Those Redheads from Seattle

Last updated
Those Redheads from Seattle
Those Redheads from Seattle film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lewis R. Foster
Written byLewis R. Foster
Daniel Mainwaring
George Worthing Yates
Produced byWilliam H. Pine
William C. Thomas
Starring Rhonda Fleming
Gene Barry
Agnes Moorehead
Cinematography Lionel Lindon
Edited by Archie Marshek
Music bySidney Cutner
Leo Shuken
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • October 16, 1953 (1953-10-16)(USA)
[1]
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Those Redheads from Seattle is a 1953 American musical western film produced in 3-D directed by Lewis R. Foster and starring Rhonda Fleming, Gene Barry and Agnes Moorehead, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was the first 3-D musical. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

A woman (Moorehead) takes her four unmarried daughters to Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush to help their father, not knowing he is already dead. When the Edmonds women arrive in Skagway, they meet Johnny Kisco, owner of the Klondike Club, whose partner is the one who killed Edmonds, a newspaper publisher.

When the women find out Edmonds is dead and had no money, one becomes a dancer and singer, one becomes a nurse and the other two run the newspaper that was once belonged to their father, trying to run out the owner of the burlesque club. Pat, the singer, falls for Johnny and performs at his club. He is more interested in her sister Kathie, who takes exception to Johnny's ways and decides to wed a more respectable minister.

Johnny departs for Fairbanks to track down his partner, saving him from an avalanche and bringing him back to confess to Edmonds' murder. On the day she's to be married, Kathie, still in her wedding dress, runs to Johnny, realizing she is in love with him.

Cast

Production

The film was originally called The Sisters from Seattle and was to have starred Rhonda Fleming, John Payne and Arlene Dahl. [4] It was going to be the first musical from Pine-Thomas Productions. [5]

In January 1953 it was announced the film would be shot in 3-D. [6]

Dahl dropped out as well and was replaced by Mindy Carson. She fell through and was replaced by singer Teresa Brewer. It was Brewer's first film but Pine and Thomas saw a screen test she made for 20th Century Fox the previous year, and were impressed by a poll of theatre owners which listed her among the top five singers in the country. She had to dye her brown hair red to match Fleming's hair. [7]

In February 1953 Payne was ruled out of the film and was replaced by Gene Barry, who had just starred in War of the Worlds. [8] He was joined by singer Guy Mitchell and performing group The Bell Sisters. [9]

Jean Parker who had made a number of films for Pine-Thomas in the 1940s returned to the screen for the first time in three years to play a role. [10]

Filming started March 1953. In April the title was changed to Those Redheads from Seattle. [11]

Release

The film was released in 3-D and non-3-D versions- Paramount gave exhibitors the right to choose. [12]

Although Kiss Me Kate , released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in November 1953, is often referred to as the first 3-D musical, Those Redheads from Seattle was released a month earlier. [3] [2]

Music

In the film, Teresa Brewer sings the Jerry Livingston/Mack David song "Baby, Baby, Baby", which was released as a single, [13] and later covered by Mindy Carson, Jimmy Witherspoon and other artists.

Mitchell had a hit with "Chicka Boom" written by Bob Merrill that Mitchell sang in the film.

Other songs featured include:

"I Guess It Was You All the Time" written by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael [3]

"Mr. Banjo Man" [14]

"Take Back Your Gold" [14]

Restoration

In September 2006, the film was shown in 3-D for the first time in 50 years at the World 3-D Expo in Hollywood. [15]

In 2017 a digital restoration played at the TCM Festival in Hollywood and at the Seattle International Film Festival. The movie premiered in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre in 1953.

A 3-D Blu Ray was released in May 2017 by Kino Lorber.

Related Research Articles

<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">Teresa Brewer</span> American singer (1931–2007)

Teresa Brewer was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording around 600 songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Mitchell</span> American pop singer and actor (1927–1999)

Guy Mitchell was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. His best-known songs include "My Heart Cries for You", "Heartaches by the Number" and "Singing the Blues".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Russell</span> American actress and model (1921–2011)

Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was an American actress and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Mitchell (actor)</span> American actor and writer (1892-1962)

Thomas John Mitchell was an Irish-American actor and writer. Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, Doc Boone in Stagecoach, Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life, Pat Garrett in The Outlaw, and Mayor Jonas Henderson in High Noon. Mitchell was the first male actor to gain the Triple Crown of Acting by winning an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Downs</span> American actor (1913–1994)

John Morey Downs was an American actor, singer and dancer. He began his career as a child actor, most notably as Johnny in the Our Gang short comedy film series from 1923 to 1926. He remained active in films, television and theatre through the early 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhonda Fleming</span> American actress and singer (1923–2020)

Rhonda Fleming was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamorous actresses of her day, nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" because she photographed so well in that medium.

<i>Serpent of the Nile</i> 1953 film by William Castle

Serpent of the Nile is a 1953 American Technicolor historical adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by William Castle. The film starred Rhonda Fleming, Raymond Burr, William Lundigan and Michael Ansara. In an early role, actress Julie Newmar appears as an exotic dancer clad only in gold paint. It also stars William Lundigan as Lucilius and Michael Fox as Octavius.

<i>Kiss Me Kate</i> (film) 1953 film directed by George Sidney

Kiss Me Kate is a 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation of the 1948 Broadway musical of the same name.

