''A Song Is Born'' (also known as ''That's Life''), starring Danny Kaye and

Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...

, is a 1948

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

musical film remake of Howard Hawks' 1941 movie ''

Ball of Fire ''Ball of Fire'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This Samuel Goldwyn Productions film (originally distributed by RKO) concerns a group of professors laboring to ...

'' with

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

and Barbara Stanwyck. This version was also directed by Hawks, based on the story "From A to Z" by

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...

and Thomas Monroe, adapted by Harry Tugend (uncredited) and produced by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...

and released by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. Filmed in

, it featured a stellar supporting cast of musical legends, including

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

, Benny Goodman (with

Al Hendrickson Alton Reynolds Hendrickson (May 10, 1920 – July 19, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist and occasional vocalist. Biography When he was five years old, Hendrickson's family moved to California, where he grew up. He played early in his career w ...

as cameo), Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

. Other notable musicians playing themselves in the cast include

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

(with

Harry Babasin Yervant Harry Babasin, Jr. (19 March 1921 – 21 May 1988) was an American jazz bassist. His nickname was "The Bear". Biography Babasin was born in Dallas, Texas to an American mother and an Armenian father. He attended North Texas State Universit ...

as cameo),

Mel Powell Mel Powell (born Melvin Epstein) (February 12, 1923 – April 24, 1998) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the founding dean of the music department at the California Institute of the Arts. He served as a music educator for over ...

Louis Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...

The Golden Gate Quartet The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. Origins and early career The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singe ...

, Russo and the Samba Kings, The Page Cavanaugh Trio, and

Buck and Bubbles John William Sublett (February 19, 1902 – May 18, 1986), known by his stage name John W. Bubbles, was an American tap dancer, vaudevillian, movie actor, and television performer. He performed in the duo "Buck and Bubbles", who were the fi ...

. Other actors include

Steve Cochran Steve Cochran (born Robert Alexander Cochran, May 25, 1917 – June 15, 1965) was an American film, television and stage actor. He attended the University of Wyoming. After a stint working as a cowboy, Cochran developed his acting skills in loca ...

and

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

Plot

In the Totten Foundation’s Victorian mansion in New York City, mild-mannered Professor Hobart Frisbee ( Danny Kaye) and his seven fellow academics, among them Professor Magenbruch ( Benny Goodman), are writing and recording a comprehensive musical encyclopedia. They have been living cut off from the world for 9 years, living without a radio. Thanks to two window washers (

) seeking help with a radio quiz, they discover that there are many forms of popular music—including swing, jive, jump, blues, two-beat Dixie,

boogie woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

, and

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

—that they know nothing about. Hobart, the expert on “folk music” goes out and explores the music scene before, during and after hours, inviting all the artists he meets to come to the Foundation. The professors become entangled in the problems of

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

Honey Swanson (

). She needs a place to hide out from the police, who want to question her about her gangster boyfriend Tony Crow (

). Tony wants to marry her—because a wife cannot testify against her husband. Honey invites herself into the sheltered household, over the objections of Hobart and Miss Bragg, the housekeeper. While there, she introduces them to the latest music, of which they are completely ignorant, aided by many of the musicians Hobart met the night before. The songs they play include "A Song Is Born", "Daddy-O", "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", "Flying Home", and "Redskin Rumba". When Miss Bragg delivers an ultimatum, Honey persuades Hobart to let her stay by telling him she is “wacky” about him and introducing him to “yum yum”, i.e. enthusiastic kissing. Smitten, the innocent Hobart (who graduated from

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

at age 13) scours the city for an open jewelry store so he can buy an engagement ring. He proposes the next morning. They are interrupted by a phone call from her “Daddy”. Pretending to be her father, Tony easily persuades Hobart to come to Rancocas, New Jersey to be married. Delighted, all the professors join in the elopement. (Honey knocks Miss Bragg out and locks her in the closet.) A minor accident lands them in an inn near Kingston. There, Honey—who is feeling very guilty and is deeply moved by what she has learned about Hobart—realizes that she has fallen in love with him. Tony and his men arrive and reveal the truth. When Hobart goes to tell her that “Daddy's here,” Miss Bragg arrives with the police. Hobart sends them away. Honey shows him her excuses—a blank sheet of paper. At the Foundation, the professors refuse Miss Bragg's offer of breakfast. Miss Totten and her lawyer arrive, planning to close down the Foundation. Tony's two men break in and hold everyone at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Honey refuses to marry Tony, even though she will never see Frizzy again. Tony descends on the Foundation with Honey and a very deaf justice of the peace and forces Honey to go through the ceremony by threatening the professors and the assembled musicians. When Hobart learns that Honey is being forced, the hostages join to overwhelm the gunmen. The finale, of course, is not decided by guns but by music, its

resonance Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied Periodic function, periodic force (or a Fourier analysis, Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system ...

