Footlight Serenade
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Gregory Ratoff
John Payne
Betty Grable
Victor Mature
Jane Wyman
James Gleason
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Champion boxer Tommy Lundy, whose nickname is "The Body Beautiful," is as well known for his appeal to women as his prowess in the ring. Comedian Slap convinces Broadway producer Bruce McKay to put on a musical show starring Tommy, who will perform a few numbers and a boxing exhibition. Tommy immediately angers everyone connected with the show with his brash suggestions about lyrics and casting. When Tommy insists that nightclub singer Estelle Evans, whose pedigree is of a higher quality than her singing, be hired for the female lead, McKay has no choice but to comply. More enthusiastic about the show are dancers Pat Lambert and Flo LaVerne, who are hired when Tommy likes Pat's singing. Pat telephones her fiancé, Bill Smith, with the good news and persuades him to come to the theater. While trying to find Pat, Bill winds up in a line of job applicants and is hired as Tommy's sparring partner for the show's boxing exhibition. As rehearsals progress, Tommy, not knowing that Pat is Bill's girl, becomes interested in her and makes her Estelle's understudy. Both Bill and Estelle are jealous of Tommy's interest in Pat, and one afternoon, Bill decides to take action by marrying Pat. Meanwhile, at the theater, Estelle finally tires of Tommy's arrogance and quits the show. When Pat and Bill arrive at the theater, McKay and Slap tell Pat that she will be replacing Estelle. They are horrified to learn of Pat and Bill's marriage, however, for they know of Tommy's crush on Pat. After convincing the reluctant couple to conceal their marriage until after the show has opened, McKay gets the show back on track. The night of the final dress rehearsal, Tommy, who has completely fallen for Pat, convinces her to go out with him, Flo and Bill on a double date. After dinner, Pat inadvertantly leads Tommy to believe that she will marry him after the show opens. Tired of their charade, Pat and Bill decide to spend the night in a hotel, but Estelle sees them check in and tells Tommy before the show starts the next night. Believing that Bill and Pat have taken advantage of him to get into the show, Tommy furiously begins beating Bill during the boxing exhibition. In between blows Bill reveals that Pat has been his wife for over a week, and the surprised Tommy apologizes. Slap enters the ring to get them fighting again, and the crowd goes wild when they both knock Slap out. The show is a smash success, and the marquee lists Mr. and Mrs. Bill Smith as the co-stars.
Director
Gregory Ratoff
Cast
John Payne
Betty Grable
Victor Mature
Jane Wyman
James Gleason
Phil Silvers
Cobina Wright Jr.
June Lang
Frank Orth
Mantan Moreland
Irving Bacon
Charles Tannen
George Dobbs
Hermes Pan
William Newell
Harry Barris
John Dilson
James Craven
Jack Roper
Ray Walker
Dan Tobey
Don Wilson
Lillian Yarbo
Trudy Marshall
Bud Mercer
Jim Mercer
Pat Mckee
Gerald Pierce
Eugene Borden
Wilbur Mack
Frankie Van
Russ Clark
Allen Wood
Frank Coghlan Jr.
George Holmes
Sheila Ryan
Edgar Caldwell
James Notaro
Louise Allen
Lynne Kelly
Ruth Riley
Frances Gladwin
Kay Gordon
Billie Lane
Teddy Blue
Peggy Neary
Marcia Sweet
Dorothy Harris
Wilma Holly
Esther Brodelet
Sethma Williams
Jeanne Francis
Patsy Perrin
Beth Renner
Margie Mckay
Eleanor Bailey
Marjorie Raymond
June Eberling
Loretta Barnett
Doris Toddings
Marjorie Jackson
Sally Yarnell
Sue Taylor
Barbara Clark
Janet Graves
Linda Scott
Lillian Ross
Dona Massin
Dona La Barr
Midgie Dare
Dolly Vaughn
Eleanor Peterson
Sheila Rae
Mary Stewart
Virginia Davis
Nondas Wayne
Crew
Serge Bertensson
Daniel C. Clark
Richard Day
Kenneth Earl
Robert Ellis
Rolla Flora
Bernard Freericks
Lee Garmes
Roger Heman
Charles Henderson
Albert Hogsett
William Koenig
Fidel Labarba
William Lebaron
Thomas Little
Helen Logan
Earl Luick
Hermes Pan
Guy Pearce
Ralph Rainger
Leo Robin
Jack Roper
Robert Simpson
Lynn Starling
Frankie Van
Saul Wurtzel
Darryl F. Zanuck
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
She's closed up more nightclubs than the chief of police!- Bruce McKay
Will you come into my dressing room? Said the spider to the fly.- Tommy Lundy
Oh, thank you, Mr. Spider, but I'm very, very shy.- Pat Lambert
Trivia
the film's choreographer dances with Betty Grable to "Land on Your Feet".
Notes
The working titles of this film were Right to the Heart, A Straight Left and Strictly Dynamite. Information in the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department at the UCLA Arts-Special Collections Libary indicates that Winston Miller, Russell Rouse and Robert Riley Crutcher worked on versions of the picture's screenplay. Hollywood Reporter news items also note that they were working on the picture, but the extent of their contributions to the released film has not been confirmed. According to the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection, also at UCLA, executive producer Darryl F. Zanuck briefly considered calling the film That Beautiful Hunk because of the notriety surrounding Victor Mature's having been called "that beautiful hunk of a man" by the press. Zanuck intended to use it as "Tommy Lundy's" nickname even if not as the picture's title, but later changed his mind. In the film, "Tommy" is referrred to as "The Body Beautiful."
In a February 16, 1942 story conference with Zanuck, Lucille Ball was suggested for the role of "Flo LaVerne," and Hermes Pan for the role of the dance director. Studio publicity noted that Pan had to drop out of the role due to his responsibilities as the film's actual dance director, but he does appear in the film as Betty Grable's dance partner in one sequence. Hollywood Reporter news items noted that Alice Faye was originally scheduled for the lead. Betty Grable replaced her, however, when she temporarily retired from the screen to have a child. Hollywood Reporter also stated that Fred Kohlmar was originally slated to produce the picture, that Jane Wyman was borrowed from Warner Bros., and that some sequences were shot on location at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, CA. Among the song titles listed in the studio files and an Hollywood Reporter news item that were not included in the final picture are: "I Love Champagne," "Land on Your Feet," "Livin' High" and "High on a Western Hill" [which is the title of the movie "Bill" and "Pat" see in the film].
According to information in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the PCA rejected a June 12, 1941 version of the script because of "too many details, both in dialogue and in action, referring to the efforts of the musical comedy lead to 'make' the chorus girl, Pat, and the consequent playing up of the deferred consummation of the marriage between Pat and Bill." A February 25, 1942 script was also rejected because of "the flavor of attempted seduction which arises from the relationship between Tommy Lundy and Pat Lambert." The PCA advised the studio to rectify the problem by indicating earlier in the script that "Tommy" wished to marry "Pat." The problem was corrected in the March 4, 1942 screenplay, which was then approved by the PCA. According to the legal records, noted illustrator Varga, as well as Bradshaw Crandell, McClelland Barclay and Earl S. Moran, painted portraits of Betty Grable for "advertising" for Footlight Serenade. The extent of their involvement with the finished film or the promotion of it has not been determined, however. Several reviews noted the similarity between the character "Tommy Lundy" and heavyweight boxer Max Baer, who starred in the 1933 M-G-M film The Prizefighter and the Lady (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.3551).
