Tony Martin
Hollywood's Singing Romeo
by Laura Wagner
For over 60 years, singer
Tony Martin has proven one of show business' truly great entertainers. His
popularity has shown no bounds -- encompassing records, nightclubs, radio,
concerts, tv and motion pictures. However, although he is a well known and
respected singer, Tony's movie career is given little consideration. His major
roles in Ziegfeld Girl (1941), and Casbah (1948) may still be
remembered, but Tony's appearances in over 30 feature films are all but
forgotten. This is a shame since he came across well in these films, third only
to Crosby and Sinatra as the most successful male singer to conquer movies;
despite his own admitted disinterest. Tony Martin was a good actor who
brightened some very enjoyable movies with his casualness, incredible good
looks, and romantic singing voice.
He was born Alvin Morris on
Music began early in Tony's life, starting with the
gift of a saxophone when he was ten. He took lessons and was serious about
becoming a musician, but soon the young boy realized he had something in the
vocal area as well. In high school, Tony and a friend started their own dance
band, "Al Morris and His Four Red Peppers," performing at school
functions and around town. Singing and playing the sax continued as Tony
graduated and progressed to St. Mary's College.
Initially, he was there to study law, but music soon
took much of his interest. A chance at local fame came with a spot playing sax
with a regional band. His schedule was rough -- he went to school in the
daytime, playing music at night and weekends. He struggled on with his studies,
but threw himself into music.
On the vocal side, it was popular Russ Columbo's
caressing style which captured his imagination. They had much in common -- both
Columbo and Martin were darkly handsome with very stylish presences. Tony has
often said it was Columbo who made him want to sing.
This influence helped Tony a great deal to form his
own winning style, which evolved in 1932-33 with the bands of Tom Gerun and Tom
Coakley. Being a lawyer didn't interest him in the slightest, and pretty soon
he left college to pursue music full-time.
It was while playing in a nightclub in 1935 that Tony
was introduced to an executive from MGM. The exec liked what he saw in the
handsome, personable crooner. No doubt this man put in a good word at the
studio, because a week later agent Nat Goldstone called, representing studio
head Louis B. Mayer. A screen test was directly arranged, and Tony tested for a
forthcoming production, Sadie McKee (1936), starring Joan Crawford.
Nothing would come of it. The role was given to Gene Raymond, and Tony went
back to San Francisco and his band job.
MGM may not have been interested, but RKO was. Nat
Goldstone immediately showed them the test. They signed Tony to a contract, at
$135 a week, then proceeded to change his name from Al Morris to Tony Martin.
The roles at RKO were basically nothings. He did some
two-reel shorts and unbilled bits, but nothing special. He was set to be
featured prominently in an Astaire/Rogers musical, Follow the Fleet
(1936), but at the last minute his part was cut drastically. So much for RKO,
and they released him.
Tony's freedom didn't last. Darryl Zanuck quickly
signed the handsome singer to a $140-a-week contract. 20th Century-Fox found
better use for Tony with some very noticeable musical parts. Tony took acting
lessons, but basically his roles were about what he could do with a song and
the way he looked. He delivered on both counts and, as an added bonus,
presented himself well with his acting -- showing a natural ease and
enthusiasm.
His first notable job at the studio was singing a
prime number in Sing, Baby, Sing (1936), "When Did You Leave
Heaven?", as a telephone line-man, discovered by Alice Faye, given a
chance at an audition. It proved to be one of the best songs in the movie, and
audiences took notice.
A bigger role followed in Pigskin Parade
(1936), an engaging college football musical with good songs and a great cast:
Jack Haley, Patsy Kelly, Stu Erwin, Betty Grable, Judy Garland, and The Yacht
Club Boys; you'd think Tony would get lost in the musical shuffle -- not at
all. One number that stood out for Tony, who played a college bandleader, was
"You're Slightly Terrific." He sings it smoothly, to Dixie Dunbar,
and he looks simply delish in his college sweater. Tony is required mostly to
stand on the bandstand, but you're constantly aware of his gorgeous presence.
A major jump followed with a big role in Banjo On
My Knee (1936). This starred Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea, as
"river rats" on the Mississippi River, who are married but are
continually separated because of McCrea's bad temperament.
