Star Spangled Rhythm
Encyclopedia
Star Spangled Rhythm is a 1943 all-star cast musical film
made by Paramount Pictures
during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, generally musicals, frequently with flimsy storylines, and with the specific intent of entertaining the troops overseas and civilians back home and to encourage fundraising – as well as to show the studios' patriotism. This film was also the first released by Paramount to be shown for 8 weeks.
Star Spangled Rhythm was directed by George Marshall
and others, and written by Harry Tugend with sketches by Melvin Frank
, George S. Kaufman
and others. The film has music by Robert Emmett Dolan and songs by Harold Arlen
and Johnny Mercer
, and the cast consisted of most of the stars on the Paramount roster.
) is a former silent movie star once known as "Bronco Billy" who now works as the guard on the main gate at Paramount Pictures
. However, he's told his son Johnny (Eddie Bracken
), who's in the Navy, that he's the studio's Executive Vice President in Charge of Production. When Johnny shows up in Hollywood on shore leave, Pop and the studio's switchboard operator Polly Judson (Betty Hutton
) go all-out to maintain the illusion for Johnny and his sailor friends that Pop's a studio big-wig. Things get a bit complicated when Pop offers to put on a variety show for the Navy, featuring all of Paramount's stars, but Polly convinces Bob Hope
and Bing Crosby
to do the show, and they convince the rest of the stars on the lot.
Performers:
Cast notes:
(music) and Johnny Mercer
(lyrics):
" sequence, which was directed by A. Edward Sutherland
, was intended to be directed by René Clair
, who was unavailable at the time of shooting.
The film was in production from 11 June to 23 July 1942 at Paramount's studios on Melrose Avenue
in Hollywood. Location shooting took place at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California
. The final cost of the film film was $1,127,989. It premiered in New York City on 30 December 1942, and went into general release in January 1943.
Max H. Aronson, an actor-director-writer-producer who was father of the movie cowboy and the first Western star, made almost 400 films between 1907 and 1923 under the name Broncho Billy Anderson
. In 1943, he sued Paramount for using the "Broncho Billy" name without permission. Aronson objected to the "Bronco Billy" character in Star Spangled Rhythm being a "washed-up and broken-down actor", which he felt reflected badly on himself. Aronson asked for $900,000, but the outcome of the lawsuit is unknown.
(music) and Johnny Mercer
(lyrics) were nominated for "Best Original Song" for "That Old Black Magic
", and Robert Emmett Dolan was nominated for "Best Score".
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...
made by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, generally musicals, frequently with flimsy storylines, and with the specific intent of entertaining the troops overseas and civilians back home and to encourage fundraising – as well as to show the studios' patriotism. This film was also the first released by Paramount to be shown for 8 weeks.
Star Spangled Rhythm was directed by George Marshall
George Marshall (director)
George E. Marshall was an American actor, screenwriter, producer, film and television director, active through the first six decades of movie history....
and others, and written by Harry Tugend with sketches by Melvin Frank
Melvin Frank
Melvin Frank was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He collaborated with a former schoolfriend, Norman Panama to form a writing partnership which endured for 3 decades...
, George S. Kaufman
George S. Kaufman
George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers...
and others. The film has music by Robert Emmett Dolan and songs by Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
and Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, and the cast consisted of most of the stars on the Paramount roster.
Plot
Pop Webster (Victor MooreVictor Moore
Victor Frederick Moore was an American actor of stage and screen, as well as a comedian, writer, and director.-Personal life:...
) is a former silent movie star once known as "Bronco Billy" who now works as the guard on the main gate at Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. However, he's told his son Johnny (Eddie Bracken
Eddie Bracken
Edward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken was an American actor.-Life and career:Bracken was born in Astoria, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. Bracken. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940...
