Bing Crosby (108 page)

1949

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Directed by Tay Garnett. Produced by Robert Fellows. Written by Edmund Beloin, from a novel by Mark Twain. Photographed by
Ray Rennahan. Songs by Johnny Burke-James Van Heusen. Cast: Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, William Bendix, Sir Cedric Hardwicke,
Murvyn Vye, Virginia Field, Henry Wilcoxon, Joseph Vitale, Julia Faye, Alan Napier.

Top o’ the Morning
Directed by David Miller. Produced by Robert L. Welch. Written by Edmund Beloin and Richard Breen. Photographed by Lionel
Lindon. Songs by Johnny Burke-James Van Heusen; others. Cast: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Ann Blyth, Hume Cronyn, Eileen
Crowe, John McIntire, Tudor Owen, Jimmy Hunt.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
(Disney/RKO) (V) Directed by Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, and James Algar. Production supervised by Ben Sharpsteen. Written
by Geronimi, Bill Peet, and others, from a novel,
The Wind in the Willows,
by Kenneth Grahame, and story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving. Songs by Don Raye—Gene de Paul. Bing
Crosby narrates “Ichabod” (Basil Rathbone narrates “Mr. Toad”) and sings three songs.

1950

Riding High
Directed and produced by Frank Capra. Written by Robert Riskin, Melville Shavelson, and Jack Rose, from a story by Mark Hellinger.
Photographed by George Barnes and Ernest Laszlo. Songs by Johnny Burke—James Van Heusen; Stephen Foster; others. Cast: Bing
Crosby, Coleen Gray, Raymond Walburn, Frances Gifford, Clarence Muse, William Demarest, Charles Bickford, Frankie Darro, Harry
Davenport, Douglass Dumbrille, Ward Bond, Gene Lockhart, James Gleason, Percy Kilbride, Margaret Hamilton, Oliver Hardy, Joe
Frisco.

Mr. Music
Directed by Richard Haydn. Produced by Robert L. Welch. Written by Arthur Sheekman, from a play,
Accent on Youth,
by Samson Raphaelson. Photographed by George Barnes. Songs by Johnny Burke—James Van Heusen. Cast: Bing Crosby, Nancy Olson,
Charles Coburn, Ruth Hussey, Robert Stack, Tom Ewell, Ida Moore, Charles Kemper, Donald Woods, the Merry Macs, Peggy Lee,
Groucho Marx, Dorothy Kirsten, Marge and Gower Champion.

1951

Here Comes the Groom
Directed and produced by Frank Capra. Written by Virginia Van Upp, Liam O’Brian, and Myles Connolly, from a story by Robert
Risken and O’Brien. Photographed by George Barnes. Songs by Johnny Mercer—Hoagy Carmichael; Jay Livingston—Ray Evans; Giuseppe
Verdi. Cast: Bing Crosby, Franchot Tone, Jane Wyman, Alexis Smith, James Barton, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Connie Gilchrist,
Robert Keith, H. B. Warner, Minna Gombell, Walter Catlett, Carl Switzer, Louis Armstrong, Phil Harris, Dorothy Lamour, Frank
Fontaine, Cass Daley.

The Fifth Freedom
(Chesterfield Cigarettes) (S,C) Korean War propaganda. Bing Crosby sings “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

Angels in the Outfield
(MGM) (C) A fantasy about baseball; Bing Crosby appears as part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

You Can Change the World
(The Christophers) (S) Directed by Leo McCarey. Produced by William Perlberg. Song by Johnny Burke—James Van Heusen. Cast:
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Irene Dunne, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, William Holden, Paul Douglas, Loretta Young, Ann
Blythe, Fr. James Keller.

1952

The Greatest Show on Earth
(C) Circus melodrama; Bing Crosby and Bob Hope are glimpsed in the bleachers.

Son of Paleface
(HC)

just for You
Directed by Elliott Nugent. Produced by Pat Duggan. Written
by Robert Carson, from a story, “Famous,” by Stephen Vincent Benet. Photographed by George Barnes. Songs by Harry Warren-Leo
Robin. Cast: Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Ethel Barrymore, Bob Arthur, Natalie Wood, Leon Tyler, Cora Witherspoon, Ben Lessy,
Regis Toomey, the Mexican Ballet.

