Rock-A-Bye Baby
Encyclopedia
Rock-A-Bye Baby is a 1958 comedy film
with songs
, starring Jerry Lewis
. A loose remake of Preston Sturges
' 1944 film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
, the film was directed and written by Frank Tashlin
, and features Marilyn Maxwell
, Connie Stevens
and Reginald Gardiner
.
) is a small-town TV repairman whose former sweetheart, Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell
), is now a famous movie star. When Carla marries a Mexican bullfighter, who dies the day after the wedding, she becomes pregnant. Her agent, Harold Herman (Reginald Gardiner
) tries to avoid a scandal and damage to her career by sending Carla back to the town she grew up in, telling the world that she is going into seclusion to prepare for her next role, the lead in a religious epic called "The White Virgin on the Nile." Carla turns to Clayton for help, and he agrees to care for the child once it is born.
But Carla gives birth to triplets, and Clayton finds out that he has to be married before he can adopt them, so he marries Carla's younger sister, Sandy (Connie Stevens
), who is in love with him. The press finds out about the triplets, and Carla tells them that she and Clayton are secretly married. Now suspected of bigamy, Clayton goes into hiding with the triplets until everything is cleared up.
Nine months later, Sandy gives birth to quintuplets, and soon a statue of Clayton and his five babies is erected in front of the town courthouse.
Cast notes:
(music) and Sammy Cahn
(lyrics):
Songs and music notes:
' 1944 film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
, which starred Eddie Bracken
and Betty Hutton
, and because of this Sturges received a writer's credit on the film, although he did not actually work on the project.
Rock-a-Bye Baby was filmed from 18 November 1957 through 8 January 1958, and opened in Los Angeles
on 16 July 1958, followed by a premiere in New York City
on 23 July. It went in general release shortly afterwords. The film was re-released in 1962 on a double bill with another Jerry Lewis film, Don't Give Up The Ship
.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
with songs
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
, starring Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
. A loose remake of Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
' 1944 film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall...
, the film was directed and written by Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin, born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, also known as Tish Tash or Frank Tash was an American animator, screenwriter, and film director.-Animator:...
, and features Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
, Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
and Reginald Gardiner
Reginald Gardiner
Reginald Gardiner was an English-born actor in film and television and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Britain. His parents wanted him to be an architect and he studied at it but he wanted to be an actor and eventually got his way.He started as a super on stage and eventually...
.
Plot
Clayton Poole (Jerry LewisJerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
) is a small-town TV repairman whose former sweetheart, Carla Naples (Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
), is now a famous movie star. When Carla marries a Mexican bullfighter, who dies the day after the wedding, she becomes pregnant. Her agent, Harold Herman (Reginald Gardiner
Reginald Gardiner
Reginald Gardiner was an English-born actor in film and television and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Britain. His parents wanted him to be an architect and he studied at it but he wanted to be an actor and eventually got his way.He started as a super on stage and eventually...
) tries to avoid a scandal and damage to her career by sending Carla back to the town she grew up in, telling the world that she is going into seclusion to prepare for her next role, the lead in a religious epic called "The White Virgin on the Nile." Carla turns to Clayton for help, and he agrees to care for the child once it is born.
But Carla gives birth to triplets, and Clayton finds out that he has to be married before he can adopt them, so he marries Carla's younger sister, Sandy (Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
), who is in love with him. The press finds out about the triplets, and Carla tells them that she and Clayton are secretly married. Now suspected of bigamy, Clayton goes into hiding with the triplets until everything is cleared up.
Nine months later, Sandy gives birth to quintuplets, and soon a statue of Clayton and his five babies is erected in front of the town courthouse.
Cast
- Jerry LewisJerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
as Clayton Poole - Marilyn MaxwellMarilyn MaxwellMarilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
as Carla Naples - Connie StevensConnie StevensConnie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
as Sandra Naples - Salvatore BaccaloniSalvatore BaccaloniSalvatore Baccaloni was an Italian operatic bass, often regarded as the greatest buffo artist of the 20th century.- Life and career :Baccaloni was born in Rome...
as Gigi "Papa" Naples - Reginald GardinerReginald GardinerReginald Gardiner was an English-born actor in film and television and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Britain. His parents wanted him to be an architect and he studied at it but he wanted to be an actor and eventually got his way.He started as a super on stage and eventually...
