Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)

127 mins | Comedy, Variety | 25 September 1943

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HISTORY

Both producer Mark Hellinger and director David Butler make brief appearances as themselves in the film. HR news items add the following information about the production: The scene in which "Joe" tours stars' homes was filmed on the streets north of Sunset Blvd in Beverly Hills, CA. Herman Mankiewicz was announced as a writer, but his contribution to the final film, if any, has not been determined. Paul Henreid was replaced by George Tobias when Henreid could not learn a jitterbug routine. The film used the "heaven" sets from the Warner Bros. 1936 film Green Pastures and also the background sets from the Al Jolson number "Going to Heaven on a Missouri Mule" from the 1934 Warner Bros.' film Wonder Bar (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.5199).
       Spike Jones and His City Slickers and Dinah Shore made their motion picture debuts in this film. In the film, Bette Davis sings and dances the jitterbug; Errol Flynn sings a sea chanty, John Garfield satirizes the Warner Bros.' film Blues in the Night (See Entry); Jack Carson and Alan Hale perform a vaudeville routine; Oliva de Havilland, George Tobias and Ida Lupino perform an energetic dance; Ann Sheridan sings "Love Isn't Born, It's Made;" Alexis Smith dances; Willie Best and Hattie McDonald sing and dance; and Humphrey Bogart spoofs his hard-boiled persona. Bert Gordon, also known as "The Mad Russian," who appears in the film as the lobotomy patient, was a regular on Eddie Cantor's radio program from 1935-49. Arthur Schwartz and Frank Loesser's song, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," was nominated for ...

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Both producer Mark Hellinger and director David Butler make brief appearances as themselves in the film. HR news items add the following information about the production: The scene in which "Joe" tours stars' homes was filmed on the streets north of Sunset Blvd in Beverly Hills, CA. Herman Mankiewicz was announced as a writer, but his contribution to the final film, if any, has not been determined. Paul Henreid was replaced by George Tobias when Henreid could not learn a jitterbug routine. The film used the "heaven" sets from the Warner Bros. 1936 film Green Pastures and also the background sets from the Al Jolson number "Going to Heaven on a Missouri Mule" from the 1934 Warner Bros.' film Wonder Bar (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.5199).
       Spike Jones and His City Slickers and Dinah Shore made their motion picture debuts in this film. In the film, Bette Davis sings and dances the jitterbug; Errol Flynn sings a sea chanty, John Garfield satirizes the Warner Bros.' film Blues in the Night (See Entry); Jack Carson and Alan Hale perform a vaudeville routine; Oliva de Havilland, George Tobias and Ida Lupino perform an energetic dance; Ann Sheridan sings "Love Isn't Born, It's Made;" Alexis Smith dances; Willie Best and Hattie McDonald sing and dance; and Humphrey Bogart spoofs his hard-boiled persona. Bert Gordon, also known as "The Mad Russian," who appears in the film as the lobotomy patient, was a regular on Eddie Cantor's radio program from 1935-49. Arthur Schwartz and Frank Loesser's song, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," was nominated for an Academy Award.

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
21 Aug 1943
---
Daily Variety
17 Aug 1943
pp. 3-4
Down Beat
15 Dec 1943
p. 18
Film Daily
18 Aug 1943
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
20 Jul 1942
---
Hollywood Reporter
14 Oct 1942
p. 5
Hollywood Reporter
6 Nov 1942
p. 5
Hollywood Reporter
15 Feb 1943
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
23 Feb 1943
p. 9
Hollywood Reporter
17 Aug 1943
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
4 Oct 1943
p. 7
Motion Picture Herald
21 Aug 1943
---
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
21 Aug 1943
p. 1493
New York Times
2 Oct 1943
p. 19
Variety
18 Aug 1943
p. 10
CAST
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
and His City Slickers
Dick Rich
Billy Benedict
Marjorie Hoschelle
Ice Cold Katie number:
Errol Flynn number:
Bette Davis number:
Harriett Haddon
Humphrey Bogart sequence:
Ann Sheridan number:
+ −
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
PRODUCTION TEXT
BRAND NAME
A Warner Bros.--First National Picture
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Dial dir
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
Exec prod
WRITERS
Orig story
Orig story
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
ART DIRECTORS
Art dir
Leo E. Kuter
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
COSTUMES
MUSIC
Orch arr
SOUND
Charles David Forrest
Sd
VISUAL EFFECTS
Spec eff
DANCE
Dance numbers created and staged by
MAKEUP
Makeup artist
STAND INS
Singing double for Olivia De Havilland
SOURCES
SONGS
"They're Either Too Young or Too Old," "That's What You Jolly Well Get," "I'm Riding for a Fall," "Love Isn't Born, It's Made," "The Dreamer," "How Sweet You Are," "Thank Your Lucky Stars," "Headin' North," "Ice Cold Katie," "Goodnight, Good Neighbor," "No You, No Me," "We're Staying Home Tonight," music and lyrics by Arthur Schwartz and Frank Loesser; "Blues in the Night," music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer.
SONGWRITERS/COMPOSERS
+ −
DETAILS
Release Date:
25 September 1943
Production Date:
14 Oct 1942--early Jan 1943
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
9 October 1943
LP12303
Physical Properties:
Sound
RCA Sound System
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
127
Length(in feet):
11,440
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

