The Frank Sinatra Show: Juliet Prowse (1957-1958) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

Juliet Prowse made several appearances on "The Frank Sinatra Show" from 1957 to 1959.

Although I wasn't able to find complete episodes online, here is a clip you may enjoy...

Includes:

• Frank Sinatra sings "It's All Right With Me" to Juliet Prowse
• Frank Sinatra introduces Juliet Prowse & wishes Cole Porter a recovery
• Juliet Prowse dances to an instrumental medley of Cole Porter songs (including "Love of My Life", "Anything Goes", "Too Darn Hot", among others)

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'The Man with the Golden Arm' is a 1955 drama film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang and Darren McGavin.

Based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, the film tells of a heroin addict who becomes clean in prison, but then struggles with temptation after his release.

Former heroin addict Frankie Machine (played by Sinatra) is released from prison (where he has become clean) with a drum kit and a new lease on life. He returns to his wheelchair bound wife Zosh (played by Parker), and also runs into a former flame, Molly (played by Novak). Whilst out of jail, Frankie struggles to keep away from drugs, but later finds himself forced to deal in order to repay a debt.

Watch the trailer:

The title sequence

The film's controversial title sequence, designed by Saul Bass features the an animated paper cut out of a heroin addict's arms. The purpose of the cut out was to tap into the viewers emotions, and get them ready for the mood of the film.  Bass would later use a similar technique for Alfred Hitchcock films, 'Psycho' (1960), 'North by Northwest' (1959) and 'Vertigo' (1958).

Watch the title sequence:

Did you know...

• The Motion Picture Association of America refused to certify the film because it was about a heroin addict - the film was released without the seal of approval
• Marlon Brando was also considered for the role of Frankie Machine
• In preparation for the film, Frank Sinatra spent time at drug rehabilitation centres to observe heroin addicts
• According to Frank Sinatra Jr., the receiving hands of the second drug dealing belong to funny man Milton Berle

Award nominations

• Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (Frank Sinatra)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration - Black & White
• Academy Award nomination for Best Music Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
• BAFTA Award nomination for Best Film from any Source
• BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Actor (Frank Sinatra)
• Satellite Award nomination for Outstanding Classic DVD (50th Anniversary Edition)

Closing remarks

'The Man with the Golden Gun' features one of Frank Sinatra's best dramatic roles. Otto Preminger broke ground by focusing on a taboo theme, such as heroin addiction, and persisting to release the film, even after it was refused classification. It helped shape censorship laws as a year later, films were permitted to depict drug use, kidnapping, prostitution and abortion.

The Kissing Bandit (1948) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'The Kissing Bandit' is a 1948 musical starring Laslo Benedek and starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, J. Carrol Naish, Mildred Natwick, Ricardo Montalban & Cyd Charisse.

Produced by Joe Pasternak, the screenplay was written by Isabel Lennart & ??

Ricardo (played by Sinstra) visits California to discover he is the son of the notorious kissing bandit. Ricardo plans to live a quiet, however his friends have other ideas and encourage him to follow in his father's footsteps.  

Musical progran

• "Tonight Means Romance" - Kathryn Grayson
• "What's Wrong With Me?" - Kathryn Grayson & Frank Sinatra
• "I Like You" - Sono Asato
• "If I Steal A Kiss" - Kathryn Grayson
• "Siesta" - Frank Sinatra
• "Dance of Fury (Fiesta Dance Specialty)" - Ann Miller, Ricardo Montalban & Cyd Charisse)
• "Señorita" - Frank Sinatra & Kathryn Grayson
• "Love Is Where You Find It" - Kathryn Grayson
• "If I Steal A Kiss (Reprise)" - Frank Sinatra

Song: "Dance of Fury" - Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse 

Song: "Love is Where You Find It" - Kathryn Grayson

Did you know...

