Two Tickets to Broadway 1951

Two Tickets to Broadway


Howard Hughes / RKO, 1951, Color, 106 minutes, ***

Released November, 1951



Pelican Falls high school graduate Nancy Peterson (Janet Leigh) is off to the big city to try her luck on Broadway. Along the way she meets show girls Foxy Rogers (Barbara Lawrence), Hannah Holbrook (Gloria DeHaven) and Joyce Campbell (Ann Miller), whose manager Lew Conway (Eddie Bracken) has led them to believe that he can get them an appearance on Bob Crosby's TV show. Of course, it's easier said than done!



Some nice songs and dance numbers. Crosby's spoof of brother Bing, "Let's Make Comparisons," is a show-stopper!



Producer: Howard Hughes

Directed by: James V. Kern

Screen play by: Sid Silvers and Hal Kanter

Based on a Story by Sammy Cahn

Musical Score: Walter Scharf

Musical Numbers Created and Directed by: Busby Berkeley

Songs: "Are You a Beautiful Dream?," "The Closer You Are," "Baby, You'll Never Be Sorry," "The Worry Bird," "Big Chief Hole-in-the-Ground," "Pelican Falls," "It Began in Yucatan" by Jule Styne and Leo Robin

Other Songs: "Manhattan" by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart; "There's No Tomorrow" by Al Hoffman, Leo Corday and Leon Carr; The Prologue from "Pagliacci" by Leoncavallo; "Let's Make Comparisons" by Sammy Cahn and Bob Crosby

Vocal Arrangements: Eliot Daniel

Musical Supervision: C. Bakaleinikoff

Art Directors: Albert S. D'Agostino, Carroll Clark

Set Decorations: Darrell Silvera, Harley Miller

Gowns by: Michael Woulfe

Makeup Artist: Mel Berns

Hair Stylist: Larry Germain

Sound by: Earl Wolcott, Clem Portman

Directors of Photography: Edward Cronjager and Harry Wild

Color by Technicolor

Technicolor Color Consultant: Morgan Padelford

Film Editor: Harry Marker



Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Recording



Cast: Tony Martin [Dan Carter], Janet Leigh [Nancy Peterson], Gloria DeHaven [Hannah Holbrook], Eddie Bracken [Lew Conway], Ann Miller [Joyce Campbell], Barbara Lawrence [S. F. "Foxy" Rogers], Bob Crosby [Himself], The Charlivels [Acrobatic Specialty], Smith and Dale: Joe Smith [Harry] and Charles Dale [Leo], Taylor Holmes [Willard Glendon], Buddy Baer [Sailor], Frieda Stoll [Wardrobe Woman], Fred L. Gillett [Bus Driver], Norval Mitchell [Mr. Peterson], Helen Spring [Mrs. Peterson], John Gallaudet [McGiven], Isabel Randolph [Housekeeper], Donald MacBride [Bus Terminal Guard], John Sheehan [Desk Clerk], Don Blackman [Porter], Vera Miles [Chorus Girl], Joi Lansing [Redhead]



Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:04] Pelican Falls (sung and marched by Chorus, then sung by Janet Leigh and Chorus; includes excerpt of "Auld Lang Syne" (with special lyric) sung by Chorus and "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (with special lyric) sung by Chorus); [0:11] There's No Tomorrow (sung by Tony Martin); [0:29] Manhattan (sung and danced by Tony Martin, Janet Leigh and Chorus); [0:40] Baby You'll Never Be Sorry (sung by Gloria DeHaven and Eddie Bracken); [0:48] It Began in Yucatan (used instrumentally, danced by Ann Miller and Chorus Girls as part of montage); [0:49] Baby You'll Never Be Sorry (short reprisal sung by Tony Martin); [0:51] The Closer You Are (sung and danced by Tony Martin and Janet Leigh); [0:58] The Worry Bird (sung and danced by Gloria DeHaven with Janet Leigh, Ann Miller and Barbara Lawrence); [1:02] Baby You'll Never Be Sorry (short reprisal sung by Tony Martin, then sung and danced by Smith and Dale); [1:15] The Charlivels acrobat performance; [1:26] Let's Make Comparisons (sung by Bob Crosby with His Bobcats); [1:31] Prologue from PAGLIACCI (sung by Tony Martin); [1:36] Big Chief Hole-in-the-Ground (sung by Tony Martin, Gloria DeHaven, Janet Leigh, Ann Miller and Barbara Lawrence); [1:41] Are You a Beautiful Dream (sung by Tony Martin, danced by Janet Leigh); [1:45] Pelican Falls / The Closer You Are (sung by Chorus)