It Happened in Brooklyn *** (1947, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford, Gloria Grahame) – Classic Movie Review 11,098

‘IT ALL TAKES PLACE IN THAT FASCINATING WONDERLAND OF THE FAR EAST… BROOKLYN! ‘

Director Richard Whorf’s slight but amiable 1947 black and white MGM musical It Happened in Brooklyn stars the near-irresistible line-up of Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford and Gloria Grahame.

Sinatra stars as Danny Webson Miller, who falls in love with sweet music teacher Anne Fielding (Grayson) but loses her to his buddy Jamie Shellgrove (Sinatra’s Rat Pack buddy Lawford) after they return to Brooklyn from World War Two service in England.

It Happened in Brooklyn features memorable Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) tunes, including ‘Time after Time’, ‘Whose Baby Are You’, ‘The Brooklyn Bridge’, ‘I Believe’, ‘It’s The Same Old Dream’ and, especially, the invigorating Sinatra-Durante duet ‘The Song’s Gotta Come from the Heart’.

Grahame, Marcy McGuire and tap-dancer Billy Roy strut their super stuff while an unseen 17-year old André Previn tinkles the ivories, when Lawford or Sinatra seem to be playing on the piano. The efficient if uninspired direction helped make it a box-office winner.

Also in the cast are Marcy McGuire, William Roy [Billy Roy], Aubrey Mather, Tamara Shayne, Bobby Long, William Haade and Lumsden Hare.

Writers: Isobel Lennart (screenplay) and Jack McGowan (story).

Sinatra’s ‘Time After Time’ charted at number 17 in 1947.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,098

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