and reverberation, as, inspired by

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (or alternatively "Joshua Fought de Battle of Jericho", "Joshua Fit the Battle" or just Joshua and various other titles) is a well-known African-American spiritual. The lyrics allude to the biblical story of th ...

, the musicians send a drum crashing on one of the henchmen and a professor pulls the rug out from under the other. Frizzy gives Tony a beating. Hobart overcomes Honey's objections to their marriage—she feels unworthy—with his own compelling demonstration of “yum yum”.

Cast

* Danny Kaye as Professor Hobart Frisbee *

as Honey Swanson * Benny Goodman as Professor Magenbruch *

as Himself * Louis Armstrong as Himself *

as Himself * Lionel Hampton as Himself *

as Himself *

Buck Washington Ford Lee "Buck" Washington (October 16, 1903 – January 31, 1955) was an American vaudeville performer, pianist, and singer. He was best known as half of the duo Buck and Bubbles, who were the first black artists to appear on television, with ...

as Buck ** John William Sublett as Bubbles * The Page Cavanaugh Trio as Themselves *

as Themselves * Russo and the Samba Kings as Themselves *

as Professor Twingle *

as Tony Crow * J. Edward Bromberg as Dr. Elfini *

Felix Bressart Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen. Life and career Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia). His acting debut came in 1914 as Malvo ...

as Professor Gerkikoff *

Ludwig Stossel Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and c ...

as Professor Traumer * O.Z. Whitehead as Professor Oddly *

Esther Dale Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Early years Dale was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. She attended Leland and Gray Seminary in Townshend, Vermont. In Berlin, Germany, she stu ...

as Miss Bragg *

Mary Field Mary Field (born Olivia Rockefeller; June 10, 1909 – June 12, 1996) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles. Early life She was born in New York City. As a child, she never knew her biological parents; ...

as Miss Totten * Howland Chamberlin as Mr. Setter *

Paul Langton Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Joe * Sidney Blackmer as Adams *

Ben Welden Ben Welden (born Benjamin Weinblatt; June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows. Early years Welden was born in Toledo, Oh ...

as Monte * Ben Chasen as Ben * Peter Virgo as Louis

Music

* "A Song is Born" * "Daddy-O" ** Sung by

(dubbed) and performed by Jeri Sullavan * Words and music by Don Raye and Gene De Paul * Orchestration by

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...

* Musical direction by Emil Newman and

Hugo Friedhofer Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901May 17, 1981) was an American composer and cellist best known for his motion picture scores. Biography Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer was born in San Francisco, California, United States. His father, Paul, was a ...

Production

Kaye's personal writer/composer, Sylvia Fine, who also happened to be Kaye's wife, refused to take part in any more of his projects because Kaye had recently left her for actress

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

. Kaye didn't want anyone else writing songs for him, so he did not perform any songs in the film.''Nobody's Fool: The Lives of Danny Kaye''. Martin Gottfried. Simon and Schuster, 1994, Hawks had little interest in remaking his own earlier movie, and only came to work on it because of the $250,000 paycheck. When speaking of the film, he said "Danny Kaye had separated from his wife, and he was a basket case, stopping work to see a psychiatrist veryday. He was about as funny as a crutch. I never thought anything in that picture was funny. It was an altogether horrible experience...and Virginia Mayo's performance was 'pathetic'... she's not Barbara Stanwyck, I'll tell you that."

Release

''A Song Is Born'' was the number one film in the country from the time of its release until November 1948, while Hawks's other (and in his opinion, best) film, '' Red River'', was second. However, ''A Song Is Born'' never broke even, only earning about $2.2 million (equivalent to $ million in ), while ''Red River'' went on to gross $4.1 million. It has since been released on home video in both VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

formats.

References

External links

* *
A Song is Born
' at TCM * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Song Is Born 1948 musical films 1948 films Films directed by Howard Hawks Films set in New York City Musical film remakes Samuel Goldwyn Productions films Jazz films Films with screenplays by Billy Wilder American musical films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films