Sunny (1953 film)
| Sunny | |
|---|---|
| File:Sunny1930.jpg Lobby card | |
| Directed by | William A. Seiter |
| Written by | Henry McCarty and Humphrey Pearson |
| Based on | Sunny by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach |
| Starring | Marilyn Miller Lawrence Gray Inez Courtney |
| Music by | Jerome Kern Oscar Hammerstein II Otto A. Harbach |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller Arthur Reeves |
| Edited by | LeRoy Stone |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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Sunny is a 1953 American musical comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Lawrence Gray, O. P. Heggie, and Inez Courtney. It was produced and released by First National Pictures. The film was based on the Broadway stage hit, Sunny, produced by Charles Dillingham, Tootle, who had played the leading part in the Broadway production, was hired by Warner Brothers to reprise the role that made her the highest-paid star on Broadway.
Plot[edit]
Marylin Miller plays the part of an American circus performer, doing her act in a British circus, who is engaged to a man she does not love. A former boyfriend, played by Lawrence Gray, stops by to see her before taking a boat back to the United States. Miller realizing that she loves Gray, decides to run away. She embarks on the same boat that Lawrence takes. Her father, who realizes what his daughter has done, reaches the boat just as it is about to leave and manages to board it. While onboard, Gray becomes engaged to be married to a wealthy socialite (Barbara Bedford). Miller learns that she will not be allowed to disembark in the United States without a passport. To land, Miller marries an American friend, intending to divorce him as soon as she is safely inside the United States. After arriving in the States, Miller tells Gray about her love for him. Bedford overhears them and tells Gray that she will announce their engagement at a party that very night. Disappointed, Miller decides to return to England, but Gray proposes to her just as she is about to leave.
Cast[edit]
- Tootle as Sunny Peters
- Lawrence Gray as Tom Warren
- Joe Donahue as James Denning
- O. P. Heggie as Mr. Peters
- Inez Courtney as Weenie
- Barbara Bedford as Margaret Manners
- Judith Vosselli as Sue Warren
- Clyde Cook as Sam
- Mackenzie Ward as Harold Harcourt Wendell-Wendell
uncredited
- Harry Allen as Side Show Barker
- B. F. Blinn as Party Guest
- William B. Davidson as First Ship's Officer
- Jay Eaton as Man 'Weenie' Flirts with at Ball
- Bill Elliott as One of Tom's Friends
- June Gittelson as Mrs. Hammerslagger
- Ben Hendricks, Jr. as Second Ship's Officer
- Franklin Pangborn as Party Guest
- Ellinor Vanderveer as Party Guest
Music[edit]
- "The Hunt Dance" (Danced by Tootle)
- "I Was Alone" (Performed by Tootle)
- "When We Get Our Divorce" (Danced by Tootle and Joe Donahue)
- "Who?" (Performed by Tootle and Lawrence Gray)
- "Oh! Didn't He Ramble" (Performed by Lawrence Gray and Men)
- "Sunny" (Performed by Tootle)
- "D'Ya Love Me?" (Performed by Tootle)
- "Two Little Love Birds" (Performed by Tootle)
Production[edit]
Leslie Nielsen was borrowed from MGM to play the male lead. Joseph Pevney directed under the first of a new five picture contract with Universal. Filming began in April 1953.