Although the star, McCrea has less footage than Tony,
who enjoys the biggest part of his young movie life. As a singer who Stanwyck
meets up with in New Orleans, Tony sings marvelously and does a very
respectable job, turning in a sincere performance. However, if we are to
believe the story, Stanwyck is actually reluctant to leave hot-headed McCrea
for the nice, easy-going Tony, who wants to take her "to the big
time" with him -- Chicago. Alas, all ends well for the undeserving McCrea,
who gets the girl.
Musically speaking, The New York Times grouped
Tony's gorgeous rendition of the popular "There's Something in the
Air" as one of the film's "definite entertainment factors." His
other tune, "Where the Lazy River Goes By," is sung as a duet with
Stanwyck, and it too comes across well.
After second leading in a Jane Withers' vehicle, The
Holy Terror (1937), Tony was awarded his first full-fledged lead at the
studio with Sing and Be Happy (1937), and a highly enjoyable
"B" it was. As in The Holy Terror, his capable co-star was
singer Leah Ray. As a leading man Tony proved himself quite charming and
certainly up to the task. In the film Tony is from a wealthy family, but
prefers not to conform to the business life his father promotes -- instead he
wants to sing and lead a band. (Shades of his own life, perhaps?) He's in love with
Leah, but she wants him to settle down and stop his foolishness. Of the songs,
the one that comes off best is, "What a Beautiful Beginning," a
little known gem. Of course, there is a rival, in the person of dull Allan
Lane, but it isn't an even match -- what with fabulous Tony around.
Alice Faye was the reigning queen of musicals in the
30s, and her pictures at Fox were instant box office. It was very beneficial
for Tony to be featured in one. Two earlier Faye films in which he appeared
were mere spots, but You Can't Have Everything (1937) showed Tony off in
two big vocal showcases, coupled with a few lines of dialogue. Less than he
deserved, considering the charm and whit he displayed in his last role, but it
was a part of major importance.
Alice plays a young playwright who is talked into
starring in a musical directed by Don Ameche, as a favor to producer Charles
Winninger. Tony plays the leading man of the show she agrees to co-star in.
In the first of two songs, Tony brings the movie to a
dreamy halt with "The Loveliness of You," which he vocally caresses
to a group of lucky ladies on stage. He commands the screen for those few
heavenly minutes, making the most of what he had -- vocally and physically.
His other number is the charming "Afraid to
Dream" with Alice, and if their interpretation was touchingly real, it was
for reasons other than good acting. On September 4, 1937, during this
production, Alice and Tony eloped to Yuma, Arizona. Their marriage would work
for a time, but their careers kept them apart too much, and they divorced in
1940.
Fox was really keeping him busy, even if the parts
were sometimes minor. The main thing was he was getting noticed, but there
seemed to be no reason for Tony's role in the football musical Life Begins
at College (1937) with The Ritz Bros. He's another singing bandleader in
this one, but does get two good songs, "Why Talk About Love?" and
"Sweet Varsity Sue," a rousing college song delivered with gusto.
Tony would have been perfect for the main role, but we are (mis) treated to
snide Dick Baldwin in the lead.
Tony's next role as "Yusuf, the Sheepherder"
in Eddie Cantor's Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) was rather small, even
though he's second billed. What is shown of Tony is stunning, his smoldering
good looks made even more potent with the help of a mustache, and he's utterly
dashing in Arabian rags and robes! He has one number, a duet with Cantor, a
campaign song called "Vote For Honest Abe," a clever tune with
political references. Another song, "I Got My Heart Set On You," a
solo, seems to have been cut from existing prints, and it was performed in the
modern section of the film, in which Tony plays himself: a movie actor at Fox.
The premise is silly. Eddie ends up on a Fox movie
location of the movie Ali Baba, after being run down by some extras on
horses. He over-does some pain-killers, waking up to find himself transported
back to Baghdad. Soon Eddie is introducing 1937 thinking to the ancient city.
Villains are at play, however, and it's up to our Banjo-eyed hero to save the
Arabian people.
Tony is a sheepherder and spokesman for the common
people, who are starving. His romantic attraction is Princess June Lang, her
father is the sultan Roland Young, but not much is shown of them, and we never
see the promised union between the two, to, no doubt, June's regret!
Tony does have a fun exchange with one of the sultan's
many wives, villainess Louise Hovick, who is very interested in this very
attractive peasant:
Hovick: "Every night I put myself to sleep
counting ... sheepherders."
Tony: "Well, we all have our weaknesses. I count
Sultanas."