• Frank Sinatra did not want to make this film, as he felt he was not right for the part - however the studio forced him to appear and Sinatra claimed he never saw the finished film
• Kathryn Grayson said this was her least favourite of all her films

Closing remarks

A very underrated MGM musical, which I really enjoyed. I found all  of the songs to be quite good, with the highlights being the "Dance of Fury" dance specialty featuring Miller, Montalban & Charisse. I am a very big fan of Ann Miller (she is in my top 3 stars), so I found it very exciting to see her dance off up against Cyd Charisse (my other fave dancer). Another musical highlight was Sono Asato's whip cracking dance routine "I Like You".

Similar premise to 'The Pirate' (1948), released the same year with Gene Kelly. I actually prefer this film over 'The Pirate', however 'The Pirate' is much more well known and appreciated today.

On the Town (1948) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

"East side, West side, rouse the city... One day, one night, that's the pity...Let's have a ball tonight, we're going on the town"

Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin, Ann Miller,

Gene Kelly & Vera-Ellen in 'On the Town'

'On the Town' is a 1949 musical directed by Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen, and starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen, Jules Munshin & Alice Pearce.

The film features a screenplay by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, from their Broadway musical of the same name.

Three sailors with twenty four leave are set to paint the town red, white and blue as they embark on a one day trip to New York, New York. They see this month's Miss Turnstile, Ivy Smith. They embark on a three man mission to find her. On the way, they meet and get some help from female taxi-driver Hildy (played by Garrett) and anthropological student Claire Huddesen (played by Miller).

"New York, New York, it's a wonderful town!"

Trailer

The trailer was produced as a mock James A. Fitzpatrick "TravelTalk: The Voice of the Globe" short film on Manhattan, with narration by Fitzpatrick. 

Watch the trailer:

Musical program

Frank Sinatra & Betty Garrett sing

"Come Up To My Place"

• "New York, New York" - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra & Jules Munshin
• "Miss Turnstiles Dance" - Vera-Ellen
• "Prehistoric Man" - Ann Miller (with Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett & Jules Munshin)
• "Come Up To My Place" - Frank Sinatra & Betty Garrett
• "Main Street" - Gene Kelly (with Vera-Ellen)
• "You're Awful" - Frank Sinatra (with Betty Garrett)
• "On The Town" - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen & Jules Munshin
• "Sambacabana Revue" - Sambacabana Chorus Girls
• "Dixieland Revue" - Dixieland Chorus Girls
• "Shanghai Revue" - Shanghai Chorus Girls
• "Count On Me" - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin & Alice Pearce
• "A Day in New York: A Ballet in 3 Acts" - Gene Kelly & Vera-Ellen
• "New York, New York" (Finale)

The only musical numbers retained from the original musical were "New York, New York", "Miss Turnstiles Dance", "Come Up To My Place" and the "A Day in New York Ballet".  Six new songs written for the film replaced the following songs not included: "I Can Cook Too", "Some Other Time", "Lucky To Be Me", "Lonely Town", "Carried Away", "I Understand", "Carnegie Hall (Do-Do-Re-Do)", "So Long Baby", "I'm Blue" and "Ya Got Me".

Song: "New York, New York" - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra & Jules Munshin

Song: "Come Up To My Place" - Betty Garrett & Frank Sinatra

Song: "On The Town" - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin & Vera-Ellen

Song: "Prehistoric Man" - Ann Miller (with Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett & Jules Munshin)

Song: "You Can Count On Me" - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin & Alice Pearce

Clip from "A Day in New York Ballet" - Gene Kelly & Vera-Ellen

Song: "Miss Turnstile's Dance" - Vera-Ellen

Did you know...

