The Stars Are Singing
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Norman Taurog
Anna Maria Alberghetti
Rosemary Clooney
Lauritz Melchior
Bob Williams
Tom Morton
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
As the Polish Communist ship S.S. Podolski enters New York Harbor, a fifteen-year-old orphan stowaway, Katri Walenska, jumps into the water and swims to shore in the hope of finding freedom in America. With little more than a street address in hand, Katri seeks refuge with an old family friend, the opera star Jan Poldi. When Katri arrives, however, she is disappointed to discover that Poldi has become a down-and-out alcoholic and does not remember her. U.S. Immigration officer McDougall and a malevolent Polish government representative, Ladowski, set out to find Katri, who has a magnificent voice. Meanwhile, Katri befriends Poldi's neighbors, Terry Brennan, a singer; Homer Tirdell, a hapless Texas dog act performer and piano player; and Buddy Fraser, a dancer. Terry, Homer and Buddy eventually discover that the young girl is the sought-after Polish stowaway, but after Terry persuades the others that Katri's talents as a singer will help propel them to fame and open the way to successful stage careers of their own, they decide to risk a jail sentence and hide her. While Terry's doting boyfriend, teacher Dave Parish, tries to find a legal way to keep Katri in the country, Terry takes the girl to the Britt Recording Studios, where she makes several recordings. Terry sends the records to disc jockeys around the country, and then tries to interest television talent show host Don Wilson in having Katri appear on his show under the billing "Mamie Jones." Wilson initially rejects Terry's proposal but later changes his mind when Terry threatens to take Katri to a competing show. Katri is a big hit on the show, but immediately following her performance, she reveals her real name, which causes a furor at the studio. In a short time, however, radio listeners all across the country rally to Katri's defense and show their support for her through picketing and letter-writing. When Katri learns that Poldi has been arrested in connection with harboring an illegal alien, she gives herself up and resigns herself to her inevitable deportation. To her surprise, though, Katri receives a telephone call from President Eisenhower, who, responding to the public outcry, has arranged to let her stay in America.
Director
Norman Taurog
Cast
Anna Maria Alberghetti
Rosemary Clooney
Lauritz Melchior
Bob Williams
Tom Morton
Fred Clark
John Archer
Mikhail Rasumny
Lloyd Corrigan
Don Wilson
Otto Waldis
Henry Guttman
Paul E. Burns
Freeman Lusk
Red Dust
Danny Arnold
Joe Ploski
Frank Ferguson
Hayden Rorke
Peter Potter
Gene Norman
Ira Cook
Ross Bagdasarian
Leonard Bremen
Hans Schumm
Phillip Milton Tully
Herbert Lytton
Len Hendry
Mike Mahoney
Hazel Boyne
Glen Vernon
Robert Carson
Anthony Warde
Dario Piazza
Crew
Irving Asher
Jack Baker
Henry Bumstead
Monroe W. Burbank
Sam Comer
John Coonan
John Cope
Guy D'hardelot
Farciot Edouart
Ray Evans
Paul Hervey Fox
Edith Head
Gordon Jennings
Ken Lane
Ruggiero Leoncavalla
Harold Lewis
Lionel Lindon
Jay Livingston
Ray Moyer
William Mull
Liam O'brien
Hal Pereira
Francesco Maria Piave
Giaocchino Antonio Rossini
Edward Salven
Arthur Schmidt
Cesare Sterbini
Richard Strauss
Edward Teschemacher
Giuseppe Verdi
Wally Westmore
Victor Young
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
This musical was Rosemary Clooney's film debut, two years after she had a big hit singing "Come-On-A-My-House", which she sings in this movie.
Notes
The working title for this film was Reach for the Stars. Only Anna Maria Alberghetti and Rosemary Clooney are listed in the end credits. The screen credit for Jay Livingston and Ray Evans reads "New songs by." The picture marked popular singer Rosemary Clooney's motion picture debut. Ross Bagdasarian, who portrayed a song promoter in the film, created the popular "Alvin and the Chipmunks" records, as well as co-writing one of Clooney's most popular songs, "Come On-A-My House." According to ParNews, some scenes were filmed on location in New York City, on Broadway, in Greenwich Village and at the Washington Produce Market. Although a Hollywood Reporter news item announced that music conductor Paolo Alberghetti, Anna Maria's father, had been cast in the picture, his appearance in the final film has not been confirmed.
