''You're the One'' is a 1941 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 ...

directed by

Ralph Murphy Ralph Murphy (May 1, 1895 – February 10, 1967) was an American film and television director. Born in Rockville, Connecticut, Murphy was active in films from 1931 through 1962, with some work in television. From 1941 to 1944 he was married to G ...

and starring Bonnie Baker,

Orrin Tucker Robert Orrin Tucker (February 17, 1911 – April 9, 2011) was an American bandleader born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, whose theme song was " Drifting and Dreaming". His biggest hit was "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!" (1939), sung by vocalis ...

Albert Dekker Thomas Albert Ecke Van Dekker (December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American actor and politician known for his roles in '' Dr. Cyclops'', ''The Killers'' (1946), '' Kiss Me Deadly'', and '' The Wild Bunch''. Early life and career Dekker w ...

and

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton, Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor and comedian. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born March 18 ...

. The film was released on February 19, 1941, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

Bonnie (Bonnie Baker) is a dour-faced hat-check girl at a hotel run by the imperious Edger Crump (Tom Dugan), when famous bandleader Orrin Tucker (himself) comes to the hotel to play a show. The performance is to be aired on radio station KXQZ, run by the slightly mad “Dr.” Colonna (Jerry Colonna), who is actually a garage mechanic who runs around wearing a stethoscope. Trying to convince Tucker to let her sing with the band, Bonnie runs into singing star Luke Laramie (Albert Dekker), to whom she takes an instant dislike. Eventually, she convinces Tucker to let her sing on the air, thanks to the recommendation of Joe Frink (Edward Everett Horton), who was actually an old friend of her father’s back in Texas. But things go disastrously wrong when Luke finds he cannot sing due to a “voodoo curse” placed on him by Mme. Ziffnidyiff (Mariska Aldrich). Colonna fills in by singing “The Yogi Who Lost His Power”, but the crowd is unappreciative; one patron hurls an overripe pomegranate at Colonna’s head, knocking him cold. Just when it looks like there’ll be a riot live on the air, Bonnie steps in and sings the big number “You’re The One”, which gets a tremendous hand. Luke, his “curse” lifted, arrives and he and Bonnie sing “I Could Kiss You For That”, after which he kisses her. The whole cast sings “Strawberry Lane” into the closing credits.

Cast

* Bonnie Baker as Bonnie Baker *

as Orrin Tucker *

as Luke Laramie *

as Death Valley Joe Frink * Lillian Cornell as Miss Jones *

Renie Riano Renie Isabel Riano (August 7, 1899 – July 3, 1971) was an English-born American actress who, with the exception of the Jiggs and Maggie comedies, had minor roles in 1940s and 1950s films. She was sometimes credited as Reine Riano, Renee R ...

as Aunt Emma * Jerry Colonna as Dr. Colonna *Teddy Hart as Julius, Luke's Chauffeur *

Tom Dugan Thomas or Tom Dugan may refer to: * Thomas Buchanan Dugan (1858–1940), United States Army brigadier general *Tom Dugan (actor, born 1889) (1889–1955), Irish-born American film and television actor *Tom Dugan (actor, born 1961) Tom Dugan (bo ...

as Edgar Crump *

Walter Catlett Walter Leland Catlett (February 4, 1889 – November 14, 1960) was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards. Career Catlett was born on February 4, 1889, in S ...

as Program Director * Charles Lane as Announcer *

Don Castle Don Castle (September 29, 1917 – May 26, 1966) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Castle was born in Beaumont, Texas. He went to the University of Texas where he was roommates with Jack Wrather. He resembled Clark G ...

as Tony Delmar *

Mariska Aldrich Mariska Aldrich (née Horvath; March 27, 1881 – September 28, 1965) was an American dramatic soprano singer and actress. Life She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She was a pupil of Alfred Giraudet (1906–1909) and George Henschel. She ...

as Mme. Ziffnidyiff *Eddie Conrad as Mr. Ziffnidyiff *

Marie Blake Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), also known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. He ...

as Beauty Shop Operator *Hal K. Dawson as Male Secretary *June Gaude as Beauty Shop Manager *

Gerald Oliver Smith Gerald Wilson Oliver Smith (June 26, 1892 – May 28, 1974) was an English-born actor who spent most of his career in the United States, both in New York City as a stage actor and in the Hollywood film industry. Biography Born in Sidcup, ...

as Hotel Clerk *

Sammy Cohen Sammy Cohen (December 8, 1902– May 30, 1981) was an American film actor and comedian. He was one of several popular Jewish comedians acting in films during the late 1920s.Erens pp. 91-92 He was teamed with Ted McNamara as a comedy duo in the f ...

as Bellboy *Gilbert Wilson as Hotel Clerk *Foy Van Dolsen as Chester Pugh *Florine McKinney as Archery Girl

Reception

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 ...

'' reviewed the musical negatively, criticizing it as "perilously close to being the most haphazard, pointless and dull motion picture shown on Broadway this season." He specifically critiqued the acting of Bonnie Baker and Orrin Tucker as being lackluster, and Jerry Colonna and Edward Everett Horton's roles for engaging in "meaningless and unfunny business".

References

Bibliography

* Fetrow, Alan G. ''Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography''. McFarland, 1994.

External links

* 1941 films 1940s English-language films Paramount Pictures films American comedy films 1941 comedy films American musical films 1941 musical films Films directed by Ralph Murphy American black-and-white films 1940s American films English-language comedy films Films scored by Phil Boutelje English-language musical films {{1940s-US-comedy-film-stub