), who's in the Navy, that he's the studio's Executive Vice President in Charge of Production. When Johnny shows up in Hollywood on shore leave, Pop and the studio's switchboard operator Polly Judson (Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
) go all-out to maintain the illusion for Johnny and his sailor friends that Pop's a studio big-wig. Things get a bit complicated when Pop offers to put on a variety show for the Navy, featuring all of Paramount's stars, but Polly convinces Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
to do the show, and they convince the rest of the stars on the lot.
Cast
- Victor MooreVictor MooreVictor Frederick Moore was an American actor of stage and screen, as well as a comedian, writer, and director.-Personal life:...
as William "Pop" Webster - Betty HuttonBetty HuttonBetty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
as Polly Judson - Eddie BrackenEddie BrackenEdward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken was an American actor.-Life and career:Bracken was born in Astoria, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. Bracken. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940...
as Johnny Webster - Walter AbelWalter AbelWalter Abel was an American stage and film character actor. His eyes were brown and his height was five foot ten inches....
as B.G. DeSoto - Cass DaleyCass DaleyCass Daley was an American radio, television and film actress, singer, and comedienne. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at nightclubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in the 1940s....
as Mimi - Cecil B. DeMilleCecil B. DeMilleCecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
as himself - Preston SturgesPreston SturgesPreston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
as himself - Edward Fielding as Y. Frank Freemont
- Boyd Davis as Captain Kingsley
Performers:
- Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
- Master of Ceremonies - Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
- "Old Glory" number - Fred MacMurrayFred MacMurrayFrederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
- Frank in "If Men Played Cards as Women Do" - Franchot ToneFranchot ToneFranchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
- John in "If Men Played Cards as Women Do" - Ray MillandRay MillandRay Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
- Joe in "If Men Played Cards as Women Do" - Lynne OvermanLynne OvermanLynne Overman was a film actor in the 1930s and early-1940s who often played a sidekick.-Selected filmography:* Dixie * The Desert Song * The Forest Rangers...
- in "If Men Played Cards as Women Do" - Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
- "Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang" number - Paulette GoddardPaulette GoddardPaulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich...
- "Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang" number - Veronica LakeVeronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
- "Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang" number - Arthur TreacherArthur TreacherArthur Veary Treacher was an English actor born in Brighton, East Sussex, England.Treacher was a veteran of World War I. After the war, he established a stage career and in 1928, he went to America as part of a musical-comedy revue called Great Temptations...
- "Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang" number - Sterling HollowaySterling HollowaySterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company...
- "Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang" number - Walter CatlettWalter CatlettWalter Catlett was an American actor. As a San Francisco citizen, he started out in vaudeville with a detour for a while in opera before breaking into films.-Early career:...
- "Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang" number - Vera ZorinaVera ZorinaVera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
- "That Old Black MagicThat Old Black Magic (song)"That Old Black Magic" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard with versions by Glenn Miller, the singers Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mercer himself,...
" number - Mary MartinMary MartinMary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
- "Hit the Road to DreamlandHit the Road to Dreamland"Hit the Road to Dreamland" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer.The song was introduced in 1942 in the Paramount musical film Star Spangled Rhythm where it was introduced by Dick Powell, Mary Martin, and the Golden Gate Quartet...
" number - Dick PowellDick PowellRichard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
- "Hit the Road to Dreamland" number - Alan LaddAlan Ladd-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
- Scarface skit - Marjorie ReynoldsMarjorie ReynoldsMarjorie Reynolds was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 70 films.Born Marjorie Goodspeed, in Buhl, Idaho, as her parents made the cross-country trip from Maine to settle in California, she was featured as a child actressin silent films such as Scaramouche...
- Swing Shift skit - Susan HaywardSusan HaywardSusan Hayward was an American actress.After working as a fashion model in New York, Hayward travelled to Hollywood in 1937 when open auditions were held for the leading role in Gone with the Wind . Although she was not selected, she secured a film contract, and played several small supporting...
- Genevieve in Priorities skit - Eddie "Rochester" AndersonEddie Anderson (comedian)Edmund Lincoln Anderson , also known as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, was an American comedian and actor. His most famous role was that of Rochester van Jones, valet of Jack Benny, on his radio and television shows.-Early life:Anderson was born in Oakland, California...
