''Doll Face'' is a 1945 American film released by 20th Century Fox and directed by

Lewis Seiler Lewis Seiler (September 30, 1890 – January 8, 1964) was an American film director. He directed more than 80 films between 1923 and 1958. Seiler was born in New York City and died in Hollywood, California. Partial filmography *''A Bankru ...

starring

Vivian Blaine Vivian Blaine (born Vivian Stapleton; November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of ''Guys and Dolls'', as well as appearin ...

as "Doll Face" Carroll. It also stars actor

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

and singers

Carmen Miranda Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The Br ...

and

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signin ...

. The film is based on the 1943 play '' The Naked Genius'' written by

Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted in ...

. In the opening credits, she is billed under her birth name, Louise Hovick. The film is also known as ''Come Back to Me'' in the United Kingdom.

Synopsis

"Doll Face" Carroll is an entertainer looking to expand her repertoire. After a failed audition, where she is recognized as a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

performer from the Gaiety Theatre, her manager and fiancé Mike Hannegan suggests she write an autobiography to project a more literate image and he hires Frederick Manly Gerard as a ghostwriter. Doll Face agrees on the condition she is allowed to dedicate the book to Mike with "For the love of Mike". Another performer in the burlesque show, Chita Chula, remarks that if the book is a success and Doll Face leaves the show it will probably have to close. Mike then decides to produce a Broadway show of his own with the financial aid of the performers themselves. Frederick offers to put up any money missing. Chita Chula (portrayed by

) is skeptical she can pull it off, but Mike assures her she'll "probably wind up being another Carmen Miranda!", something Chita Chula perceives as an insult. Mike leaks word on the book to the press, and riding the publicity, argues the show got all the press it needs and that the book, although all but finished, need not be published. Doll Face, however, decides to go through with it and goes to Jamaica in Queens, NY with Frederick for some final touch-ups. Boat engine trouble on Long Island Sound leaves them marooned on an island and, when Mike finds them, he misreads the situation and breaks up with her. Without "Doll Face" as headliner, the Gaiety Theatre struggles and Mike is forced to finally shut it down. Doll Face releases her book ''The Genius DeMilo'' and when Mike sees she dedicated the book to Frederick instead of him, he regrets leaving her. After Doll Face refuses to talk to Mike, he sends a lawyer to stop her show in the middle of opening night, since she is under contract not to appear in any show not produced by him. She agrees to see him and he asks her forgiveness. After they reunite, she tricks the producer of her show to give Mike a 25% share and co-producer credit so the show can continue.

Cast

Carmen Miranda & Dennis O'Keefe in Doll Face 1946

as Mary Elizabeth (Maybeth) "Doll Face" Carroll *

as Michael Francis "Mike" Hannegan *

as Nicky Ricci *

as Chita Chula *

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...

as Frankie Porter * Stephen Dunne as Frederick Manly Gerard (credited as Michael Dunne) *

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

as Flo Hartman *

Stanley Prager Stanley Prager (January 8, 1917 – January 18, 1972) was an American actor and a television and theatre director. Life and career Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production ''The Skin of O ...

as Flo's aide *

Charles Tannen Charles David Tannen (October 22, 1915 – December 28, 1980) was an American actor and screenwriter. Career A general purpose actor who worked primarily at 20th Century Fox, Tannen had mostly bit and/or supporting parts in movies, appea ...

as Flo's aide * George E. Stone as stage manager *

Frank Orth Frank Orth (February 21, 1880 – March 17, 1962) was an American actor born in Philadelphia. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series ''Boston Blackie''. Career By 1897, Orth ...

as Peters *

Donald MacBride Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...

as Ferguson (lawyer) *

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

as passenger (uncredited) File:Vivian Blaine in Doll Face 2.png, Vivian Blaine
as "Doll Face" Carroll File:Dennis O'Keefe in Doll Face 2.png, Dennis O'Keefe
as Mike Hannegan File:Perry Como - Here Comes Heaven Again in Doll Face.png, Perry Como
as Nicky Ricci File:Carmen Miranda - Chico Chico in Doll Face.png, Carmen Miranda
as Chita Chula File:Martha Stewart in Doll Face.png, Martha Stewart
as Frankie Porter File:Stephen Dunne in Doll Face.png, Stephen Dunne
as Frederick Manly Gerard

Soundtrack

*Vivian Blaine - "Somebody's Walking in My Dream" (Music by

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, Ju ...

, Lyrics by

Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980) was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised in ...

) *Perry Como and Martha Stewart - "Somebody's Walking in My Dream" (Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Harold Adamson) *Perry Como and chorus girls - "Red Hot and Beautiful" (Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Harold Adamson) *Vivian Blaine and male quartet - "Red Hot and Beautiful" (Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Harold Adamson) *"Eighty Miles Outside of Atlanta" *Perry Como - "Here Comes Heaven Again" (Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Harold Adamson) *Perry Como and Vivian Blaine - "Here Comes Heaven Again" (Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Harold Adamson) *Perry Como and Martha Stewart - "Dig You Later (A-Hubba Hubba Hubba)" (Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Harold Adamson) *Carmen Miranda, Bando da Lua and chorus - "Chico Chico" (Music by Jimmy McHugh, Lyrics by Harold Adamson) *"The Parisian Trot" (Music by Lionel Newman, lyrics by Charles E. Henderson) Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson also submitted the song "True to the Navy", but it did not make it into the film because Paramount refused to license the song. The song "Dig You Later (A-Hubba Hubba Hubba)" was a celebration of the

Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945) On the night of 9/10 March 1945, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) conducted a devastating firebombing raid on Tokyo, the Japanese capital city. This attack was code-named Operation Meetinghouse by the USAAF and is known as the Great To ...

