Words and Music (1948)
- Directed by
- Norman Taurog
- Genre
- biographical film, musical film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 2h
- Rated
- NR
- Rating
- 5.8 of 10 from 21 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
This film tells a fictionalized version of the partnership between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. It focuses on their creative collaboration and the musical numbers they produced together.
nostalgiclightheartedsentimentalupbeatglamoroustheatricalbittersweetwhimsical
What happens
Words and Music is a 1948 American biographical musical film loosely based on the creative partnership of the composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. The film stars Mickey Rooney as Hart and Tom Drake as Rodgers, along with Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett, Ann Sothern, and numerous musical stars. The film is best remembered as the final screen pairing of Rooney and Judy Garland, and for the lavish showcasing of the Rodgers and Hart catalogue of songs. As in many similar biopics of the era (such as Cole Porter's depiction in Night and Day), the story was heavily fictionalized. The script sanitized Hart's complex psychological problems, alcoholism, and self-destructive behavior, which all contributed to the break-up of the writing partnership and Hart's early death, as well as changed his sexual orientation. The introduction to the film is staged as if composer Richard Rodgers was actually playing himself. Actor Tom Drake identifies himself as Rodgers and tells the audience it is about to see the story of his collaboration with Lorenz Hart. (Contemporary posters from the film featured the faces of most major cast members, including Rooney, but did not show the face of Drake, and his name was in smaller type than those of the other main stars.) The film was the second in a series of MGM biopics about Broadway composers; it was preceded by Till the Clouds Roll By (Jerome Kern, 1946) and followed by Three Little Words (Kalmar and Ruby, 1950) and Deep in My Heart (Sigmund Romberg, 1954). Though the film performed very well at the box office, it proved to be quite an expensive production and, as a result, failed to recoup its cost in its first release. The film was issued on DVD in 2007 by Warner Bros. and extras included video and audio outtakes. Among these were two songs deleted from the film sung by Perry Como: "Lover" and "You're Nearer". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949)
I Surrender Dear (1948)
Three Little Words (1950)
Junction 88 (1948)
April Showers (1948)
Ladies of the Chorus (1948)
A Date with Judy (1948)
Easter Parade (1948)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.