Songwriter and Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern is unable to find immediate success in the U.S. He sought recognition abroad. He journeyed to England where his dreams of success became real and where he met his future wife Eva Leale.
Till The Clouds Roll By 1946 HD | Musical Film | Robert Walker & Judy Garland | A Fictionalized Biography of Composer Jerome Kern
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Movie Info
Till The Clouds Roll By is a 1946 American musical film made by MGM. The film is a fictionalized biography of composer Jerome Kern (portrayed by Robert Walker (actor)) who was originally involved with the production of the film, but died before it was completed.
Production
Till the Clouds Roll By contained a large cast of well-known musical stars of the day who appeared in cameo roles performing Kern’s songs. The first 15 minutes of the film consist of a condensed adaptation of Act I of Show Boat, with the order of some of the songs shifted – “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” is sung after “Life upon the Wicked Stage”, and “Ol’ Man River” was used as an Act I Finale, dissimilar to the show. “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” as sung by Lena Horne was filmed, like many of her other musical numbers in MGM films, so that it could be easily eliminated by sensitive Southern distributors.
Perhaps to appeal directly to teen audiences of the day, the film included two versions of “Ol’ Man River” – the first a straightforward version sung by African-American actor-singer Caleb Peterson and a black chorus as part of the “Show Boat” medley, and the second a “crooner version” performed by Frank Sinatra (then wildly popular with Bobby soxers), featured as the film’s grand finale.
When the film started production in the fall of 1945, Judy Garland was signed as Broadway singer-dancer Marilyn Miller. Garland, who had just returned to California after a long New York honeymoon with her new husband, director Vincente Minnelli, had just discovered that she was pregnant. MGM decided that all of Garland’s scenes and musical numbers would be directed, supervised, and completed by Minnelli as soon as possible. During this time, Jerome Kern regularly visited the set and was photographed with Minnelli and Garland while they were filming the musical number Who? (song). Soon after, Kern returned to New York towards the end of October and died in November, 1945. Garland’s work on the film was finished by December, 1945.
Famed circus performer Barbette (performer) consulted on the creation of the film’s circus sequence.
Upon its release in December, 1946, Till The Clouds Roll By received mixed reviews, but was a huge box-office success.
Till the Clouds Roll By is also credited as one of the first motion pictures to have a soundtrack album released concurrent with the film arriving in theaters. The soundtrack was produced by MGM Records. The album originally contained four 78-rpm records featuring various artists and songs from the movie and front-cover artwork by Lennie Hayton. Later this album was released on LP album.
Cast
- June Allyson as Jane Witherspoon (in Leave It to Jane) and Lou Ellen Carter (in Oh, Boy! (musical))
- Lucille Bremer as Sally Hessler
- Judy Garland as Marilyn Miller
- Kathryn Grayson as Magnolia Hawks in Show Boat / Specialty
- Van Heflin as James I. Hessler
- Lena Horne as Julie LaVerne in Show Boat / Specialty
- Van Johnson as Bandleader in Elite Club
- Tony Martin (entertainer) as Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat / Specialty
- Dinah Shore as Una Trance (in The Girl from Utah) / Specialty
- Frank Sinatra as Finale Specialty
- Robert Walker (actor) as Jerome Kern
- Gower Champion as Specialty Dancer in Roberta
- Cyd Charisse as Specialty Dancer in Roberta
- Angela Lansbury as London Specialty, singing “How’d Ya Like to Spoon With Me”
- Ray McDonald as Specialty in Oh, Boy! and Leave It to Jane
- Virginia O’Brien as Ellie Mae in Show Boat / Specialty
- Joan Wells as Sally Hessler as a little girl
- Esther Williams as Cameo appearance
- Harry Hayden as Charles Frohman
- Paul Langton as Oscar Hammerstein II
- Paul Maxey as Victor Herbert
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