''Presenting Lily Mars'' is a 1943 American

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 Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Skippy (film), Skippy' ...

, produced by

Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood Musical film, "Golden Age" of musicals ...

, starring

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

and Van Heflin, and based on the 1933 novel by

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...

. The film is often cited as Garland's first film playing an adult role. However, the issue is complicated by the delay in this film's release caused by reshooting the finale, and Garland's brutal work schedule—she was filming ''Girl Crazy'' and ''For Me and My Gal'' at the same time. Also, in '' Little Nellie Kelly,'' released in 1940, she plays her character's mother, dying in childbirth.

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

and

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

appear with their orchestras in this

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

production. __TOC__

Plot

Lily Mars (

) is a small-town girl with big-city ambitions. She contrives to audition for a Broadway producer whose father was the local physician and whose family piano her father also happened to tune. However, the producer wants nothing to do with her. She then heads to Broadway hoping to convince him to cast her, but after a series of disappointments, the best she can manage is an understudy job.

Cast

as Lily Mars * Van Heflin as John Thornway * Fay Bainter as Mrs. Thornway * Richard Carlson as Owen Vail *

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was an MGM contract player who appeared in films from the ...

as Mrs. Mars *

Marta Eggerth Marta Eggerth (17 April 1912 – 26 December 2013) was a Hungarian actress and singer from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar ...

as Isobel Rekay * Connie Gilchrist as Frankie *

Leonid Kinskey Leonid Kinskey (18 April 1903 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as Sascha in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky. Life and career Kinskey ...

as Leo * Patricia Barker as Poppy * Janet Chapman as Violet * Annabelle Logan as Rosie *

Douglas Croft Douglas Croft (born Douglas Malcolm Wheatcroft, August 12, 1926 – October 24, 1963) was an American teen actor who is best remembered for being the first person to portray the DC Comics character Robin, the Boy Wonder, as well as his secr ...

as Davey * Ray McDonald as Charlie Potter * Lew Payton as Thornway's Butler *

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Cinema of the United States, Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Char ...

as Lily's Dance Partner in Finale (uncredited) * Lillian Yarbo as Rosa, Isobel's maid (uncredited)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes: * " Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own)" (music by

Karl Hoschna Karl Hoschna (1876–1911) was a Tin Pan Alley-era composer most noted for his songs "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine", "Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own), Every Little Movement" and "Yama Yama Man", and for a string of succ ...

, lyrics 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 ...

, 1910) * "When I Look At You" (music by

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United S ...

, lyrics by Walter Jurmann, 1943) * "Tom, Tom The Piper's Son" (music by

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and '' On a Clear Day Yo ...

, lyrics by

Yip Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards " Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (w ...

, 1943) * " Three O'Clock in the Morning" (music by Julián Robledo, lyrics by Theodora Morse, 1921) * "Broadway Rhythm" (music by

Nacio Herb Brown Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American composer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work is the sc ...

, lyrics by Arthur Freed, 1935), featuring

and His Orchestra. The finale, "Where There's Music", originally included parts of "

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

", " In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree", and " It's a Long Way to Tipperary", which were deleted from the final version.

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

$2,216,000 in the US and Canada and $1,039,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,211,000. An April 30, 1943, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review bylined T. S. praises Judy Garland's “blithe talents” but concludes: “For all its sweetness, "Presenting Lily Mars" is uninviting fare; it is glorified monotony. Perhaps M-G-M should let Miss Garland grow up and stay that way.”

References

External links

* *
''Presenting Lily Mars'' at AllMovie
*

{{Booth Tarkington 1943 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American black-and-white films Films directed by Norman Taurog 1940s romantic musical films 1940s English-language films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Booth Tarkington American romantic musical films Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films with songs by Burton Lane Films with songs by Yip Harburg American musical comedy films 1943 musical comedy films 1940s American films English-language romantic musical films English-language musical comedy films