Road to Bali
Directed by Hal Walker. Produced by Harry Tugend. Written by Frank Butler, Hal Kanter, and Bill Morrow, from a story by Butler
and Tugend. Photographed by George Barnes. Songs by Johnny Burke-James Van Heusen. Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour,
Murvyn Vye, Ralph Moody, Leon Askin, Peter Coe, Michael Ansara, Carolyn Jones, Bob Crosby, Jane Russell, Humphrey Bogart,
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

1953

Little Boy Lost
Directed and written by George Seaton, from a story by Marghanita Laski. Produced by William Perlberg and Seaton. Photographed
by George Barnes. Songs by Johnny Burke-James Van Heusen; others. Cast: Bing Crosby, Nicole Maurey, Christian Fourcade, Claude
Dauphin, Gabrielle Dorziat, Colette Deréal, Georgette Anys, Peter Baldwin.

Scared Stiff
(C) Comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis; Bing Crosby and Bob Hope show up in the last scene.

Faith, Hope and Hogan
(Christopher Thoughts) (S,C) Produced and directed by Jack Denove. Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Ben Hogan, Ralph Kiner, Phil
Harris, Fr. James Keller.

1954

White Christmas
Directed by Michael Curtiz. Produced by Robert Emmett Dolan. Written by Norman Krasna, Melvin Frank, and Norman Panama. Photographed
by Loyal Griggs. Songs by Irving Berlin. Cast: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes,
Sig Ruman, John Brascia, Richard Shannon, Ann Whitfield, Grady Sutton, Herb Vigran, Johnny Grant, Percy Helton, Barrie Chase,
George Chakiris.

The Country Girl
Directed and written by George Seaton, from a play by Clifford Odets. Produced by William Perlberg and Seaton. Photographed
by John F. Warren. Songs by Ira Gershwin-Harold Arlen. Cast: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden, Anthony Ross, Gene
Reynolds, Eddie Ryder, Ida Moore, Jacqueline Fontaine.

1955

Bing Presents Oreste
(S,C) Bing introduces opera singer Oreste Kirkop; a one-reel trailer for
The Vagabond King
( 1956).

1956

High Tor
(Ford Star Jubilee, CBS-TV) Directed by James Neilson. Produced by Arthur Schwartz. Written by Maxwell Anderson and John
Monks Jr., from a play by Anderson. Photographed by Lester Shorr. Songs by Schwartz and Anderson. Cast: Bing Crosby, Nancy
Olson, Julie Andrews, Everett Sloane, Hans Conreid, Lloyd Corrigan.

Anything Goes
Directed by Robert Lewis. Produced by Robert Emmett Dolan. Written by Sidney Sheldon, from a play by Guy Bolton and P. G.
Wodehouse as revised by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Photographed by John F. Warren. Songs by Cole Porter; Sammy Cahn—James
Van Heusen. Cast: Bing Crosby, Donald O’Connor, Jeanmaire, Mitzi Gaynor, Phil Harris, Kurt Kaszner, Walter Sande, Richard
Erdman, Argentina Brunetti, Ruta Lee, Marcel Dalio.

High Society
(MGM) Directed by Charles Walters. Produced by Sol C. Siegel. Written by John Patrick, from a play,
The Philadelphia Story,
by Philip Barry. Photographed by Paul C. Vogel. Songs by Cole Porter. Cast: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Louis
Armstrong, Celeste Holm, Louis Calhern, John Lund, Sidney Blackmer, Margalo Gillmore, Lydia Reed, Richard Garrick, Trummy
Young, Edmond Hall, Billy Kyle, Arvell Shaw, Barrett Deems.

1957

Man on Fire
(MGM) Directed and written by Ranald MacDougall, from a story by Malvin Wald and Jack Jacobs. Produced by Sol C. Siegel.
Photographed by Joseph Ruttenberg. Song by Paul Francis Webster—Sammy Fain. Cast: Bing Crosby, Inger Stevens, Mary Fickett,
E. G. Marshall, Malcolm Brodrick, Richard Eastham, Anne Seymour, Dan Riss.

The Heart of Show Business
(Columbia) (V) Documentary on Variety Clubs International. Directed by Ralph Staub. Narrated by Bing Crosby, Edward G. Robinson,
James Stewart, Burt Lancaster, Cecil B. De Mille.

1958

Showdown at Ulcer Gulch
(Saturday Evening Post) (S,C) A one-reel magazine promotion with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Ernie Kovacs, Edie Adams, Groucho
Marx, Chico Marx.

1959

Alias Jesse James
(United Artists) (HC)

Say One for Me
(20th Century-Fox) Directed and produced by Frank Tashlin. Written by Robert O’Brien. Photographed by Leo Tover. Songs by
Sammy Cahn-James Van Heusen. Cast: Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds,
Robert Wagner, Ray Walston, Les Tremayne, Connie Gilchrist, Frank McHugh, Joe Besser, Stella Stevens.

1960

Let’s Make Love
(20th Century—Fox) (C) Romantic comedy with Marilyn Monroe and Yves Montand; Bing Crosby sings “Incurably Romantic” and gives
Montand a lesson in crooning.

