My Dream is Yours

[pillowtalk]

I've seen this film for the first time recently, and I completely adore it! It's such an all-around "feel-good movie." Doris looks gorgeous in it. The songs are wonderful, especially "Cuttin' Capers" and "Tic, Tic, Tic." The "Freddie Get Ready" scene is adorable, also! This is definitely one of my new favorites. But, then again, all of Doris's movies are my favorites.

[lovemeorleaveme]

I'm with you, Pillowtalk! I love this movie. Of course, it's almost impossible for me to choose a favorite "anything" that Doris has done! I just adore her, so I cannot be objective! LOL

I've always been struck by the resemblance between our beautiful Doris and that perfectly gorgeous little boy who played her son in "My Dream is Yours"....they could have been mother and son in real life!!!

And I've always been an Eve Arden fan....I feel that she, like Doris, was definitely an under-appreciated actress!!

Have a lovely "Day"!

God Bless,
Rachel

[melancholy]

just sheer nostalgia,
Dorine

[Ania]

[Johnny]

My Dream is Yours is a fast- paced delight that makes one laugh from beginning to end. Doris lights up the silver screen in every scene. Jack Carson and Eve Arden are radiant. Jack adds the energy and Eve's wit steals the scene. It is a well balanced ensemble of actors that compliment each other and the story.

The music is feel-good memorable. This film holds up well with it's delightful humour. I saw it yesterday on TCM and it brightened my day.

[Doris Martin]

My Dream is Yours is a fast- paced delight that makes one laugh from beginning to end. Doris lights up the silver screen in every scene. Jack Carson and Eve Arden are radiant. Jack adds the energy and Eve's wit steals the scene. It is a well balanced ensemble of actors that compliment each other and the story.

The music is feel-good memorable. This film holds up well with it's delightful humour. I saw it yesterday on TCM and it brightened my day.

I do understan why..it happen the same to me

[Johnny]

I recently read a comment on Doris' performance in My Dream is Yours, that said her character needed a cup of decaf cofee because it seemed so over the top. My Dream Is Yours was Doris' second picture and the picture came close to being another aniamted Bugs Bunny cartoon. Doris' boundless energy and all the bright, cheerful supporting characters, (S.Z. Zakall, Eve Arden, Jack Carson, and Adilphe Monjou) made this film wildly entertaining and enjoyable.

The Director, Michael Curtiz also directed Doris in her first film, Romance On The High Seas, Young man With A Horn,and I'll see you In My Dreams.

The songs, Love Finds A Way, Someone Like You, and You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby all contribute to old fashioned and fun entertainment. This film is not for the cynical.

[Musiclover]

Just noticed an early post about the title song, a lovely ballad. The sheet music shows Ralph Blane as the lyricist.

[Johnny]

After watching My Dream Is Yours (1949) this morning on TCM I thought it was interesting to see a female band leader when she sang Tick, Tick, Tick. It is not often one see a woman leading a band in any film.

When Jack Carson commented to SZ Sakall that Doris' character, Martha Gibson has a great personality and SZ replied "And so much of it", this really captured the truth of Doris' nature. She has an incredibly strong charisma that endeared her instantly to her fans.

My Dream is Yours is truly an enjoyable experience.

[Renie]

Johnny:

Now that you mention it, I can't remember seeing a woman band leader in any other movie. I've been trying to think of reasons why there was one in THIS movie. I have no proof of this but something tells me that there's a part of Doris that has always been strongly in favor of womens' rights and equality and that she might have requested a woman band leader in the film. Another thing that occurred to me was that this film was made not long after WWII. And, during the war, women took on roles that were usually filled by men, because so many men were serving in the military. I don't know about other countries, but in the U.S. we had lots of women working in factories, playing baseball, and yes, playing in and leading bands. I have a friend, now in her 90's, who played saxophone in an all girl band during the war. At any rate, the woman band leader in the movie may have been a carry over from the war.

Renie

[Musiclover]

Good bit of historical info, Renie. The female bandleader in "My Dream is Yours" was Ada Leonard, who led the All-American Girl Orchestra before and during WWII. Beginning in 1941, they started entertaining at US military camps and were sometimes on tour for 6 months at a time. Maybe your friend played with that group.

[Renie]

My 90+ friend played only with a local band. With regard to women playing baseball, there was a movie that came out in the early 1990's I think, that was called A League of Their Own which was about those womens' teams. Tom Hanks was in it and a famous line of his in the movie was, "There's no crying in baseball." I also remembered that there's a woman who lives in my retirement village who was an ice skater with the Ice Capades during WWII. They had all women skaters throughout the war. She travelled with the Ice Capades throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada. I think of her as a Rosie the Riveter on skates.

