I'll See You In My Dreams (1952) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

Songwriter Gus Kahn fights to make his name, then has to fight again to survive the Depression.

Cast & Crew

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Michael Curtiz

Doris Day

Grace LeBoy Kahn

Danny Thomas

Frank Lovejoy

Walter Donaldson

Patrice Wymore

James Gleason

Photos & Videos

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I'll See You In My Dreams -- (Movie Clip) It Had To Be You

I'll See You In My Dreams -- (Movie Clip) I Just Work Here

I'll See You In My Dreams -- (Movie Clip) The One I Love

Film Details

Also Known As

Wish I Had a Girl

Genre

Musical

Biography

Release Date

Jan 12, 1952

Premiere Information

New York opening: 5 Dec 1951

Production Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 49m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

In Chicago in 1908, aspiring lyricist Gus Kahn begs music company clerk Grace LeBoy to read some lyrics he has written. Although she brusquely dismisses him, he finally persuades her to look at them, and she advises him that the trick to writing a good lyric is to remember that most popular songs give people a way to say "I love you." Later that evening, Gus, having taken her advice to heart, appears unexpectedly at the house where Grace lives with her parents. The LeBoys invite him to stay to dinner, and while Gus eats, Mr. LeBoy recites from "Songs from the Portuguese" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Feeling deeply inferior, Gus departs, leaving his new lyric with Grace, who likes it enough to set it to music. She then offers the song to her boss, but when he refuses to listen to it, she quits her job and sells the song, "I Wish I Had a Girl," to Fred Townsend. With Grace plugging the tune, it sells briskly, but the team's subsequent songs are not as successful. When Townsend suggests that Gus team up with composer Egbert Van Alstyne, he refuses out of loyalty to Grace, until she persuades him of the composer's superior talents by pretending to have written one of Van Alstyne's melodies. Sometime after tenor John McCormack introduces Gus and Van Alstyne's song "Memories," the shy Gus finally gets up the courage to propose to Grace, and the two are married. When Grace announces her pregnancy, Gus entitles a song "Pretty Baby," in her honor. With new composer Isham Jones, Gus goes on to write lyrics for many memorable songs, but when Townsend refuses to publish "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else," Grace sings it to impresario Sam Harris, who buys it for his new show. Grace and Gus have a baby boy, whom they name Donald, and Gus temporarily leaves song writing to fight in World War I. After the war, Grace again becomes pregnant, and this time gives birth to a girl, Irene. Gus's reputation grows, and showman Florenz Ziegfeld asks him to write a show. Gus refuses, as he does not want to leave Chicago for New York, but Grace again intervenes and accepts the offer for him. Gus does not immediately get along with Walter Donaldson, the show's composer, but manages to write a lyric for "Carolina in the Morning," while sitting with Donaldson and his girl friend, Frankie Mason, at the race track. However, Gloria Knight, the Ziegfeld star who will sing the number in the show, dislikes the song and decides to teach Gus about sophistication. The result is "Love Me or Leave Me," which Gus has Gloria sing over the phone to Grace in Chicago. When the new show, Whoopee! , opens, Grace makes a surprise visit to New York, where Gloria assures her that despite her efforts to seduce Gus, he cares for no one but his family. Sometime later, Gus and Donaldson quarrel and end their partnership. After the stock market crash of 1929, Gus cannot get work and Grace encourages Gus to call Townsend in Hollywood, where he now works. Gus's pride will not allow him to beg for work, but as usual, Grace takes matters into her own hands, and Gus soon leaves for California. The effort to conform to a formulaic approach to movie music makes him so unhappy that he has a heart attack. Grace flies out and encourages him to keep working, even though his doctor has warned him to take it easy for health reasons. Gus still cannot find a composer he likes, so Grace sends for Donaldson, and reunited, the team writes "I'll See You in My Dreams." In 1939, Donaldson throws a testimonial dinner for Gus, who thanks Grace for her help in his career, and publicly tells her how much her loves her. The audience then asks Gus to sing the first song he ever wrote, and when he claims that he cannot remember it, Grace pulls out his handwritten lyric for "I Wish I Had a Girl," which she had saved all through the years.