Hovick: (laughs) "You know, I can have that
handsome head of yours served to me on a tray."
Tony: "I'm sure it would be no trouble at all for
a man to lose his head over one so beautiful, so gorgeous."
Hovick: "Yes?!" (very interested)
Tony: "Your majesty, I would love to have
you for my mother-in-law!"
Hovick: "Guards -- arrest that man! He let a
prisoner escape!"
Fox decided to capitalize on the Faye-Martin marriage,
by starring them together in Sally, Irene and Mary (1938), the story of
three girls (Faye, Marjorie Weaver, and Joan Davis) eager for jobs in show
business. Alice meets up with Tony in a nightclub, as he sings the very
romantic "Sweet As a Song" (appropriately, a smitten Alice bumps into
the wall when she hears him!), and although sparks fly -- he's had enough of
show business and is headed back home. Complications arise when wealthy Louise
Hovick (again enamored of Tony) silently backs a show with Tony in the lead.
Delightfully, during rehearsal, Alice injects some
flirtatious behavior into her duet with Tony, "I Could Use A Dream,"
but is kicked out of the show by, silent-no-longer, Hovick. Tony quits also,
and he and the girls struggle for jobs together. When there's a possibility of
redoing Weaver's newly inherited showboat into a nightclub, both Tony and
Alice, unbeknownst to each other, agree to marry others to raise the necessary
cash for "the big show." It all ends happily for our couple, however,
when a marriage production number is revealed to be legal since the ceremony
was performed by the captain of the boat!
The whole movie is delightful, and Tony and Alice have
great chemistry. Another duet between the two, "Half-Moon on the
Hudson" hasn't been shown since the movie's theatrical release, and, in
addition, a reprise of "I Could Use a Dream" was also cut. However,
as it stands today, Sally, Irene and Mary is still a charming and
unjustly over-looked musical.
Another lead followed, with the zany Ritz Bros., in Kentucky
Moonshine (1938). Tony plays a radio singer who's ratings have slipped. To
renew interest in the program, producers decide to feature new talent from the
hills of Kentucky. The Ritz. Bros. find out and hysterically pose as
hillbillies, with singer Marjorie Weaver. Tony, cutting a gorgeous figure,
sings "Moonshine Over Kentucky" and an odd swing version of
"Pagliacci." Tony is adorable and romantic with the engaging Weaver, but
the whole show is centered on the wild antics of The Ritz Bros. -- and they are
very funny.
This was followed by Up the River (1938), a
story about a prison football team, co-starring Preston Foster and Thanks
for Everything (1938), starring Adolph Menjou, which is only worth
mentioning for Tony's fine rendering of the Mack Gordon/Harry Revel title tune;
otherwise he does very little.
Was Fox giving him the right roles? The parts were
musical stand-outs, and he was getting good songs, but his roles were routine
-- although he played them with zest. His leads were in "B's," such
as Winner Take All (1939). Here he plays an arrogant boxer on the road
to ruin saved by a loving girl, Gloria Stuart. Although it was a change of
pace, no singing, it was a minor offering. "A" productions would have
suited him perfectly, but instead Fox threw him into pictures simply to have a
song sung well. It's a tribute to the artistry of Tony Martin that he stood out
so gallantly in even the smallest of roles at Fox.
After his Fox days were contractually over, he turned
up next at Columbia in Music In My Heart (1940). Made in 1939, it
co-starred Tony with a budding leading lady -- Rita Hayworth. It was a
delicious musical, filled with good songs and an attractive coupling. The ads
touted: "The tuneful hero of radio weaves his magic spell on the
screen!" They weren't kidding.
The story is simple but sweet and manages to fill its
69-minute running time with continual delights that outshine even some of the
bigger budgeted musicals by the major studios. Tony plays a singer who, for
some weak reason, is going to be deported but misses his scheduled boat when
his and Rita's cabs crash into each other. Talk about meeting cute! She takes
him home to her uncle, and so begins the courtship, which almost goes awry when
a wealthy suitor's valet makes up a phony story that Tony is a runaway, married
with three kids.
Rita is spunky and charming in one of her first
leading lady roles, and she works nicely with Tony, their scenes together
igniting a spark in this lovely little film. Tony is in rare form, showing a
comic touch never fully explored. With a devilish look in his eye, he romps
around with a fake mustache and beard hoping to ruin Eric Blore's lunch.
