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Lucky Me
Lucky Me
	Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Jack Donohue
Screenplay by	Irving Elinson; Robert O'Brien; James O'Hanlon; Frank Davis (uncredited)
Story by	James O'Hanlon
Produced by	Henry Blanke
Starring	Doris Day; Robert Cummings; Phil Silvers
Cinematography	Wilfred M. Cline
Edited by	Owen Marks
Music by	Paul Francis Webster (lyrics); Sammy Fain (music)
Production; company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	April 9, 1954;
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.9 million

Lucky Me is a 1954 American musical comedy film starring Doris Day, Robert Cummings and Phil Silvers. It was the first musical film produced in the CinemaScope process and filmed in Warnercolor.

Plot

Candy Williams is a member of a struggling vaudeville troupe that is stranded in Miami when creditors take all of their money. After the troupe's leader Hap Schneider tries to scam a restaurant out of dinner, they are forced to work in the hotel to pay for the meal. While cleaning a hallway, Flo Neely hears Dick Carson singing songs for his new Broadway show. She tells Hap and Duke McGee that Dick is staying in the hotel.

Candy has met Dick but believes that he is a mechanic named Eddie. She arranges a date with him but Hap joins them and tells her that Eddie is Dick Carson. Candy leaves thinking that Dick was trying to take advantage of her. To make up for the trouble, Hap arranges a rehearsal of a new song so that Dick can watch the troupe and audition Candy for his show. However, Candy thinks that he is just trying to trick her again. He convinces her that he really wants her to star in the play. However, his backer's daughter Lorraine Thayer is jealous and will not let her father back Dick's show if Candy is in it.

The troupe is leaving the hotel when Dick's manager reveals that he is giving up the show and returning to New York. Candy realizes that Dick really loves her. She returns to her room and disguises herself to surreptitiously enter Otis Thayer's birthday party, where she wants to perform Dick's songs and secure Thayer's backing for the show. The troupe accompanies her and Flo forces Lorraine to fall into a swimming pool so that Candy is free to save the day.

Cast

Doris Day as Candy Williams
Robert Cummings as Dick Carson
Phil Silvers as Hap Schneider
Eddie Foy, Jr. as Duke McGee
Nancy Walker as Flo Neely
Martha Hyer as Lorraine Thayer
Bill Goodwin as Otis Thayer
Marcel Dalio as Anton
Hayden Rorke as Tommy Arthur
James Burke as Mahoney

Production

Day had begun to suffer from panic attacks before filming began and continually delayed the project in spite of pressure exerted by Warner Bros. She was also unhappy with the script, writing in her 1976 autobiography Her Own Story: "Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers, Nancy Walker, and Eddie Foy, Jr., were all talented, funny people, but I knew by now that no amount of talent can overcome an inferior script, especially if it is a comedy." She considered allowing the studio to suspend her rather than appearing in the film, but on the advice of a friend, she fulfilled her contractual obligation. However, the filming process was difficult for her because of the panic attacks.^[3]

Angie Dickinson made her debut in the film after having won the chance as the result of a television contest. She has an uncredited bit part in the party scene.^[3]

Cummings' singing voice was provided by Hal Derwin.

Although an early announcement promised that the film would be produced in 3-D, it was actually made only in CinemaScope, and was the first musical to use the process.^[4]^[3]^[5]

The role played by Robert Cummings was originally intended for Gordon MacRae, who had previously worked with Doris Day several times.^[4] Cummings was cast in September 1953.^[6]^[7]

In October 1953, Warner Bros. announced that filming would be delayed to allow Day to recover from nervous exhaustion.^[8]

Location shooting for the film took place in Miami.^[4] Martha Hyer, who had been cast on the strength of her performance in So Big later recalled "Doris was not feeling well during the filming of Lucky Me but never showed it. She was always smiling and had the rare quality of making people feel good just by being near her."^[9]

Songs

Lucky Me
Superstition Song
I Speak To The Stars
Take A Memo To The Moon
Bluebells Of Broadway
High Hopes and Men

Reception

Lucky Me was not well-received upon its original release. However “I Speak to the Stars” from the film became a hit song.^[3]

Variety wrote the film "will have to depend almost entirely on the name of Doris Day to sell tickets. The singer is a proven draw, so there undoubtedly is some coin in the offing for this Cinemascope offering but there would have been much larger returns in view had the entertainment been fresher."^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b "Music" on TCM.com
^ "1954 Box Office Champs". Variety Weekly. January 5, 1955. p. 59. - figures are rentals in the US and Canada
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Passafiume, Andrea "Lucky Me (1954)" (article) on TCM.com
^ ^a ^b ^c "Notes" on TCM.com
^ "Warners Seen Quietly Dropping 3-D As Studio Hops on Scope Wagon". Variety. August 26, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved March 14, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
^ "Columbia to Make 'My Sister Eileen'". Los Angeles Times. September 13, 1953. p. D4.
^ Vagg, Stephen (29 October 2024). "Movie Star Cold Streaks: Robert Cummings". Filmink. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
^ Schallert, Edwin (October 1, 1953). "Drama: Quinn Will Play Role of 'Long Wait' Sleuth; 'Seven Bad Men' Readied". Los Angeles Times. p. B11.
^ Hyer, Martha (1990). Finding my way. Harper. p. 48.
^ "Lucky Me". Variety. 14 April 1954. p. 6.