S.Z. Sakall
Encyclopedia
Szőke Szakáll known as S.Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian film
character actor
. He was in many films including In the Good Old Summertime
, Lullaby of Broadway
, Christmas in Connecticut
and Casablanca
in which he played Carl, the head waiter.
Chubby-jowled Sakall played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood musicals and comedies in the 1940s and 1950s. His rotund cuteness earned Sakall the nickname "Cuddles," and he was often billed as S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall in his later films, though he was never happy with the name. He was famous for using the phrase "everything is hunky dunky."
, Hungary
to a Jewish
family. During his schooldays, he was writing sketches for Budapest vaudeville
shows under the pen-name Szőke Szakáll ("blonde beard", in reference to his own beard, grown to make him look older), which he affected when at the age of 18 he turned to acting.
The actor became a star of the Hungarian stage and screen in the 1910s and 1920s. At the beginning of the 1920s, he moved to Vienna
, where he appeared in Hermann Leopoldi's Kabarett Leopoldi-Wiesenthal. In the 1930s, he was, next to Hans Moser
, the most significant representative of the Wiener Film
, the Viennese light romantic comedy genre. He also appeared in Berlin
.
His first film role was in 1927, in Familientag im Hause Prellstein. In 1929, he appeared in Ihre Majestät die Liebe (which was remade in Hollywood as Her Majesty Love, with W.C. Fields in Sakall's role) and Two Hearts in Waltz Time
in 1930. For a brief period during this time, he ran his own production company.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany
in 1933, Sakall was forced to return to Hungary. He was involved in over 40 movies in his native land. When Hungary joined the Axis
in 1940, he headed for Hollywood with his wife. Many of Sakall's close relatives later died in Nazi concentration camps, including all three of his sisters and his niece, as well as his wife's brother and sister.
comedy It's a Date
opposite Deanna Durbin
. His first big hit was Ball of Fire
with Gary Cooper
and Barbara Stanwyck
. Later, he signed a contract with Warner Brothers, where he had a number of other small roles, including in 1942's Yankee Doodle Dandy
with James Cagney
.
or Sydney Greenstreet
.
with Barbara Stanwyck
. Sakall appeared in four films in 1948: the drama Embraceable You
, followed by April Showers
, Michael Curtiz
's Romance on the High Seas
(Doris Day
's film debut), and Whiplash
.
1949
was a big year for Sakall. He was in four top movies. First Sakall played Felix Hofer in the Doris Day's second film, My Dream Is Yours
. Later that year, he starred with June Haver
and Ray Bolger
in Look for the Silver Lining
. Next, he played Otto Oberkugen in In the Good Old Summertime
, with Judy Garland
and Van Johnson
. Finally, Sakall was given the principal role of songwriter Fred Fisher in Oh, You Beautiful Doll
, though top billing went to June Haver.
Sakall appeared in nine more movies during the 1950s, two of them musicals with Doris Day
, playing J. Maxwell Bloomhaus in Tea for Two
and Adolph Hubbell in Lullaby of Broadway
. His other roles included: Poppa Schultz in the Errol Flynn
western Montana; Miklos Teretzky in the June Haver musical The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
; Don Miguel in the Randolph Scott
western Sugarfoot
; Uncle Felix in the musical Painting the Clouds with Sunshine with Virginia Mayo
; in one of the episodes in the movie It's A Big Country
which featured such famous names as Gene Kelly
, Van Johnson
, Gary Cooper
, Janet Leigh
, Fredric March
and Ethel Barrymore
. His last movie was in 1954 where he had the role of Joseph Ruder in The Student Prince
.
in Glendale, California
, which is also the resting place of Casablanca co-stars Humphrey Bogart
, Sydney Greenstreet
, and John Qualen
along with producer Hal B. Wallis
, director Michael Curtiz
and composer Max Steiner
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. He was in many films including In the Good Old Summertime
In the Good Old Summertime
In the Good Old Summertime is a 1949 musical film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It starred Judy Garland, Van Johnson and S.Z. Sakall.The film is a musical adaptation of the 1940 film, The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, and...