• This was the first major musical to be filmed on location
• This was the third and final film Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra made together
• This was the screen debut for Alice Pearce, Carol Haney and Bea Benaderet
• Alice Pearce originally played Lucy Schmeeler in the original Broadway production of 'On the Town' - she was the only member of the Broadway cast to appear in the film
• At the time of it's release, 'On the Town' was the second highest grossing film in MGM history, after 'Meet Me in St. Louis' (1944)
• Judy Holliday dubbed the following line of dialogue for an uncredited bit player: "The grass is always greener, if ya know what I mean"
• The Club Dixieland Chorus girls are wearing costumes previously worn in 'The Harvey Girls' (1946)
• Gene Kelly once said this was his favourite of all his films

Closing remarks

Whenever I think about my favourite movie musicals, one of the first films I always think of is 'On The Town'. I absolutely adore it! 

'On the Town' is 100% pure entertainment from the moment the three boys step off the boat and sing "New York, New York", until they return to the ship 24 hours later. 

The story is engaging, the jokes funny, the songs show-stopping and the performances brilliant. 

Speaking of the performances, I'd like to make special mention of four of the actresses in this film...

Ann Miller in 'Prehistoric Man', backed up by the world's

most expensive chorus: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra,

Betty Garrett & Jules Munshin

Ann Miller... What can I say? LOVE HER!!! This was the first Ann Miller film I had ever seen, and she instantly became one of my top 3 favourite stars, and she still is. Ann Miller once remarked, she had the world's most-expensive chorus backing her up in the 'Prehistoric Man' number... the chorus being Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett & Jules Munshin.

Betty Garrett is fantastic as taxi-driver Hildy. Garrett is an actress I like very much, but sadly did not appear in many films.

Vera-Ellen is perfect as Ivy Smith, and it's pleasing to see her reunited with Gene Kelly. The two had initially danced together in the 1948 musical biography 'Words and Music'.

Alice Pearce, remembered by most people as the first Mrs. Kravitz in the 1960s TV series 'Bewitched'. Despite having a very small role in 'On the Town', Pearce shows us her unique comedic talent at being the annoying ugly duckling.

I repeat, 'On the Town' is one of the best movie musicals ever made, with Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett and Ann Miller at their best. I love 'On the Town', and I know you will too!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatraarthur freed, betty garrett, busby berkeley, edward arnold, esther williams, frank sinatra, gene kelly, jules munshin, mgm, MGM musical, take me out to the ballgame, TCM, turner classic movies,

"It's fate, baby, it's fate, and it's knocking at our door... It's fate, baby, and that's the reason, you're mine and I am yours." - Betty Garrett (as Shirley Delwyn in 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame')

Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly sing the title song

'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' is a 1949 musical directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams and Gene Kelly with Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin, Edward Arnold and Richard Lane.

Produced by Arthur Freed

Set in 1908, the film tells the story of fictional American League baseball team, the Wolves, and two of its players (who are also vaudevillians), Eddie O'Brien (played by Kelly) and Dennis Ryan (played by Sinatra). 

Frank Sinatra serenades Esther Williams

The ballplayers are devastated when the find out, the new owner of the Wolves is a woman, K.C. Higgins (played by Williams). Shorly after both Eddie and Dennis find themselves both falling in love with her. Things get complicated for Dennis when Shirley Delwyn falls in love with him.

Musical program

Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin & Gene Kelly sing
"O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg"

Musical program features:

• "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" - Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly
• "Yes, Indeedy" - Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly (with Jules Munshin)
• "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" - Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly & Jules Munshin
• "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (Reprise) - Esther Williams
• "The Right Girl For Me" - Frank Sinatra
• "The Right Girl For Me" (Reprise) - Gene Kelly
• "It's Fate, Baby, It's Fate" - Betty Garrett & Frank Sinatra
• "Strictly U.S.A." - Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Esther Williams, Betty Garrett & Jules Munshin
• "The Hat My Father Wore On St. Patrick's Day" - Gene Kelly
• "Finale: Strictly U.S.A." - Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Esther Williams & Betty Garrett

Watch some of the musical highlights below...

