Song of the Open Road

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Song of the Open Road (1944) was directed by S. Sylvan Simon, from a sceenplay by Irving Phillip and Edward Verdier. Child film star Jane Powell, tired of her life being run by her stage mother, runs away from home and tries to lead a "normal" life at a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. When a crop needs picking, Powell enlists the help of some celebrity friends. It was W.C. Field's next-to-last film; he is one of several performers playing themselves in the production.

Contents

[edit] The Cast

  • Edgar Bergen .... Himself, Edgar Bergen
  • Bonita Granville .... Bonnie
  • W.C. Fields .... Himself, W.C. Fields
  • Sammy Kaye .... Himself, Sammy Kaye (as Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra)
  • Jane Powell .... Jane Powell
  • Peggy O'Neill .... Peggy
  • Jackie Moran .... Jack Moran
  • Bill Christy .... Bill
  • Reginald Denny .... Director Curtis
  • Regis Toomey .... Connors
  • Rose Hobart .... Mrs. Powell
  • Frank Condos .... Himself (dancer)
  • Harry Condos .... Dance Specialty (as Condos Brothers)
  • Steve Condos .... Dance Specialty (as Condos Brothers)
  • The Lipham Four .... The Lipham Four

[edit] Facts

  • Distributor: United Artists
  • Runtime: 93 min
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English
  • Color: Black and White
  • Sound Mix: Mono

[edit] Trivia

Director S. Sylvan Simon had terrible difficulty filming scenes with W.C. Fields due to Fields' alcoholism. After lunch hour he was often nowhere to be found. This problem was solved by luring Fields into his truck early in the day and removing the ladder. Fields would often rant and complain before eventually falling asleep.

Although Fields often made fun of singers and singing in general, he had a fondness for the promising young singer Jane Powell and even referred to her (as "little Janie Powell") on one of his CBS radio broadcasts (preserved on transcription discs). Powell sang several songs in the film and made such an impression that MGM signed her to a contract to make a number of musical comedies for them, through the mid-1950s. Her only complaint was that MGM kept casting her as a teenager in many of those films. In later years she appeared on television, especially in commercials.

The film was shown occasionally on television. While entertaining, especially because of Powell's singing and the comic contributions of W.C. Fields and Edgar Bergen (with Charlie McCarthy), the film has NOT been released on home video.

[edit] Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

[edit] Source

IMDB website

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