- "Sharp as a Tack" number - Katherine DunhamKatherine DunhamKatherine Mary Dunham was an American dancer, choreographer, songwriter, author, educator, and activist...
- dancer in "Sharp as a Tack" number - William BendixWilliam BendixWilliam Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...
- Herman the Husband in Bob Hope skit - Jerry Colonna - Bob Hope skit
- Macdonald CareyMacdonald CareyEdward Macdonald Carey was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera Days of our Lives...
- Louie the Lug in skit
Cast notes:
- The character "B.G. Desoto" is modeled after Paramount executive producer B.G. DeSylva, and "Y. Frank Freemont" after vice-president Y. Frank Freeman. When pretending to be "Mr Freemont"'s secretary, Betty Hutton speaks in an affected Southern accent; the real Y. Frank Freeman was a Southerner who was intensely loyal to Dixie.
- Others who appear in the film include Rod CameronRod CameronRod Cameron was a Canadian-born movie actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many Westerns....
, Eva GaborEva GaborEva Gabor was a Hungarian-born socialite and actress. She was widely known for her role on Green Acres as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character, Oliver Wendell Douglas, Duchess in the 1970 Disney film The Aristocats, and Miss Bianca in Disney's The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under...
, Cecil KellawayCecil KellawayCecil Lauriston Kellaway was a South African-born character actor.Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author, and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to...
, Matt McHughMatt McHughMatt McHugh was an American film actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1931 and 1955, primarily in small parts.-Career:...
, Robert PrestonRobert Preston (actor)-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
and Woody StrodeWoody StrodeWoodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering black American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960...
. Strode has no dialogue; he is seen only very briefly as Eddie Anderson's chauffeur in the "Sharp As a Tack" number. - Star Spangled Rhythm marked the feature film debut of Bing Crosby's son, Gary CrosbyGary CrosbyGary Evan Crosby was an American singer and actor. He may have become better known for writing a revealing memoir of his father, entertainment legend Bing Crosby, than for his own music and acting work. His mother was singer/actress Dixie Lee, Bing Crosby's first wife.-Personal life and...
, who was 9 years old at the time. - Although "Benito Mussolini", "Hirohito" and "Adolf Hitler" are listed as characters in this film, the actors cast in those roles are not actually portraying the dictators themselves; they are merely impersonators showing up for a brief sight gag at the end of the novelty number "A Sweater, a Sarong and a Peekaboo Bang". Tom DuganTom DuganTom Dugan was an Irish film actor. He appeared in over 260 films between 1927 and 1955. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and died in Redlands, California....
, a veteran character actor who appeared as "Adolf Hitler", also played "Bronski", an actor who plays the part of "Adolf Hitler", in Ernst LubitschErnst LubitschErnst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
's classic comedy To Be or Not To BeTo Be or Not to Be (1942 film)To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel...
.
Songs
The songs in Star Spangled Rhythm were written by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
(music) and Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
(lyrics):
- "Hit the Road to Dreamland" - sung by Mary MartinMary MartinMary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
, Dick PowellDick PowellRichard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
and the Golden Gate Quartette - "I'm Doing It for Defense" - sung by Betty HuttonBetty HuttonBetty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
- "Old Glory" - sung by Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and chorus - "He Loved Me Till the All-Clear Came"
- "On the Swing Shift" - sung and danced by Marjorie ReynoldsMarjorie ReynoldsMarjorie Reynolds was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 70 films.Born Marjorie Goodspeed, in Buhl, Idaho, as her parents made the cross-country trip from Maine to settle in California, she was featured as a child actressin silent films such as Scaramouche...