Farnsworth and Dr. Schlenna, two producers who are planning a benefit extravaganza, want Dinah Shore, a singer on Eddie Cantor's radio show, to appear in their benefit, but they must first make a deal with Cantor, who holds her contract. Farnsworth fears that Cantor will want to interfere in the production in exchange for Dinah's participation. Meanwhile, outside the Hollywood studio, aspiring actor Joe Simpson gathers a group of tourists for a tour of stars' homes. Although a talented dramatic actor, Joe is unable to find work because he so closely resembles Cantor that people start to laugh as soon as they see him. While Joe waits for one last customer, songwriter Pat Dixon demands her money back from Barney Jackson, a talent agent who had promised to sell her song. When Jackson makes his escape in a taxi, Pat jumps on Joe's bus, mistaking it for another taxi, and realizes the truth too late to get off. After Joe learns of Pat's problems, he offers her a place to stay in the Gower Gulch studio area where his friends, all aspiring entertainers, have built houses out of old movie sets. Among the group are Spike Jones and his City Slickers, a goofy, energetic band, and Tommy Randolph, a singer. Tommy, an unknowing victim of Jackson's trickery, believes that he has a contract to sing with Cantor. The following day, Tommy arrives at Cantor's home, where Farnsworth and Schlenna are doggedly trying to obtain Dinah's services. After some confusion, Cantor has Tommy thrown out of his house, and the producers agree to make Cantor chairman of the benefit committee ...

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Farnsworth and Dr. Schlenna, two producers who are planning a benefit extravaganza, want Dinah Shore, a singer on Eddie Cantor's radio show, to appear in their benefit, but they must first make a deal with Cantor, who holds her contract. Farnsworth fears that Cantor will want to interfere in the production in exchange for Dinah's participation. Meanwhile, outside the Hollywood studio, aspiring actor Joe Simpson gathers a group of tourists for a tour of stars' homes. Although a talented dramatic actor, Joe is unable to find work because he so closely resembles Cantor that people start to laugh as soon as they see him. While Joe waits for one last customer, songwriter Pat Dixon demands her money back from Barney Jackson, a talent agent who had promised to sell her song. When Jackson makes his escape in a taxi, Pat jumps on Joe's bus, mistaking it for another taxi, and realizes the truth too late to get off. After Joe learns of Pat's problems, he offers her a place to stay in the Gower Gulch studio area where his friends, all aspiring entertainers, have built houses out of old movie sets. Among the group are Spike Jones and his City Slickers, a goofy, energetic band, and Tommy Randolph, a singer. Tommy, an unknowing victim of Jackson's trickery, believes that he has a contract to sing with Cantor. The following day, Tommy arrives at Cantor's home, where Farnsworth and Schlenna are doggedly trying to obtain Dinah's services. After some confusion, Cantor has Tommy thrown out of his house, and the producers agree to make Cantor chairman of the benefit committee in return for Dinah's appearance in the show. Despite his promise not to interfere, Cantor makes changes in all the production numbers until Farnsworth, pretending to be a reporter, calls Cantor on the telephone and encourages him to tell his life's story. When Pat learns about the benefit, she suggests that Tommy crash the performance and sing in front of a professional audience. With Pat's help, Tommy sneaks backstage, but is once again kicked out by Cantor. Pat is not defeated, however, and proposes that Joe impersonate Cantor. A few members of the Gower Gulch gang kidnap Cantor, to the delight of Farnsworth and Schlenna. They are nonplussed when Joe appears, but as his only demand is that Tommy be allowed to sing, they continue with rehearsals before the man they think is Cantor changes his mind. After all the stars who have assembled for the show perform, Tommy sings and is such a hit that movie mogul Jack Warner offers to sign him to a contract. Before the end of the show, Cantor escapes from his captors and returns to the theater, but Joe continues his masquerade and joins the company for the grand finale.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.