New Faces (film)
Encyclopedia
New Faces is a 1954 American film adaptation of the musical revue New Faces of 1952
directed by Harry Horner and sketches directed by John Beal. Filmed in Cinemascope
and Eastmancolor it was released by Twentieth Century Fox on March 6, 1954.
The film is also known as New Faces of 1952.
Ronny Graham, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Alice Ghostley, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Carol Lawrence, Patricia Hammerlee, Paul Lynde, and Bill Millikin reprised their stage roles.
New Faces of 1952
New Faces of 1952 is a musical revue with songs and comedy skits. It ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954...
directed by Harry Horner and sketches directed by John Beal. Filmed in Cinemascope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
and Eastmancolor it was released by Twentieth Century Fox on March 6, 1954.
The film is also known as New Faces of 1952.
Ronny Graham, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Alice Ghostley, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Carol Lawrence, Patricia Hammerlee, Paul Lynde, and Bill Millikin reprised their stage roles.
Plot summary
The film was basically a reproduction of the stage revue with a thin plot added. The plot involved a producer and performer (Ronny Graham) in financial trouble on opening night. A wealthy Texan offers to help out, on the condition that his daughter be in the show.Cast
- Ronny GrahamRonny GrahamRonny Graham was an American actor and theatre director, composer, lyricist, and writer.Graham was born Ronald Montcrief Stringer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of five children born to vaudeville performers Florence and Thomas Graham Stringer . Graham...
as Himself - Eartha KittEartha KittEartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
as Herself - Robert ClaryRobert ClaryRobert Clary is a French-born American actor, published author, and lecturer, best known for his role in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes as Corporal LeBeau.-Early life and career:...
as Himself - Alice GhostleyAlice GhostleyAlice Margaret Ghostley was an American actress. She was best known for her roles as housekeeper Esmeralda on Bewitched, as Cousin Alice on Mayberry R.F.D., and as Bernice Clifton on Designing Women, for which she received an Emmy Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1992...
as Herself - June CarrollJune CarrollJune Carroll was an American lyricist, singer and actress.Born June Sillman in Detroit, Michigan, Carroll appeared in the Broadway musical New Faces of 1952, singing the Murray Grand standard, Guess Who I Saw Today, as well as two songs that she also wrote: Penny Candy and Love is a Simple...
as Herself - Virginia Wilson as Herself
- Paul LyndePaul LyndePaul Edward Lynde was an American comedian and actor. A noted character actor, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and Harry MacAfee, the befuddled father in Bye Bye Birdie...
as Himself - Bill Mullikin as Himself
- Rosemary O'Reilly as Herself
- Allen Conroy as Herself
- Jimmy Russell as Himself
- George SmileyGeorge SmileyGeorge Smiley is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is an intelligence officer working for MI6 , the British overseas intelligence agency...
as Himself - Polly WardPolly Ward-Selected filmography:* The Marriage Business * Alf's Button * Harmony Heaven * His Lordship * The Old Curiosity Shop * Feather Your Nest * Hold My Hand * Thank Evans...
as Herself - Carol Lawrence as Herself
- Johnny Laverty as Himself
- Elizabeth Logue as Herself
- Faith Burwell as Herself
- Clark Ranger as Himself
Soundtrack
The song order was changed and expanded and some songs were omitted, or had their lyrics updated. The song "Natty Puts her Hair Up" was omitted, however, an abridged version was used as an instrumental in a dance routine. The song "Don't Fall Asleep" was omitted. The song "Love is a Simple thing" omitted the final verse, being the Charles Addams character verse, because it was too outdated. Also, an extra verse was added to "Lizzie Borden". Some of the lines in "Monotonous" were replaced and updated, omitting the line "Ike Likes Me", and being replaced with writing the "Dragnet" theme instead.- Company - "Opening" (Music by Ronny GrahamRonny GrahamRonny Graham was an American actor and theatre director, composer, lyricist, and writer.Graham was born Ronald Montcrief Stringer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of five children born to vaudeville performers Florence and Thomas Graham Stringer . Graham...
, lyrics by Peter DeVries) - Eartha Kitt - "C'est si bonC'est si bon"C'est si bon" is a popular song, sometimes also referred to by the English translation of the title, "It's So Good". The music was written in 1947 by Henri Betti, the French lyrics by André Hornez, and the English lyrics by Jerry Seelen...
" (Music by Henri Betti, lyrics by André Hornez) - Virginia Wilson - "He Takes Me off His Income Tax" (Music by Arthur SiegelArthur SiegelArthur Siegel was an American songwriter.Born on December 31, 1923 in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, he grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey...
, lyrics by June CarrollJune CarrollJune Carroll was an American lyricist, singer and actress.Born June Sillman in Detroit, Michigan, Carroll appeared in the Broadway musical New Faces of 1952, singing the Murray Grand standard, Guess Who I Saw Today, as well as two songs that she also wrote: Penny Candy and Love is a Simple...
) - Robert Clary, Carol Lawrence, Virginia Wilson , Patricia Hammerlee and Bill Mullikin - "Lucky Pierre" (Music and lyrics by Ronny GrahamRonny GrahamRonny Graham was an American actor and theatre director, composer, lyricist, and writer.Graham was born Ronald Montcrief Stringer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of five children born to vaudeville performers Florence and Thomas Graham Stringer . Graham...
) - June Carroll and Company - "Penny Candy" (Music by Arthur Siegel, lyrics by June Carroll)
- Alice Ghostley - "Boston Beguine" (Music and lyrics by Sheldon HarnickSheldon HarnickSheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
) - Rosemary O'Reilly, Robert Clary and Eartha Kitt - "Love Is a Simple Thing" (Music by Arthur Siegel, lyrics by June Carroll)
- June Carroll and Alice Ghostley - "Time for Tea" (Music by Arthur Siegel, lyrics by June Carroll)
- Robert Clary, Carol Lawrence, Virginia Wilson , and Patricia Hammerlee - "AlouetteAlouette (song)"Alouette" is a popular French Canadian children's song originating in France about plucking the feathers from a lark. Although it is in French, it is well-known among speakers of other languages; in this way it is similar to "Frère Jacques"...
" (Traditional) - Eartha Kitt - "Santa BabySanta Baby"Santa Baby" is a 1953 Christmas song written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer. Although Tony Springer is listed as co-writer, he was a legal fiction created for purposes of membership in the performing rights organization BMI.The song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list sung by a...
" (Music by Philip Springer, lyrics by Joan Javits and Tony Springer) - Ronny Graham and Alice Ghostley - "Waltzing in Venice / Take off the Mask" (Music and lyrics by Ronny Graham)
- Robert Clary - "Raining Memories" (Music and lyrics by Ronny Graham)
- Eartha Kitt - "Uska DaraUska DaraUska Dara is a 1953 song by Eartha Kitt. It is based on the Turkish folk song Kâtibim about a woman and her secretary traveling to Üsküdar. Eartha Kitt recorded it with Henri René and his orchestra at Manhattan Center, New York City, on March 13, 1953...
" (Traditional) - Robert Clary - "I'm in Love with Miss Logan" (Music and lyrics by Ronny Graham)
- Company - "Lizzie Borden (song)" (Music and lyrics by Michael Brown)
- Eartha Kitt and Robert Clary - "Bal Petit Bal" (Music and lyrics by Francis Lemarque)
- Eartha Kitt - "Monotonous" (Music by Arthur Siegel, lyrics by June Carroll)
- "Crazy, Man!" (Lynde, Graham)
- "Convention Bound" (Graham)