Song

"When My Baby Smiles at Me", music by Bill Munro with words by Andrew B. Sterling

Andrew B. Sterling

Andrew B. Sterling was an American lyricist.Born in New York City, after he graduated from high school, he began writing songs and vaudevilles. An important event was his meeting with the composer Harry Von Tilzer in 1898...

 and Ted Lewis

Ted Lewis (musician)

Theodore Leopold Friedman, better known as Ted Lewis , was an American entertainer, bandleader, singer, and musician. He led a band presenting a combination of jazz, hokey comedy, and schmaltzy sentimentality that was a hit with the American public. He was known by the moniker "Mr...

, was published by Von Tilzer Publishing in 1920. It was the first big hit for clarinettist, vocalist and comedian Ted Lewis (1892–1971). Ted Lewis's jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 band recording in 1920, became his signature tune, and spent 18 weeks on the charts (seven weeks at No. 1). Ted Lewis re-recorded it several times over the years. The tune was also covered by other artists of the time.

Film

When My Baby Smiles at Me

When My Baby Smiles at Me (film)

When My Baby Smiles at Me is a musical film released by 20th Century Fox, directed by Walter Lang and starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey. This is the third film based on the popular Broadway play Burlesque, the others being The Dance of Life and Swing High, Swing Low...

is a 1948 musical film

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...

 which tells the story of a 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...

 couple who encounter problems when his drinking, as well as his more successful career, comes between them. It stars Betty Grable

Betty Grable

Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...

, Dan Dailey

Dan Dailey

Daniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...

, Jack Oakie

Jack Oakie

Jack Oakie was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television.-Early life:...

, June Havoc

June Havoc

June Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, writer, and theater director. Havoc was a child Vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother. She later acted on Broadway and in Hollywood and stage directed . She last appeared on television in 1990 on General Hospital...

 and Richard Arlen

Richard Arlen

-Biography:Born Sylvanus Richard Van Mattimore in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. His first job after the war was with St. Paul's Athletic Club...

.

The film was adapted by Elizabeth Reinhardt and Lamar Trotti

Lamar Trotti

Lamar Jefferson Trotti was an American screenwriter, producer, and motion picture executive.- Early life and education :Trotti was born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He became the first graduate of the Henry W...

 from the play Burlesque by Arthur Hopkins

Arthur Hopkins

Arthur Hopkins was a Broadway theater director and producer in the early twentieth century.Hopkins was born in Cleveland. He was the youngest of ten children born to a Welsh couple, David and Mary Jane Hopkins...

 and George Manker Watters. It was 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...

.

It was nominated for Academy Awards

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

 (Dan Dailey) and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture

Academy Award for Original Music Score

The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...

.

External links

• When My Baby Smiles at Me lyrics