Strictly Dishonorable (1951 film)

Infobox Film
name = Strictly Dishonorable
(1951)


image_size =
caption = title card
director = Melvin Frank
Norman Panama
producer = Melvin Frank
Norman Panama
writer = Preston Sturges "(play)"
Melvin Frank
Norman Panama
narrator =
starring = Ezio Pinza
Janet Leigh
music = Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Lennie Hayton
cinematography = Ray June
editing = Cotton Warburton
distributor = MGM
released = 3 July fy|1951 "(US)"
runtime = 86 minutes
country = FilmUS
language = English
budget =
gross =
imdb_id = 0044082

"Strictly Dishonorable" is a fy|1951 romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, and starring Ezio Pinza and Janet Leigh. It is the second film to be based on Preston Sturges' 1929 hit Broadway play of the same name after a pre-Code film released by Universal Pictures in fy|1931 with the same title.

Plot

In New York in the 1920s, amorous opera star Augustino "Gus" Caraffa (Ezio Pinza) crosses paths with Isabelle Perry (Janet Leigh), a naive music student from Mississippi who is his biggest fan. When a news photographer catches them in a kiss, it is proposed that they get married in name only to avoid a scandal. Isabelle, who is in love with Gus, agrees to the charade, hoping that he will eventuallly fall in love with her. [TCM [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=14986&category=Full%20Synopsis Full synopsis] ] [Erickson, Hal [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:112072~T0 Plot synopsis (Allmovie)] ]

Cast

Cast notes:
*Opera star Ezio Pinza had previously shot the film "Mr. Imperium" before working on "Strictly Dishonorable", but the current film was released first, so it marks his dramatic acting debut. Pinza went on to make only one more film, "Tonight We Sing" (fy|1953), with Roberta Peters and Isaac Stern. [imdb name|0684753|Ezio Pinza] [imdb title|0046441|Tonight We Sing]
*Greta Garbo, John Gilbert and Lewis Stone among others, appear in archival footage from the silent film "A Woman of Affairs" (fy|1928). Stone played the part of "Judge Dempsey" in the 1931 version of "Strictly Dishonorable". [imdb title|0044082|Strictly Dishonorable (1951)]
*"Dempsey" was the maiden name of Preston Sturges' mother.
*The prolific comic character actress Kathleen Freeman appears uncredited as a movie theatre organist.
*Scott R. Beal, who appears uncredited in the bit part of a vendor, was primarily an assistant director. He received an Academy Award as "Best Assistant Director" in 1934 and was nominated again in 1935. [imdb name|0063634|Scott R. Beal]

ongs

*"I'll See You in My Dreams" - by Isham Jones (music) and Gus Kahn (lyrics)
*"Everything I Have Is Yours" - by Burton Lane (music) and Harold Adamson (lyrics)
*"La veau d'or" from the opera "Faust" - by Charles Gounod (music) and Jules Barbier and Michel Carré (libretto)
*"Se a caso madama" from the opera "Le nozze di Figaro" - by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (music) and Lorenzo da Ponte (libretto)
*Unnamed aria from the opera "Il ritorno di Césare" - by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (music and lyrics) [TCM [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=14986&category=Music Music] ]

Song notes:
*"Il ritorno di Césare" is a fictitious opera, created by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco for the film, and staged by Vladimir Rosing.TCM [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=14986&category=Notes Notes] ]

Production

Preston Sturges approached MGM with the idea of doing a remake of "Strictly Dishonorable" with Ezio Pinza, and received $60,000 for the rights, but was disappointed when he wasn't hired to write the screenplay for the film.

"Strictly Dishonorable" was in production from mid-January to mid-March fy|1951, [TCM [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=14986&category=Overview Overview] ] and was released on 3 July of that year. [IMDB [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044082/releaseinfo Release dates] ]

Adaptations

Lux Radio Theatre broadcast a radio adaptation of the film on December 8 1952, with Janet Leigh reprising her role and Fernando Lamas replacing Pinza.

ee also

*Strictly Dishonorable (play)
*Strictly Dishonorable (1931 film)

Notes

External links

*ibdb title|9432|Strictly Dishonorable
*imdb title|0044082|Strictly Dishonorable (1951)
*tcmdb title|14986|Strictly Dishonorable (1951)
*amg movie|1:112072|Strictly Dishonorable (1951)