, Lullaby of Broadway
Lullaby of Broadway (film)
Lullaby of Broadway is a musical romantic comedy film released by Warner Bros. in 1951. It starred Doris Day as Melinda Howard, an entertainer who travels to New York to see her mother, and Gene Nelson as Tom Farnham, a fellow entertainer and Melinda's love interest. Gladys George appears as...
, Christmas in Connecticut
Christmas in Connecticut
Christmas in Connecticut is a 1945 American Christmas film and romantic comedy directed by Peter Godfrey, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet.-Plot:...
and Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
in which he played Carl, the head waiter.
Chubby-jowled Sakall played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood musicals and comedies in the 1940s and 1950s. His rotund cuteness earned Sakall the nickname "Cuddles," and he was often billed as S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall in his later films, though he was never happy with the name. He was famous for using the phrase "everything is hunky dunky."
Early life and career
Szőke Szakáll was born Gerő Jenő in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to a Jewish
History of the Jews in Hungary
Hungarian Jews have existed since at least the 11th century. After struggling against discrimination throughout the Middle Ages, by the early 20th century the community grew to be 5% of Hungary's population , and were prominent in science, the arts and business...
family. During his schooldays, he was writing sketches for Budapest vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
shows under the pen-name Szőke Szakáll ("blonde beard", in reference to his own beard, grown to make him look older), which he affected when at the age of 18 he turned to acting.
The actor became a star of the Hungarian stage and screen in the 1910s and 1920s. At the beginning of the 1920s, he moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where he appeared in Hermann Leopoldi's Kabarett Leopoldi-Wiesenthal. In the 1930s, he was, next to Hans Moser
Hans Moser (actor)
Hans Moser was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film...
, the most significant representative of the Wiener Film
Wiener Film
Wiener Film is an Austrian film genre, consisting of a combination of comedy, romance and melodrama in an historical setting, mostly, and typically, the Vienna of the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
, the Viennese light romantic comedy genre. He also appeared in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
His first film role was in 1927, in Familientag im Hause Prellstein. In 1929, he appeared in Ihre Majestät die Liebe (which was remade in Hollywood as Her Majesty Love, with W.C. Fields in Sakall's role) and Two Hearts in Waltz Time
Two Hearts in Waltz Time
Two Hearts in Waltz Time is a 1930 German film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Walter Janssen, Oskar Karlweis, Willi Forst, Gretl Theimer and S.Z. Sakall...
in 1930. For a brief period during this time, he ran his own production company.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1933, Sakall was forced to return to Hungary. He was involved in over 40 movies in his native land. When Hungary joined the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
in 1940, he headed for Hollywood with his wife. Many of Sakall's close relatives later died in Nazi concentration camps, including all three of his sisters and his niece, as well as his wife's brother and sister.
The war years
Sakall began a career that included "an endless succession of excitable theatrical impresarios, lovable European uncles and befuddled shopkeepers." His first Hollywood role was in the 19401940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
comedy It's a Date
It's a Date
It's a Date is a 1940 Universal musical film directed by William A. Seiter. The film was remade in 1950 as Nancy Goes to Rio.-Plot:The movie begins with Georgia Drake performing on the stage singing, "Gypsy Lullaby" while her daughter, Pamela , watches with her boyfriend Freddie Miller...
opposite Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
. His first big hit was Ball of Fire
Ball of Fire
Ball of Fire is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The RKO Pictures film is about a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia and their encounter with a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge...
with Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
. Later, he signed a contract with Warner Brothers, where he had a number of other small roles, including in 1942's Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
with James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
.
Casablanca
Later that year, at the age of 59, he portrayed his most famous character, Carl the head waiter in Casablanca. Producer Hal Wallis signed Sakall for the role three weeks after filming had begun. When he was first offered the part, Sakall hated it and turned it down. Sakall finally agreed to take the role provided they gave him four weeks of work. The two sides eventually agreed on three weeks. He received $1,750 per week for a total of $5,250. He actually had more screen time than either Peter LorrePeter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
or Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
.
