Words and Music (1948 film)

Words and Music
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Directed by	Norman Taurog
Produced by	Arthur Freed
Written by	Guy Bolton (story) Ben Feiner Jr.
Starring	Tom Drake Mickey Rooney
Music by	Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart Lennie Hayton (musical direction) Conrad Salinger (orchestrations)
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	December 31, 1948 (1948-12-31)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3,048,000
Box office	$4,552,000

Words and Music is a 1948 film loosely based on the creative partnership of the composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart. The film stars Mickey Rooney as Hart and Tom Drake as Rodgers, along with Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett, Ann Sothern and numerous musical stars.

The movie is best remembered for featuring the final screen pairing between Rooney and Judy Garland, and for the lavish showcasing of the Rodgers and Hart catalogue of songs. The script, as in many such films, was heavily fictionalized. It sanitized Hart's complex psychological problems and self-destructive behavior, which led to the break-up of the writing partnership and contributed to Hart's early death. Further, while understandable for its time, the film also completely avoided any mention of Hart's homosexuality.

The beginning of the film is somewhat unusual for a biopic. Drake appears alone in character, introducing himself to the audience as Richard Rodgers and then introducing the story. It's as if Rodgers were playing himself.

Though the film performed very well at the box office, it proved to be quite an expensive production and, as a result, barely recouped its cost in its first release.

Cast

• Tom Drake as Richard Rodgers
• Mickey Rooney as Lorenz Hart
• Janet Leigh as Dorothy Feiner Rodgers
• Marshall Thompson as Herbert Fields
• Betty Garrett as Peggy Lorgan McNeil
• Jeanette Nolan as Mrs. Hart
• Ann Sothern as Joyce Harmon
• Perry Como as Eddie Lorrison Anders / Himself, in Finale
• Cyd Charisse as Margo Grant
• Richard Quine as Ben Feiner Jr.

Guest Appearances:

• June Allyson performs "Thou Swell."
• Judy Garland performs "Johnny One Note" and "I Wish I Were in Love Again."
• Lena Horne performs "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "Where or When."
• Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen dance "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue."
• Mel Tormé performs "Blue Moon."

Production

The film was originally budgeted at $2,659,065.

Reception

The film earned $3,453,000 in the US and Canada and $1,099,000 overseas but because of its high cost recorded a loss of $371,000.

External links

• Words and Music at IMDb
• The Judy Garland Online Discography "Words And Music" pages.