''I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby'' is a 1940 American

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

starring Broderick Crawford and

Jessie Ralph Jessie Ralph Patton ( Chambers; November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944), known as Jessie Ralph, was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic films. Early life Jessie Ralph Chambers was the 13th child ...

. It was also released under the title ''Trouble in B flat''.

Cast

* Broderick Crawford as Sonny McGann *

as Mama McGann *

Johnny Downs John Morey Downs (October 10, 1913 – June 6, 1994) was an American child actor, singer, and dancer. He began his career as a child actor, most notably playing Johnny in the ''Our Gang'' short series from 1923 to 1926. He remained active ...

as Bob Gunther *

Peggy Moran Peggy Moran (born Mary Jeanette Moran, October 23, 1918 – October 24, 2002) was an American film actress who appeared in films between 1938 and 1943. Early years Born in Clinton, Iowa, Moran was the daughter of Earl Moran, an artist wh ...

as Linda Carroll * Gertrude Michael as Magsa Delys / Sadie *

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

as Big Foot Louie

Production

Around the time that the film was produced,

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

were producing a number of musicals named after well-known songs, such as '' Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me'' and '' I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now''. ''I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby'' was named after a 1928 song of the same name, written by

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, Ju ...

and

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...

. McHugh agreed with the use of the title song in the film, sung by

, but did not want to compose further songs for the film's soundtrack. The rest of the film's songs were composed by Frank Skinner and Paul Smith and included the titles "The Tomato Juice Song" and "Sweetheart of Public School 59".

References

External links

* * 1940 films 1940 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Albert S. Rogell Universal Pictures films 1940s American films English-language musical comedy films {{musical-comedy-film-stub