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Call Me Mister (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Call Me Mister' is a 1951 American Technicolor musical film released by Twentieth Century-Fox. The feature was directed by Lloyd Bacon and re-written from the 1946 Broadway play version by Albert E. Lewin and Burt Styler with music by Harold Rome that featured cast members from the US armed forces.
'Call Me Mister' was filmed in Technicolor, and starred Betty Grable and Dan Dailey and co-starred Danny Thomas with supporting players Dale Robertson, Benay Venuta, and Richard Boone. Only a couple Harold Rome numbers were kept in the film.
Background
Screen version of the Broadway musical 'Call Me Mister' was one of Grable's final "successful" films as her box-office power was beginning to diminish. This was also Grable's last film with Dan Dailey, with whom she co-starred in several of her previous films. 'Call Me Mister' was a "moderate success" at the box-office.
The finale is a production number of "Love Is Back in Business" staged by Busby Berkeley, ending with four leading players on a precarious, high-rising disc surrounded by water fountains. Benay Venuta is replaced by a lookalike in the same clothes for this. Asked in the 1970s about it, she explained, "Betty Grable said, Im the star. I gotta do it. Dan Dailey was so drunk he didnt care what he was doing. Danny Thomas said, Im on the way up. I gotta do it. Well, I didnt gotta do it."
Plot
After the end of World War II American soldiers in occupied Japan are entertained with a show put on by one of their own Sergeant Shep Dooley (Dan Dailey) and his former wife who is an entertainer Kay Hudson (Betty Grable).
Cast
* Betty Grable as Kay Hudson
* Dan Dailey as Sergeant Shep Dooley
* Danny Thomas as P.F.C. Stanley Poppoplis
* Dale Robertson as Captain Johnny Comstock
* Benay Venuta as Billie Barton
* Richard Boone as Mess Sergeant
* Jeffrey Hunter as the Kid
* Frank Fontaine as First Sergeant
* The Dunhill Trio as Dancers
Soundtrack
* 'Call Me Mister'
** Written by Harold Rome
** Performed by chorus during credits
** Reprised by Betty Grable and Dan Dailey
* 'Japanese Girl Like 'Merican Boy'
** Written by Sammy Fain
** Lyrics by Mack Gordon
** Sung and danced by Betty Grable and chorus
* 'I'm Gonna Love That Guy Like He's Never Been Loved Before'
** Written by Frances Ash
** Performed by Betty Grable and male chorus
* 'Lament to the Pots and Pans'
** Written by Earl K. Brent
** Lyrics by Jerry Seelen
** Performed by Danny Thomas
* 'Goin' Home Train'
** Written by Harold Rome
** Performed by Bobby Short and male chorus
* 'I Just Can't Do Enough for You, Baby'
** Written by Sammy Fain
** Lyrics by Mack Gordon
** Performed by Betty Grable and Dan Dailey
* 'Military Life'
** Written by Harold Rome
** Revised lyrics by Jerry Seelen
** Performed by Danny Thomas
* 'Love is Back in Business'
** Written by Sammy Fain
** Lyrics by Mack Gordon
** Performed by Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Benay Venuta, and Danny Thomas
References
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