The Silver Screen Oasis

Carnegie Hall (1947)

In 1891, an orphan girl, Nora, has arrived from Ireland to live with her grandmother, who works at Carnegie Hall. Nora is permitted to watch the first performance at Carnegie Hall, and is rapt. When she grows up she becomes a cleaner at Carnegie Hall.

A pianist, Tony (Hans Yaray) is reprimanded for being an individual, rather than part of the team (orchestra), and walks out. Nora begs him to stay, but he still walks out. But Nora has made an impression on him and he calls on her. Nora persuades him to return to Carnegie Hall, apologise to the maestro, and ask to be reinstated.

Nora and Tony Marry, and have a son Tony jnr. Tony comes home drunk, he has walked out on the orchestra. He is sick of being told what to do by the maestro, and, when he comes home, by his wife. He storms out of his home, falls down the stairs and is killed.

To support her son, Nora returns to Carnegie Hall as a cleaner. As young Tony grows he is pressured by Nora to become a pianist. When he is grown up Tony (William Prince) meets night club singer Ruth (Martha O`Driscoll) who is with Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra. Tony is offered a job with the orchestra and accepts.

Then follows a row with Nora and a subsequent walkout by Tony, who becomes a success. Ruth ( now Tony`s wife) calls on Nora for advice, she has broken up with Tony. All are reunited when Tony plays and conducts his own composition at Carnegie Hall.

Within the movie are concert performances by Jascha Heifetz, Harry James, Vaughn Monroe, Jan Peerce, Piatigorsky, Ezio Pinza, Lily Pons, Fritz Reiner, Artur Rodzinsky ,Rise Stevens, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, and the New York Philharmonic.

I watched Carnegie Hall (1947) once due to the charm of Marsha Hunt, Frank McHugh, a weakness for backstage stories of every stripe, and an interest in the director Edgar Ulmer, but the remarkable number of top flight musicians included in this movie has made me want to see it again. Here are a few clips, including Harry James!:

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Moira, who is your avatar? At first cursory glance, I thought it was Walter Catlett! But then I realized it was not even close, only the glasses.... My only other guess is Ian Keith?

Check out the signature line, Wen.

One of my favorite (and ubiquitous) British character actors working between 1938 and 1974, the avatar is Richard Wattis. I think the great working class stiff Sid James may have been in even more English movies back then. Yet Wattis would undoubtedly pop up as a character who tried to lord it over Sid's type of fella in any film they might both find themselves in during this era. In any case if there was a need for a bureaucratic manager with a pompous streak in business (The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, The VIPs, Simon and Laura), or institutions (The Prince and the Showgirl, Around the World in 80 Days, The Belles of St. Trinian's) in a movie in those decades, RW was the man to cast. He was especially good when his characters might be leavened with an occasional glimmer of kindness and dry humor.

Ah, yes! The signature line. Of course....

The combination of thirties style glasses and modern looking everything else was really throwing me, plus he looks so rugged in this photo! To me he'll always be Albert Prosser in Hobson's Choice.

JackFavell wrote:Ah, yes! The signature line. Of course....

The combination of thirties style glasses and modern looking everything else was really throwing me, plus he looks so rugged in this photo!

The funny thing was that he seemed to wear those very early type of (almost) Harold Lloydish glasses throughout his life. Maybe it was just part of his shtick. I am not sure I would know him without the glasses...unless, of course, he opened his mouth and his imperiously intoned and sterling accent started to trumpet forth.

I know, I don't think I've ever seen him without those specs, but then again, who knows? He might have been a totally different guy without them and I'm sure I wouldn't recognize him.

I started to watch "Carnegie Hall" but it was too late. I thought it would either be wonderful to have all this music I love be in a film or it would be a drag to get through.

I did love the line early on from Damrosch to Salerno during the Tchaikovsky concerto when he stopped him. He heard Salerno and not Tchaikovsky. That is a bit bold for a musician to so put his stamp on a piece as to override the conductor much less the composer. His leaving all huffy seems to fit some artists though.

If I would have known Rubinstein was playing I would have recorded the rest of it. Having some recordings by several of these conductors would have been fun. I'll look for it again.