The Unsinkable Molly Brown (film)

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The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Directed by	Charles Walters
Produced by	Lawrence Weingarten
Written by	Richard Morris (play) Helen Deutsch
Starring	Debbie Reynolds Harve Presnell Ed Begley
Music by	Meredith Willson Robert Armbruster Leo Arnaud Jack Elliott Jack Hayes Calvin Jackson Leo Shuken
Cinematography	Daniel L. Fapp
Editing by	Franz Steininger Frederic Steinkamp
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	June 11, 1964
Running time	128 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a 1964 musical film based on the 1960 stage musical by Meredith Willson. The film was directed by Charles Walters with a screenplay adapted by Helen Deutsch . The film starred Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell (reprising his stage role), Ed Begley, Jack Kruschen, Hermione Baddeley and Harvey Lembeck.

Contents 1 Background 2 Plot summary 3 Awards 4 Cast 5 Songs 6 Trivia 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Background

The film uses only five of the musical numbers from the stage musical, and adds one new song ("He's My Friend"), with dances by the original choreographer, Peter Gennaro, and location shooting in Gunnison National Monument (Colorado).^[1]

[edit] Plot summary

The story is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown whose husband made a fortune in the Colorado silver mines and who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

[edit] Awards

The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Debbie Reynolds), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Color, Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment and Best Sound.

[edit] Cast

• Debbie Reynolds as Molly Brown. According to Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies, after seeing the play, Reynolds lobbied hard for the lead role, but Walters wanted Shirley MacLaine. However, Hal Wallis claimed he still had her under contract and the legal complications prevented MacLaine from taking the part.^[2]
• Harve Presnell as Johnny Brown
• Ed Begley as Shamus Tobin
• Jack Kruschen as Christmas Morgan
• Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Grogan
• Vassili Lambrinos as Prince Louis de Laniere
• Martita Hunt as Grand Duchess Elise Lupovinova
• Fred Essler as Baron Karl Ludwig von Ettenburg
• Harvey Lembeck as Polak

[edit] Songs

Soundtrack listing ^[3]

1. "Main title"
2. "Belly Up to the Bar, Boys" - Ed Begley/Jack Kruschen
3. "I Ain't Down Yet" - Debbie Reynolds/Grover Dale/Gus Trikoni
4. "Colorado, My Home" - Harve Presnell
5. "Belly Up To The Bar, Boys" - Debbie Reynolds & Company
6. "I'll Never Say No"
7. "Here Comes The Bride" (I Ain't Down Yet) - Ed Begley/Jack Kruschen & Co
8. "I'll Never Say No" (Reprise) - Debbie Reynolds
9. "I Ain't Down Yet" (Reprise) - Harve Presnell/Debbie Reynolds
10. "Molly Waltz" ("Dolce Far Niente") - Orchestra
11. "Colorado, My Home" (Reprise) - Harve Presnell
12. "He's My Friend" - Debbie Reynolds/Harve Presnell/Hermoine Baddeley/Martita Hunt/Ed Begley/Jack Kruschen & Co.
13. "Johnny's Soliloquy" - Harve Presnell
14. "The Brass Bed"/End - Cast

[edit] Trivia

• The Gemini 3 capsule was named Molly Brown after this musical

[edit] References

1. ^ Hollywood Musicals Year By Year, Second Edition, Stanley Green, Revised by Elaine Schmidt, p. 229, 1999, Hal Leonard, ISBN 0634007653
2. ^ Frank Miller (May 18, 2008). TCM Archives - The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
3. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Unsinkable-Molly-Brown-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B00004ZDYY/ref=sr_1_2/102-5324618-1004148?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1187870800&sr=1-2 Soundtrack listing

[edit] External links

• The Unsinkable Molly Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown at Allmovie

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