The musical aspect of the film is magical, with Tony
positively swoonable singing the hit "It's a Blue World." Child
actress Edith Fellows, too often neglected today, has the same special appeal
of Deanna Durbin or Jane Powell, and when she briefly sings you definitely want
more. She also works well with Tony, and they do a comic version of "I'm
Just a Bird in a Gilded Cage" that is quite funny. All and all, this was
one of the best musicals Tony ever did for any studio. It really showed off his
boyish charm.
Although Tony's early movies were at times routine,
his music career was far from minor. Tony did excellently on records, for
Decca, and he was a popular act in nightclubs and a favorite on radio on such
shows as "Tune-up Time."
Tony was as popular as the leading singers of the day.
His was a very romantic style, with a vocal range far exceeding any other
singer. His voice had an operatic quality to it, adding to his aura of
romanticism. He didn't merely sing a ballad -- he felt it, expressing it to its
fullest capacity.
After his divorce from Alice in 1940, he became a popular escort to many
beautiful women off screen. It only heightened his romantic persona to be seen
with Lana Turner, Marguerite Chapman, Rita Hayworth, Lola Albright, Marilyn
Maxwell, and other glamour girls of the day. He had it all, and in 1940 he
would also have another major studio behind him, filling the void Fox left.
MGM couldn't ignore his popularity and wanted him
right away for a role in their major musical, Ziegfeld Girl (1941),
starring Lana Turner, James Stewart, Judy Garland, and Hedy Lamarr. Who else
suited the part of a handsome crooner with a way with the ladies?!
Tony's part absolutely stands out, whether he is
trying to woo married Hedy Lamarr (in an especially romantic moonlit scene!) or
singing. Tony's character is also married, but he seriously contemplates
leaving his wife, Rose Hobart, for the exotic Lamarr. In a very well acted
scene, Hobart explains to Hedy why she loves Tony, and adds: "Did you ever
listen to his speaking voice? He can do more to me with that than a Caruso."
However, Hobart is ready to surrender Tony to Hedy, until it is clear Hedy only
wants her own husband.
Tony's acting is charming and irresistible. The major
production in the film is his: "You Stepped Out of a Dream," a
classic on film, as he sings to each of the Ziegfeld girls -- elegantly attired
in a tux, aided by Busby Berkeley's ingenious camera. He comes across
throughout and also sings "Caribbean Love Song" to Hedy as part of
another super Berkeley musical sequence. This was his most romantically
inclined performance, and with good reason he is remembered for it!
He put up with the wildness of the Ritz Bros. at Fox,
and now at MGM Tony had to contend with The Marx Bros. The Big Store
(1941) was not the best the team ever did, but it showed Tony to great
advantage. He had two winning songs: the starry-eyed, "If It's You"
and the very dramatic, "The Tenement Symphony.'
It seems that Tony, who plays a singer, has inherited
a department store, but evil minds want to take his share away, by death if needed,
before he sells out. Trivial nonsense, as Margaret Dumont (as Tony's aunt)
recruits Groucho, a private detective, to find out who is out to get Tony. In
the process, he and his brothers hysterically trash the store! Through all this
very funny mess, there is also a very cute romance between Tony and fortunate
Virginia Grey, a store employee in love with her new boss.
After these two films, he joined the Navy on January
2, 1942. During his stay, Tony was really given a hard time due to his
celebrity status. Tony later wrote: "There was a big story about how the
Navy accused Commander Maurice Aroff of accepting a bribe of a car to give
entertainer Tony Martin a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve. There were only
a couple of things wrong with that whole messy story. In the first place, I
never did get a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve. And in the second place,
I had never given him a car as a bribe. Other than that, the Navy's story was
completely accurate."
After many hearings, he was inequitably kicked out of
the Navy, which caused some bad press for the singer. To save face (with
himself and the public), Tony re-enlisted, as a private in the Army, on
December 12, 1942. His stint in the Army was a picnic compared to the Navy's
treatment. When he was honorably discharged on December 14, 1945, it was with
the rank of Technical Sergeant and many citations (including The Bronze Star)
for his bravery.
When he returned, his contract was completed at MGM as
a guest star in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), the fiction of song
writer Jerome Kern's life. The major part of the film was the mini-production
of Show Boat, with Tony and Kathryn Grayson perfectly cast as
"Gaylord Ravenal" and "Magnolia Hawks." They played their
roles with heartfelt emotion, making the production the highlight of the movie.
