>Bundle of Joy</i> 1956 film directed by Norman Taurog

Bundle of Joy is a 1956 American Technicolor musical film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds and Adolphe Menjou. It is a remake of the 1939 comedy film Bachelor Mother which starred Ginger Rogers and David Niven. Produced by Edmund Grainger, it was distributed by RKO Pictures. An unmarried salesgirl at a department store finds and takes care of an abandoned baby. Much confusion results when her co-workers assume the child is hers and that the father is the son of the store owner.

<i>Easy to Wed</i> 1946 film

Easy to Wed is a 1946 Technicolor American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball, and Keenan Wynn. The screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley is an adaptation of the screenplay of the 1936 film Libeled Lady by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Oppenheimer.

<i>Pagan Love Song</i> 1950 film by Robert Alton

Pagan Love Song is a 1950 American romantic musical film released by MGM and starring Esther Williams and Howard Keel. Set in Tahiti, it was based on the novel Tahiti Landfall by William S. Stone.

<i>Queen for a Day</i> (film) 1951 film by Arthur Lubin

Queen for a Day is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin and written by Seton I. Miller. The film stars Jack Bailey, Jim Morgan, Fort Pearson, Melanie York, Cynthia Corley, Kay Wiley and Helen Mowery. The film was released on July 7, 1951 by United Artists.

References

  1. 1 2 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ↑ "BARRY SULLIVAN GETS FILM LEAD". New York Times. Feb 8, 1950. p. 40.
  3. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (July 24, 1950). "Skelton to Go Straight; Rains in Sea Thriller; U-I Buys Best Seller". Los Angeles Times. p. A7.
  4. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (Aug 11, 1950). "'Carnival' Goes All Star; Piper Lacturie Top Billed; Jean Peters 'Lone Woman'". Los Angeles Times. p. A7.
  5. ↑ "HARARI'S COMEDY TO BE MADE FILM". New York Times. Nov 4, 1950. p. 13.
  6. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (Dec 8, 1950). "Looking at Hollywood: 'Fighting U. S. Coast Guards' to Star Brian Donlevy". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. b1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.