Call Me Madam (film)
Encyclopedia
Call Me Madam is a 1953 musical film
directed by Walter Lang
, with songs by Irving Berlin, based on the stage musical of the same name
.
The film, with a screenplay
by Arthur Sheekman
, starred Ethel Merman
, Donald O'Connor
, Vera-Ellen
, Billy DeWolfe, George Sanders
, and Walter Slezak
. The film replaced "Washington Square Dance" with the older "International Rag
", and interpolated "What Chance Have I With Love?" from Berlin's Louisiana Purchase (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor). A soundtrack album
was released by Decca
as a 10-inch LP, and was released on CD in 2004 by Hallmark. The numbers "The Hostess with the Mostes'" and "You're Just in Love
" are included on the Rhino Records CD
set Irving Berlin in Hollywood. The film was out of circulation for many years but was issued on DVD in 2004.
Merman won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Alfred Newman
won the Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, and Irene Sharaff
was nominated for her costume design. Lang was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures by the Directors Guild of America
and the Grand Prize at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival
, and Sheekman's screenplay was nominated Best Written American Musical by the Writers Guild of America
.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
directed by Walter Lang
Walter Lang
Walter Lang was an American film director.-Early life:Walter Lang was born in Memphis, Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a film production company. The business piqued his artistic instincts and he began learning the various facets of filmmaking...
, with songs by Irving Berlin, based on the stage musical of the same name
Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.A satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries, it centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed...
.
The film, with a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Arthur Sheekman
Arthur Sheekman
Arthur Sheekman , a graduate from the University of Minnesota, started his career as columnist and drama critic during the 1920s and the early 1930s for the Manhattan Newspaper. He then entered the film industry in 1931 when he became a scenarist for the Marx Brothers' movie Monkey Business where...
, starred Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
, Donald O'Connor
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
, Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen was an American actress and dancer, principally celebrated for her filmed dance partnerships with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor.-Early life:...
, Billy DeWolfe, George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
, and Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
. The film replaced "Washington Square Dance" with the older "International Rag
That International Rag
"That International Rag" is a song composed by Irving Berlin in 1913. Berlin wrote the song the night before its debut, when he needed a new opening number for his act while on tour in England....
", and interpolated "What Chance Have I With Love?" from Berlin's Louisiana Purchase (sung and danced by Donald O'Connor). A soundtrack album
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
was released by Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
as a 10-inch LP, and was released on CD in 2004 by Hallmark. The numbers "The Hostess with the Mostes'" and "You're Just in Love
You're Just in Love
"You're Just in Love" is a popular song by Irving Berlin. It was published in 1950 and was first performed by Ethel Merman and Russell Nype in Call Me Madam, a musical comedy that debuted at the Imperial Theatre in New York City on October 12 that year. The show ran for 644 performances. Ethel...
" are included on the Rhino Records CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
set Irving Berlin in Hollywood. The film was out of circulation for many years but was issued on DVD in 2004.
Merman won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
won the Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, and Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award.- Background :...
was nominated for her costume design. Lang was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures by the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
and the Grand Prize at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival
1953 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jean Cocteau *Louis Chauvet *Titina De Filippo *Guy Desson *Philippe Erlanger *Renée Faure *Jacques-Pierre Frogerais *Abel Gance *André Lang...
, and Sheekman's screenplay was nominated Best Written American Musical by the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
.
Cast
- Ethel MermanEthel MermanEthel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
- Sally Adams - Donald O'ConnorDonald O'ConnorDonald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
- Kenneth Gibson - Vera-EllenVera-EllenVera-Ellen was an American actress and dancer, principally celebrated for her filmed dance partnerships with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor.-Early life:...
- Princess Maria - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
- General Cosmo Constantine - Billy De WolfeBilly De WolfeBilly De Wolfe was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. He was a good friend of Doris Day from the time of their meeting during the filming of Tea for Two until his death...
- Pemberton Maxwell - Helmut DantineHelmut DantineHelmut Dantine was a film actor remembered for playing many Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. The Vienna-born actor appeared uncredited in Casablanca early in his career .Dantine's father was the head of the Austrian railway system...
- Prince Hugo - Walter SlezakWalter SlezakWalter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
- August Tantinnin - Steven GeraySteven GeraySteven Geray, born Istvan Gyergyay on November 10, 1904 and died aged 69 on December 26, 1973 in Los Angeles, California. He was a film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs...
- Prime Minister Sebastian - Ludwig StösselLudwig StösselLudwig Stössel was an actor born in Lockenhaus, Austria. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses that were forced to flee Europe when the Nazis came to power in 1933....
- Grand Duke Otto (as Ludwig Stossel) - Lilia SkalaLilia Skala-Early life:Skala was born Lilia Sofer in Vienna, Austria. Her mother, Katharina Skala, was Catholic, and her father, Julius Sofer, was Jewish and worked as a manufacturers representative for the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company. In the late 1930s, she was forced to flee her Nazi-occupied homeland with...
- Grand Duchess Sophie - Charles DingleCharles DingleCharles Dingle was an American stage and film actor.He was best-known for his role as Ben Hubbard in The Little Foxes and for his role as a senator in the film version of Call Me Madam...
- Sen. Brockway - Emory ParnellEmory ParnellEmory Parnell was an American vaudevillian and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36 year career...
- Sen. Charlie Gallagher - Percy HeltonPercy HeltonPercy Helton was an American film and television actor.One of his most memorable supporting roles was playing a drunken Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. He also appeared in small but memorable roles in Criss Cross , The Set-Up , Kiss Me Deadly and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...
- Sen. Wilkins - Richard EasthamRichard EasthamRichard Eastham, born as Dickinson Swift Eastham , was an American actor of stage, film, and television and a concert singer known for his deep baritone voice.-Tombstone Territory:...
-