''Tea for Two'' is a 1950 American musical

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 typica ...

film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Harry Clork was inspired by the 1925 stage musical ''

No, No, Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves t ...

'', although the plot was changed considerably from the original book by

Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading B ...

and Frank Mandel; and the score by Harbach,

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for T ...

, and

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...

was augmented with songs by other composers.

Plot

Set as a flashback to the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...

, Uncle Max ( S. Z. Sakall) expresses displeasure to his grandniece and grandnephew, who are making fun of their parents' outdated fashions, and begins telling the story of Nanette Carter ( Doris Day), a

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

socialite with show business aspirations. She offers to invest $25,000 in a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

show if her boyfriend, producer Larry Blair (

Billy De Wolfe William Andrew Jones (February 18, 1907 – March 5, 1974), better known as Billy De Wolfe, was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. Early life and early stage career Born William And ...

), casts her in the starring role. What she doesn't realize is that Larry is two-timing her with ingenue Beatrice Darcy ( Patrice Wymore), whom he envisions as the lead. When he accepts Nanette's offer, she imposes upon her wealthy, penny-pinching uncle, J. Maxwell Bloomhaus ( Sakall) to lend her the money. Uncle Max is willing to do so, on one condition. For the next 24 hours, Nanette must answer "no" to every question she's asked. Comic complications ensue when the cast arrives at Nanette's estate to rehearse, as composer and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Jimmy Smith (

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and '' Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

), who has romantic designs on Nanette, falls victim to the bet she's made with her uncle. Nanette wins, only to discover that Uncle Max lost all his money in the

stock market crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors. They often foll ...

. The only person still solvent is attorney William Early (

Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...

). So, Nanette's assistant Pauline Hastings (

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 ...

) sets out to charm him into backing the show — and succeeds. The show 'No, No, Nanette' opens and is a rousing success. Then, in a sudden flash to the present time, Uncle Max finishes his story right before Nanette and Jimmy return home to their two children.

Cast

* Doris Day as Nanette Carter *

as Jimmy Smith *

Gene Nelson Gene Nelson (born Leander Eugene Berg; March 24, 1920 – September 16, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, screenwriter, and director. Biography Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he and his family moved to Seattle when he was ...

as Tommy Trainor *

as Pauline Hastings *

as Larry Blair *

Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...

as William Early *

Virginia Gibson Virginia Gibson (born Virginia Gorski; April 9, 1925 – April 25, 2013) was an American dancer, singer and actress of film, television and musical theatre. Early years Of Polish and Irish lineage, Gibson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jo ...

as Mabel Wiley * S. Z. Sakall as J. Maxwell Bloomhaus * Patrice Wymore as Beatrice Darcy

Song list

* "I Know That You Know" - sung by Doris Day and Gene Nelson * "

Crazy Rhythm "Crazy Rhythm" is a thirty-two-bar swing show tune written in 1928 by Irving Caesar with music by Joseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn for the Broadway musical ''Here's Howe''.

" - sung by Patrice Wymore and Gene Nelson * "

I Only Have Eyes for You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film ''Dames'' (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934; later, there we ...

" - sung by Gordon MacRae * " Tea for Two" - sung by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae * "

I Want to Be Happy "I Want to Be Happy" is a song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar written for the 1925 musical '' No, No, Nanette''. Musical The song is used several times throughout the musical as a running theme representing the attempts ...

" - sung by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae * "Do Do Do" by - sung by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae * "Oh Me! Oh My!" - sung by Doris Day and Gene Nelson * " Charleston" - danced to by Billy De Wolfe * "Tea for Two (Reprise)" - sung by Doris Day and Gene Nelson * "

Here in My Arms "Here in My Arms" is a popular song published in 1925, written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The song was introduced in the 1925 Broadway musical ''Dearest Enemy,'' by Charles Purcell and Helen Ford. It has since become a standa ...

" - sung by Doris Day * "No, No, Nanette" - sung by Doris Day and Gene Nelson * "Tea for Two (Finale)" - sung by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae

Production

The film was the first in which Doris Day received top billing and marked the first time she danced on-screen. This was director Butler and leading lady Day's second collaboration, following ''

It's a Great Feeling ''It's a Great Feeling'' is a 1949 American Technicolor musical comedy film starring Doris Day, Jack Carson, and Dennis Morgan in a parody of what goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood movie making. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Mel Shavel ...

'' the previous year. The two went on to work together on '' Lullaby of Broadway'', '' April in Paris'', '' By the Light of the Silvery Moon'', and ''

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Lat ...

''.

Ray Heindorf Raymond John Heindorf (August 25, 1908 – February 3, 1980) was an American composer and songwriter who was noted for his work in film. Early life Born in Haverstraw, New York, Heindorf worked as a pianist in a movie house in Mechanicville in ...

served as musical director for the film, and the musical sequences were choreographed by Gene Nelson, Eddie Prinz, and LeRoy Prinz. Art direction was by Douglas Bacon and the

costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

er was Leah Rhodes. Both Gordon MacRae and Gene Nelson appeared together in the film version of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'' (1955).

Box office

According to accounting records at Warner Bros., the film earned $2,322,000 domestically and $1,330,000 foreign.

Critical reception

In his review in ''

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 d ...

'',

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 ...

called the film "pleasant entertainment," "a sprightly show," and "quite a genial production" and added, "Miss Day and Mr. MacRae . . . complement each other like peanut butter and jelly." ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' wrote, " tsheds a

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 ...

tear for the good old days of

plus fours Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend four inches (10 cm) below the knee (and thus four inches longer than traditional knickerbockers, hence the name). Knickerbockers have been traditionally associated with sporting attire sinc ...

, prohibition and the stock-market crash. The story . . . employs nearly every musical-comedy cliché . . . as hot-weather entertainment, ''Tea for Two'' is at its best when concentrating on the old tunes of Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin and Roger Wolfe Kahn."

Awards and honors

Gene Nelson won the

Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor The Golden Globe for New Star of the Year – Actor was an award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at their annual Golden Globe Awards. History The award was first introduced at the 6th Golden Globe Awards in 1948, where it was ...

for his work on ''Tea for Two''.

References

External links

* * * * *
Review of ''Tea for Two'' (1950)
at ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tea For Two (Film) 1950 films 1950 musical comedy films 1950 romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s romantic musical films American films based on plays American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films based on musicals Films directed by David Butler Films set in 1929 Films set in New York (state) Films set in the Roaring Twenties Warner Bros. films 1950s American films