High Time
(20th Century-Fox) Directed by Blake Edwards. Produced by Charles Brackett. Written by Tom and Frank Waldman, from a story
by Garson Kanin. Photographed by Ellsworth Fredericks. Songs by Sammy Cahn—James Van Heusen; others. Cast: Bing Crosby, Nicole
Maurey, Fabian, Tuesday Weld, Richard Beymer, Patrick Adiarte, Yvonne Craig, Gavin MacLeod.

Pepe
(Columbia) (C) Cameo—studded vehicle for Cantinflas; Bing croons a medley and autographs a tortilla.

1962

The Road to Hong Kong
(United Artists) Directed by Norman Panama. Produced by Melvin Frank. Written by Panama and Frank. Photographed by Jack Hildyard.
Songs by Sammy Cahn—James Van Heusen. Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Joan Collins, Robert Morley, Dorothy Lamour, Walter Gotell,
Felix Aylmer, Roger Delgado, Mei Ling, Peter Madden, Peter Sellers, Jerry Colonna, David Niven, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin.

1964

Robin and the 7 Hoods
(Warner Bros.) Directed by Gordon Douglas. Produced by Frank Sinatra. Written by David R. Schwartz. Photographed by William
H. Daniels. Songs by Sammy Cahn—James Van Heusen. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk,
Barbara Rush, Victor Buono, Allen Jenkins, Jack La Rue, Phillip Crosby, Sig Ruman, Edward G. Robinson.

1966

Stagecoach
(20th Century-Fox) Directed by Gordon Douglas. Produced by Martin Rackin. Written by Joseph Landon, from a screenplay by
Dudley Nichols from a story by Ernest Haycox, “Stage to Lordsburg.” Photographed by William H. Clothier. Cast: Bing Crosby,
Ann-Margret, Michael Connors, Alex Cord, Red Buttons, Robert Cummings, Van Heflin, Slim Pickens, Stephanie Powers, Keenan
Wynn.

Cinerama’s Russian Adventure
(United Roadshow Presentations-Sovexportfilm) (V,C) Narrated and introduced by Bing Crosby.

1968

Bing Crosby’s Washington State
(Cinecrest) (S,V) Directed by Dave Gardner. Written and photographed by Robert Brown and Ruth Davis. Narrated by Bing Crosby.

1971

Dr. Cook’s Garden
(Paramount Pictures Television/ABC—TV) Directed by Ted Post. Produced by Bob Markell. Written by Art Wallace, from a play
by Ira Levin. Photographed by Urs Ferrer. Cast: Bing Crosby, Frank Converse, Blythe Danner, Bethel Leslie, Abby Lewis, Barnard
Hughes, Staats Cotsworth, Jordan Reed.

You Can Still Change the World
(The Christophers) (S,C) Produced and written by Jeanne Glynn. Directed by Beatrice Conetta. Narrated and introduced by Bing
Crosby. Compilation of film clips from television programs produced by The Christophers on the occasion of their twentieth
anniversary.

1972

Cancel My Reservation
(MGM—EMI) (HC)

1974

That’s Entertainment!
(MGM) (V,C) Directed, produced, and written by Jack Haley Jr. Complilation of film clips introduced by Bing Crosby, Elizabeth
Taylor, Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Fred Astaire,
and Liza Minnelli.

Introduction

1
. Seldes,
The Public Arts,
p. 126
.

2
. Thompson,
The Complete Crosby,
p. 252
.

3
. Death certificate filed with the American embassy in Madrid, Oct. 21, 1977.

4
. Edmund Wilson,
The Wound and the Bow
(1941; reprint, New York: Oxford University Press, 1965),
p. 3
.

5
.
Newsweek,
June 28, 1999.

6
. Shepherd and Slatzer,
Bing Crosby: The Hollow Man,
and Crosby and Fire stone,
Going My Own Way.

7
. Among the most egregious were a memoir by Joan Rivers that called him a drunken wifebeater (for which there is no evidence);
the pilot for a syndicated TV show,
Hollywood Babylon,
with Tony Curtis, that recycled demonstrative untruths concerning his will; and a December 22, 1999, story in the
New York Post
that dis torted Crosby’s readily available FBI file (see note 40 to
Chapter 21
).

8
. Smith,
Life in a Putty Knife Factory,
p. 258
.

9
. An article in the New
York Times,
“Watched by Millions,” Aug. 25, 2000, reported that the only programs to attract more than 50 million viewers in the preceding
eight months were two special events, the Super Bowl (88.5 million) and the final episode of
Survivor
(51.7 million).