Tea For Two(1950)

Tea for Two (1950). Directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Harry Clork and William Jacobs was inspired by the 1925 stage musical No, No, Nanette. Cast: Doris Day ,Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson , Eve Arden, Billy De Wolfe and S.Z. Sakall.

While Lynne and Richard, are having fun with their friends, dressing up in their parents old clothes from the 1920's.  Their uncle Max, walks in and tells them what it was like for people in 1929, after the stock market crashed:  Max was the guardian of his niece and because of his bad investments, Nanette looses all her money. Nanette, is unaware of her loss, when asked by producer Larry Blair to back a show. To help convince her, Larry brings Jimmy and Tommy to see Nanette, where he lies about Jimmy needing the money to pay for his sister's operation. Tommy and Jimmy play her some songs from the show, Nanette agrees to back the show. Jimmy then suggests that Nanette play the lead, instead of Beatrice Darcy, Larry's girl friend.

Not wanting her to know that she has lost all her money, Max comes up with a plan to give her the money on condition that she say "no" to everything for forty-eight hours.

He learns from his lawyer, that he might be able to save some of the lost fortune if he can sign important papers before ten o'clock. After Nanette is pulled over for reckless driving, her negative answers to the policeman lands them in jail.

Later, Max encourages Jimmy to propose to Nanette,  even though she loves Jimmy, Nanette does not say "yes." Having lost his bet, Max is forced to tell Nanette the truth. Pauline convinces Early to back the production, now called No, No, Nanette. Max finishes his story just as Nanette and Jimmy return home.

Doris Day and Gordon MacRae make a wonderful team with some wonderful song and dance routines. Also a wonderful supporting cast: Eve Arden, tossing her one-liners with her usual skill. Billy De Wolfe, reminding us what a wonderful comedian he truly is. I thought this was above average fluffy musical.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)

By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). Musical and the sequel to On Moonlight Bay. The movie is based on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. Doris Day and Gordon MacRae, in their 5th and final on-screen pairing. By the Light of the Silvery Moon is another adventure of the Winfield family in small town Indiana. Marjorie Winfield's boyfriend, William Sherman, returns from the Army after W.W.I. Bill & Marjorie's on-again, off-again romance provides the story line. It is cute/ funny and some of the songs are fun like, Be My Baby Bumblebee. They harmonize beautifully and play their scenes with warmth and believability. A couple more of my favorite songs include: "If You Were the Only Girl in the World" and "Ain't We Got Fun".


Penrod is a collection of comic sketches by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Booth Tarkington that was published in 1914. The book is about the misadventures of Penrod Schofield, an eleven-year-old boy growing up in the pre-World War I Midwestern town, similar to Huckleberry Finn. In Penrod, Tarkington created characters who were in two other books, Penrod and Sam (1916) and Penrod Jashber (1929). The three books were published together in one volume, Penrod: His Complete Story, in 1931.





Soundtracks:
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"By the Light of the Silvery Moon"
Music by Gus Edwards
Lyrics by Edward Madden
Sung by a chorus during the opening credits, Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames,
Rosemary DeCamp and others
Played often throughout the film

"In My Merry Oldsmobile"
Music by Gus Edwards
Played during the opening scene where Marjorie is under the car

"What's the Matter with Father"
Music by Egbert Van Alstyne
Played after Marjorie runs up the stairs

"My Home Town Is a One Horse Town"
Music by Abner Silver
Lyrics by Alex Gerber
Sung by Gordon MacRae

"Minuet in G"
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Played by Wesley on the piano

"Your Eyes Have Told Me So"
Music by Walter Blaufuss
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Egbert Van Alstyne
Sung by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae


"Bridal Chorus"
from "Lohengrin"
Music by Richard Wagner
Played after Marjorie arrives home after argument with Bill

"Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee"
Music by Henry I. Marshall
Lyrics by Stanley Murphy
Sung by Russell Arms, Doris Day and Gordon MacRae

"Ain't We Got Fun"
Music by Richard A. Whiting
Lyrics by Ray Egan and Gus Kahn
Sung with substitute lyrics by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae

"Good Night, Ladies"
Played during the Fearless Flanagan sequence

"Wintermärchen"
Music by Alphons Czibulka
Played during the Fearless Flanagan sequence

"La vie en rose"
Music by Louiguy
Played during the scene where Winfield is discussing the lease with Renée La Rue

"Moonlight Bay"
Written by Percy Wenrich
Lyrics by Edward Madden
Played during the scene with the watch and later sung by Leon Ames

"If You Were the Only Girl in the World"
Music by Nat Ayer
Lyrics by Clifford Grey
Sung by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae

"Just One Girl"
Music by Lyn Udall
Lyrics by Karl Kennett
Sung by Gordon MacRae

"King Chanticleer"
Music by Nat Ayer
Lyrics by A. Seymour Brown
Sung by Doris Day

"I'll Forget You"
Music by Ernest Ball
Lyrics by Annelu Burns
Sung by Doris Day

Gorden Mac Rae

In 1952, Gorden Mac Rae starred with Day in By the Light of the Silvery Moon, the sequel to On Moonlight Bay. Then in 1953, he starred opposite Kathryn Grayson in the third film version of The Desert Song. This was followed by starring appearances in two major films of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956), both opposite Shirley Jones.