A Song Is Born

"...with the hottest men in music - beating out the rhythm with'm!"

1948 1h 53m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 47

ComedyMusic

Synopsis

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The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.

“...with the hottest men in music - beating out the rhythm with'm!”

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Cast

Danny Kaye
Hobart Frisbee
Virginia Mayo
Honey Swanson
Benny Goodman
Professor Magenbruch
Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Charlie Barnet
Charlie Barnet
Mel Powell
Mel Powell

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Howard Hawks
Writers: Thomas Monroe, Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Gregg Toland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Emil Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Daniel Mandell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo and Benny Goodman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "...with the hottest men in music - beating out the rhythm with'm!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040820 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Howard Hawks directs. Gregg Toland behind the camera. Emil Newman scores. Daniel Mandell cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
278 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Gregg Toland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Emil Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Daniel Mandell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo and Benny Goodman carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "...with the hottest men in music - beating out the rhythm with'm!".
8IMDB entry: tt0040820 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 47 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gregg Toland
Original score: Emil Newman
Editing: Daniel Mandell
Costume design: Irene Sharaff
Makeup / hair: Robert Stephanoff
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,400,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: A Song Is Born (1948)

Also by

Howard Hawks

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-09
★ 7/10
After two minutes you will spot the obvious similarity with "Ball of Fire" (1941). Swap Gary Cooper with Danny Kaye and Barbara Stanwyck with Virginia Mayo then add some fantastic musicianship from the likes of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Sonny Burke et al, and we have a gently amusing story of a professor (of music this time) who falls for the gangster's moll. "Honey" (Mayo) takes refuge from the pursuing FBI with a bunch of dithery professors creating an over budget dictionary of music and soon the hapless "Prof. Frisbee" (Kaye) is eating out of her hand. The gangster elements of the plot are just a little too contrived: her boyfriend "Crow" (Steve Cochran) maintains this new situation to keep her from testifying against him - until, that is - he can make arrangements to marry her, but in the meantime might she start to fall for poor old "Frisbee"? Neither lead are on great form here, Kaye seems oddly distracted from his role and Mayo always was quite a sterile performer, but there is still enough chemistry between them and, alongside a fun effort from Esther Dale as their somewhat puritanical housekeeper "Miss Bragg" this works ok. Essentially, it's an excuse for some great toe-tappers with a gently simmering romance and some slightly slapstick humour. It's fun to watch and to listen to, and though I still preferred the original it is diverse enough from that to stand well enough on it's own.

Production companies