You Were Never Lovelier

You Were Never Lovelier (Columbia Pictures) is a 1943 Hollywood musical comedy film, set in Buenos Aires. It starred Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou and Xavier Cugat, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The film was directed by William A. Seiter.

Related Topics:
Columbia Pictures - 1943 - Musical - Film - Buenos Aires - Fred Astaire - Rita Hayworth - Adolphe Menjou - Xavier Cugat - Jerome Kern - Johnny Mercer - William A. Seiter

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This, the second of Astaire?s outings with Hayworth, avoids wartime themes, and benefits from much more lavish production values ? a consequence of the box-office success of the earthier You'll Never Get Rich. Add to this the music of Kern, who here created a memorable standard with ?I?m Old Fashioned?, and a faultless trio of classic dance routines, and it is easy to see why this film is considered the more appealing of the two. However, it suffers somewhat from occasional lapses into sugary sentimentalism, and rather eccentric art direction. Initially, Kern was unhappy about the selection of Cugat and his orchestra, however, when production was complete, he was so pleased with the band?s performance that he presented him with a silver baton. Although Hayworth possessed a good singing voice, Columbia?s boss Harry Cohn insisted on her singing being dubbed throughout by Nan Wynn.

Related Topics:
You'll Never Get Rich - Standard - Art direction - Harry Cohn - Nan Wynn

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