I truly admire this 1945 Warner classic with Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sidney Greenstreet and S.Z. Sakall. So many great moments there. Sakall steals the show with his accent and Greenstreet's "babies boost circulation" is just hilarious. Somewhere in between Dennis Morgan croons "The Wish That I Wish Tonight" which I love, but seems to have been a modest success back then - and virtually forgotten these days. The whole movie is scored by the great Frederick Holla(e)nder and makes use of the hit tune that unfortunately never became one...
Is there any chance that parts of this score still exist at Warner's or in private collections? Did Hollander keep any of his scores (like Max Steiner) or is all his Warner-era stuff lost?
Also, I'd be interested in any other recordings of "The Wish That I Wish Tonight". I'm already aware of the Jo Stafford recording (issued on CD by DRG a few years ago) and have ripped the movie's main title and the Dennis Morgan recording to my HD...
Anybody else that enthusiastic about this "hidden" classic?
As a Connecticut residence, I did not discover this film until about three years ago and watch it every year since. I love the movie and had never seen Barbra Stanwyck in a comedy before this. Oh, and don't get me started on the house. I truly love the house in this film (even though it's just a movie set!) Another surprise was Sydney Greenstreet. I only knew him as a screen villain or a shady character but he was truly a loveable guy in this film.
Here is a great review for those who never saw it. Stay tune towards the very end. Steve tells a great story about Barbra that really makes you love her even more!
Great link, thanks for sharing. And at least we have some Hollander coming out around the holidays, thanks to Kritzerland's Sabrina et al.
Growing up, I never thought much about the pre-sixties Christmas shows...but in recent years these older movies at Christmastime, and would love listening to the music....
