It's a Great Feeling (1949)

A waitress at the Warner Bros. commissary is anxious to break into pictures. She thinks her big break may have arrived when two actors agree to help her.

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Jack Rose (screenplay), Melville Shavelson (screenplay) (as Mel Shavelson)

Stars:

Doris Day, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dennis Morgan	...	Himself
Doris Day	...	Judy Adams
Jack Carson	...	Himself
Bill Goodwin	...	Arthur Trent
Irving Bacon	...	RR Information Clerk
Claire Carleton	...	Grace
Mazzone-Abbott Dancers	...	Dancers (as The Famous Mazzone-Abbott Dancers)

Storyline

A waitress at the Warner Bros. commissary is anxious to break into pictures. She thinks her big break may have arrived when two actors agree to help her.

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Plot Keywords:

waitress | hollywood | studio | spoof | assumed identity | 

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Taglines:

FUN and LAFF PACKED !

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

1 August 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Two Guys and a Gal

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Doris Day did not consider this film as much of a picture, but she was enjoying the role of movie actress and it came naturally to her. She also liked the regular hours of the studio, compared to the late night hours she had spent on the bandstand for several years.

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Goofs

When Judy falls down the steps during the phony Frenchwoman musical number, her brunette wig is thrown off and lands on the second step of the staircase. But when the crowd gathers around to help her, it has jumped up to the third step

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Quotes

Jack Carson: Believe me, Dennis, I'll see to it that she is as good in this as Jane Wyman was in Johnny Belinda.
Dennis Morgan: She didn't even *talk* in that one!
Jack Carson: Well, you can't have *everything*.

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Connections

Spoofs Mildred Pierce (1945)

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Soundtracks

Wedding March
(uncredited)
from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Played at the wedding

User Reviews

Clever and witty self-referential spoof about Hollywood

Without a doubt, classic Hollywood made some great musicals. This film is not one of them. And, there have been much better comedies from Tinsel Town also.

The distinguishing and saving features of this bit of frippery are two fold: first, you'll go a long way before finding another film with so many uncredited cameo appearances by major studio stars of the time (only Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 days, made in 1956, comes even close); and second, this is a snappy and self-referential send-up of the perils and pleasures of working in Hollywood.

The downside is this: if you were born after 1960, you probably won't appreciate the cameos by the actors and directors mainly because they'd gone from the scene – duh – by the time you started going to movies. But, on the upside…well, if you liked Robert Altman's The Player (1992), then this movie may appeal also.

The story, of course, is hackneyed: girl, working as a waitress (Doris Day), wants to get into movies, meets struggling director (Jack Carson) whom nobody likes, but who just happens to have a big-time singing star (Dennis Morgan) ready to help...

Good grief – David Lynch turned that short plot synopsis into a horror movie called Mulholland Drive (2001), minus the cameos – but not the singing. How about that?

Anyhow, back to the dilemmas of Doris...

Okay, the story sucks but the dialog is great and Jack Carson was always the guy to deliver perfect one-liners perfectly. I lost count of the number of times the dialog poked fun at every aspect of Hollywood life. And, the sight gags with the many and varied cameos are spot on, the standout performances coming from Gary Cooper, Edward G. Robinson and – how could anybody miss her? – Joan Crawford. And, look, if like me you don't like Dennis Morgan's singing, just turn off the sound for a minute or two and grab your next beer from the cooler.

And, for the record, the cameos I recognized are: Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Micheal Curtiz, Errol Flynn, Sydney Greenstreet, Danny Kaye, Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, Ronald Reagan, Edward G. Robinson, King Vidor, Raoul Walsh and Jane Wyman.

Now, after you've seen this very syrupy and mild expose of Hollywood life – but it's a lot of fun – take the time to see what it's really like with Lynch's little plot of horrors, mentioned above.