Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944)

A tunefull account of the life of Ernest R. Ball, composer of many popular Irish songs, including the title's.

Director:

Gregory Ratoff

Writers:

Earl Baldwin (screenplay), John Tucker Battle (screenplay),

Stars:

Monty Woolley, June Haver, Dick Haymes

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Monty Woolley	...	Edgar Brawley
June Haver	...	Mary 'Irish' O'Neill
Dick Haymes	...	Ernest R. Ball
Anthony Quinn	...	Al Jackson
Beverly Whitney	...	Lucille Lacey
Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom	...	Stanley Ketchel (as Maxie Rosenbloom)
Veda Ann Borg	...	Belle La Tour
Clarence Kolb	...	Leo Betz
Leonard Warren	...	Opera Singer
Blanche Thebom	...	Opera Singer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leo Mostovoy	...	Pawnbroker (scenes deleted)
Ray Walker	...	Hoofer (scenes deleted)

Storyline

A tunefull account of the life of Ernest R. Ball, composer of many popular Irish songs, including the title's.

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Genres:

Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 1945 (Australia)

Also Known As:

En sång, en kyss, en flicka

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 15, 1948 with Dick Haynes reprising his film role.

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Goofs

In playing the piano while singing "Boy Of Mine", you can see a wedding ring on Dick Haymes hand. He was married to Joanne Dru at the time the movie was being filmed.

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Soundtracks

"Strut, Miss Lizzie"
(uncredited)
Music by Turner Layton
Lyrics by Henry Creamer
Performed by June Haver and chorus

User Reviews

Not a biopic of Ernest Ball

Most musicals have flaws and this is no exception.Whoever wrote the script should have checked for some sort of continuity but what passes as a story concerns Ameican Irish songwriter Ernest Ball who specializes in songs with an Irish theme,many of which are still heard today.When he shows one to a guy who's about to employ him as a songplugger said guy tells him its junk.He wants him to plug a song which sounds as if he wrote it in his sleep.Ball plays the song at the music hall and the audience more or less start booing.So he plays the one he offered the plugger -When Irish eyes are smiling-and the audience goes wild.He then just gets bigger. Meanwhile June Haver,who he'd tried once to get off with turns up as a Hatcheck Girl having failed to cut it as a chorus girl.A con man Ball hooked up with claims he can make the next woman who enters the room a star.Here it seems obvious that Ball will engineer her appearance. This is where any sense leaves permanently as he doesn't even offer. Instead Miss Haver leaves having sussed out she was the subject of a bet. Meanwhile the con man,in an attempt to lure her back-though its not him has the hots for her-somehow manages to stage a musical of his own and pass off Ball's songs as his own work.Ball sees it via a copy of Variety and heads back to town guns blazing as he thinks its really Miss Haver at work.Meanwhile she's South America bound then changes her mind and comes back to New York. Ball turns up copy of Variety in hand and you think he may at least punch somebody.But no everything ends happily ever after (or because the budget ran out).So the ploy cooked up by the con man was a waste of time.In a real World there would at least be questions asked and threats of copyright infringement Don't look for sense enjoy the songs as they are excellent