Main Cast: Doris Day, Gene Nelson, S.Z. Sakall, Billy De Wolfe, Gladys George
Release Year: 1951
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
Plot
Warner Bros. made good use of its backlog of Harry Warren/Al Dubin tunes in its 1951 Doris Day musical Lullaby of Broadway. Day plays an American musical comedy star who comes back from a successful London engagement to visit her mother Gladys George. A once-great Broadway star herself, George is now living in drunken poverty, but this fact has been carefully hidden from Day by lovable millionaire S.Z. Sakall, who lives in the mansion once owned by Ms. George. Sakall arranges for George to pretend to still be the lady of the manor and to host a party in Day's honor. During the reception, love blooms between Day and Broadway hoofer Gene Nelson. There are several breakups and reconciliations involving a number of characters before the big-money finale. While the musical highlights in Lullaby of Broadway are consummately produced, the script (based on a story by Earl Baldwin) occasionally falls flat, especially when striving for laughs. The best comic bit is a throwaway: Sakall enjoys a nocturnal bottle of beer, which in closeup is advertised as "The Beer That Made Cincinnati Famous" -- Cincinnati being, of course, Doris Day's home town. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Most musicals live or die by their musical numbers, and this is especially true with The Lullaby of Broadway. Not that Lullaby doesn't have a story; there's plenty of plot here, but not really any plot development. Instead, the details of the plot are dispensed within as few lines as possible, to make room for the next big socko number. This skimpy approach also leads to a lack of character development, which would be less of a problem if the songs were geared toward filling in the blanks. Instead, they're mostly geared toward entertaining the viewer -- and Lullaby is lucky that the songs do this so darn well! From the title song to "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" to "Somebody Loves Me," there's nary a clunker in the bunch. And since they're performed by the delectable Doris Day and the affable Gene Nelson, most viewers will be willing to forgive Lullaby its many shortcomings. Certainly Day is in top form, loaded with charm and innocence and full of delightful voice, and Nelson, Gladys George, S. Z. Sakall, and the rest of the cast provide wonderful support. For totally mindless entertainment, Lullaby is choice. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Florence Bates - Mrs. Hubbell; Anne Triola - Gloria Davis; Hanley Stafford - George Ferndel; Murray Alper - Joe the bartender; Jimmy Aubrey - Steward; The De Mattiazas - Specialty Act; Elizabeth Flournoy - Secretary; Bess Flowers - Passenger on Ship; Hans Herbert - Headwaiter; Sheldon Jett - Gus; Donald Kerr - Driver; Edith Leslie - Nurse; Philo McCullough - Waiter; Page Cavanaugh Trio - Himself; Arlyn Roberts - Blonde showgirl; Herschel Daugherty - Sidney; Charles Williams - Reporter
Credit
Douglas Bacon - Art Director, LeRoy J. Prinz - Choreography, Eddie Prinz - Choreography, Al White - Choreography, Milo Anderson - Costume Designer, David Butler - Director, Irene Morra - Editor, Ray Heindorf - Composer (Music Score), Ray Heindorf - Musical Direction/Supervision, Wilfrid M. Cline - Cinematographer, William Jacobs - Producer, Lyle B. Reifsnider - Set Designer, Stan Jones - Sound/Sound Designer, Earl W. Baldwin - Screen Story, Earl W. Baldwin - Screenwriter
