The Eddie Cantor Story (1954) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

The beloved entertainer rises to stardom from humble beginnings in the slums.

Cast & Crew

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Alfred E. Green

Keefe Brasselle

Marilyn Erskine

Ida [Tobias] Cantor

Aline Macmahon

Arthur Franz

Alex Gerry

Film Details

Also Known As

The Story of Eddie Cantor

Genre

Musical

Biography

Release Date

Jan 30, 1954

Premiere Information

New York and Miami openings: 25 Dec 1953; Los Angeles premiere: 29 Dec 1953

Production Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 55m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Color (Technicolor)

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

10,471ft (13 reels)

Synopsis

Eddie Cantor and his wife Ida arrive at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California, for a private screening of The Eddie Cantor Story . Just before the film rolls, Cantor whispers, "Ida, I've never been so nervous in all my life." The story begins on New York's East Side in 1904. Thirteen-year-old Eddie, eager to be accepted by the neighborhood hoodlum, Rocky Kramer, entertains a crowd at a political rally by singing, unaware that Rocky and his gang are using the opportunity to pick the listeners' pockets. After a kindly Irish cop escorts Eddie home to his Grandma Esther, Eddie sets off to deliver Sabbath candles to the home of merchant David Tobias, whose daughter, Ida, invites Eddie to stay for dinner. Soon after, Mr. Burke from the Educational Alliance persuades Grandma Esther to send Eddie to the Surprise Lake Camp for boys. Eddie's vocal performances make him an instant hit with the campers and on the way home, he wins a contest at Miners' Bowery Theatre. In the audience is Mr. Lesser, a producer who arranges for Eddie to join the Gus Edwards Kid Kabaret. For the next several years, Eddie travels with the show, sending Grandma Esther souvenir spoons from each of the cities he visits. When Eddie becomes too old for the Kid Kabaret, he returns home. Rocky Kramer, now a crooked politician with Tammany Hall, offers Eddie a job at his nightclub on Coney Island. Although nothing more than a singing waiter, Eddie, who is still fond of his childhood sweetheart Ida, boasts that he is the star of the show to impress her father. One evening, Ida and her family, accompanied by another of Ida's admirers, Harry Harris, visit the club. Horrified, Eddie sets down his tray and provides his audience with an unscheduled solo performance, but Ida's family nevertheless discovers the truth. Ida is angry at Eddie for lying, but when he tells her that a famous producer wants him to perform in London, and that he wants Ida to accompany him as his wife, she happily elopes with him. Upon discovering that the producer is broke, however, the newlyweds return home. Eddie remains unemployed until Jimmy Durante, the piano player at Kramer's club, gets him a spot in a Los Angeles show entitled Canary Cottage . The show is a success, but its star, Cleo Abbott, is jealous of Eddie's popularity. To get rid of the scene stealer, Abbott pretends that famous theatrical producer Florenz Ziegfeld wants Eddie to perform in his new Follies . The ambitious Eddie joyfully returns to New York, only to discover that Ziegfeld has never heard of him, but Eddie, who now has not only Ida but a new baby daughter to support, persuades Ziegfeld to try him out that evening. His performance of "How Ya' Gonna' Keep 'Em Down on the Farm After They've Seen Paris" is such a hit that Ziegfeld signs him to a traveling show that includes Will Rogers in its cast. As time passes, Ida has a second daughter while Eddie is on the road, but Eddie later returns to Broadway to star in Ziegfeld's new Follies . On opening night, Grandma Esther, bursting with pride and all dressed up for the show, dies peacefully in a chair. Overwhelmed with grief, Eddie is able to perform a rousing version of "If You Knew Susie Like I Know Susie" only by imagining that Grandma Esther is the sole member of the audience. During the next several years, Eddie's popularity grows as he becomes identified with hit songs such as "Bye, Bye Blackbird," "Pretty Baby," and "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby." On the night that Ida gives birth to their third baby girl, Eddie performs for the Prince of Wales and visits the hospital in blackface. Ida later begs her husband to take a vacation with the family, but Eddie, explaining that he must work hard to stay on top, suggests that they build a house on Long Island instead. Eddie's successful new show makes his schedule even more hectic. In 1929, while recovering in the hospital from the birth of yet another daughter, Ida learns from the newspaper that "Cantor Says Vacation Is Out." Weeping, Ida declares that because she and the children are not an important part of Eddie's life, their marriage is over. Eddie is crushed and offers to take Ida and his five daughters to London, but as they are planning the trip, the stock market crashes and he loses everything. With Ida's approval, Eddie returns to work in a new show entitled Whoopee and later performs in his own weekly radio show, ending each program with the tune, "(I'd Love to Spend) One Hour with You." Harry, now the family's doctor, advises Eddie to relax and spend time with family, and when Eddie stubbornly refuses, they argue. Harry declares that Eddie has always needed applause to replace the love he never received from a mother and father, while Eddie accuses his old friend of still loving Ida. Not long after, Eddie learns that Rocky has been indicted for murder, and soon after, while working late on a show, suffers a heart attack. Eddie recovers, but becomes morose and quits working. Ziegfeld thinks that Eddie is scared, and Ida wires Harry for help. When Eddie is invited to speak at the boys' camp he attended as a youth, he tells the boys that his experience at camp prevented him from joining up with Rocky, who by this time has been sentenced to death. The boys plead for a song, whereupon Eddie, reluctantly at first, sings a few of his famous tunes. Declaring that he has at last grown up, Eddie launches a string of performances for charity shows. In the projection room, the lights come up and as Eddie and Ida prepare to leave, Eddie exclaims "I never looked better in my life!"