Renie

[Johnny]

I saw Grease today and especially loved seeing the wonderful Eve Arden dancing along with John Travolta and Olivia- Newton John. I thought of her in My Dream Is Yours.

It made me wonder who is there in films today with her comedic skills, intelligence and wit. Every film Eve Arden was in, was better for her presence.

I loved seeing Doris and Eve work together in My Dream Is Yours. It was a real pleasure.

[Johnny]

In David Kaufman's book it is written that My Dream Is Yours is a reworking of a 1934 film musical called Twenty Million Sweethearts starring Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers.

My Dream Is Yours character Martha Gibson played by Doris Day is the story of a birth of a Hollywood singing star. There are several similarities between the character's life and Doris' life. Both have to leave their little boy with family as they establish themselves. Martha leaves her boy with her Uncle Charlie with Doris leaves Terry with her mother. Doris' favorite uncle is Charlie. Both Martha and Doris got their big break singing at a Hollywood party.

The filming of My Dream Is Yours began on March 29, 1948 and was completed on April 28, 1948, one week later than scheduled.

[Johnny]

My Dream Is Yours was released on April 16-1949.
On December 26, 1949, Lux Radio Theater broadcasted a sixty-minute adaption of My Dream Is Yours with Jack Carson reprising his role.

Watching My Dream Is Yours on TCM recently, I thought someone more charismatic like Gene Kelly, Gene Nelson or Donald O'Connor would have been a more suitable romantic interest for Doris than Lee Bowman whose singing voice was dubbed by Hal Derwin.

The songs, My Dream Is Yours, Someone Like You and I'll String Along With You as well as Love Finds A Way are still such a pleasure to hear.

[Johnny]

In Tom Santopietro's book, Considering Doris Day, he makes some excellent observations on Doris Day's performance in My Dream Is Yours.

It states; "Given these absurdities, why watch the film at all? Two reasons: First, as yet with underdeveloped acting skills, Doris exhibits a likeability, and at times a tenderness, that makes the audience reach out to her. She possess a smile of such warmth and sincerity, a smile that radiates such inherent decency, that the audience is instantly drawn to her side. This is no small attribute--after all, Julia Robert's smile is an oft -cited reason for her stardom---and it connected Day to the audience, forming a bond that was never really broken, no matter, how weak the vehicle. Such likeability and tenderness manifests itself when Martha (Doris) seeks her big break in Hollywood and has to leave her young son behind with his uncle. Watching Day's anguished response to leaving her son, one genuinely believes Martha is devastated. In the midst of this cartoon plot, real emotion is generated. Day was always great with children on screen from My Dream Is Yours to The Thrill of It All, right down to her CBS television series. Such rapport is a tribute to her native acting ability because Day herself confessed that she is not one to "gush" over children.
The second reason to watch this film is even more basic: When Doris Day sings a ballad, you are watching a genuine Hollywood star in peak form, even this early in her career. Music is in Doris Day's soul, and when she sings, I'll String Along With You to her blond son, she sings it in such a tender and pathos -filled fashion, that her entire body relaxes and her true persona shines through."

I think Santopietro perfectly expresses Doris' magic screen charisma and why she is so well loved by her audience.

[Johnny]

Some interesting observations are made on Doris Day in My Dream Is Yours by Tom Santopietro in his book Considering Doris Day.

"Any doubts about this star power are dispelled in the closing sequence of the film. Nice guy Doug has arranged a comeback for Guy Mitchell who has not only ditched Doris but also turned out to be an abusive drunk. When Gary (Lee Bowman) falters on the vocal of his comeback song, "My Dream Is Yours", Doris gets up from the audience and, winding her way through the tables (thank goodness for the perfect amplification that magically appears from absolutely nowhere), helps him complete the song. They may be singing the song together, and Lee Bowman does have a rich l, deep voice, but it doesn't matter one but it doesn't matter one bit, -- the audience can watch only Doris".

My Dream Is Yours is Doris second film in which her character is a singer and mother of a young boy. This role was perfectly suited to her as it mirrored her real life.

Another really enjoyable aspect of this film are the sparkling supporting characters portrayed by Eve Arden, S. Z. Sakall, Adolf Menjou.

The songs in the film are a pleasure to hear time and time again.

[jmichael]

I first met Tom Santopietro in NYC shortly after his book Considering Doris Day was published. When I mentioned I had just read it, he expressed his admiration of her and added that he had several conversations with her while he was writing it. He said she was gracious and cooperative.