Director

Michael Curtiz

Cast

Doris Day

Grace LeBoy Kahn

Danny Thomas

Frank Lovejoy

Walter Donaldson

Patrice Wymore

James Gleason

Mary Wickes

Julie Oshins

Jim Backus

Minna Gombell

Harry Antrim

William Forrest

Florenz Ziegfeld

Bunny Lewbel

Robert Lyden

Mimi Gibson

Christy Olson

Else Neft

Trudy Marshall

Dick Simmons

Egbert Van Alstyne

Hans Conreid

William Rossiter

Tristram Coffin

Nightclub maitre'd

Jack Williams

Ray Kellogg

Marcorita Hellman

Geraldine Cobb

Rodney Bell

Harris's assistant

Rod Rogers

Assistant manager

Ewing Mitchell

Sidney Mason

Kathleen Hughes

Frances Canto

Peter Ortiz

George Neise

Betty Arlen

Joan Vohs

Violet Murray

Dorothy Patrick

Lonnie Pierce

Ted Stanhope

William J. O'brien

Glen Trunbill

Martin Wilkins

Vince Barnett

Dan Barton

Hollywood producer

Norman Phillips

Wade Crosby

Joe Ploski

Tom Wilson

Crew

Douglas Bacon

Gordon Bau

Nora Bayes

Marjorie Best

Walter Blaufuss

Walter Donaldson

Louis F. Edelman

Ernie Erdman

Ted Fiorito

David Forrest

David C. Gardner

2nd Unit Director

Oliver S. Garretson

Chuck Hansen

Assistant Director

Ray Heindorf

George James Hopkins

Tony Jackson

Isham Jones

Grace Kahn

Technical Advisor

Gus Kahn

Grace Leboy

Owen Marks

Ted Mccord

Director of Photography

Billy Meyers

Jack Norworth

Leroy Prinz

Music numbers staged and Director by

Leah Rhodes

Jack Rose

Elmer Schoebel

Melville Shavelson

Norman Stuart

Dialogue Director

Egbert Van Alstyne

Gertrude Wheeler

Richard Whiting

Videos

I'll See You In My Dreams -- (Movie Clip) I Just Work Here Meeting cute in Chicago, 1908, working stiff Gus Kahn (Danny Thomas) accosts publishing house staffer Grace LeBoy (Doris Day), seeking a review of his work, opening the Warner Bros. bio-pic I'll See You In My Dreams, 1952.

I'll See You In My Dreams -- (Movie Clip) The One I Love Tirelessly promoting her husband's songs, Grace (Doris Day) ambushes impresario Sam Harris (Jim Backus) as he prepares a show, the song by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn, who, played by Danny Thomas, lurks in the lobby, in I'll See You In My Dreams, 1952.

I'll See You In My Dreams -- (Movie Clip) It Had To Be You A story of the genesis of his most famous song, lyricist Gus Kahn (Danny Thomas), sent away by his almost-in-labor wife Grace (Doris Day), with manager Fred (James Gleason), hears the tune by Isham Jones, then forgets himself, in I'll See You In My Dreams. 1952.

Film Details

Also Known As

Wish I Had a Girl

Genre

Musical

Biography

Release Date

Jan 12, 1952

Premiere Information

New York opening: 5 Dec 1951

Production Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 49m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

I'll See You in My Dreams

October 6, 2006

Michael Curtiz had a great track record with movie newcomers. A lot of people became stars under his direction, including Doris Day in her film debut, Romance on the High Seas (1948). Day had been a band singer, but had never acted before. She later recalled that Curtiz gave her some very good advice: don't take acting lessons, just be natural. She didn't, and she was, and audiences loved her warm, sunny personality. By the time she appeared in her tenth film, I'll See You in My Dreams (1951), just three years later, she was one of the top ten box office stars.

Day and Curtiz made four films together. I'll See You in My Dreams was the last of them. And what Curtiz had done for Doris in Romance on the High Seas, he also did for Danny Thomas in I'll See You in My Dreams; he simply let Thomas' natural charisma shine through. The film is a biography (with the usual Hollywood sweetening) of songwriter Gus Kahn, focusing on Kahn's musical partnership with his wife Grace LeBoy, played by Day. Thomas, a nightclub comedian of Lebanese background, had played a few supporting film roles, but never a lead. Curtiz chose him for the part of Gus Kahn, but the casting almost hit a snag when studio boss Jack Warner wanted Thomas to have his prominent nose fixed. Thomas refused, insisting Kahn was "not handsome." After conferring with Curtiz and producer Louis Edelman, Warner yielded.