Production and filming

The working titles of this film were ''The Naked Genius'' and ''Here's a Kiss''. The

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

did not allow the studio to use ''The Naked Genius'' neither as the title of the film nor as title of "Doll Face's" fictional autobiography. The Production Code Administration also strongly protested the depiction of the lead character as a stripper and several screenplays submitted by the studio were not approved. In late July 1945,

Production Code Administration The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

head Joseph I. Breen cautioned studio public relations head Jason S. Joy: Playwright and renowned

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. ...

was credited onscreen using her real name Louise Hovick. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (6 April 1944) wrote that the producer George Jessel had offered Lee a role in the picture, but she did not appear in the film. According to ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (June 1944),

Carole Landis Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...

would star in the film and

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

would perform the "comedy lead", and yet another news item (July 1945) reported that

William Eythe William John Eythe (April 7, 1918 – January 26, 1957) was an American actor of film, radio, television and stage. Early life Born in Mars, Pennsylvania, a small town located about 25 miles from Pittsburgh, he was interested in acting from a ...

was scheduled to play the "romantic lead", and that

Hazel Dawn Hazel Dawn (born Henrietta Hazel Tout; March 23, 1890 – August 28, 1988) was an American stage, film and television actress, and violinist. She was born to a Mormon family in Utah, and studied music in Europe where her father was a missionary. ...

had been included in the cast. However, Dawn's appearance in the completed picture has not been confirmed.

was borrowed for the film from

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

's company. ''Doll Face'' was the screen debuts of

and

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably a ...

. Producer

Bryan Foy Bryan Foy (December 8, 1896 – April 20, 1977) was an American film producer and director. He produced more than 200 films between 1924 and 1963. He also directed 41 films between 1923 and 1934. He headed the B picture unit at Warner Bro ...

filled in for director

for three days while Seiler was ill.

and

submitted the song "True to the Navy" for inclusion in the film and a production number featuring it was filmed at a cost from $60,000 to $75,000. However, McHugh and Adamson previously submitted the song to Paramount which had used it in their 1945 film '' Bring on the Girls''. Paramount refused to license the song for use in ''Doll Face'', and the musical number had to be cut. In a December 1945 letter to

Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

studio president

Spyros Skouras Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (; gr, Σπύρος Σκούρας; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek-American motion picture pioneer and film executive who was the president of 20th Century-Fox from 1942 to 1962. He resigned June 27, 19 ...

, studio attorney George Wasson speculated that Paramount refused to license the song because Twentieth Century-Fox had obtained the distribution rights to ''

Tales of Manhattan ''Tales of Manhattan'' is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart, worked on the six stories in this film. Ba ...

'' and clearance for the use of the title '' Sentimental Journey'', both of which Paramount also wanted. Chorus - Dig You Later in Doll Face

According to the legal records, Irving Weissman filed suit against the studio, claiming that the song "Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba)" was plagiarized from one of his compositions. The case was dismissed in September 1948 by a federal court judge, but Weissman again filed suit through a state court. The disposition of the second suit has not been determined.

Reviews

The studio

reportedly paid Louise Hovick (Gypsy Rose Lee) a large sum of money for the rights to '' The Naked Genius''.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "some one (not Miss Hovick) made a terrible deal...the only distinction in its writing is a persistence in grammatical mistakes. The only remarkability about its pattern is a monotonous fidelity to form." and "Forget the plot, and concentrate on the production numbers performed with gusto by Blaine, Como, and Carmen Miranda." "A very surprising choice o be in the cast for the film I think, is Carmen Miranda for "Doll Face". Not that she isn't one of our best dancers, and certainly one of our most persuasive personalities, but she is so different from

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

, who created the role on the stage in "Naked Genius" from which "Doll Face" is taken" said

Louella Parsons Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and s ...

. The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' wrote that "The film has its faults, chiefly technical...Dennis O'Keefe makes a handsome, hard-hitting manager and performs with great sincerity. Perry Como sings in an even more attractive manner than hitherto, and Vivian Blaine is more than adequately attractive, if a trifle too polished, as the "burleycue" blonde. Carmen Miranda appears in a straight part with only one singing number. The innovation is not a success, but the fault is the director's not Carmen's."NEW FILMS REVIEWED "Doll Face" The Sydney Morning Herald - July 8, 1946
/ref>

DVD release

The film was released on DVD in June 2008 as part of Fox's "The Carmen Miranda Collection."

Parody

In 1985, comedy troop LA Connection used ''Doll Face'' as episode 9 of its syndicated show ''Mad Movies'', in which films were re-edited with a dubbed soundtrack. The plot centers around the sleazy "Miss Doll Face Pageant".

Gallery

References

Doll Face
,

AFI Catalog of Feature Films The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema in ...

. Retrieved 4 August 2017.

Dave Kehr David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the '' Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a ...

.
New DVDs: Carmen Miranda
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 17 June 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2017.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doll Face 1945 films 1940s romantic musical films 1945 romantic comedy films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Lewis Seiler American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films scored by David Buttolph Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge 1940s English-language films 1940s American films