''The Best Things in Life Are Free'' is a 1956 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

. The film stars

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 ...

Dan Dailey Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as '' Mother Wore Tights'' (1947). Biography Early life D ...

and

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

as the real-life songwriting team of

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Recor ...

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

and

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

of the late 1920s and early 1930s; and

Sheree North Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley ...

as Kitty Kane, a singer (possibly based on

Helen Kane Helen Kane (born Helen Clare Schroeder, August 4, 1904 – September 26, 1966) was an American singer and actress. Her signature song was " I Wanna Be Loved by You" (1928), featured in the 1928 stage musical ''Good Boy''. The song was written for ...

). In 1957, the year after the film was released, it received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nomination for Lionel Newman in the category of Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Plot

Cast

as Kitty Kane *

Tommy Noonan Tommy Noonan (born Thomas Noone; April 29, 1921 – April 24, 1968) was a comedy genre film performer, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of high-profile films as well as B movies from the 1940s through the 1960s, and he is best ...

as Carl Frisbee *Murvyn Vye as Manny Costain *

Phyllis Avery Phyllis Avery (November 14, 1922-May 19, 2011) was an American actress. Early life Phyllis Avery was born to screenwriter Stephen Morehouse Avery and his wife Evelyn Martine Avery.

as Maggie Henderson *

Larry Keating Lawrence Keating (June 13, 1899 – August 26, 1963) was an American actor best known for his roles as Harry Morton on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', which he played from 1953 to 1958, and next-door neighbor Roger Addison on '' Mist ...

Winfield Sheehan Winfield R. Sheehan (September 24, 1883 – July 25, 1945) was a film company executive. He was responsible for much of Fox Film Corporation's output during the 1920s and 1930s. As studio head, he won an Academy Award for Best Picture for the film ...

* Tony Galento as Fingers * Norman Brooks as

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

* Jacques d'Amboise as Specialty dancer *

Roxanne Arlen Roxanne Arlen (January 10, 1931 – February 22, 1989) was an American film and stage actress and model active in the 1950s and 1960s. Filmography Feature films *''The Loved One'' (1965) as Wispering Glades hostess *'' A House Is Not a Home'' (1 ...

as Perky Nichols *

Byron Palmer Byron Palmer (21 June 1920 – 30 September 2009) was an American film, television and stage actor under contract with 20th Century Fox. Early years Palmer was the second of four children of '' Harlan G. Palmer''; a politician, judge, and most n ...

as Hollywood star * Gordon Richards as Butler

Reception

Critical response

Premiering in September-1956, ''The Best Things in Life Are Free'' was met with mixed reviews. Some reviews called it "the biggest new musical this year" and others "a musical-comedy that could've been produced on a higher budget with bigger and better production numbers".

Box office performance

Being a musical, though a modestly produced one, the movie was fairly expensive to produce. The film ended with a budget of $2.86 million and made just over $4 million at the box office, earning $2,250,000 in North American rentals in 1956.'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', ''Variety Weekly'', January 2, 1957

Songs

*"Lucky Day" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Dan Dailey *"If I Had a Talking Picture of You" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Byron Palmer *"Here Am I, Broken Hearted" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Gordon MacRae *" Button up Your Overcoat" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Dan Dailey and Gordon MacRae *" Good News" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Gordon MacRae *"

You're the Cream in My Coffee "You're the Cream in My Coffee" is a popular song published in 1928. Popular recordings were by Annette Hanshaw, Ben Selvin (vocal by Jack Palmer), Ted Weems (vocal by Parker Gibbs) and Ruth Etting. The music was written by Ray Henderson, wit ...

" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Dan Dailey *"

The Best Things in Life Are Free "The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a duet between American singers Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, recorded for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced soundtrack to the 1992 American film '' Mo' Money'', starring Damon Wayans. The song was ...

" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Sheree North (dubbed by Eileen Wilson) *"Lucky in Love" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Gordon MacRae *" Black Bottom" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Choreographed by Rod Alexander and danced by Sheree North and Jacques d'Amboise *"Birth of the Blues" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Danced by Sheree North and Jacques d'Amboise *" Sonny Boy" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva :Sung by Norman Brooks *"Follow Thru" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva *"One More Time" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva *"Thank Your Father" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva *"This Is the Missus" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown *"Together" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva *”

It All Depends on You "It All Depends on You" is a 1926 popular song with music by Ray Henderson, lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The song, written for the musical '' Big Boy'', was published in 1926. It was featured in the hit 1928 Warner Bros. film '' The S ...

" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva *"You Try Somebody Else (We'll Be Back Together Again)" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva *"Without Love" :Music by Ray Henderson :Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva

References

External links

* *

(in German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Things in Life Are Free, The 1956 films 1950s biographical films 1956 musical films 20th Century Fox films CinemaScope films American biographical films American musical films 1950s English-language films Films about composers Films directed by Michael Curtiz Films scored by Lionel Newman Films set in the 1920s Biographical films about musicians 1950s American films