Movie |
Dance | Ragtime
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Best Music Scoring | 1939
Best Music Original Song | 1939 | Irving
Best Film Editing | 1939
Best Art Direction | 1939
Best Writing Original Story | 1939 | Irving
Best Picture | 1939
Best Foreign Film | 1938
Budget 2,000,000 USD
Box Office Collection 4,000,000 USD
Due to Motion Picture Production Code which was enforced between 1934 and 1968, this film's content was subject to rigid censorship. In her autobiography, Ethel Merman said that the original lyrics to "Heat Wave": "She started a heat wave by letting her seat wave" was changed for the movie to "She started a heat wave by letting her feet wave."
This was the first time that composer Irving Berlin had worked with Ethel Merman. He told her that he was so impressed with her talent that he would work with her again. He kept that promise and wrote two Broadway shows especially for her: "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1946 and "Call Me Madam" in 1950, the latter of which also starred Merman in the film adaptation: Call Me Madam (1953). Merman also later starred in a film that, like this one, was a cavalcade of Irving Berlin songs, There's No Business Like Show Business (1954).
A British Movietone Newsreel survives of the London premiere at the Regal Cinema, believed to be some time in Fall 1938. Leslie Mitchell describes the events, and Irving Berlin is present. Mitchell asks Berlin what is his favorite song that he wrote, and Berlin responds: "Well, what do you think!" indicating the title of this film. Also present is George Sanders, Clive Brook, Bobby Howes, Mary Maguire, Margaret Lockwood and Flora Robson.
Three deleted musical numbers survive in pristine condition: "Some Sunny Day" sung by Don Ameche, "In My Harem" sung by Jack Haley, with Wally Vernon and Chick Chandler and "Marching Along With Time" sung by Ethel Merman; all three numbers are included as special features in the DVD release.
Irving Berlin personally singled out Alice Faye to play the female lead.
"Stella Kirby: You haven't left me with a word to say. Charlie Dwyer: That's good. People talk too much anyway."
"Stella's Sailor freind: So, did you ever learn long division? Stella Kirby: I never even learned short division!"
