''I Love Melvin'' is a 1953 American

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 Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by Don Weis, starring

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His b ...

and

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

. According to MGM records, the film earned $1,316,000 in the United States and Canada and $654,000 overseas, resulting in a loss of $290,000.

Plot

Small-time actress Judy Schneider dreams of becoming a Hollywood star even as she struggles along playing a human football in a kitschy Broadway musical. One day in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

she bumps into Melvin, the bumbling assistant to a '' Look'' magazine photographer. Melvin is smitten with Judy and endures disapproval from her father who wants her to marry Harry Flack, the boring heir to a paper box company. He exaggerates his importance at the magazine in order to impress Judy and her family and promises to get her on the cover, using the photo shoots as an excuse to spend time with her. His charade is exposed when her picture doesn't appear on the cover and she discovers that he is just a lowly assistant. Too ashamed to face her, Melvin abandons his job and disappears into Central Park. While hiding in the Park he sees Judy's picture on the cover of ''Look'' and discovers that the editor made her a cover girl so he would see it and come out of hiding.

Cast

as Melvin Hoover *

as Judy Schneider Judy LeRoy *

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

as Mom Schneider *

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin ( Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers ( Lindsay Wagner) i ...

as Harry Flack *

Allyn Joslyn Allyn Joslyn (July 21, 1901 – January 21, 1981) was an American stage, radio, television and film actor, known for his roles playing aristocratic wealthy snobs. Biography Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining e ...

as Frank Schneider * Les Tremayne as Mr. Henneman *

Noreen Corcoran Noreen Margaret Corcoran (October 20, 1943 – January 15, 2016) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for playing Kelly Gregg in the American sitcom television series '' Bachelor Father''. Early years Corcoran was born ...

as Clarabelle Schneider * Jim Backus as Mergo * Barbara Ruick as Studio Guide * Robert Taylor as himself (cameo appearance in Judy's dream)

Music

Lyrics by Mack Gordon, and music by Josef Myrow #"Lady Loves" (Debbie Reynolds) #"We Have Never Met as Yet" (Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor) #"Saturday Afternoon Before the Game" (Chorus) #"Where Did You Learn to Dance" (Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor) #"I Wanna Wander" (Donald O'Connor) #"Life Has Its Funny Ups and Downs" (Noreen Corcoran)

Comic book adaptation

* Eastern Color Movie Love #20 (April 1953)

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:I Love Melvin 1953 films 1953 musical comedy films 1953 romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s romantic musical films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films about photojournalists Films adapted into comics Films directed by Don Weis Films set in New York City Films with screenplays by George Wells Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s American films