''Rich, Young and Pretty'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film produced by

Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood Musical film, "Golden Age" of musicals ...

for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

and directed by

Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Skippy (film), Skippy' ...

. Written by Dorothy Cooper and adapted as a screenplay by Cooper and

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy '' The Bachelor and the Bobby-Sox ...

, it stars Jane Powell, Danielle Darrieux, Wendell Corey, and

Fernando Lamas Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos (January 9, 1915 – October 8, 1982) was an Argentine-American actor and director of the Golden Age of Argentine cinema. He is the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas. Biography Argentina Fernando Álvaro Lamas y ...

, features

The Four Freshmen The Four Freshmen is an American male vocal quartet that blends close and open harmony, open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, and The Mel-Tones, founded in the Barbershop music, ...

, and introduces

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

. This was Darrieux's first Hollywood film since '' The Rage of Paris'' (1938).

Plot

Elizabeth ( Jane Powell) accompanies her wealthy Texan rancher father ( Wendell Corey) on a visit to Paris, where her mother ( Danielle Darrieux) lives. In Paris, she meets Andre (

), an eager young Frenchman. The father tries to keep her from marrying the Frenchman and avoid the mistake he made when he married her mother.

Cast

* Jane Powell as Elizabeth Rogers * Danielle Darrieux as Marie Devarone * Wendell Corey as Jim Stauton Rogers *

as Andre Milan *

as Paul Sarnac *

Marcel Dalio Marcel Dalio (born Marcel Benoit Blauschild; 23 November 1899 in Paris – 18 November 1983) was a French movie actor. He had major roles in two films directed by Jean Renoir, '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) ...

as Claude Duval * Una Merkel as Glynnie *

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. One of his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in ...

as Bob Lennart * Jean Murat as Henri Milan * Hans Conreid as Maître d'Hotel * Four Freshmen Quartet as Four Musicians

Songs

MGM promotion for the film emphasized the film's "songs rather than its patter";

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...

wrote the lyrics and Nicholas Brodszky the music for several songs, including * " Wonder Why" (which was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

) Other original songs by Cahn and Brodszky include * "We Never Talk Much (We Just Sit Around)", * "How D'Ya Like Your Eggs in the Morning?" and * "I Can See You", both of which received

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

; "I Can See You" was also a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

favorite. The film also features a "studied going over" of songs such as * " Deep in the Heart of Texas" (written by June Hershey and Don Swander), * "There's Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie" (written by Jack Maskill,

Harry Richman Harry Richman (born Henry Reichman Jr.; August 10, 1895 – November 3, 1972) was an American singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and nightclub performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. In his peak yea ...

, Pete Wendling) and * "Old Piano Roll Blues" (written by

Cy Coben Seymour "Cy" Coben (4 April 1919 – 26 May 2006) was an American songwriter whose hits were recorded by bandleaders, country singers, and other artists such as The Beatles, Tommy Cooper and Leonard Nimoy. Biography Early life Coben was born i ...

Reception

Box office

According to MGM records, the film made $1,935,000 in the US and Canada and $1,064,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $54,000.

Critical reception

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' said the film was "aglow with

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

and plush sets" and said it treated a "light cinemusical subject with the butterscotch-caramel sentimentality of the

bobby-soxer Bobby-soxers were a subculture of young women in the mid-to-late 1940s. Their interests included popular music, in particular that of singer Frank Sinatra, and wearing loose-fitting clothing, notably bobby socks. Their manner of dress, which div ...

s it is designed to please"; the film "tackles its situations without verve or humor, and handles its lightweight problems as ponderously as if they had been propounded by

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

in one of his gloomier moods."

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "pretty as a picture postcard and just about as exciting."

References

External links

* * *
''Rich, Young and Pretty''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich Young And Pretty 1951 films 1952 films 1952 musical comedy films 1952 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films directed by Norman Taurog Films set in Paris Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Joe Pasternak 1951 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films scored by Nicholas Brodszky English-language romantic comedy films English-language musical comedy films English-language romantic musical films