, Betty Jane Rhodes and Dona DrakeDona DrakeDona Drake was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was born Eunice Westmoreland in Miami, Florida, in 1914. Entering show business in the 1930s, she used the names Una Velon, Rita Rio and Rita Shaw. She settled on the stage name Dona Drake in the early 1940s... - "Sharp as a Tack" - sung by Eddie "Rochester" AndersonEddie Anderson (comedian)Edmund Lincoln Anderson , also known as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, was an American comedian and actor. His most famous role was that of Rochester van Jones, valet of Jack Benny, on his radio and television shows.-Early life:Anderson was born in Oakland, California...
, Katherine DunhamKatherine DunhamKatherine Mary Dunham was an American dancer, choreographer, songwriter, author, educator, and activist...
, Slim GaillardSlim GaillardBulee "Slim" Gaillard was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout"...
and Slam StewartSlam StewartLeroy Eliot "Slam" Stewart was an African American jazz bass player whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass and simultaneously hum or sing an octave higher. He was originally a violin player before switching to bass at the age of 20.-Biography:Stewart was born in Englewood, New...
, and Woody StrodeWoody StrodeWoodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering black American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960... - "A Sweater, Sarong and a Peek-A-Boo Bang" - sung by Paulette GoddardPaulette GoddardPaulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich...
, Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
, and Veronica LakeVeronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
(dubbed by Martha Mears), and by Arthur TreacherArthur TreacherArthur Veary Treacher was an English actor born in Brighton, East Sussex, England.Treacher was a veteran of World War I. After the war, he established a stage career and in 1928, he went to America as part of a musical-comedy revue called Great Temptations...
, Walter CatlettWalter CatlettWalter Catlett was an American actor. As a San Francisco citizen, he started out in vaudeville with a detour for a while in opera before breaking into films.-Early career:...
and Sterling HollowaySterling HollowaySterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company...
, in drag - "That Old Black MagicThat Old Black Magic (song)"That Old Black Magic" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard with versions by Glenn Miller, the singers Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mercer himself,...
" - sung by Johnny Johnston and danced by Vera ZorinaVera ZorinaVera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
Production
The working title of "Star Spangled Rhythm" was "Thumbs Up". Paramount paid Arthur Ross and Fred Saidy for the rights to two sketches from their musical revue Rally Round the Girls, which were used in the film. The "That Old Black MagicThat Old Black Magic (song)
"That Old Black Magic" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard with versions by Glenn Miller, the singers Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mercer himself,...
" sequence, which was directed by A. Edward Sutherland
A. Edward Sutherland
A. Edward Sutherland aka Eddie Sutherland was a film director and actor. Born Albert Edward Sutherland in London, he was from a theatrical family. His father, Al Sutherland, was a theatre manager and producer and his mother, Julie Ring, was a vaudeville performer...
, was intended to be directed by René Clair
René Clair
René Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
, who was unavailable at the time of shooting.
The film was in production from 11 June to 23 July 1942 at Paramount's studios on Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue is an internationally renowned shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Lucille Avenue in Silver Lake...
in Hollywood. Location shooting took place at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. The final cost of the film film was $1,127,989. It premiered in New York City on 30 December 1942, and went into general release in January 1943.
Max H. Aronson, an actor-director-writer-producer who was father of the movie cowboy and the first Western star, made almost 400 films between 1907 and 1923 under the name Broncho Billy Anderson
Broncho Billy Anderson
Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who is best known as the first star of the Western film genre.-Early life:...
. In 1943, he sued Paramount for using the "Broncho Billy" name without permission. Aronson objected to the "Bronco Billy" character in Star Spangled Rhythm being a "washed-up and broken-down actor", which he felt reflected badly on himself. Aronson asked for $900,000, but the outcome of the lawsuit is unknown.
Awards and honors
Star Spangled Rhythm received two 1944 Academy Award nominations: Harold ArlenHarold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
(music) and Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
(lyrics) were nominated for "Best Original Song" for "That Old Black Magic
That Old Black Magic (song)
"That Old Black Magic" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard with versions by Glenn Miller, the singers Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mercer himself,...
", and Robert Emmett Dolan was nominated for "Best Score".