I Dream of Jeanie (1952)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Allan Dwan

Writer:

Alan Le May (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 June 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Musical

Plot:

The life and career of famed American composer Stephen Foster. |

Plot Keywords:

Songwriter | Racial Stereotype | Music Publisher | Trucolor | Dance

Cast

Ray Middleton	...	Edwin P. Christy
Bill Shirley	...	Stephen Foster
Muriel Lawrence	...	Inez McDowell
Eileen Christy	...	Jeanie McDowell
Rex Allen	...	Mr Tambo / Rex Allen / Narrator
Lynn Bari	...	Mrs. McDowell
Dick Simmons	...	Dunning Foster (as Richard Simmons)
Scott Elliott	...	Milford Wilson (as Robert Neil)
Andrew Tombes	...	R.E. Howard
James Dobson	...	Spike
Percy Helton	...	Mr. Horker
Glen Turnbull	...	Glenn Turnbull / Speciality Dancer (as Glenn Turnbull)
Louise Beavers	...	Mammy
James Kirkwood	...	Doctor
Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer	...	Freddie (as Carl Dean Switzer)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Trucolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:S

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Quotes:

[Stephen shows the sheet music from his first song to two of his friends]
First Co-Worker: Let's see where it says you wrote it!
Stephen Foster: Well, I guess it doesn't say.
Second Co-Worker: Did you get much for it?
Stephen Foster: Oh, he didn't pay me anything.
First Co-Worker: Did you even get any royalties?
Stephen Foster: Listen, he's doing me a big favor just to print it - didn't charge me a cent.
Second Co-Worker: Boy, how 'bout that minstrel man, Christy? Didn't he pay ya?
Stephen Foster: Certainly not. I'm proud to have him sing it.
First Co-Worker: Gee, it looks like you oughta get a little something just for thinkin' it up!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in It's Always Fair Weather (1955)

Soundtrack:

Lo, Hear the Gentle Lark

I Dream of Jeanie is pretty enjoyable old time musical

Just found out on this site that the man who portrays Stephen Foster here was the voice of the Prince in Disney's Sleeping Beauty and the singing voice of Freddie in Warner Bros.' My Fair Lady. I recognized two names in the cast credits: Louise Beavers, who I knew from Imitation of Life, portrays another Mammy role, the kind that she became known for and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (credited as Carl Dean Switzer) who portrays a different Freddie here (his character works at the same accounting office Foster works). Everyone else drew a blank though I also found out Rex Allan, who guests here in blackface, was also a narrator in films like the original movie versions of The Incredible Journey and Charlotte's Web. Mostly enjoyable musical despite the blackface number near the end that I just referred to. For that reason, more sensitive souls should proceed with caution. Made before the civil rights era came into full bloom.