I Dream Too Much (1935 film)
I Dream Too Much | |
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Directed by | John Cromwell |
Written by | |
Screenplay by | James Gow Edmund H. North |
Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
Starring | Lily Pons Henry Fonda Eric Blore Lucille Ball |
Cinematography | David Abel |
Edited by | William Morgan |
Music by | Jerome Kern Dorothy Fields Max Steiner (incidental) |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $627,000[1] |
Box office | $640,000[1] |
I Dream Too Much is a 1935 American romantic comedy film directed by John Cromwell. It stars Henry Fonda, Lily Pons, and Lucille Ball in one of her earlier roles. It has been described as a "somewhat wispy operetta."[2] Songs are by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording (Carl Dreher).[3]
Plot[]
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Annette Monard Street (Lily Pons) is an aspiring singer, who falls in love with and marries Jonathan Street (Henry Fonda), a struggling young composer.
Jonathan pushes her into a singing career, and she soon becomes a star. Meanwhile, Jonathan is unable to sell his music, and he finds himself jealous of his wife's success.
Concerned about their relationship, Annette uses her influence to get Jonathan's work turned into a musical comedy. Once she achieves this, she then retires from public life in order to raise a family.
Cast[]
- Lily Pons as Annette Monard Street
- Henry Fonda as Jonathan 'Johnny' Street
- Eric Blore as Roger Briggs
- Osgood Perkins as Paul Darcy
- Lucien Littlefield as Hubert Dilley, Tourist
- Lucille Ball as Gwendolyn Dilley, Tourist
- Mischa Auer as Darcy's Pianist
- Paul Porcasi as Uncle Tito
- Scotty Beckett as Boy on Merry-Go-Round
Reception[]
Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review. Greene criticized Jerome Kern's musical score as "pompous and middle-aged" in contrast to the times which were more in line with fresh musicians like Cole Porter; he did compare Pons favorably to Grace Moore, describing her personality as "less ponderous". The only portion of the film that Greene found to provide a light touch was that of the performing seal.[4]
The film recorded a loss of $350,000.[1]
References[]
- ^ a b c Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p58
- ^ Woolsey, John Munro (1938). "Shipman et al. v. RKO Radio Picture, Inc. et al". Federal Supplement: Cases Argued and Determined in the District Courts of the United States Court of Claims. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co. 20: 249–251.
- ^ "The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ Greene, Graham (21 February 1936). "I Dream Too Much/Anything Goes/Faust/Hohe Schule/Captain Blood". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. p. 53. ISBN 0192812866.)
External links[]
- 1935 films
- English-language films
- American films
- Films directed by John Cromwell
- American black-and-white films
- RKO Pictures films
- 1935 romantic comedy films
- 1935 musical comedy films
- American romantic musical films
- Films about composers
- 1930s romantic musical films