<i>Secret of the Incas</i> 1954 adventure film directed by Jerry Hopper

Secret of the Incas is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Jerry Hopper and starring Charlton Heston as adventurer Harry Steele, on the trail of an ancient Incan artifact. The supporting cast features Robert Young, Nicole Maurey and Thomas Mitchell, as well as a rare film appearance by Peruvian singer Yma Sumac. Shot on location at Machu Picchu in Peru, the film is often credited as the inspiration for Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Pine-Thomas Productions was a prolific B-picture unit of Paramount Pictures from 1940–1957, producing 81 films. Co-producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas were known as the "Dollar Bills" because none of their economically made films ever lost money. "We don't want to make million dollar pictures," they said. "We just want to make a million dollars."

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a 1949 American comedy musical film directed by Tay Garnett and starring Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and William Bendix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Bulldogs baseball</span> Baseball team of the University of Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs baseball team represents the University of Georgia in NCAA Division I college baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Marquis Warren</span> American film director

Charles Marquis Warren was an American motion picture and television writer, producer, and director who specialized in Westerns. Among his notable career achievements were his involvement in creating the television series Rawhide and his work in adapting the radio series Gunsmoke for television.

<i>The Eagle and the Hawk</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Lewis R. Foster

The Eagle and the Hawk is a 1950 American Western film directed by Lewis R. Foster and written by Lewis R. Foster and Daniel Mainwaring. The film stars John Payne, Rhonda Fleming, Dennis O'Keefe, Thomas Gomez, Fred Clark and Frank Faylen. The film was released on May 30, 1950, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Baby, Baby, Baby</i> (Jimmy Witherspoon album) 1963 studio album by Jimmy Witherspoon

Baby, Baby, Baby is an album by blues vocalist Jimmy Witherspoon which was recorded in 1963 and released on the Prestige label. The title track, "Baby Baby Baby" with music by Jerry Livingston and lyrics by Mack David, was written in 1950 but first sung by Teresa Brewer in the film Those Redheads from Seattle (1953), and then became title track of the album Baby, Baby, Baby by Mindy Carson.

<i>Jivaro</i> (film) 1954 film by Edward Ludwig

Jivaro is a 1954 American 3-D adventure film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Fernando Lamas, Rhonda Fleming and Brian Keith. Publicity material for the film translates Jivaro as "headhunters of the Amazon". Originally filmed in 3-D, due to a decline in interest Jivaro was not presented in that format in its original 1954 theatrical release. It finally had its 3-D debut on September 17, 2006 at "The World 3-D Expo" in Hollywood.

<i>Tropic Zone</i> (film) 1953 film by Lewis R. Foster

Tropic Zone is a 1953 American crime film written and directed by Lewis R. Foster and starring Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, Estelita Rodriguez, Noah Beery Jr., Grant Withers and John Wengraf. It was released on January 14, 1953, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Baby, Baby, Baby</i> (Mindy Carson album) 1958 studio album by Mindy Carson

Baby, Baby, Baby is a 1958 album by Mindy Carson. The title track, "Baby Baby Baby" with lyrics by Mack David, music by Jerry Livingston was a No.12 hit single for Teresa Brewer who sang the song in the film Those Redheads from Seattle (1953).

"Baby, Baby, Baby" is a 1953 hit song by Teresa Brewer from the film, Those Redheads from Seattle. The song was written in 1950 by Jerry Livingston and lyricist Mack David. The song was sung by Brewer in the role of a singer, who appears through a red curtain line of dancing girls and commences the lyrics: "Baby, Baby, Baby love me love me do, Baby, Baby, Baby love me love true." The song reached No. 12 in the US hit parade in December 1953. Coral released the record first in 1953 as 9-61067 with the B-side, "I Guess It Was You All The Time", written by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, then in 1954 as an EP, EC 81086 with A2: "Jilted" Robert Colby and Dick Manning, Track B1: "Chicago Style" James Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, and B2 "My Sweetie Went Away " written by Roy Turk, and Lou Handman.

References

  1. Movieland Briefs. Los Angeles Times 15 September 1953: B7.
  2. 1 2 "Film Reviews: Those Redheads From Seattle". Variety . September 23, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved October 7, 2019 via Archive.org.
  3. 1 2 3 Those Redheads from Seattle at the American Film Institute Catalog
  4. Five Redheads to Star in Pine-Thomas Film. Los Angeles Times 19 July 1952: 6.
  5. Pine, Thomas Heady First Musical Film. Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times 29 January 1953: A6.
  6. Disney Films Set to Grow in Length. New York Times 31 January 1953: 10.
  7. Things Just Happen for Jukebox Queen: Teresa Brewer in Hollywood to Do Film With Rhonda, Other Disc Stars Thomas, Bob. Los Angeles Times 22 March 1953: D3.
  8. Looking at Hollywood: Gene Barry to Do Musical in 3 Dimensions Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 13 February 1953: A6.
  9. First Film Entrances Singing Bell Sisters Los Angeles Times 1 February 1953: D1.
  10. Skeleton Returns to Metro Studio. New York Times 12 March 1953: 24.
  11. Paulette Goddard Will Star as Jezebel Los Angeles Times 23 Apr 1953: B9.
  12. Warner Process Dropped for Film. New York Times 14 October 1953: 35.
  13. Billboard - October 31, 1953 - Page 30 Teresa Brewer. Baby, Baby, Baby 78 Coral 61067— "Baby" is from the current flick "Those Redheads From Seattle." Artfully phrased and styled. Miss Brewer turns in a socko performance on this romantic ballad. Her fans will be mighty pleased."
  14. 1 2 "Those Redheads From Seattle advertisement". Variety . September 9, 1953. p. 21. Retrieved September 30, 2019 via Archive.org.
  15. World 3-D Expo website