Main Cast: Ray Middleton, Bill Shirley, Muriel Lawrence, Eileen Christy, Lynn Bari, Dick Simmons
Release Year: 1952
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
The life of Stephen Foster, one of America's greatest and best-loved songwriters of the 19th century, sets the stage for this musical biography. Foster (Bill Shirley) is a shy bookkeeper who writes songs in his spare time. He is madly in love with Inez McDowell (Muriel Lawrence), but she isn't interested in him, and she eventually gives him the brush-off. However, Inez's sister Jeanie (Eileen Christy) carries a torch for Foster, and in time, he finds happiness with her. Jeanie's inspiration leads Foster to write some of his best known songs, which brings him success in the music business and allows him to leave bookkeeping behind. Along with the title tune, the soundtrack features such Foster classics as "My Old Kentucky Home", "Swanee River", "Camptown Races", "Oh! Susannah", "The Old Folks at Home", "A Ribbon in Your Hair", and "I Still See Her in My Dreams". ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A dreadful little biopic, I Dream of Jeanie purports to be about the life of famous American composer Stephen Foster, but of course has almost nothing to do with the man's real life. This is typical for Hollywood, of course; unfortunately, as is also all too often typical, the "life story" they choose to create for the film is trite, clichéd, predictable and downright annoying. There have been few leading male characters in this kind of film as irritating as Jeanie's "Stephen Foster," who is so spineless and dull that one longs to slap him. Aside from the tired story and the exasperating leading character, the screenplay suffers from terribly dull dialogue. What saves Jeanie -- just barely -- from being a total disaster is the score (of course) and the voices that sing them. As Foster, Bill Shirley is a wash-out when it comes to his acting -- but he sounds beautiful when he opens his mouth in song. Ray Middleton, saddled with the unfortunate duty of headlining the obligatory (and very discomfiting) "blackface" section, turns in a rousing performance, and Muriel Lawrence also adds some pleasant vocalizing. None of this can come anywhere near making Jeanie a good picture -- but it does provide some welcome relief from the dreck. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Frank Hotaling - Art Director, Allan Dwan - Director, Fred Allen - Editor, Robert Armbruster - Musical Direction/Supervision, Reggie Lanning - Cinematographer, Herbert J. Yates - Producer, Alan LeMay - Screenwriter