Song: "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" - Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly

Song: "It's Fate, Baby, It's Fate" - Betty Garrett & Frank Sinatra

Song: "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" - Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly & Jules Munshin

"Strictly USA" - Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Esther Williams & Betty Garrett 

Song: "The Hat My Father Wore Upon St. Patrick's Day" - Gene Kelly

Song: "The Right Girl For Me" - Frank Sinatra

Song: "Yes, Indeedy" - Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly (with Jules Munshin)

Deleted musical sequences

Two songs were filmed but deleted from the final film:

'Boys and Girls Like You And Me'

- Originally written for the Broadway musical "Oklahoma" (1943), it was cut from the final show; it was then supposed to appear in the film 'Meet Me In St. Louis' (1943), but was also cut from that as well; 

- Danny was supposed to sing the song to Shirley, the song was filmed however it was deemed too slow for the film and was cut

- The melody from the song was later featured in the TV movie musical 'Cinderella' (1957), with the song finally being sung in the 1996 stage production of 'State Fair'

'Babydoll'

- 'Babydoll' was developed after Gene Kelly prevented an Esther Williams swimming number from being included in the film

- Intended to be a lighthearted song and dance interlude for Gene Kelly and Esther Williams, the song was cut as it was considered to be "out of step" wit the rest of the film

- The song was later used in the film 'The Belle of New York' (1952), and performed by Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen

- Although most of the footage filmed for the song exists, a small component of  footage is missing

Did you know...

• This was the second of three "buddy films" Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly made together
• Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin and Betty Garrett would all be reunited a year later in "On The Town" (1949)
• The idea for the film was conceived by Gene Kelly, who wanted to pay tribute to the early years of baseball
• Judy Garland was the original choice to play K.C. Higgins, however she had become unreliable due to her addiction to antidepressants
• June Allyson was considered for the role of K.C. Higgins, but fell pregnant
• Kathryn Grayson was considered for the role of K.C. Higgins
• In Britain, the film was released under the title 'Everybody's Cheering', as baseball is not popular there
• The final directed by solely by Busby Berkeley
• Baseball player Leo Durocher was originally intended to play the role of Danny Ryan
• In her autobiography, Esther Williams described her time on the film as "pure misery", and claimed Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen treated her with contempt, and made nasty jokes about her - Williams believes this was because Kelly was uncomfortable with her being 3 inches taller than him

Award nominations

• Writers Guide of America Award nomination for Best Written American Musical 

Esther Williams appears briefly in a swimming pool

Closing remarks

In my opinion 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' is a below average MGM musical.  The pace of film gets slow from time to time, and there are not nearly enough songs. This aside, the stars are fantastic and the film was very successful upon it's release.

In addition to Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, I am also a big fan of the two actresses in the film: Esther Williams and Betty Garrett.

• Esther Williams was one of MGMs biggest money makers, and sadly she does not perform an underwater ballet sequence in this film. We do get to see her briefly in the swimming pool.



Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra & Betty Garrett

perform the finale of "Strictly U.S.A."

• Betty Garrett's role in the film is also far too short, as it takes 40 minutes for her character to be introduced. Betty Garrett was a wasted talent and sadly didn't make nearly enough films.

Overall not a bad film, although in my opinion it's inferior to the other two Kelly/Sinatra films "Anchors Aweigh" (1945) and "On the Town" (1949).

The Shining Future (1944) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

'The Shining Future' is a 1944 musical short film directed by LeRoy Prince and starring Olive Blakeney, Jack Carson, Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Bing Crosby, Deanna Durbin, Cary Grant, Jimmie Lydon, Irene Manning, Herbert Marshall, Dennis Morgan, Harold Peary (Great Gildersleeve), Charles Ruggles and Frank Sinatra.  The short was produced by Jack L. Warner.

