''Lucky Me'' is a 1954 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 break ...

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 ...

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...

and

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

. It was the first musical film produced in the

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

process and filmed in

Warnercolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

Plot

Candy Williams is a member of a struggling

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

troupe that is stranded in Miami when creditors take all of their money. After the troupe's leader Hap Schneider tries to scam a restaurant out of dinner, they are forced to work in the hotel to pay for the meal. While cleaning a hallway, Flo Neely hears Dick Carson singing songs for his new

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

show. She tells Hap and Duke McGee that Dick is staying in the hotel. Candy has met Dick but believes that he is a mechanic named Eddie. She arranges a date with him but Hap joins them and tells her that Eddie is Dick Carson. Candy leaves thinking that Dick was trying to take advantage of her. To make up for the trouble, Hap arranges a rehearsal of a new song so that Dick can watch the troupe and audition Candy for his show. However, Candy thinks that he is just trying to trick her again. He convinces her that he really wants her to star in the play. However, his backer's daughter Lorraine Thayer is jealous and will not let her father back Dick's show if Candy is in it. The troupe is leaving the hotel when Dick's manager reveals that he is giving up the show and returning to New York. Candy realizes that Dick really loves her. She returns to her room and disguises herself to surreptitiously enter Otis Thayer's birthday party, where she wants to perform Dick's songs and secure Thayer's backing for the show. The troupe accompanies her and Flo forces Lorraine to fall into a swimming pool so that Candy is free to save the day.

Cast

as Candy Williams *

as Dick Carson *

as Hap Schneider * Eddie Foy, Jr. as Duke McGee *

Nancy Walker Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on wh ...

as Flo Neely *

Martha Hyer Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French in ''Some Came Running'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, ''Finding My Way ...

as Lorraine Thayer *

Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...

as Otis Thayer *

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 Anton *

Hayden Rorke William Henry Rorke (October 23, 1910 – August 19, 1987), known professionally as Hayden Rorke, was an American actor best known for playing Colonel Alfred E. Bellows on the 1960s American sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie''. Early life Rorke was ...

as Tommy Arthur * James Burke as Mahoney Cast notes: * Day had begun to suffer from

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

s before filming began and continually delayed the project in spite of pressure exerted by Warner Bros. She was also unhappy with the script, writing in her 1976 autobiography ''Her Own Story'': "Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers, Nancy Walker, and Eddie Foy, Jr., were all talented, funny people, but I knew by now that no amount of talent can overcome an inferior script, especially if it is a comedy." She considered allowing the studio to suspend her rather than appearing in the film, but on the advice of a friend, she fulfilled her contractual obligation. However, the filming process was difficult for her because of the panic attacks. *

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

made her debut in the film after having won the chance as the result of a television contest. She has an uncredited bit part in the party scene. *Cummings' singing voice was provided by Hal Derwin.

Production

Although an early announcement promised that the film would be produced in 3-D, it was actually made only in

, and was the first musical to use the process.Passafiume, Andre
"Lucky Me (1954)" (article)
on TCM.com Doris Day-Wilfred M

The role played by Robert Cummings was originally intended for

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals '' Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

, who had previously worked with Doris Day several times."Notes"
on TCM.com Cummings was cast in September 1953. In October 1953, Warner Bros. announced that filming would be delayed to allow Day to recover from nervous exhaustion. Location shooting for the film took place in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Reception

''Lucky Me'' was not well-received upon its original release.

References

External links

* * * * {{Jack Donohue 1954 films Warner Bros. films Films directed by Jack Donohue Films shot in Miami CinemaScope films American musical comedy films 1954 musical comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films