I hold this book in high regard because it’s a fair and comprehensive critical appreciation of her work. He really emphasizes what a fabulous singer she is too. Although I don’t agree with every point he makes, he’s an excellent writer and his respect for her is evident on every page.

And I totally agree with Johnny’s comments. Santopietro’s words about her genuine decency and warmth cut to the core of what made her an international superstar for many decades.

Michael

[Jas1]

Agree Michael.

Doris looked superb in this film.

[Johnny]

In Tom Santopirtro's book Considering Doris Day, he makes some insightful observations on Doris' character in My Dream is Yours.

He writes:"Doris' character here is an interesting template for many of her future parts, roles that reflected Doris' own nature. In film after film , she is an energetic show business wannabe who never lets failure get her down or self-pity interfere with the business at hand. The onscreen girl loves life. The combination of such
driving ambition with genuine sincerity seems organic with Day. As a result , at their best her performances seem natural while at the same
time establishing a true star persona. Michael Curtiz , smart old pro that he was , intuitively understood the strenght of Day's personality even at their semidisatrous first meeting. As to his advise that Day not study acting , she followed it throughout her career with varying results -- mostly good and only occasionally very bad. ( In 1991 even Day mused ,"Sometimes I think I should have studied".) Film critic Molly Haskell summed up this string screen persona as emerging from Day's "dazzling personality". She had confidence , an intensity, a freshness , quite unlike anyone else".


I find these observations really capture what Doris was able to communicate to her audience that won her life -long fans. The adjective "dazzling" is a perfect description of Doris.

[Johnny]

I am continuing to research original reviews for Doris Day films.

The following comments are from Time Magazine , Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post on Doris' film My Dream is Yours.

"Time magazine's review was not favourable, finding the film merely reused elements from older films. "It has all been done before - frequently much better". It did, however , find some positive aspects of the film.Ine was Doris Day's singing , another the caustic lines of Eve Arden.

John L. Scot , reviewer for the Los Angeles Times, found the basic story trite. But also praised the charm of Doris Day and her ability to sell a tune , while also favouring the comedy performance of Eve Arden. Richard L. Coe , reviewer of The Washington Post, call d the film a "supremely dull achievement". He found Arden's character Whittier and more human than that of Doris Day.

[Johnny]

I came across a long facinating article from Diabolique magazine titled:

"You Were Great Baby....Simply Great": Atomic Age Artistry in My Dream is Yours"

It is posted by Lee Gambin - April 13 -2019

This excerpt speaks about Doris' singing.


"Doris Day's vocal ability - a singing voice that has to be considered one of the most important throughout filmic history - provides a booming freshness and openness that is the personification of an age in desperate need of an optimistic outlook.

However, this is not a vocal style that exudes an innocent naivety; instead this is a smooth melodic timbre that is forged from an informed voice. What audiences must not forget is that Day would become of the great big band singers (as noted by historians such as Molly Haskell and Jeanine Basinger), and what Day's voice represents for a period in cinema is an insight into changing worlds. Here, in Michael Curtiz's dramatic and emotionally stirring film , Day's singing is both a celebration as well as a cry of uncertainty for all the careerist women moving in the reals of an Atomic Age that offers "big breaks" but also shatters dreams in the same cold dead breath."

[Johnny]

In David Kaufman's book on Doris , chapter 5 Daydreamer has a quote from Al Levy, ( Doris Day's talent agent)- "Any Girl in the audience could be Doris Day, and she could be any girl".

"Though Doris Day had been a last -minute replacement in her first film, from the beginning, director Michael Curtiz clearly recognized that he was working with a star in the making. Before the release of Romance on the High Seas- he cast her in his next musical project, and as the producer as well as director of Day's second film, the decision was entirely his. As early as July 7, 1947, the Los Angeles Times announced that Curtiz purchased the rights to Forever and Always for a "film musical" starring his "recent discovery , Doris Day". Through preliminary wardrobe and makeup tests were made in September, the real work on the film didn't begin until March 1948, by which time it had been renamed My Dream is Yours."

[Johnny]

While searching for more reviews on My Dream is Yours, I found the following on Wikipedia:

"The New York Times wrote, " The only bit of novelty in this hackneyed reworking of this how-tough it-is- to- get- a- break-in show-business theme is the introduction of a cartoon fantasy sequence representing a child's dream of the Easter bunny ..it doesn't last long enough to divert attention from the sad fact that "My Dream is Yours is a dull show".

"Tom Santropietro in a retrospective of the film, credits Arden with the best performance in the film , praising her comic timing."

"Martin Scorsese discussed the film in his documentary A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies and noted it's influence on his 1977 film, New York, New York. "

[howard]

Thank you, Johnny.