Ding Dong Williams (1946)

Ding Dong Williams, a clarinet player who can neither read nor write music is employed at a motion picture studio. The studio plans to use him and his six-piece band but his musical ... See full summary »

Director:

William Berke

Writers:

Richard English (magazine stories "Strictly Ding Dong" and others in Collier's magazine), Brenda Weisberg (screenplay),

Stars:

Glen Vernon, Marcy McGuire, Felix Bressart

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glen Vernon	...	Ding Dong Williams (as Glenn Vernon)
Marcy McGuire	...	Miss Angela Jones
Felix Bressart	...	Hugo Meyerheld
Anne Jeffreys	...	Vanessa Page - formerly Mary McCoy
James Warren	...	Steve Moore
William B. Davidson	...	Mr. Saul Dana (as William Davidson)
Tommy Noonan	...	Zang (as Tom Noonan)
Cliff Nazarro	...	Zing
Ruth Lee	...	Laura Cooper
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Director Kenmore (as Jason Robards)
Bob Nolan	...	Bob - Sons of the Pioneers Leader
Sons of the Pioneers	...	Sons of the Pioneers
Richard Korbel	...	Piano Specialty

Storyline

Ding Dong Williams, a clarinet player who can neither read nor write music is employed at a motion picture studio. The studio plans to use him and his six-piece band but his musical deficiencies are discovered and the plan scrapped. But the secretary of the head of the music department intercedes on his behalf and he is given a chance in the film.

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Plot Keywords:

motion picture | secretary | band | horse | movie producer | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Melody Maker

Filming Locations:

Lake Sherwood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to a story in the Hollywood Reporter, this was to be the first in a series of movies based on the Ding Dong character, but no other movie was ever made.

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Soundtracks

"I Saw You First"
(1943) (uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Played on radio and sung by Marcy McGuire

User Reviews

"Zing and Zang are here to write down what Ding Dong plays."

Thank goodness TCM is around to show these little wonders. Movies like this hardly ever see the light of day, and when you DO see them, they can really drop your jaw. With Ding Dong Williams it's like someone took a blunderbuss, stuffed it with 10 rejected scripts, and fired it at a caged screenwriter. The result is mesmerizing.

Most movies pick a theme and go with it, no matter how bad that theme might be. This is more like movie-making improv. The female lead seems to be trying to channel Judy Garland, and the musical numbers appear to be fighting with one another for screen time. With lines like, "Zing and Zang are here to write down what Ding Dong plays", the editor apparently snuck out of the production early on. Zany does not describe the "comedy" correctly. Stupifying is a better word.

This movie is not particularly offensive, but I can't imagine why anyone made it. But again, even the most obscure movie is represented on IMDb, although this is the first one I've seen here that has no foreign voters at all.

Much like a car wreck, Ding Dong Williams is a mess, but it's hard to look away from the carnage.