Rich, Young and Pretty
Encyclopedia
Rich, Young and Pretty is a 1951 musical film
produced by Joe Pasternak
for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and directed by Norman Taurog
. It was written by Dorothy Cooper (story) and Sidney Sheldon
, starred Jane Powell
, Danielle Darrieux
, Wendell Corey
, and Fernando Lamas
, and introduced Vic Damone
. This was Darrieux's first Hollywood film since 1938's The Rage of Paris
.
wrote the lyrics and Nicholas Brodszky the music for several songs, including
"Wonder Why" (which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
). Other original songs by Cahn and Brodszky include
"We Never Talk Much (We Just Sit Around)",
"How D'Ya Like Your Eggs in the Morning?" and
"I Can See You", both of which received radio airplay; "I Can See You" was also a jukebox
favorite.
The film also features a "studied going over" of songs such as
"Deep in the Heart of Texas
" (written by June Hershey and Don Swander),
"There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie" (written by
Jack Maskill, Harry Richman
, Pete Wendling
) and
"Old Piano Roll Blues" (written by Cy Coben
).
said the film was "aglow with Technicolor
and plush sets" and said it treated a "light cinemusical subject with the butterscotch-caramel sentimentality of the bobby-soxers it is designed to please"; the film "tackles its situations without verve or humor, and handles its lightweight problems as ponderously as if they had been propounded by Ibsen
in one of his gloomier moods." Bosley Crowther
of The New York Times
called it "pretty as a picture postcard and just about as exciting."
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
produced by Joe Pasternak
Joe Pasternak
thumb|right|250px|Pasterrnak receiving his star on [[Hollywood Boulevard]] from [[Johnny Grant |Johnny Grant]] with [[Gene Kelly]] on the left on July 29, 1991....
for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and directed by Norman Taurog
Norman Taurog
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director, and screenwriter.Between 1920 and 1968, Taurog directed over 140 films, and directed Elvis Presley in more movies than any other director...
. It was written by Dorothy Cooper (story) and Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game ,...
, starred Jane Powell
Jane Powell
Jane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
, Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931. She is one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career is among the longest in film history....
, Wendell Corey
Wendell Corey
Wendell Reid Corey was an American actor and politician.He was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, the son of Milton Rothwell Corey and Julia Etta McKenney . His father was a Congregationalist clergyman...
, and Fernando Lamas
Fernando Lamas
Fernando Álvaro Lamas was an Argentine-born actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas.-Early life and career:...
, and introduced Vic Damone
Vic Damone
Vic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
. This was Darrieux's first Hollywood film since 1938's The Rage of Paris
The Rage of Paris
The Rage of Paris is a 1938 comedy film made by Universal Pictures. The movie was directed by Henry Koster, and written by Bruce Manning and Felix Jackson. It won the Venice Film Festival for Special Recommendation.-Cast:...
.
Plot
Elizabeth (Powell) accompanies her wealthy Texas rancher father (Corey) on a visit to Paris, where her mother (Darrieux) lives; while in Paris, she meets Andre (Damone), an eager young Frenchman. The father tries to keep her from marrying the Frenchman and thus repeating the mistake he made when he married her mother.Cast
- Jane PowellJane PowellJane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
as Elizabeth Rogers - Danielle DarrieuxDanielle DarrieuxDanielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931. She is one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career is among the longest in film history....
as Marie Devarone - Wendell CoreyWendell CoreyWendell Reid Corey was an American actor and politician.He was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, the son of Milton Rothwell Corey and Julia Etta McKenney . His father was a Congregationalist clergyman...
as Jim Stauton Rogers - Vic DamoneVic DamoneVic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
as Andre Milan - Fernando LamasFernando LamasFernando Álvaro Lamas was an Argentine-born actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas.-Early life and career:...
as Paul Sarnac - Marcel DalioMarcel DalioMarcel Dalio was a French character actor. He had major roles in two of Jean Renoir's most famous films, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game.- Biography :...
as Claude Duval - Una MerkelUna MerkelUna Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928...
as Glynnie - Richard AndersonRichard AndersonRichard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
as Bob Lennart - Jean MuratJean MuratJean Murat was a French actor. He was married to the French actress Annabella.-Selected filmography:* Carnival in Flanders * Les mutinés de l'Elseneur * On the Riviera * Alarm in Morocco...
as Henri Milan - Hans ConreidHans ConriedHans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
as Maître d'Hotel - Duci deKerekjarto as Gypsy Leader
- George & Katrin Tatar as Hungarian Dancers
- Four Freshmen QuartetThe Four FreshmenThe Four Freshmen is a multiple Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires , The Pied Pipers , and The Mel-Tones , founded in the barbershop tradition...
as Four Musicians
Songs
MGM promotion for the film emphasized the film's "songs rather than its patter"; Sammy CahnSammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
wrote the lyrics and Nicholas Brodszky the music for several songs, including
"Wonder Why" (which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
). Other original songs by Cahn and Brodszky include
"We Never Talk Much (We Just Sit Around)",
"How D'Ya Like Your Eggs in the Morning?" and
"I Can See You", both of which received radio airplay; "I Can See You" was also a jukebox
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
favorite.
The film also features a "studied going over" of songs such as
"Deep in the Heart of Texas
Deep in the Heart of Texas
"Deep in the Heart of Texas" is an American popular song elaborating on the merits of the state of Texas.The 1941 song features lyrics by June Hershey and music by Don Swander. The song was recorded by Perry Como with Ted Weems and His Orchestra on December 9 of that year for Decca Records in Los...
" (written by June Hershey and Don Swander),
"There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie" (written by
Jack Maskill, Harry Richman
Harry Richman
Harry Richman was an American entertainer. He was a singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and night club performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s....
, Pete Wendling
Pete Wendling
Pete Wendling , an American composer and pianist, was born in New York City to German immigrants.He started his working life as a carpenter, but gained fame during the mid 1910s as a popular music composer - producing such hits as Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula, Take Me To The Land Of Jazz, Take Your...
) and
"Old Piano Roll Blues" (written by Cy Coben
Cy Coben
Cyrus "Cy" Coben was an American songwriter whose hits were recorded by bandleaders, country singers, The Beatles, and even Leonard Nimoy....
).
Reception
TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
said the film was "aglow with Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
and plush sets" and said it treated a "light cinemusical subject with the butterscotch-caramel sentimentality of the bobby-soxers it is designed to please"; the film "tackles its situations without verve or humor, and handles its lightweight problems as ponderously as if they had been propounded by Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
in one of his gloomier moods." Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called it "pretty as a picture postcard and just about as exciting."