Directors

Alfred E. Green

George Stevens

Gordon Douglas

Cast

Keefe Brasselle

Marilyn Erskine

Ida [Tobias] Cantor

Aline Macmahon

Arthur Franz

Alex Gerry

Greta Granstedt

Gerald Mohr

William Forrest

Jackie Barnett

Richard Monda

Eddie Cantor, age 13

Marie Windsor

Douglas Evans

Ann Doran

Lillian Edwards

Hal March

Will Rogers Jr.

Eddie Cantor

Ida Cantor

Susan Odin

Ida Tobias, age 11

Owen Pritchard

Harry Harris as a boy

James Flavin

Kelly the policeman

Peter De Bear

Eddie Sands

Michael Kanner

George Jessel as a child

Julie Newmeyer

David Alpert

Harry Mendoza

Chick Chandler

Ralph Volkie

Bill O'brien

Diane Dawson

Dave Newell

Mickey Simpson

James Craven

Norma Amigo

Robert Jordan

Kathleen Case

Richard Gordon

Glenville's friend

Tris Coffin

Barbara Pepper

Don Dillaway

Michael Pierce

Western Union boy

Jack Gargan

Jim Dale

Joel Smith

Rocky's henchman

Marilee Phelps

Arthur Space

Kermit Maynard

Barry Brooks

Ned Young

Mira Mckinney

Gail Ganley

Steffi Sydney

John Anderson

Albert Walters

Marcoreta Hellman

Ed Haskett

Charles Morton

Paul Birch

Faire Binney

Eva Novak

Cameron Grant

Bob Stephenson

George Spaulding

Howard Brody

Ralph Gibson

Pat Mazzoti

John Gardner

Billy Perna

Henry Fladwed

Le Roy Strand

Gary Stewart

Don Bender

Dickie Leroy

Jimmy Moss

Whitey Haupt

Crew

Al Alleborn

Assistant Director

Nat D. Ayer

Ernest R. Ball

Gordon Bau

Marjorie Best

Seymour Brown

Joe Burke

Gibson Carter

2d Assistant Director

Sidney Clare

Pat Clark

Charles H. Clarke

Will D. Cobb

Irving Cohn

Frank Comstock

Con Conrad

Benny Davis

B. G. Desylva

Mort Dixon

Walter Donaldson

Al Dubin

Edwin Dupar

Director of Photography

Gus Edwards

David Forrest

Leo Friedman

Ray Heindorf

Charles Henderson

Vocal Arrangements

Ray Henderson

Tony Jackson

William Jerome

Gus Kahn

Mitchell G. Kovaleski

Technicolor Color Consultant

Duke Leonard

Eddie Leonard

Gus Levene

Al Lewis

Sam M. Lewis

Henry I. Marshall

Ted Mccord

Joseph Meyer

James V. Monaco

Eddie Munson

Stanley Murphy

Ed G. Nelson

Harry Pease

Eddie Prinz

Dance Assistant

Leroy Prinz

Music numbers staged and Director by

Dave Reed Jr.

C. A. Riggs

Leo Robin

J. Russel Robinson

Jean Schwartz

Ted Sherdeman

Al Sherman

Howard Shoup

Frank Silver

Sidney Skolsky

Sidney Skolsky

From a story by

Sidney Skolsky

Beth Slater

Egbert Van Alstyne

James J. Walker

William Wallace

Jerome Weidman

Richard A. Whiting

Joe Young

William Ziegler

Film Details

Also Known As

The Story of Eddie Cantor

Genre

Musical

Biography

Release Date

Jan 30, 1954

Premiere Information

New York and Miami openings: 25 Dec 1953; Los Angeles premiere: 29 Dec 1953

Production Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 55m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Color (Technicolor)

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

10,471ft (13 reels)

Articles

The Eddie Cantor Story -

June 18, 2014

Eddie Cantor is probably best known today as a character played expertly by Stephen De Rosa on Boardwalk Empire. For a fuller sense of the man's stardom check out this genial biopic, with Cantor appearing briefly as himself before Keefe Brasselle takes over the title role. The film focuses on his rise from running with street gangs in New York's East Side through amateur contests before he lands a coveted spot in the Ziegfeld Follies. Cantor had resisted earlier efforts to film his life story until gossip columnist Sidney Skolsky -- who had earlier worked on the acclaimed Al Jolson biography, The Jolson Story (1946) -came up with a plotline he liked. Warner Bros. even hired the earlier film's director, Alfred E. Green, to helm the picture and got Cantor to dub the songs. His performances of such standards as "If You Knew Susie," "Yes! We Have No Bananas" and "Makin' Whoopee" are a highlight. So, too, are supporting turns from Aline MacMahon as the grandmother who raised Cantor, Gerald Mohr as a gangster for whom he works early on, Marie Windsor as a temperamental leading lady, Will Rogers, Jr. as his own father and longtime Jimmy Durante associate Jackie Barnett as the great Durante.

