I'll See You in My Dreams

Synopsis: The success and decline of songwriter Gus Kahn is portrayed, with his wife, Grace Kahn, sticking by him the whole time.
Director(s): Michael Curtiz
Production: Bleecker Street
  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
NOT RATED
Year:
1951
110 min
98 Views


Have a nice lunch.

Excuse me.

Just a moment, please.

Rossiter Music Company.

- Ms. LeBoy, it's for you.

- Thank you.

- Excuse me, miss. I brought a...

- Hello. Ye...

Yes. Yes, I heard your song

and I like it very much.

Could you come in, say, around 4:00?

Fine. You're welcome.

- Look, excuse me...

- Just a moment, please.

I asked... I'm sorry about that.

- Sorry.

- That's quite all right.

I have a song

that is just wonderful for you.

I told Mr. Rossiter yours is the voice

that can do it justice.

I'll bet you tell that to all the customers.

Of course I do,

but in your case, it's true.

All right, then.

Shine on

Shine on

Harvest moon up in the sky

I ain't had no lovin'

Since January, February, June or July

Snow time ain't no time to stay

Outdoors and spoon

So shine on, shine on

Harvest moon

For me and my gal

That's lunch.

Let's eat someplace

where they don't have any music.

You may as well stand still.

I can beat you to that door too.

- Who are you?

- Look, all I want is five minutes.

- Read them.

- What are these?

Song lyrics and poems and an operetta,

and underneath that, two musical comedies.

I want an opinion.

- You want an opinion.

- That's all.

Well, I am going to give you one.

You are, without a doubt, the most

persistent young man that I've ever met.

Now, get yourself a haircut,

make an appointment, and come back.

And for heaven's sake, wear a tie.

Are you gonna publish my songs

or my tie?

Now, wait a minute.

Do you know what this is?

Four years of working nights after

wrestling with crockery all day long...

...and nobody to tell me if they're good.

Today, I made up my mind to find out.

Please.

But I just work here.

Why don't you take these

to Mr. Rossiter?

I'm having a tough enough time.

How could I see your boss?

I'm very sorry,

but this is my lunch hour and...

Well, be my guest.

Salami on pumpernickel,

homemade pumpernickel.

You couldn't do better at the Palmer House.

Believe me, you'll enjoy them.

I'll get you a drink. There.

Are they all about William Howard Taft

and the Statue of Liberty?

Anything wrong?

Don't you ever write about

simple things?

Things that you know and you feel?

- You don't like them, huh?

- I didn't say that.

But I wouldn't wanna sit

on a boy's lap...

...and have him sing

about Washington crossing the Delaware.

What's that got to do with it?

Do you know why

you write a popular song?

Let me explain.

Because most boys and girls don't

know how to say "I love you."

So you've got to say it for them,

in 32 bars of music, no more, no less.

Just like that.

Who are you to make new rules? If a song

is good, people will sing it, no matter what.

- You asked for my opinion.

- All right, so I made a mistake.

You'd probably turn down

"The Star-Spangled Banner"...

...if it didn't say

"I love you by the dawn's early light."

Two salami sandwiches

down the drain.

At least you've had your lunch.

Thirty-two bars of music to say

"I love you."

What if I said, "I hate you"?

They could shoot me?

What am I talking to you for?

You don't understand.

Nobody understands.

I hope I haven't discouraged you.

What's four years' work?

For that which we are about

to receive...

...we thank the William Rossiter

Music Company.

- Oh, now, Father.

- Well, it's true.

My daughter earns as much at that great

citadel of culture as I do teaching school.

If it bothers you, Father,

I'll have them cut my salary.

That isn't what bothers me.

It's the type of person

you have to associate with.

And the grossness of their nature

will have weight to drag thee down.

Father thinks they're not fit

for a nice girl, dear.

But he hasn't even met

one of them.

And if he did, he'd like them.

They're sensitive musicians and

composers and poets...

...in spite of what Father thinks.

- I'll see who it is.

- Oh, thanks.

Your trouble is

you shouldn't have had a daughter.

You should have had a marble statue.

Quite right, my dear. Only, we didn't

know how to go about it.

Coming.

- A guy could freeze to death.

- What are you doing here?

I called your office.

They gave me your address.

Nice of them.

You know, after I left you this morning,

I got to thinking about what you said.

- So I did it.

- Did what?

The lyric. You know, simple, what I feel.

Here, read it, Ms. LeBoy.

- What's your name?

- Gus. Gus Kahn.

Well, Mr. Kahn,

we happen to be having our dinner.

If you bring that to the office,

I'll be happy to look at it.

It's very cold and I walked a long way.

Look at it now.

- Who is it, dear?

- Just a young man I met at the office.

- Bring him into the dining room.

- He has to leave, Mother.

I don't have to leave. I'd like to come in.

- We'll be in in a minute.

- All right, dear.

Don't you ever wear a tie?

What's with you and ties?

You'd think I was naked.

Wait here. I'll get one of my father's.

You and my mother are the same.

Ties, ties. Worried about ties.

Hold still. I'll put this on.

You didn't have your hair cut either.

Maybe you could get me one

of your father's.

Come on.

This is Mr. Kahn. He's a lyric-writer.

I am not a bit surprised.

There is about him

the unmistakable aura of the poet.

- How do you do, Mr. Kahn?

- How do you do?

You'll excuse us...

Oh, I suppose you've had your dinner?

I could eat.

Bring Omar Khayym

his loaf of bread and jug of wine.

The name's Gus, and if it's

all the same to you, I'll have soup.

- Bring Gus his soup.

- Why, yes. Yes, indeed.

I had no idea Mr. Kahn was coming tonight.

I'm a little embarrassed.

Oh, think nothing of it, my dear.

You're the only one who Is.

- I hope I'm not busting in or anything.

- No apologies, Mr. Kahn.

- Genius is its own excuse.

- Father, please.

Tell me, what has the muse

inspired you to today?

If you mean what did I write,

I just knocked out a love song.

Beautifully put.

Father, I've read Mr. Kahn's work.

And if he's written a love song,

I'm sure it is beautiful.

I can't think of anything

the world needs more than a new love lyric.

After all, Shelley and Keats

have been going downhill for some time...

...and who couldn't knock out something

better than Elizabeth Barrett Browning's:

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth

And breadth and height

My soul can reach,

When feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

Could I have the rest of it?

Wring out my tie, Mr. Kahn,

and I'll continue.

Gosh, I'm sorry.

Oh, gosh.

Gosh, l... Please, would you go on?

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I love thee purely,

As they turn from praise.

I love thee with a passion put to use

In my old griefs,

And with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a...

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints.

I love thee with the breath

Smiles, tears, of all my life;

And, if God choose

I shall but love thee better after death.

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Melville Shavelson

Melville Shavelson (April 1, 1917 – August 8, 2007) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He was President of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw) from 1969 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and 1985 to 1987. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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