It Happened in Brooklyn (1947)

It Happened in Brooklyn: Directed by Richard Whorf. With Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford, Jimmy Durante. Danny has been in the army for 4 years, yet all he thinks about is Brooklyn and how great it is. When he returns after the war, he soon finds that Brooklyn is not so nice after all. He is able to share a place with Nick, the janitor of his old High School, and get a job as a singer in a music store. He also meets Leo, a talented pianist and his teacher Anne, whose dream is to singing Opera. When Jamie arrives from England, Danny tries to show him the Brooklyn experience and help him compose modern swing music. Together, these four also try to help Leo get the Brooklyn Music scholarship.

“It occurs in the cafe scene in u0026quot;It Happened in Brooklyn.u0026quot; Sinatra joins Katherine Grayson in the famed duet, u0026quot;La ci darem la manou0026quot; from Mozartu0026#39;s u0026quot;Don Giovanni.u0026quot; What a novelty–and the two donu0026#39;t do too badly together, though the presentation is somewhat in a buffo style.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt points up the fact that Sinatra was born to be a singer; indeed, if heu0026#39;d been endowned with an operatic vocal instrument, he probably would have been an opera singer. In fact, when he was coming out of his Palm Springs u0026quot;retirementu0026quot; to return to the stage, he reportedly got Met Opera baritone Robert Merrill to coach him. And in his latter days, became quite of fan and friend of Pavarotti and the u0026quot;other two tenors.u0026quot; He also recorded Brahmu0026#39;s u0026quot;Lullaby,u0026quot; (which he featured in u0026quot;Anchors Aweighu0026quot;) and an impressive u0026quot;Soliloquyu0026quot; from u0026quot;Carosel.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s just no doubt about it: the man loved to sing. In his second major musical for MGM, u0026quot;It Happened in Brooklynu0026quot; Sinatra solos in some marvelous songs by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, including u0026quot;Time After Time,u0026quot; u0026quot;Itu0026#39;s the Same Old Dream,u0026quot; and u0026quot;The Brooklyn Bridge,u0026quot; while Grayson reprises the first and is featured in the complete u0026quot;Bell Songu0026quot; from Delibesu0026#39; opera, u0026quot;Lakme.u0026quot; Grayson is also featured in an novel arrangement based on Bachu0026#39;s u0026quot;Two-Part Invention in F Major,u0026quot; featuring a childrenu0026#39;s choir and strings. Other delights are u0026quot;I Believeu0026quot; and u0026quot;Itu0026#39;s Gotta Come from the Heart,u0026quot; in which the u0026quot;Olu0026#39; Snazolla,u0026quot; Jimmy Durante, joins Frankie for a comic romp.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWith all these tunful treats, plus fine support from Peter Lawford and Gloria Graham, one would think this musical were a blockbuster. Not really so, surprisingly. It seems to be a case of the parts not quite equalling the whole. However, itu0026#39;s still a personal favorite, as these musical selections are just plain fun to hear and enjoy. So u0026quot;It Happened in Brooklynu0026quot; is a staple in my video collection, which I replay with great pleasure and downright good fun.”