as Harold Hermann - Hans ConriedHans ConriedHans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
as Mr. Wright - Isobel ElsomIsobel ElsomIsobel Elsom was an English screen, stage, and television actress.-Career:Born as Isobel Jeannette Reed in Cambridge, England, Elsom usually was cast as an aristocratic lady of the upper class. Over the course of three decades she appeared in 17 Broadway productions, beginning with The Ghost Train...
as Mrs. Van Cleeve - James GleasonJames GleasonJames Austin Gleason was an American actor born in New York City. He was also a playwright and screenwriter.-Career:...
as Doc Simpkins - Ida Moore as Miss Bessie Polk
- Hope EmersonHope Emerson-Early life:Emerson was born in Hawarden, Iowa. Following her graduation from West High School in Des Moines in 1916, she moved to New York City where she performed in vaudeville.-Career:...
as Mrs. Rogers, instructor at child care clinic - Alex Gerry as Judge Jenkins
- Mary Treen as Nurse
- Judy Franklin as Young Clara Naples
- Gary LewisGary Lewis (musician)Gary Lewis is an American musician who was the eponymous leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys.-Early life:Gary Lewis is the son of comedian and actor Jerry Lewis...
as Young Clayton
Cast notes:
- Two of the original Keystone KopsKeystone KopsThe Keystone Kops were incompetent fictional policemen, featured in silent film comedies in the early 20th century. The movies were produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. The idea came from Hank Mann who also played police chief Tehiezel in the first film...
, Hank MannHank MannHank Mann was a comedian and silent screen star who is best known as the last surviving member of the Keystone Cops. According to fellow actor and original member of the ensemble Edgar Kennedy, Mann was the originator of the idea for the Keysotne Cops...
and Chester ConklinChester ConklinChester Cooper Conklin was an American comedian and actor. He appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent era.-Early life:...
have bit parts. - Jerry Lewis' son Gary Lewis plays "Clayton Poole" as a boy in a fantasy sequence.
- A picture of comedian Jack BennyJack BennyJack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
was used as a photograph of "Carlos", the Mexican bullfighter that Carla married, and the father of her triplets. - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
is listed in some cast lists for the film,, but his part was cut out before the movie was released, as was a small part played by Jerry Lewis' father, Danny.
Songs and music
The songs in Rock-A-Bye Baby were written by Harry WarrenHarry Warren
Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
(music) and Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
(lyrics):
- "Rock-a-Bye Baby" - sung by Jerry LewisJerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
- "The Land of La-La-La" - sung by Jerry Lewis and Gary Lewis
- "Love Is a Lonely Thing" - sung by Jerry Lewis
- "Dormi, Dormi, Dormi (Sleep-Sleep-Sleep)" - sung by Salvatore BaccaloniSalvatore BaccaloniSalvatore Baccaloni was an Italian operatic bass, often regarded as the greatest buffo artist of the 20th century.- Life and career :Baccaloni was born in Rome...
and Jerry Lewis - "Why Can't He Care for Me?" - sung by Connie StevensConnie StevensConnie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
- "The White Virgin of the Nile" - sung by Marilyn MaxwellMarilyn MaxwellMarilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
Songs and music notes:
- Another song by Warren and Cahn, "Me and My Baby", was written for the film but not used.
- The musical numbers in the film were staged by Nick CastleNick CastleNick Castle is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his role as Michael Myers in Halloween. He also co-wrote Escape from New York with his friend, John Carpenter.-Early life:...
. - Because of a musician's strike, Walter ScharfWalter ScharfWalter Scharf was an American film composer.Born in New York, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic Bessie Zwerling...
's score had to be recorded in Mexico City in March 1958, and causing union musicians to picket a preview of the film in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on 3 June 1958. Some reports maintain that Lewis himself conducted the 100-piece orchestra.
Production
Rock-A-Bye Baby was loosely based on Preston SturgesPreston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
' 1944 film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall...
, which starred Eddie Bracken
Eddie Bracken
Edward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken was an American actor.-Life and career:Bracken was born in Astoria, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. Bracken. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940...
and Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
, and because of this Sturges received a writer's credit on the film, although he did not actually work on the project.
Rock-a-Bye Baby was filmed from 18 November 1957 through 8 January 1958, and opened in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on 16 July 1958, followed by a premiere in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 23 July. It went in general release shortly afterwords. The film was re-released in 1962 on a double bill with another Jerry Lewis film, Don't Give Up The Ship
Don't Give Up The Ship (film)
Don't Give Up the Ship is a comedy directed by Norman Taurog and starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed from October 21, 1958 to January 30, 1959, and released on July 3, 1959 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:...
.