A Song Is Born (1948)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Thomas Monroe (story)
Billy Wilder (story)

Release Date:

19 October 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Gangster's moll Honey Swanson goes into hiding when her boyfriend is under investigation by the police...

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Beautiful Woman | Remake By Original Director

Cast

Danny Kaye	...	Professor Hobart Frisbee
Virginia Mayo	...	Honey Swanson
Benny Goodman	...	Professor Magenbruch
Tommy Dorsey	...	Himself
Louis Armstrong	...	Himself
Lionel Hampton	...	Himself
Charlie Barnet	...	Himself
Mel Powell	...	Himself
Ford Washington Lee	...	Buck (as Buck and Bubbles)
John William Sublett	...	Bubbles (as Buck and Bubbles)
Page Cavanaugh Trio	...	Themselves
The Golden Gate Quartette	...	Themselves (as The Golden Gate Quartet)
Samba Kings	...	Themselves (as Russo and the Samba Kings)
Hugh Herbert	...	Professor Twingle
Steve Cochran	...	Tony Crow

Also Known As:

That's Life (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

In 1948, when "A Song Is Born" was released, the American Federation of Musicians was striking the record companies and union musicians could not legally make records. Nonetheless, the union allowed Capitol Records to make an album of music from the film because the company agreed to donate the proceeds to the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund, In the year between the film shooting and the recording sessions, Benny Goodman had radically changed the personnel of his band - notably adding two bebop musicians, trumpeter Theodore "Fats" Navarro and tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray - so the version of "Stealin' Apples" on the record doesn't sound at all like the one heard in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: While at the resort, with everyone sitting around the table, the candles are different lengths depending on the angle of the shot.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Superman II: Restoring the Vision (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Daddy-O

The movie is entertaining, but the music is incredible ...

Where else can you see a jam session with Louie Armstrong on trumpet, Charlie Barnet on saxophone, Benny Goodman on clarinet, and Tommy Dorsey on trombone? Four major swing band leaders jamming out, and they do it more than once on this film. The movie is sufficiently entertaining to watch, but the real treat is the music jam sessions. Some of you may not know Charlie Barnet. Barnet was from a wealthy family, and his bands were more freewheeling than most traditional swing bands. He was the first white band leader to integrate his bands, and he gave Lena Horne her first gig with a major orchestra.

The true big band aficionado will recognize some of the other musicians, but I will not list them here as I might spoil someone's fun.