Complete credited cast: | |||
Rosemary Clooney | ... | Terry Brennan | |
Anna Maria Alberghetti | ... | Katri Walenska | |
Lauritz Melchior | ... | Jan Poldi | |
Bob Williams | ... | Homer Tirdell | |
Tommy Morton | ... | Buddy Fraser (as Tom Morton) | |
Fred Clark | ... | McDougall | |
John Archer | ... | Dave Parish | |
Mikhail Rasumny | ... | Ladowski | |
Lloyd Corrigan | ... | Miller | |
Don Wilson | ... | Radio Announcer | |
Otto Waldis | ... | Ship's Captain Goslak | |
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Henry Guttman | ... | Ship's Mate |
Paul E. Burns | ... | Henryk, the Ship's Messboy | |
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Freeman Lusk | ... | Conway |
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Red Dust | ... | Homer's Dog |
Fifteen-year-old Katri Walenska jumps a Polish ship, swims ashore and enters New York illegally. The United States Immigration officials are alerted---the USA still had a functioning immigration policy and department when this was filmed---and the search is on. Katri's only possessions are a ten-dollar bill and a letter to her parents' old friend, Jan Poldi, a former Metropolitan Opera star. She finds him in a shabby Greenwich Village apartment. His neighbors in the apartment house are three Broadway hopefuls; pop singer Terry Brennan, hoofer Buddy Fraser and Homer Tirdell and his talented dog Red Dust. (Pardon me, make that four Broadway hopefuls counting the dog.) When Terry hears Katri's magnificent singing voice, she scurries around New York to get her an audition and succeeds in getting her a spot on Don Wilson's televised amateur hour. She wins the contest but unwittingly reveals her true identity as an illegal alien, which causes the arrest of Poldi, Wilson and Dave, Terry's ... Written by Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
Recently, I had the opportunity to watch THE STARS ARE SINGING on Netflix streaming. It was not one of those films I actively sought out to watch, but since I like musicals from the 1950s, I decided to give it a try. Although I found the plot to be more than a bit contrived, and let's face it—what musical comedy plot is not contrived?—Rosemary Clooney is in splendid form here, and the time spent viewing the picture was worth it. Apparently, it was her first role at Paramount, and it's interesting to see her at this stage of her career. Clooney's costar in this venture is Anna Maria Alberghetti, and while the two ladies have very different singing styles, their professionalism is top-notch, and they work together nicely. Opera tenor Lauritz Melchoir, in his final film, is an added bonus.