I'll See You in My Dreams was a big hit, Warner Brothers' second-highest grossing film of 1952. That wasn't surprising for a Doris Day musical. What was surprising was that Danny Thomas got all the good reviews, like the one in the New York Times. While Day got a perfunctory "good, solid job," critic Bosley Crowther gushed that Thomas "lifts it by sheer virtuosity and charm into a cheerful, touching affair." Thanks to the film's success, the studio wasted no time re-teaming Curtiz and Thomas in another project: the 25th-anniversary remake of the first talking film, The Jazz Singer (1927), with Thomas in the Al Jolson role.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Producer: Louis F. Edelman
Screenplay: Melville Shavelson, based on a story by Grace Kahn and Louis F. Edelman
Editor: Owen Marks
Cinematography: Ted McCord
Art Direction: Douglas Bacon
Music: Lyrics by Gus Kahn, music by Walter Donaldson, Isham Jones, Richard Whiting, Ray Egan, Grace LeBoy Kahn
Cast: Doris Day (Grace LeBoy Kahn), Danny Thomas (Gus Kahn), Frank Lovejoy (Walter Donaldson), Patrice Wymore (Gloria Knight), James Gleason (Fred), Mary Wickes (Anna), Jim Backus (Sam Harris).
BW-110m.

by Margarita Landazuri

I'll See You In My Dreams

I'll See You in My Dreams

Michael Curtiz had a great track record with movie newcomers. A lot of people became stars under his direction, including Doris Day in her film debut, Romance on the High Seas (1948). Day had been a band singer, but had never acted before. She later recalled that Curtiz gave her some very good advice: don't take acting lessons, just be natural. She didn't, and she was, and audiences loved her warm, sunny personality. By the time she appeared in her tenth film, I'll See You in My Dreams (1951), just three years later, she was one of the top ten box office stars. Day and Curtiz made four films together. I'll See You in My Dreams was the last of them. And what Curtiz had done for Doris in Romance on the High Seas, he also did for Danny Thomas in I'll See You in My Dreams; he simply let Thomas' natural charisma shine through. The film is a biography (with the usual Hollywood sweetening) of songwriter Gus Kahn, focusing on Kahn's musical partnership with his wife Grace LeBoy, played by Day. Thomas, a nightclub comedian of Lebanese background, had played a few supporting film roles, but never a lead. Curtiz chose him for the part of Gus Kahn, but the casting almost hit a snag when studio boss Jack Warner wanted Thomas to have his prominent nose fixed. Thomas refused, insisting Kahn was "not handsome." After conferring with Curtiz and producer Louis Edelman, Warner yielded. I'll See You in My Dreams was a big hit, Warner Brothers' second-highest grossing film of 1952. That wasn't surprising for a Doris Day musical. What was surprising was that Danny Thomas got all the good reviews, like the one in the New York Times. While Day got a perfunctory "good, solid job," critic Bosley Crowther gushed that Thomas "lifts it by sheer virtuosity and charm into a cheerful, touching affair." Thanks to the film's success, the studio wasted no time re-teaming Curtiz and Thomas in another project: the 25th-anniversary remake of the first talking film, The Jazz Singer (1927), with Thomas in the Al Jolson role. Director: Michael Curtiz Producer: Louis F. Edelman Screenplay: Melville Shavelson, based on a story by Grace Kahn and Louis F. Edelman Editor: Owen Marks Cinematography: Ted McCord Art Direction: Douglas Bacon Music: Lyrics by Gus Kahn, music by Walter Donaldson, Isham Jones, Richard Whiting, Ray Egan, Grace LeBoy Kahn Cast: Doris Day (Grace LeBoy Kahn), Danny Thomas (Gus Kahn), Frank Lovejoy (Walter Donaldson), Patrice Wymore (Gloria Knight), James Gleason (Fred), Mary Wickes (Anna), Jim Backus (Sam Harris). BW-110m. by Margarita Landazuri

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of the film was Wish I Had a Girl. Gus Kahn was born in Germany in 1886 and at the age of five moved to the United States with his parents. As depicted in the film, at various times he was a songwriting partner of composers Egbert Van Alstyne, Isham Jones and Walter Donaldson. He died in 1941. Although CBCS lists James Gleason's character as Fred Thompson, he is called Townsend in the picture. According to an Hollywood Reporter news item, Margaret Thomas, Danny Thomas' thirteen-year-old daughter, was to enact one of "Gus Kahn's" daughters, but her appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. Doris Day sang the tune "Love Me or Leave Me" when she played Ruth Etting in M-G-M's 1955 film Love Me Or Leave Me . Although Etting performed the song in the Broadway musical Whoopee!, the fictional character "Gloria Knight" is portrayed as the star of Whoopee! in I'll See You in My Dreams.
Warner Bros. purchased the rights to many of Gus Kahn's songs, which were frequently performed or heard as background music in Warner Bros. films of the 1930s and 1940s. On April 13, 1952, Los Angeles Examiner reported that Walter Donaldson's widow Dorothy was suing Warner Bros. and Intermountain Theaters for $450,000, charging that the movie portrayed Donaldson as a "gambler, rake, lover of wild parties and promoter of marital discords." She sought to have the picture withdrawn from circulation on behalf of hers and Donaldson's daughters. The final disposition of the suit is undetermined.

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