And the Angels Sing
| And the Angels Sing | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George Marshall |
| Written by | Claude Binyon Melvin Frank Norman Panama |
| Starring | Dorothy Lamour Betty Hutton Fred MacMurray Diana Lynn Mimi Chandler |
| Cinematography | Karl Struss |
| Edited by | Eda Warren |
| Music by | Victor Young James Van Heusen Johnny Burke |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
And the Angels Sing is a 1944 American musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray, and Betty Hutton. Released by Paramount Pictures, it is a classic example of a film written to capitalize on the title of a previously popular song, in this case Benny Goodman's 1939 number one hit, "And the Angels Sing" with music by Ziggy Elman, lyrics by Johnny Mercer and sung by Martha Tilton. The song's melody is featured in the opening credits but not sung in the film.
The standout original songs in the musical were "It Could Happen To You", sung by Dorothy Lamour, which quickly became a pop standard, and "His Rocking Horse Ran Away", which became one of Betty Hutton's most popular numbers.
Plot
The four Angel sisters live in the town of Glenby Falls with their father and they all wish to pursue various careers. Pop Angel wants his daughters to save money so he can buy a farm, so Bobby gets them a job singing at a roadhouse for $10.
The girls's quartet proves to be quite popular. After the show, Happy Marshall, the bandleader, makes a pass at Nancy Angel which she rejects. After the girls are paid just $10 for a performance and go home, Bobby stays at the roadhouse and gambles with her sisters' money and wins $190. Happy tells his band that they can't afford the train fare to New York, where they were offered an engagement. A band member, Fuzzy, convinces Happy to con Bobby out of her money. Happy agrees and showers Bobby with affection all night, ending it off with champagne which Bobby becomes drunk on. With the money conned, Happy decides to drive Bobby home but whilst they are driving she latches onto him and causes him to crash.
After the crash, Happy and his band rush to New York. When the fellow Angel sisters find Bobby, they are so infuriated they rush to New York to confront Happy. Nancy manages to get into the club where Happy is performing and confronts him, the bouncer is ordered to remove Nancy but Happy stops him and offers to take Nancy out to a café to explain himself. Happy confesses why he conned Bobby and Nancy falls in love with him.
Happy is then confronted again, this time by Bobby who is still furious over him conning her. Happy tells her that he has spent the money and the club will only pay them adequately if the sisters sing with the band. Happy offers them a contract then proposes to Nancy, but Fuzzy says that he should propose to Bobby as well so they'll all sign the contract. When the sisters discover the truth, they refuse to sign the contact and all pursue their own careers.
Patti and Josie find out that Happy and Fuzzy are broke and are performing in lederhosen at a café. After the humiliating show, the Angel sisters and Pop Angel confront Happy and Fuzzy. Happy and Fuzzy criticise Pop Angels’s parenting techniques and they all join together to spank the sisters. Despite them all having their own careers, they aren't really good at anything except singing so they agree to once again sing with Happy and Fuzzy's band. Fuzzy falls in love with Bobby, which leaves Nancy and Happy to rekindle their relationship.
Cast
- Dorothy Lamour as Nancy Angel
- Betty Hutton as Bobby Angel
- Diana Lynn as Josie Angel
- Mimi Chandler as Patti Angel
- Raymond Walburn as Pop Angel
- Fred MacMurray as Happy Marshall
- Eddie Foy Jr. as Fuzzy
- Frank Albertson as Oliver
- Mikhail Rasumni as Schultz
Soundtrack
- "And The Angels Sing" — (Written by Ziggy Elman and Johnny Mercer)
- "It Could Happen To You" — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Performed by Dorothy Lamour
- "His Rocking Horse Ran Away" — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Performed by Betty Hutton
- "Bluebirds In My Belfry — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Performed by Betty Hutton
- "For The First Hundered Years" — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Performed by Dorothy Lamour, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn (dubbed by Julie Gibson) and Mimi Chandler
- "Knocking On Your Own Front Door" — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Performed by Dorothy Lamour, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn (dubbed by Julie Gibson) and Mimi Chandler
- "How Does Your Garden Grow" — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Performed by Dorothy Lamour, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn (dubbed by Julie Gibson) and Mimi Chandler
- "My Hearts Wrapped Up In Gingham" — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Performed by Fred MacMurray
- "When Stanislaus Got Married" — (Written by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen) Perfomred by Fred MacMurray and Eddie Foy Jr.
Reviews
Time wrote, "From [the start of] Happy's two-timing, [it] gets more & more complicated and less & less funny. Too much of this dizzy story shows signs of hard labor; about half is rather enjoyable. Betty Hutton gets funnier with every picture. She is the most startling expression of natural force since the Johnstown Flood.[1]
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times Wrote "Paramount has labored more than somewhat to bring forth a whacky comedy of a sort it habitually inclines to in "And the Angels Sing." It has taken a story by Claude Binyon—one he must have thought up on a day off—and let a couple of writers torture a screen play out of it. It has tossed in a handful of fair songs by James Van Hausen and Johnny Burke and given the lot to a scratch cast headed by Betty Hutton, Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Lamour. "[2]