Wonder Man (film)

Wonder Man
Wonder Man
	Original 1946 cinema poster
Directed by	H. Bruce Humberstone
Screenplay by	Don Hartman ; Melville Shavelson ; Philip Rapp ; Jack Jevne (adaptation) ; Eddie Moran (adaptation)
Story by	Arthur Sheekman
Produced by	Samuel Goldwyn
Starring	Danny Kaye ; Virginia Mayo and Vera Ellen
Cinematography	Victor Milner ; William E. Snyder
Edited by	Daniel Mandell
Music by	Ray Heindorf ; Heinz Roemheld
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	June 8, 1945 (US);
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,450,000

Wonder Man is a 1945 supernatural musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. It is based on a short story by Arthur Sheekman, adapted for the screen by a staff of writers led by Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran, and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.

Plot

Danny Kaye plays a double role as a pair of estranged "super-identical twins". Despite their almost indistinguishable looks, the two have very different personalities. Buster Dingle, who goes by the stage name "Buzzy Bellew", is a loud and goofy performer at the Pelican Club, while Edwin Dingle is a studious, quiet bookworm writing a history book. The two brothers have not seen each other for years.

Buster becomes the witness to a murder committed by mob boss "Ten Grand" Jackson and is promptly murdered himself. He comes back as a ghost, calling on his long-lost brother for help to bring the killer to justice. As a result, the shy Edwin must take his brother's place until after his testimony is given.

In the meantime, he has to dodge Jackson's hitmen and fill in for Buster at the nightclub. To help him out, Buster – who cannot be seen or heard by anyone but Edwin – possesses him, with outrageously goofy results.

Edwin, possessed by Buzzy, performs a bit where he pretends to be a famous Russian singer allergic to flowers. A vase of flowers is nonetheless placed on a table near him, and his song, "Otchi Chornya", is frequently interrupted by his loud and goofy-sounding sneezes.

The love interests of the brothers further complicate the situation; while the murdered Buster was engaged to entertainer Midge Mallon, librarian Ellen Shanley admires Edwin.

In the end, Ellen marries Edwin, while Midge consoles herself by marrying the owner of the Pelican Club.

Cast

Danny Kaye as Edwin Dingle and Buzzy Bellew
Virginia Mayo as Ellen Shanley
Vera-Ellen as Midge Mallon
Donald Woods as Monte Rossen
S. Z. Sakall as Schmidt
Allen Jenkins as Chimp
Edward Brophy as Torso
Otto Kruger as District Attorney
Steve Cochran as Ten Grand Jackson
Richard Lane as Asst. District Attorney
Natalie Schafer as Mrs. Hume
Gisela Werbezirk as Mrs. Schmidt
Alice Mock as Prima Donna
The Goldwyn Girls as Themselves
Huntz Hall as Sailor
Virginia Gilmore as the Sailor's Girlfriend

In addition, an uncredited June Hutton provided the singing voice for Vera-Ellen.

Production credits

Director – H. Bruce Humberstone
Producer – Samuel Goldwyn
Writing – Don Hartman, Melville Shavelson and Philip Rapp (screenplay); Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran (adaptation); Arthur Sheekman (original story)
Cinematography – Victor Milner and William Snyder (directors of photography)
Music – Sylvia Fine (music and lyrics); Ray Heindorf (musical orchestration and conducting)
Art direction – Ernst Fegté (art director), McClure Capps (associate art direction), Howard Bristol (set decoration)
Film editor – Daniel Mandell
Music – Louis Forbes (musical director)
Choreography – John Wray
Costumes – Travis Banton
Makeup – Robert Stephanoff
Special effects – John P. Fulton (special photographic effects)
Technicolor color director – Natalie Kalmus
Sound – Fred Lau (sound recorder)

Awards

The film won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects at the 17th Academy Awards in 1945, and was also nominated for Best Original Song, Best Musical Score, and Best Sound Recording.^[2]

The film was also entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.^[3]

References

^ Variety 12 September 1945 p 12
^ "The 17th Academy Awards (1945) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
^ "Festival de Cannes: Wonder Man". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.

External links

Wonder Man at IMDb
Wonder Man at AllMovie
Wonder Man at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Wonder Man at the TCM Movie Database
Wonder Man at Rotten Tomatoes

[1] Variety 12 September 1945 p 12

[Oscars1945-2] "The 17th Academy Awards (1945) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-19.

[festival-cannes.com-3] "Festival de Cannes: Wonder Man". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.

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