Later career
Sakall appeared in 30 more movies after this, including 1945's Christmas in ConnecticutChristmas in Connecticut
Christmas in Connecticut is a 1945 American Christmas film and romantic comedy directed by Peter Godfrey, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet.-Plot:...
with Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
. Sakall appeared in four films in 1948: the drama Embraceable You
Embraceable You
"Embraceable You" is a popular song, with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was originally written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named East is West. It was eventually published in 1930 and included in the Broadway musical Girl Crazy. where it was performed by...
, followed by April Showers
April Showers
"April Showers" is a popular song.The music was written by Louis Silvers, the lyrics by B. G. De Sylva. The song was published in 1921.The song was introduced in the 1921 Broadway musical Bombo, where it was performed by Al Jolson. It has become a well-known Jolson trademark, recorded by him many...
, Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
's Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas is a 1948 Technicolor musical romantic comedy film starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and Doris Day in her film debut....
(Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
's film debut), and Whiplash
Whiplash (1948 film)
Whiplash is a 1948 American film noir directed by Lewis Seiler and written by Kenneth Earl, Harriet Frank Jr., Maurice Geraghty and Gordon Kahn. The film stars Dane Clark, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden....
.
1949
1949 in film
The year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
was a big year for Sakall. He was in four top movies. First Sakall played Felix Hofer in the Doris Day's second film, My Dream Is Yours
My Dream Is Yours
My Dream Is Yours is a 1949 musical romantic comedy film starring Doris Day, Jack Carson and Lee Bowman.The film is perhaps best remembered today for an extended dream sequence combining animation and live action which featured a cameo appearance by Bugs Bunny, dancing with Jack Carson and Doris...
. Later that year, he starred with June Haver
June Haver
June Haver , was an American film actress. She is most well known as a popular star of 20th Century-Fox musicals in the late 1940s, most notably The Dolly Sisters with Betty Grable and John Payne and also for playing the 1920s Broadway actress Marilyn Miller in Look for the Silver Lining...
and Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
in Look for the Silver Lining
Look for the Silver Lining (film)
Look for the Silver Lining is a 1949 film directed by David Butler. It stars June Haver and Ray Bolger. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1950.-Cast:*June Haver as Marilyn Miller*Ray Bolger as Jack Donahue*Gordon MacRae as Frank Carter...
. Next, he played Otto Oberkugen in In the Good Old Summertime
In the Good Old Summertime
In the Good Old Summertime is a 1949 musical film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It starred Judy Garland, Van Johnson and S.Z. Sakall.The film is a musical adaptation of the 1940 film, The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, and...
, with Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
and Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
. Finally, Sakall was given the principal role of songwriter Fred Fisher in Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Oh, You Beautiful Doll
"Oh, You Beautiful Doll" is a ragtime love song published in 1911 with words by Seymour Brown and music by Nat D. Ayer. The song was one of the first with a twelve-bar opening. It is well-known by its chorus:*...
, though top billing went to June Haver.
Sakall appeared in nine more movies during the 1950s, two of them musicals with Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, playing J. Maxwell Bloomhaus in Tea for Two
Tea for Two (film)
Tea for Two is a 1950 American musical film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Harry Clork and William Jacobs was inspired by the 1925 stage musical No, No Nanette, although the plot was changed considerably from the original book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, and the score by Harbach,...
and Adolph Hubbell in Lullaby of Broadway
Lullaby of Broadway (film)
Lullaby of Broadway is a musical romantic comedy film released by Warner Bros. in 1951. It starred Doris Day as Melinda Howard, an entertainer who travels to New York to see her mother, and Gene Nelson as Tom Farnham, a fellow entertainer and Melinda's love interest. Gladys George appears as...
. His other roles included: Poppa Schultz in the Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
western Montana; Miklos Teretzky in the June Haver musical The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady is a 1950 film directed by David Butler. It stars June Haver and Gordon MacRae.-Cast:*June Haver as Patricia O'Grady*Gordon MacRae as Tony Pastor*Debbie Reynolds as Maureen O'Grady*Gene Nelson as Doug Martin...