Tony also sang "All the Things You Are" at the finale of the movie
and did it with his usual smooth romantic style.
After MGM, Tony thought very little about movies,
simply because he didn't have to. He was very busy singing around the clubs,
recording with Mercury and, prolifically, with RCA Victor -- raking up numerous
hits. He was a busy and all around popular singer.
He may not have needed movies to secure his
popularity, but movies sure needed him. He was the only singer in movies with a
believable romantic image. As the best looking singer on film -- he had no
rivals. Certainly, Frank Sinatra, for all his acting talent, was nothing to
look at. The only singer handsome enough to compete was Johnny Johnston, and
his appeal was more of the "boy next door" variety. Tony was dashing,
and his acting and voice put him on par with the likes of Tyrone Power and
Robert Taylor -- as a singing sex symbol.
His next film, Casbah (1948), a reworking of Pépé
le Moko (1937) with Jean Gabin and Algiers (1938) with Charles
Boyer, was brought especially to him by his agent, Nat Goldstone. Together they
produced and fashioned Pépé le Moko for Tony's romantic image, making
the movie light and tuneful, as opposed to the other versions, which today seem
far too serious.
Casbah
boasted an excellent score by Harold Arlen and Leo Robin -- all four songs
classics: "For Every Man There's a Woman," "Hooray For
Love," "It Was Written In the Stars," and "What's Good
About Goodbye." The songs gave the old story some energy and boosted the
entertainment value.
A reviewer, at the time, attached to sentimental
memories of past Pepe, said: "[Tony] is not the forceful gent Jean Gabin
was [or] the convincing woo pitcher Charles Boyer portrayed." Well, Tony
is much more than that. His characterization, his best on screen ever, is
alluring, tough, ruthless, charming, and romantic. The movie mag Screen
Stories said it best: "Vagabond, thief, adventurer, he had the quality
of leadership that made every man, woman, and child in the Casbah his follower.
He had also the magnetic charm that made women forget wisdom." Yet, that's
not all to his fine performance. The weariness Pepe feels at being trapped in
the Casbah, when his only love, Gaby, is on the outside, is brought home with
conviction by Tony. He can trust no one, and when he does, it almost turns to
disaster, as when Tony learns his best friend, Douglas Dick, has betrayed him
to the police. You know Douglas is in serious trouble, from the moment Tony
says sharply, "Sit down, Carlo."
Tony's acting is very real -- never over-played. He is
backed by a great supporting cast, which includes Yvonne DeCarlo, as
"Inez," the dancing girl in love with Pepe, and newcomer Marta Toren
as "Gaby," the object of Pepe's obsessive love. Peter Lorre is the
Inspector who bides his time with Pepe. They are wary friends, and he is also
excellent.
As the suave and very cool Pepe le Moko, Tony had
reached his peak as a movie star. It was his best chance at acting -- his best
written part that could survive without the aid of music. The tunes in Casbah
are an added dessert, but the main course is the marvelous acting ability of
Tony Martin. "Come with me to the Casbah" was never more
tempting.
It was after making Casbah that Tony met the
lady who would become his life's partner. He had met Cyd Charisse at a movie
premiere, and from that moment Tony says, "I knew that I'd found a girl
who was a precious gem. She was something very special." Cyd was just
beginning to make a name for herself as one of the screen's greatest dancers in
MGM musicals. They were wed on May 9, 1948, and have endured today as one of
the most devoted husband/wife teams in Hollywood, proving two successful
entertainers can make a marriage work. Together, they have a son, Tony, Jr.,
born in 1950, and Tony adopted Cyd's son, Nicky, from a previous marriage.
Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), made at RKO, provided Tony with a vocal
showcase of various old and new songs, one of the few reasons to recommend the
film. The story is simple: singer Tony and a group of young hopefuls (Janet
Leigh, Gloria DeHaven, Ann Miller, and Barbara Lawrence) try to find fame on,
of all things, television.
Tony's laid back style suited his part well, and he
made the routine script better than it actually was. Vocally, the movie was
super, as Tony sings: "Manhattan," "The Closer You Are,"
"Are You Just a Beautiful Dream," "Big Chief
Hole-in-the-Ground" (a cute production, with Tony as the title),
"There's No Tomorrow" (his big hit of 1949), and the dramatic,
"Prologue from 'Pagliacci.'"
