Two Tickets to Broadway is a 1951 American musical film directed by James V. Kern and starring Tony Martin, Janet Leigh, Gloria DeHaven and Ann Miller. It was filmed on the RKO Forty Acres backlot.[3] It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Recording (John O. Aalberg).[4] The film was choreographed by Busby Berkeley. The film recorded an estimated loss of $1,150,000.[5]
| Two Tickets to Broadway | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster | |
| Directed by | James V. Kern |
| Written by | Sammy Cahn |
| Produced by | Norman Krasna Jerry Wald Howard Hughes (uncredited) |
| Starring | Tony Martin Janet Leigh Gloria DeHaven Ann Miller Eddie Bracken |
| Cinematography | Edward Cronjager Harry J. Wild |
| Edited by | Harry Marker |
| Music by | Walter Scharf |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2 million (US rentals)[2] |
Plot
editFrustrated singers Hannah Holbrook, Joyce Campbell, and S. F. "Foxy" Rogers return dejectedly to New York on a bus, their out-of-town engagement in Vermont, arranged by small-time promoter Lew Conway, having been a huge flop.
Nancy Peterson, another passenger on the bus, mistakenly believes Dan Carter has stolen her suitcase. It turns out both are entertainers. They end up with each other's bags, then become better acquainted after the mix-up.
The conniving Lew represents Dan and tries to get him to take the same bad gig the girl singers just left. Lew also meets a couple of delicatessen owners, Leo and Harry, who might have money to invest in his performers' careers. The agent has an impersonator, Glendon, pretend to be the producer of bandleader Bob Crosby's television program.
Everybody excitedly believes that Lew has booked them on the TV show. Lew continually tries to get in to see Crosby's actual producer, totally in vain. He lies to the singers that Crosby won't book them because he is jealous of Dan's ability as a singer. A furious Nancy barges into the TV studio to berate Crosby and his producer, who have no idea what she is talking about.
Nancy boards a bus, headed back home. Crosby's producer, however, says he's been interested in Dan for quite a while, and ends up with an opening on tonight's show after Lew locks the scheduled performers in a closet. Nancy refuses to believe Lew that the gang really is performing on tonight's show, until she spots Dan singing on a TV in a store's window. She races back to New York just in time to join the others on the show.
Cast
edit- Tony Martin as Dan Carter
- Janet Leigh as Nancy Peterson
- Gloria DeHaven as Hannah Holbrook
- Eddie Bracken as Lew Conway
- Ann Miller as Joyce Campbell
- Barbara Lawrence as S. F. Rogers
- Bob Crosby as himself
- Charles Dale as Leo, Palace Deli
- Joe Smith as Harry, Palace Deli
- Taylor Holmes as Willard Glendon
- Buddy Baer as Sailor on Bus
- Kathleen O'Malley as Showgirl
The roles of the two delicatessen owners were originally offered to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who had to turn down the parts due to Laurel being ill.[6] The comedy team of Smith and Dale got the roles instead.
References
edit- ^ "Two Tickets to Broadway: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952.
- ^ Hal Erickson (2012). "Two Tickets to Broadway". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ^ "The 24th Academy Awards (1952) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ^ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p261.
- ^ p.110 Gehring, Wes D. Laurel & Hardy: A Bio-Bibliography Greenwood Publishing Group, 1990