; Don Miguel in the Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
western Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
; Uncle Felix in the musical Painting the Clouds with Sunshine with Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
; in one of the episodes in the movie It's A Big Country
It's a Big Country
It's a Big Country is a 1951 anthology film directed by Clarence Brown, Don Hartman, John Sturges, Richard Thorpe, Charles Vidor, Don Weis, and William A. Wellman.-External links:...
which featured such famous names as Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
, Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
, Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
, Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
and Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
. His last movie was in 1954 where he had the role of Joseph Ruder in The Student Prince
The Student Prince (film)
The Student Prince is a 1954 CinemaScope color film musical featuring, as the credits read, "the singing voice of Mario Lanza". Lanza had become embroiled in a bitter dispute with MGM during production and the studio dismissed him. Under the terms of the settlement with Lanza, MGM retained the...
.
Death
Sakall died of a heart attack in Hollywood shortly after filming the The Student Prince on February 12, 1955, ten days after his 72nd birthday. Sakall is buried in the Garden of Memory in Forest Lawn Memorial ParkForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, which is also the resting place of Casablanca co-stars Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
, and John Qualen
John Qualen
John Qualen was a Canadian-American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles....
along with producer Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis was an American film producer.-Career:Harold Brent Wallis was born in Chicago in 1898. His family moved in 1922 to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as part of the publicity department at Warner Bros...
, director Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
and composer Max Steiner
Max Steiner
Max Steiner was an Austrian composer of music for theatre productions and films. He later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Trained by the great classical music composers Brahms and Mahler, he was one of the first composers who primarily wrote music for motion pictures, and as...
.
Partial filmography
- Two Hearts in Waltz TimeTwo Hearts in Waltz TimeTwo Hearts in Waltz Time is a 1930 German film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Walter Janssen, Oskar Karlweis, Willi Forst, Gretl Theimer and S.Z. Sakall...
, originally titled Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt or Zwei Herzen im Dreiviertel Takt (1930) - The SqueakerThe Squeaker (1931 film)The Squeaker is a 1931 German drama film directed by Martin Frič and Karel Lamač.-Cast:* Lissy Arna as Lillie / Millie Trent * Karl Ludwig Diehl as Captain Leslie * Fritz Rasp as Frank Sutton...
(1931) - It's a DateIt's a DateIt's a Date is a 1940 Universal musical film directed by William A. Seiter. The film was remade in 1950 as Nancy Goes to Rio.-Plot:The movie begins with Georgia Drake performing on the stage singing, "Gypsy Lullaby" while her daughter, Pamela , watches with her boyfriend Freddie Miller...
(1940) - The Devil and Miss JonesThe Devil and Miss JonesThe Devil and Miss Jones is a 1941 comedy film starring Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn. Directed by Sam Wood and scripted by Norman Krasna, the film was the product of an independent collaboration between Krasna and producer Frank Ross...
(1941) - That Night in RioThat Night in RioThat Night in Rio is a 1941 musical comedy film starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda and Don Ameche . It is one of several film adaptations of a play called The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler...
(1941) - Ball of FireBall of FireBall of Fire is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The RKO Pictures film is about a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia and their encounter with a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge...
(1941) - BroadwayBroadway (1942 film)Broadway is a 1942 film about Broadway theatre with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair, Broderick Crawford, Marjorie Rambeau, Anne Gwynne, and S.Z. Sakall. Raft plays himself, recalling an incident early in his pre-movie career as a dancer. The movie was directed by William A....
(1942) - Yankee Doodle DandyYankee Doodle DandyYankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
(1942) - CasablancaCasablanca (film)Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
(1942) - Thank Your Lucky StarsThank Your Lucky Stars (1943 film)Thank Your Lucky Stars is a film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser. It was directed by David Butler and starred Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S. Z...
(1943) - Wonder ManWonder Man (film)Wonder Man is a 1945 film starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. It is based on a short story by Arthur Sheekman, adapted for the screen by a staff of writers led by Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and directed by H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1945) - Christmas in ConnecticutChristmas in ConnecticutChristmas in Connecticut is a 1945 American Christmas film and romantic comedy directed by Peter Godfrey, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet.-Plot:...
