Say One for Me
5.8 /10 1 Votes5.8
Duration Country United States | 5.6/10 IMDb Genre Comedy, Musical, Romance Writer Robert OBrien Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date October 11, 1959 Awards Golden Globe Award for Best New Star of the Year – Actress Cast (Father Conroy), (Holly LeMaise aka Conroy), (Tony Vincent), (Phil Stanley) Similar movies Related Frank Tashlin movies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Manhattan priest (Bing Crosby) of a show-business flock protects a sweet singer (Debbie Reynolds) from a nightclub wolf (Robert Wagner).
Contents
Say One For Me (1959) is a musical film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Bing Crosby and Debbie Reynolds. Years later, Say One for Me was included as one of the choices in the book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. Actress Stella Stevens made her film debut in Say One for Me and received the Golden Globe Award in 1960 for New Star of the Year-Actress for this film.
Father Conroy (Crosby) has a parish which serves the acting and performance community. When one of his parishoners gets too sick to work, his daughter Holly (Reynolds) finds a job working for a dance club of questionable character, which is run by Tony Vincent (Wagner). Vincent never made the big time, and Father Conroy tries to look after Holly. There are many musical numbers, and the conclusion is a televised benefit show hosted by Father Conroy, and Tony must choose between Holly and national fame.
Plot
In the middle of New Yorks theater district sits Father Conroys parish, where entertainers often attend his services. His parishioners include Holly LeMaise, whose dad Harry was an old vaudevillian.
Holly takes a job as a showgirl in a nightclub to pay the medical bills when her father falls ill. The featured entertainer at the club is Tony Vincent, a playboy whose romantic advances Holly wards off. But soon she develops feelings for him.
Father Conroy befriends the former songwriter Phil Stanley, whose alcoholism and hard times have left him playing piano in Tonys act. The priest annoys Tony by seemingly interfering with Hollys personal life and now Phils as well. Tony lands a job at a Miami hotel and tries to manipulate Holly into going along.
As a charity event, Father Conroy organizes a big show that will be on nationwide TV. Tony, having lost the Miami job, desperately wants to perform on it. To prove his true intent to Holly, the priest offers to book Tony on television provided he tells Holly their relationship is over. Holly is shocked when he accepts.
When its his turn to sing, Tonys guilty conscience gives him a change of heart. He gives up his time on the TV show to Phil, who has written a new song. Father Conroy is pleased, and soon finds himself officiating at Hollys and Tonys wedding.
Cast
Musical Numbers
Premiere performances
On June 18, 1959, Say One for Me had its premiere at Buffalo, New York. The event formed part of fund raising activities for Buffalo Boy’s Town run by Father Kelliher. There was also a gala benefit premier at the Pantages Theatre (Hollywood) on Hollywood Boulevard on the same day with the proceeds going to the Daniel Freeman Hospital, Inglewood and the Jesuit Scholasticata. In addition on June 20, the Fox Theater in El Centro, Southern California, showed the film and personal appearances were made by Bing Crosby, Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, and Ricardo Montalban. This was part of a benefit for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and parish in El Centro, organized by Father Victor Salandini, and $7000 was raised. On June 28, 1959, a 30th anniversary celebration took place at the Fox Theater in San Francisco (opened June 28, 1929) with a special advance screening of Say One for Me.
References
Say One for Me WikipediaSay One for Me IMDb Say One for Me themoviedb.org