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A Song Is Born

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6.5/10 • 40

1948-10-191h 53m

ComedyMusic

...with the hottest men in music - beating out the rhythm with'm!

The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.

Directors
Howard Hawks
Editors
Daniel Mandell

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Danny Kaye

    Danny Kaye

    Hobart Frisbee

  2. Virginia Mayo

    Virginia Mayo

    Honey Swanson

  3. Benny Goodman

    Benny Goodman

    Professor Magenbruch

  4. Tommy Dorsey

    Tommy Dorsey

    Tommy Dorsey

  5. Louis Armstrong

    Louis Armstrong

    Louis Armstrong

  6. Lionel Hampton

    Lionel Hampton

    Lionel Hampton

  7. Charlie Barnet

    Charlie Barnet

    Charlie Barnet

  8. Mel Powell

    Mel Powell

    Mel Powell

  9. Ford Washington Lee

    Ford Washington Lee

    Buck

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jul 9, 2022

7/10

After two minutes you will spot the obvious similarity with "Ball of Fire" (1941). Swap Gary Cooper with Danny Kaye and Barbara Stanwyck with Virginia Mayo then add some fantastic musicianship from the likes of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Sonny Burke et al, and we have a gently amusing story of a professor (of music this time) who falls for the gangster's moll. "Honey" (Mayo) takes refuge from the pursuing FBI with a bunch of dithery professors creating an over budget dictionary of music and soon the hapless "Prof. Frisbee" (Kaye) is eating out of her hand. The gangster elements of the plot are just a little too contrived: her boyfriend "Crow" (Steve Cochran) maintains this new situation to keep her from testifying against him - until, that is - he can make arrangements to marry her, but in the meantime might she start to fall for poor old "Frisbee"? Neither lead are on great form here, Kaye seems oddly distracted from his role and Mayo always was quite a sterile performer, but there is still enough chemistry between them and, alongside a fun effort from Esther Dale as their somewhat puritanical housekeeper "Miss Bragg" this works ok. Essentially, it's an excuse for some great toe-tappers with a gently simmering romance and some slightly slapstick humour. It's fun to watch and to listen to, and though I still preferred the original it is diverse enough from that to stand well enough on it's own.

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  • A Song Is Born backdrop
  • A Song Is Born backdrop

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$2,400,000.00
Revenue
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Keywords
musicalscrewball comedy