By Frank Miller

The Eddie Cantor Story -

The Eddie Cantor Story -

Eddie Cantor is probably best known today as a character played expertly by Stephen De Rosa on Boardwalk Empire. For a fuller sense of the man's stardom check out this genial biopic, with Cantor appearing briefly as himself before Keefe Brasselle takes over the title role. The film focuses on his rise from running with street gangs in New York's East Side through amateur contests before he lands a coveted spot in the Ziegfeld Follies. Cantor had resisted earlier efforts to film his life story until gossip columnist Sidney Skolsky -- who had earlier worked on the acclaimed Al Jolson biography, The Jolson Story (1946) -came up with a plotline he liked. Warner Bros. even hired the earlier film's director, Alfred E. Green, to helm the picture and got Cantor to dub the songs. His performances of such standards as "If You Knew Susie," "Yes! We Have No Bananas" and "Makin' Whoopee" are a highlight. So, too, are supporting turns from Aline MacMahon as the grandmother who raised Cantor, Gerald Mohr as a gangster for whom he works early on, Marie Windsor as a temperamental leading lady, Will Rogers, Jr. as his own father and longtime Jimmy Durante associate Jackie Barnett as the great Durante. By Frank Miller

Quotes

Trivia

as an audience member in the last scene watching Eddie Cantor, portrayed by Keefe Brasselle, singing.

Notes

The working title of this film was The Story of Eddie Cantor. Will Rogers, Jr.'s onscreen credit reads: "Will Rogers Jr. as His Dad." Eddie Israel Iskowitz Cantor (1892-1964), was born in New York. Cantor's parents, immigrants from Russia, died when he was a small child and, as the film depicts, he was thereafter raised by his grandmother. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, dated August 1948, Lou Edelman was set to produce a Cantor biography for Warner Bros. with the working title The Life of Eddie Cantor, but the project was dropped when Cantor and studio executives could not agree on the final script. Sidney Skolsky, a syndicated gossip columnist, had previously produced The Jolson Story (1946), which was also directed by Alfred E. Green. Hollywood Reporter noted in October 1951 that Eddie and Ida Cantor were "greatly moved" by Skolsky's screen treatment and the film was made with their approval and active participation. Cantor was said to have been impressed by how much Keefe Brasselle resembled him, especially once Brasselle was in the special makeup created for the role. According to a January 1953 article in Los Angeles Mirror, makeup artist Gordon Bau spent eight months developing techniques to transform Brasselle into Cantor at various ages. Bau's innovations included large, life-like plastic ears and an eye lining technique designed to give Brasselle's eyes the popping-out quality for which Cantor's were famous.
       According to a July 1952 Hollywood Reporter news item, The Eddie Cantor Story was one of five films requiring outdoor sets that suffered delayed production because of a studio fire on July 9, 1952. Although a January 1953 Hollywood Reporter news item stated that Paul Picerni would portray Cantor's business manager, the actor did not appear in the film. Other Hollywood Reporter news items add Mary Ellen Clemens, Beverly Thomas, Frances Karath, Beverly Adland, Brenda Benson and June Leabow to the cast. However, their appearance in the film has not been confirmed.
       Daily Variety news items indicate that George Stevens directed several additional scenes for the film in August 1953 and that Gordon Douglas shot one exterior scene in early September 1953. Eddie Cantor's voice was dubbed onto the soundtrack for all of the featured songs and the original soundtrack album was released by Capitol Records in 1954.
       According to a December 1953 Hollywood Reporter news item, The Eddie Cantor Story had an advance premiere in New York City on December 23, 1953 to benefit the Educational Alliance Alumni Association, and a New York Times ad announced the public New York opening of the film as December 25, 1953. According to a December 1953 Hollywood Reporter news items, the film opened in New York and Miami simultaneously, and the Los Angeles opening, which was telecast live on ABC and NBC television networks, was held on 29 December 1953.
       Although the film received some positive notices, most reviews were mixed; the general consensus was that Cantor's life story had been oversentimentalized. The majority of critics felt that Brasselle overplayed Cantor's mannerisms, leading to a performance that Cue described as "uncomfortable, exaggerated and ugly." The New Yorker termed the portrayal "disconcerting," noting that Brasselle's "efforts to make his eyes pop out in the manner of the master frequently conveys the impression he is being strangled." The Hollywood Reporter review, however, praised Brasselle's performance and instead criticized the makeup job which gave the actor a "mask-like expression that sometimes is almost grotesque."

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