Back at MGM, they gave him Easy to Love (1953),
an excellent Esther Williams' spectacular. Although this is one of Tony's best
roles, oddly the studio decided to top star Van Johnson, who has very little to
do. Tony had nothing to worry about, for aside from Esther's water escapades,
the movie is all his. The plot is brief and entirely unneeded. Esther is the
beautiful star of an aqua show, in love with her boss played by Van. He is
neglectful (how could he be?!), and she makes him jealous by flirting with
Tony, who's a singer with the show.
The title tune is a definite highlight, as Tony
serenades Esther in a canoe (they make a great looking couple), and it's a
romantic highlight. Tony also sings "Coquette," "That's What a
Rainy Day Is For," and "Look Out, I'm Romantic" to an equally
bewitching effect. His performance is relaxed, and even if Van Johnson does get
Esther at the fade out, Tony ends up with a beautiful Cyd Charisse, in a cameo
-- a fitting end to a lovely film.
He wasn't so lucky in screen time with his next
released in 1953, Paramount's Here Come the Girls, starring Bob Hope and
Arlene Dahl. Bob plays a half-witted Broadway chorus boy, who is always
screwing up production numbers. Actually, Bob comes across as just plain
strange, as during a number where the chorus boys hold up champagne glasses for
a toast. Bob turns and asks the guy next to him, on stage, to scratch
his leg! Very silly stuff, as per usual, for Hope.
Tony and Arlene Dahl play the leads in the show and
are engaged to be married, but -- darn it all! -- a crazed killer is on the
loose, and he wants Arlene all to himself and isn't above killing Tony or any
man who shows interest in her. Bob is subbed in the lead, and Arlene feigns
interest in him, using him as bait for the killer!
Aside from the inane goings-on, Tony gets to sing
"Never So Beautiful" fittingly to Dahl, and "Heavenly
Days," a production reminiscent of "You Stepped Out of a Dream,"
as Tony sings to harem girls on stage. He's in very little, after all this is a
Bob Hope fest, but he adds class to the proceedings.
After singing a heart-stopping "Lover Come Back
To Me," guesting in Deep In My Heart (1954), Tony was one of the
stars of the splashy MGM musical, Hit the Deck (1955). Based on the
stage show, with additional songs not in the original, it was a huge film in
the '50s, a period of waning musicals. The cast is impressive and aside from
Tony, we have: Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Walter
Pidgeon, and Russ Tamblyn. It was musically sound, but not worth mentioning
story-wise unless you don't know the one about Navy men on leave.
Great entertainment, nonetheless, as Tony sings
"More Than You Know" and the beautifully amorous "Keeping Myself
For You," which he sings to Ann Miller. With all the talent in the film,
it is Tony who stands out vocally and in appearance, looking sublime in his
Navy uniform. Ann Miller was one lucky girl, in this one!
Tony's last two leads were Quincannon Frontier Scout
(1956), as the titled character -- co-starring with Peggie Castle; and Let's
Be Happy (1957), a musical made in England co-starring lovely Vera-Ellen,
in a story about an inherited castle in Scotland. After these, his movie career
was just about finished. Musicals were no longer popular, and he didn't seem
interested in expanding his acting with straight drama or comedy; he would have
fared well -- if he gave himself a chance or had the time.
Even though the movies stopped, Tony was still a very
successful entertainer, one of the few singers to survive the curse of Rock and
Roll in the `50s and the British Invasion of the `60s. He continued to
popularly record, appearing on tv on his own show and in guest work, doing
nightclubs, traveling all over the world to perform. Proof of his huge
international success is the result of a poll a couple years ago in Belgium:
they named Tony Martin the number one singer -- over Sinatra, Como, Bennett -- everyone.
He still performs today, in excellent voice, and is still a big audience draw.
In movies, he had the sort of charisma many singers
could only dream about. The camera was definitely in love with him, as was his
adoring audience. Tony's acting was much better than critics ever gave him
credit for; he made it all seem effortless, so cool and nonchalant.
In Here Come the Girls, the producer of the
stage show is faced with a problem. Tony, his leading man, has been hurt and a
replacement is needed. Says the very agitated producer:
"Where am I going to find another leading man
with [his] voice, looks, and talent?"
Where, indeed!