''I'll See You in My Dreams'' is a 1951

musical 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

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

and

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running si ...

, directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

. The film is a biography of

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...

, and includes a number of songs written by Kahn, including the title song. The story, which thoroughly suppresses Kahn's Jewish origins, is told from the point of view of Kahn's wife Grace, who was still alive when the film was made (Kahn died some ten years earlier). ''I'll See You in My Dreams'' was a big hit, Warner Brothers' second-highest-grossing film of 1951. Warner Brothers re-teamed Curtiz and Thomas in another project: the 25th-anniversary remake of the first talking film, ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...

'' (1927), with Thomas in the Al Jolson role, ''

''.

Plot summary

Gus Kahn (

) is the prolific tunesmith, whose fortunes take an upswing in 1908 when he meets and falls in love with

Grace LeBoy Grace Leboy Kahn (September 22, 1890 - May 24, 1983) was an American composer. Born in Brooklyn NY, Leboy was a precocious musician, gaining employment as a pianist by age 15, and fame by age 18 with her song "I Wish I Had A Girl". By age 21 she h ...

(

). Kahn's career ascends to spectacular heights via such hits as "

Pretty Baby Pretty Baby may refer to: * ''Pretty Baby'' (1950 film), a comedy film featuring Dennis Morgan and Betsy Drake * ''Pretty Baby'' (1978 film), a drama film featuring Brooke Shields ** ''Pretty Baby'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film ...

", " My Buddy", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie", and "

Makin' Whoopee "Makin' Whoopee" is a jazz/ blues song, first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical '' Whoopee!''. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical. The title refers to ce ...

", only to go into eclipse when he loses his savings in the 1929 stock-market crash.

Cast

as Grace LeBoy Kahn *

Frank Lovejoy Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir '' The Hitch-Hiker'' and for starring in the radio drama '' Night Beat ...

Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...

* Patrice Wymore as Gloria Knight (singing voice was dubbed by Bonnie Lou Williams) *

James Gleason James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold." Life and career Gleason w ...

as Fred Thompson *

Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...

as Anna *

Julie Oshins Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

as Johnny Martin *

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom '' Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in ''Rebel Without a Cause ...

as Sam Harris *

Minna Gombell Minna Marie Gombell (''née'' Gombel; May 28, 1892 – April 14, 1973) was an American stage and film actress. Early years She was born Minna Marie Gombel in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of William and Emma M. Debring Gombel. Her father ...

as Mrs. LeBoy *

Harry Antrim Harry Antrim (August 27, 1884 – January 18, 1967) was an American stage, film and television actor. Biography Antrim was born on August 27, 1884, in Chicago, Illinois. By 1906, he was working in vaudeville. During the early 1930s, he moved to ...

as Mr. LeBoy * William Forrest as

Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

* Bunny Lewbel as Irene, at age 6 *

Robert Lyden Robert Marinus Lyden (May 28, 1942 – January 17, 1986) was a child actor in the 1950s. Robert Lyden made his film debut in 1949 with ''Holiday Affair'' and also played with Doris Day in the musical film '' I'll See You in My Dreams'' (1951 ...

as Donald, at age 8 *

Mimi Gibson Mimi Gibson is an American real estate agent and a former child actress, from 1951 to 1968. Early life After the early death of her father, her mother, Agnes Gibson, took Mimi and her sister to Los Angeles. At only 18 months, she was a popular c ...

as Irene, at age 3 * Christopher Olsen as Donald, at age 4 (as Christy Olson) *

Joan Vohs Joan Vohs (July 30, 1927 – June 4, 2001) was an American model and film and television actress. Early years Vohs was a native of St. Albans, Queens, in New York City, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs William Vohs, who also had two younger daughter ...

as Chorine (uncredited)

Notes

An album of the same name was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, containing songs sung by Day (some of them duets with Thomas) in the film. The film has been cited by

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

as an inspiration for his start in songwriting.

Nelson George Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Biography George attended St. John's Universit ...

, 'Where did our love go', p. 18

References

External links

* * * *
Synopsis on Reel.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'll See You In My Dreams (1951 Film) 1951 films 1950s biographical films 1951 musical comedy films American biographical films American musical comedy films Biographical films about musicians American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Films about composers Films directed by Michael Curtiz Warner Bros. films Cultural depictions of classical musicians 1950s American films