Thanks a Million | |
---|---|
Directed by | Roy Del Ruth |
Written by | Nunnally Johnson Story: Darryl F. Zanuck Melville Crossman Uncredited: Fred Allen James Gow Edmund Gross Harry Tugend |
Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck |
Starring | Dick Powell Ann Dvorak Fred Allen |
Cinematography | J. Peverell Marley |
Edited by | Allen McNeil |
Music by | Arthur Lange |
Production company | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Thanks a Million is a 1935 musical film produced and released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Roy Del Ruth. It stars Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak and Fred Allen, and features Patsy Kelly, David Rubinoff and Paul Whiteman and his band with singer/pianist Ramona. The script by Nunnally Johnson was based on a story by producer Darryl F. Zanuck (writing as Melville Crossman) and contained uncredited additional dialogue by Fred Allen, James Gow, Edmund Gross and Harry Tugend.
Thanks a Million was nominated for the Academy Award for Sound (E. H. Hansen) in 1935. [1] It was remade in 1946 as If I'm Lucky , with Perry Como and Phil Silvers in the Powell and Allen roles. [2]
Stranded in a small town in a downpour, the manager of a traveling musical show (Fred Allen) convinces the handlers of a boring long-winded local judge running for governor (Raymond Walburn) to hire his group to attract people to the politician's rallies. When the show's crooner, Eric Land (Dick Powell), upstages the judge, he's fired, but on a return visit he saves the day by standing in for the judge, who is too drunk to speak.
Impressed by his poise, the party's bosses ask Eric to take over as candidate. The singer, knowing he has no chance to win, agrees for the exposure and the radio airtime in which he can showcase his singing. Soon, though, his girlfriend Sally (Ann Dvorak) becomes annoyed at the amount of time Eric is spending with the wife of one of the bosses, and she leaves when she thinks he has lied to her.
When the bosses ask Eric to agree to patronage appointments that will lead to easy graft for all of them, he exposes them on the radio, telling the voters that voting for him would be a huge mistake and urging them to vote for his opponent. At the end Eric is, of course, elected governor, then reunited with Sally.
All music by Arthur Johnston, all lyrics by Gus Kahn.
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
Murder, My Sweet is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley. The film is based on Raymond Chandler's 1940 novel Farewell, My Lovely. It was the first film to feature Chandler's primary character, the hard-boiled private detective Philip Marlowe.
Broadway Melody of 1938 is a 1937 American musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film is essentially a backstage musical revue, featuring high-budget sets and cinematography in the MGM musical tradition. The film stars Eleanor Powell and Robert Taylor and features Buddy Ebsen, George Murphy, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Raymond Walburn, Robert Benchley and Binnie Barnes.
Donald Cecil Porter was an American stage, film, and television actor.
George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, Ann Miller, Eleanor Powell, Bert Lahr and Rudy Vallée. Louise Brooks, Dolores Costello, Barbara Pepper, and Alice Faye got their show business start as lavishly dressed chorus girls strutting to the "Scandal Walk". Much of George Gershwin's early work appeared in the 1920–24 editions of Scandals. The Black Bottom, danced by Ziegfeld Follies star Ann Pennington and Tom Patricola, touched off a national dance craze.
Born to Dance is an American musical film starring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart, directed by Roy Del Ruth and released in 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter.
Honolulu is a 1939 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring dancer Eleanor Powell, Robert Young, George Burns and Gracie Allen. The picture was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Also appearing in the film are Rita Johnson, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Sig Rumann and Ruth Hussey.
The Mayor of Hell is a 1933 American pre-Code Warner Brothers film starring James Cagney. The film was remade in 1938 as Crime School with Humphrey Bogart taking over James Cagney's role and Hell's Kitchen with Ronald Reagan in 1939.
Varsity Show is a 1937 American musical film directed by William Keighley from a script by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, Warren Duff and Sig Herzig and starring Dick Powell, Fred Waring and Waring's Pennsylvanians, Ted Healy, and Priscilla Lane. Released by Warner Bros., it features songs by Richard A. Whiting and many others. The finale was directed by Busby Berkeley.
Raymond Walburn was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s.
Pigskin Parade is a 1936 American musical comedy film which tells the story of husband-and-wife college football coaches who convince a backwoods player to play for their team so they can go to the big game. It was written by William M. Conselman, Mary Kelly, Nat Perrin, Arthur Sheekman, Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen, and was directed by David Butler.
Christmas in July is a 1940 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges based on his 1931 play A Cup of Coffee. It was Sturges' second film as writer-director, after The Great McGinty, and stars Dick Powell and Ellen Drew.
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.
Roy Paul Harvey was a prolific American character actor who appeared in at least 177 films.
Gold Diggers of 1937 is a Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, who were married at the time, with Glenda Farrell and Victor Moore.
The Fighting Temptations is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Saladin K. Patterson, and distributed by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. The main plot revolves around Darrin Hill who travels to his hometown of Monte Carlo, Georgia as he attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition with the help of a beautiful lounge singer and childhood friend, Lilly, with whom he falls in love. Through the choir's music, Darrin brings the church community back together all the while seeking a relationship with Lilly.
Three Daring Daughters is a 1948 musical Technicolor film directed by Fred M. Wilcox and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay was written by Albert Mannheimer, Frederick Kohner, Sonya Levien and John Meehan.
Excuse My Dust is a 1951 musical comedy film starring Red Skelton. It was directed by Roy Rowland and an uncredited Edward Sedgwick.
On the Sunny Side is a 1942 drama film, directed by Harold D. Schuster, starring Roddy McDowall, Jane Darwell and Stanley Clements.
Naughty but Nice is a 1939 Warner Bros. musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright, starring Dick Powell and Ann Sheridan and featuring Gale Page, Ronald Reagan, and Helen Broderick, with Allen Jenkins, ZaSu Pitts, and Maxie Rosenbloom in supporting roles. The original story and screenplay were written by Richard Macaulay and Jerry Wald, and the film includes songs with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, as well as music adapted from Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Mozart, Robert Schumann, and Wagner. Ann Sheridan did her own singing in the film, except for song "In a Moment of Weakness", in which she was dubbed by Vera Van.