High, Wide, and Handsome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
High, Wide, and Handsome was a 1937 Hollywood film starring Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, Alan Hale, Sr., Charles Bickford, and Dorothy Lamour. In 2006, the same name was also briefly used as a working title for what became Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
The 110-minute movie was directed by Rouben Mamoulian, and written by Oscar Hammerstein II and George O'Neil, with lyrics by Hammerstein and music by Jerome Kern. It was released by Paramount Pictures.
The film is set in rural western Titusville, Pennsylvania. In 1859, railroad tycoon Walt Brennan wants to take over the land of several oil-drilling farmers, led by Peter Cortlandt (with whom Irene Dunne's character, Sally Watterson, falls in love). Brennan wants to use the land to build a railroad. The townspeople block the plan, assisted by a herd of circus elephants, and instead construct their own oil pipeline.
In a deliberate nod to Kern and Hammerstein's classic musical Show Boat, which had been filmed with Irene Dunne the year before, Dunne's lovable father Raymond Walburn is the owner of a traveling musical medicine show (much like Cap'n Andy), and Dunne is its star; in addition, Dorothy Lamour sings a torch song, much as Helen Morgan did in Show Boat.
The movie includes the classic Kern-Hammerstein song Can I Forget You?, as well as The Folks Who Live on the Hill. Director Mamoulian saw to it (with Kern and Hammerstein's help) that most of the songs were firmly integrated into the plot of the film and advanced the storyline.
The film was not a success when released, partly because it was shown in roadshow format, which caused it to lose more money than it normally would have.
[edit] Principle cast members
Irene Dunne .... Sally Watterson
Randolph Scott .... Peter Cortlandt
Dorothy Lamour .... Molly Fuller
Elizabeth Patterson .... Grandma Cortlandt
Raymond Walburn .... Doc Watterson
Charles Bickford .... Red Scanlon
Akim Tamiroff .... Joe Varese
Ben Blue .... Zeke
William Frawley .... Mac
Alan Hale, Sr. .... Walt Brennan
Irving Pichel .... Mr. Stark
Stanley Andrews .... Lem Moulton
James Burke .... Stackpole
Roger Imhof .... Pop Bowers
Lucien Littlefield .... Mr. Lippincott Bollocks .... Mr Scrotum
