Words and Music (1948)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Guy Bolton (story)
Ben Feiner Jr. (adaptation)

Release Date:

31 December 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

The BIGGEST musical!

Plot:

Fictionalized story of the songwriting partnership of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.

Plot Keywords:

Composer | Rooney And Garland | Fictional Biography | Dance | Beautiful Woman

Cast

June Allyson	...	Alisande La Carteloise (in "A Connecticut Yankee")
Perry Como	...	Eddie Lorrison Anders / Himself
Judy Garland	...	Herself
Lena Horne	...	Herself
Gene Kelly	...	Himself
Mickey Rooney	...	Lorenz Hart
Ann Sothern	...	Joyce Harmon
Tom Drake	...	Richard Rodgers
Cyd Charisse	...	Margo Grant
Betty Garrett	...	Peggy Lorgan McNeil
Janet Leigh	...	Dorothy Feiner Rodgers
Marshall Thompson	...	Herbert Fields
Mel Tormé	...	Himself
Vera-Ellen	...	Herself
Jeanette Nolan	...	Mrs. Hart

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Richard Rodgers reportedly disliked every aspect of this film except for the casting of Janet Leigh as his wife.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Camille (1936) is treated and presented as if it were a silent film, even though it was made nearly a decade into the sound era.

Quotes:

Richard Rodgers: That was really black Sunday for me. Shut out twice. Once because I was too young, once because I was too old.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Music and Lyrics (2007)

Soundtrack:

Way Out West

Notable only for its many musical numbers.

A sanitized account of the personal lives and professional partnership of Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. Tom Drake is his usual bland self as Rogers and Mickey Rooney is characteristically over-the-top as the self-destructive, troubled Hart. (According to the film, Hart's problems stemmed from a failed romance with a singer, played here by Betty Garrett. In truth, Hart was gay but this was only part of what contributed to his complicated personality.) The film is notable only for its many musical numbers. Among the highlights: Lena Horne's masterful rendition of "Where or When" and "The Lady is a Tramp"; June Allyson and the Blackburn Twins' charming "Thou Swell"; and Judy Garland and Rooney's spirited "I Wish I Were In Love Again" as well as Garland's dynamic "Johnny One Note". The show-stopper, however, is the brilliant jazz ballet, "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue", choreographed by Gene Kelly and danced expertly by Kelly and the fabulous Vera-Ellen. It, alone, is worth the price of admission.