(1945) - The Dolly SistersThe Dolly SistersThe Dolly Sisters is a 1945 American biographical film about the Dolly Sisters, identical twins who became famous as entertainers on Broadway and in Europe in the early years of the twentieth century. It starred Betty Grable as Jenny and June Haver as Rosie.-Cast:*Betty Grable as Yansci "Jenny"...
(1945) - San AntonioSan Antonio (film)San Antonio is a 1945 western Technicolor film starring Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith. The movie was written by W. R. Burnett and Alan Le May, and directed by David Butler as well as uncredited Robert Florey and Raoul Walsh....
(1945) - Two Guys from MilwaukeeTwo Guys from MilwaukeeTwo Guys from Milwaukee is a 1946 comedy film about a Balkan prince who wants to see for himself what America is really like. So he slips away from his entourage in New York and pretends to be an average guy. The comedy movie stars Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, and Jack Carson.Morgan, Carson,...
(1946) - Never Say GoodbyeNever Say Goodbye (1946 film)Never Say Goodbye is a 1946 romantic comedy film about a divorcing couple and the daughter who works to bring them back together.-Cast:* Errol Flynn as Phil Gayley* Eleanor Parker as Ellen Gayley* Lucile Watson as Mrs. Hamilton* S. Z...
(1946) - Romance on the High SeasRomance on the High SeasRomance on the High Seas is a 1948 Technicolor musical romantic comedy film starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and Doris Day in her film debut....
(1948) - Embraceable YouEmbraceable You (film)Embraceable You is a 1948 romantic drama film starring Dane Clark and Geraldine Brooks, and directed by Felix Jacoves. A getaway car, leaving the scene of a murder, strikes and injures a woman. Afterward, the driver visits her in the hospital.-Cast:...
(1948) - Oh, You Beautiful DollOh, You Beautiful Doll (film)Oh, You Beautiful Doll was a 1949 musical film that starred the musical queen June Haver and Mark Stevens. Co-stars included S.Z. Sakall, Charlotte Greenwood, and Gale Robbins.- Plot :...
(1949) - My Dream Is YoursMy Dream Is YoursMy Dream Is Yours is a 1949 musical romantic comedy film starring Doris Day, Jack Carson and Lee Bowman.The film is perhaps best remembered today for an extended dream sequence combining animation and live action which featured a cameo appearance by Bugs Bunny, dancing with Jack Carson and Doris...
(1949) - In the Good Old SummertimeIn the Good Old SummertimeIn the Good Old Summertime is a 1949 musical film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It starred Judy Garland, Van Johnson and S.Z. Sakall.The film is a musical adaptation of the 1940 film, The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, and...
(1949) - Tea for TwoTea for Two (film)Tea for Two is a 1950 American musical film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Harry Clork and William Jacobs was inspired by the 1925 stage musical No, No Nanette, although the plot was changed considerably from the original book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, and the score by Harbach,...
(1950) - SugarfootSugarfoot (1951 film)Sugarfoot is a 1951 western film starring Randolph Scott as Jackson 'Sugarfoot' Redan and featuring Adele Jergens and Raymond Massey.Aside from the title, the movie has nothing to do with the 1957 television series of the same name...
(1951) - Lullaby of BroadwayLullaby of Broadway (film)Lullaby of Broadway is a musical romantic comedy film released by Warner Bros. in 1951. It starred Doris Day as Melinda Howard, an entertainer who travels to New York to see her mother, and Gene Nelson as Tom Farnham, a fellow entertainer and Melinda's love interest. Gladys George appears as...
(1951) - Small Town GirlSmall Town Girl (1953 film)Small Town Girl is a 1953 musical film directed by László Kardos and starring Jane Powell, Farley Granger, and Ann Miller. Busby Berkeley choreographed several dance numbers. Bobby Van performed the memorable "Street Dance", in which he hopped all around town. The film features song performances...
(1953) - The Student PrinceThe Student Prince (film)The Student Prince is a 1954 CinemaScope color film musical featuring, as the credits read, "the singing voice of Mario Lanza". Lanza had become embroiled in a bitter dispute with MGM during production and the studio dismissed him. Under the terms of the settlement with Lanza, MGM retained the...
(1954)