The short film consists of the following components:

• Herbert Marshall takes us through an "imaginative glimpse" into the future world of 1960, and into the living room the Ames family, who watch an archive film hosted by Jack Carson
• Frank Sinatra sings "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Town of Berlin"
• Dennis Morgan & Irene Manning sing "One Alone" as a duet
• Cary Grant reads a letter written by a Canadian soldier who was killed in action
• Deanna Durbin sings "Begin the Beguine"
• Benny Goodman and his Orchestra play "Sing, Sing, Sing" - featuring Harry James on trumpet and Gene Krupa on drums
• Bing Crosby sings "Get on the Road to Victory"
• The short closes with footage of the frontline at war

This film is world war II propoganda to encourage moviegoers to purchase war bonds. It uses the concept of the future, to demonstrate the growth of war bonds with long-term investment. For example, in 1960 Mr. Ames plans to use his war bonds as a down payment for Danny's college education. Sadly Danny's friend Joe will not be able to go to college as his parents didn't keep their war bonds.

Overall, good entertainment with a handful of memorable stars. The imaginative look into the future is amusing, although I think they were a little optimistic at how advanced the world would be. In today's world, (over 50 years later) we are still not as advanced as the world the Ames lives in - we are yet to innovate flying cars or have our own personal rocket ships.

Watch the full short film here:

It Happened in Brooklyn (1947) - Star of the month... Frank Sinatra

"It doesn't have to be classical art as long as it comes from the heart" - Jimmy Durante (as Nick Lombardi in 'It Happened in Brooklyn')

'It Happened in Brooklyn' is a 1947 musical directed by Richard Whorf and starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford, Jimmy Durante, Gloria Grahame & Marcy McGuire. The film contains 6 songs written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, as well as a few opera arias.

Watch the trailer:

Danny Webson Miller (played by Sinatra) has been in the army for four years, and returns to his one true love: the city of Brooklyn. Before his return he meets a shy young composer, Jamie Shellgrove (played by Lawford). Jamie's grandfather asks Danny to help make Jamie more social by introducing him to some girls in Brooklyn. After returning to Brooklyn Danny meets schoolteacher Anne Fielding (played by Grayson) and is reunited with an old friend, Nick Lombardi (played by Durante).

Musical program

• "Whose Baby Are You?" - Frank Sinatra
• "The Brooklyn Bridge" - Frank Sinatra
• "The Bell Song" - Kathryn Grayson
• "I Believe" - Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante & Bobby Long
• "The Song's Gotta Come From the Heart" - Frank Sinatra & Jimmy Durante
• "La Ci Darem La Mano" - Kathryn Grayson & Frank Sinatra
• "It's the Same Old Dream" - Frank Sinatra
• "It's the Same Old Dream (Reprise) - Students ensemble
• "Time After Time" - Frank Sinatra
• "Time After Time (Reprise)" - Kathryn Grayson
• "Whose Baby Are You? (Reprise)" - Peter Lawford

Song: "The Song's Gotta Come From the Heart" - Frank Siantra & Jimmy Durante

Song: "Time After Time (Reprise)" - Kathryn Grayson

Song: "La Ci Darem La Mano" - Kathryn Grayson & Frank Sinatra

Song: "I Believe" - Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante & Bobby Long

Did you know...

• This was Frank Sinatra's third MGM film, and the third time he & Kathryn Grayson appeared in the same film
• The piano music played in the film was played by an unseen 17 year old Andre Previn, who had just joined the MGM musical department

Closing remarks

One of the weaker MGM musicals with a moderately bad script and very little substance. The film was primarily designed to showcase the vocal talent of Frank Sinatra - which is what the majority of Elvis Presley's filmography would endeavour to do. I'm not a fan of the ending and the way in which the film just cuts off.

There are some good songs in the film, "Time After Time", "I Believe" & the Sinatra/Durante duet "The Songs Gotta Come From the Heart". 

I find Jimmy Durante carries the film pretty much on his own and at the same time shows us what vaudeville greatness is.