''Wonder Man'' is a 1945

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 ...

directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Danny Kaye and

Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...

. It is based on a short story by

Arthur Sheekman Arthur Sheekman (February 5, 1901 – January 12, 1978) was an American theater and movie critic, columnist, playwright, and editor—but best known for his writing for the screen. His specialty was light comedy. Groucho Marx called him "The Fast ...

, adapted for the screen by a staff of writers led by Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran, and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.

Plot

Danny Kaye plays a double role as a pair of estranged "super-

identical Two things are identical if they are the same, see Identity (philosophy). Identical may also refer to: * ''Identical'' (Hopkins novel), a 2008 young adult novel by Ellen Hopkins * ''Identical'' (Turow novel), a 2013 legal drama novel by Scott T ...

twins". Despite their almost indistinguishable looks, the two have very different personalities. Buster Dingle, who goes by the stage name "Buzzy Bellew", is a loud and goofy performer at the Pelican Club, while Edwin Dingle is a studious, quiet bookworm writing a history book. The two brothers have not seen each other for years. Buster becomes the witness to a murder committed by mob boss "Ten Grand" Jackson and is promptly murdered himself. He comes back as a ghost, calling on his long-lost brother for help to bring the killer to justice. As a result, the shy Edwin must take his brother's place until after his testimony is given. In the meantime, he has to dodge Jackson's hitmen and fill in for Buster at the nightclub. To help him out, Busterwho cannot be seen or heard by anyone but Edwinpossesses him, with outrageously goofy results. Edwin, possessed by Buzzy, performs a bit where he pretends to be a famous Russian singer allergic to flowers. A vase of flowers is nonetheless placed on a table near him, and his song, " Otchi Chornya", is frequently interrupted by his loud and goofy-sounding sneezes. The love interests of the brothers further complicate the situation; while the murdered Buster was engaged to entertainer Midge Mallon, librarian Ellen Shanley admires Edwin. In the end, Ellen marries Edwin, while Midge consoles herself by marrying the owner of the Pelican Club.

Cast

In addition, an uncredited

June Hutton June Hutton (born June Marvel Cowan; August 11, 1919 – May 2, 1973) was an American actress and vocalist, popular with big bands during the 1940s. She was the younger sister of vocalist Ina Ray Hutton. Early years Hutton was born in Bloomin ...

provided the singing voice for Vera-Ellen.

Production credits

* Director – Bruce Humberstone * Producer –

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

* Writing –

Don Hartman Samuel Donald Hartman (18 November 1900, New York - 23 March 1958, Palm Springs, California) was an American screenwriter and director and former production head of Paramount Pictures. He and Stephen Morehouse Avery were nominated for the Acade ...

Melville Shavelson Melville Shavelson (April 1, 1917 – August 8, 2007) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He was President of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw) from 1969 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and 1985 to 1987. Biog ...

, and

Philip Rapp Philip Rapp (March 26, 1907 – January 23, 1996) was a film and television director and screenwriter. He wrote for Eddie Cantor and, for a brief period, wrote film scripts for Danny Kaye. Rapp is perhaps best known as the creator of Baby Snook ...

(screenplay) Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran (adaptation);

(original story) * Cinematography –

Victor Milner Victor Milner, A.S.C. (December 15, 1893 – October 29, 1972) (sometimes Victor Miller) was an American cinematographer. He was nominated for ten cinematography Academy Awards, winning once for 1934 ''Cleopatra''. Milner worked on more than 130 ...

and William Snyder (directors of photography) * Music – Sylvia Fine (music and lyrics);

Ray Heindorf Raymond John Heindorf (August 25, 1908 – February 3, 1980) was an American composer and songwriter who was noted for his work in film. Early life Born in Haverstraw, New York, Heindorf worked as a pianist in a movie house in Mechanicville in ...

(musical orchestration and conducting) * Art direction –

Ernst Fegté Ernst Fegté (28 September 1900 – 15 December 1976) was a German art director. He was active in the American cinema from the 1920s to the 1970s, he was the art director or production designer on more than 75 feature films. He worked at Pa ...

(art director), McClure Capps (associate art direction),

Howard Bristol Howard Bristol (August 14, 1902 – February 11, 1971) was an American set decorator. He was nominated for nine Academy Awards in the category Academy Award for Best Production Design, Best Art Direction. He worked on 56 films between 1936 ...

(set decoration) * Film editor –

Daniel Mandell Daniel Mandell (August 13, 1895 - June 8, 1987) was an American film editor with more than 70 film credits. His first editing credit was for '' The Turmoil'' in 1924. From '' Dodsworth'' (1936) to ''Porgy and Bess'' (1959), Mandell worked for Sa ...

* Music – Louis Forbes (musical director) * Choreography – John Wray * Costumes –

Travis Banton Travis Banton (August 18, 1894 – February 2, 1958) was an American costume designer. He is perhaps best known for his long collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich and director Josef von Sternberg. He is generally considered one of the most ...

* Makeup – Robert Stephanoff * Special effects – John P. Fulton (special photographic effects) * Technicolor color director –

Natalie Kalmus Natalie M. Kalmus (née Dunfee, also documented as Dunphy; April 7, 1878November 15, 1965) was the executive head of the Technicolor art department and credited as the director or "color consultant" of all Technicolor films produced from 1934 to 19 ...

* Sound – Fred Lau (sound recorder)

Awards

The film won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Special Effects at the 18th Academy Awards in 1946, and was also nominated for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, Best Musical Score, and Best Sound Recording. The film was also entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.

References

External links