A Song is Born

A Song is Born
by Howard Hawks

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VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: Benny Goodman, Danny Kaye, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Virginia Mayo
Director: Howard Hawks
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 113 minutes
Release Date: 1992-04-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Hbo Home Video
Studio: Hbo Home Video

VHS Movie Reviews of A Song is Born

Movie Review: TERRIFIC FUN.
Summary: 5 Stars

Immensely enjoyable. Kaye plays Professor Hobart Frisbee, one of seven monastic intellectuals who reside at the American division of the Totten Foundation. Frisbee meets a pair of hip window washers who tell him all about jazz, jive and boogie woogie. Beautiful Virginia Mayo is Honey Swanson, a singer hiding out from her gangster boyfriend Steve Cochran (she's also trying to keep away from the DA who wants to testify against Cochran) In the original, Barbara Stanwyck played a stripper, who taught the boys the ropes about English slang circa 1941. Here, the plot is basically the same, but the Professor wants to learn all about Popular American music, 1948 style. Some purists will not like this version as much as the original, but the Technicolor is gorgeous, and so is Virginia Mayo! Her rendition of DADDY-O is sexy and hot. The film will be a huge treat for fans of the Big Band Era. Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton and Charlie Barnet are all cleverly showcased and their music is awesome! Swing music was rapidly dying out by 1948, but numbers such as STEALIN' APPLES, FLYING HOME, I'M GETTIN' SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU & MUSKRAT RAMBLE are timeless perennial favourites for fans to relish. A direct remake of BALL OF FIRE with Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper, this movie was also made almost entirely by the same technicians, oddly enough.

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Summary of A Song is Born

There's little question that a remake of a successful film, even if inferior to the original (witness Sabrina), can be well received by an audience. It's unfortunate that this highly entertaining film is often dismissed in the wake of its equally excellent and successful predecessor (Ball of Fire, starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck). Both films are directed by legend Howard Hawks, whose stamp on each film is evident but also gives each its own flavor and tone. A Song Is Born is unique in that it was remade, not in the usual 20-plus years after the original, but a mere 7 years later.

A Song Is Born must be considered a stand-alone film--both Danny Kaye and frequent costar Virginia Mayo deliver topnotch musical-comedic-dramatic performances. The story centers on a group of anachronistic music academics who become involved with a nightclub singer (Mayo), who they hope will teach them about contemporary music, but who also happens to be the moll of a well-known gangster (another Kaye-Mayo costar, Steve Cochran).

This time around, Hawks makes full use of Technicolor (Ball was in black and white), and the richness of the film is a nice complement to the fun story and the great soundtrack. For the music fan--especially given the swing revival--there's plenty of eye candy, including Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Barnett, and Mel Powell. --N.F. Mendoza

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