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Sensations of 1945 is a 1944 American musical-comedy film which was released by United Artists. This film was an attempt to recapture the ensemble style of films such as Broadway Melody of 1936 by showcasing a number of top musical and comedy acts of the day, in a film linked together by a loose storyline. Sensations of 1945 stars dancer Eleanor Powell and Dennis O'Keefe as two rival publicists who fall in love, but the film's main purpose is to showcase a variety of different acts, ranging from tightrope walking to comedy to Powell's athletic tap dancing. This film is notable for several reasons. It was Powell's first and only non-MGM film after becoming a star at MGM nearly a decade earlier; it was also her final starring role in a film, after which she would only make a cameo in MGM's Duchess of Idaho in 1950 and some unused footage of her would appear in a 1946 MGM compilation, The Great Morgan. Powell's dance inside a giant pinball machine (as part of the song, "Spin Little Pinball") has been cited by critics variously as both a highlight and as the nadir of her film career. Comic actor W.C. Fields also appears in what was his final movie appearance before his death in 1946. Other performers in this film include Sophie Tucker, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Donegan, Cab Calloway, Gene Rodgers, Woody Herman, and Les Paul. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music Scoring.
Original Release
06/30/1944
US Release
06/30/1944
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Eleanor Powell | Virginia 'Ginny' Walker |
Dennis O'Keefe | Junior Crane |
C. Aubrey Smith | Dan Lindsay |
Eugene Pallette | Gus Crane |
Mimi Forsythe | Julia Westcolt |
Lyle Talbot | Randall |
Hubert Castle | Olaf, The Great Gustafson |
W.C. Fields | W.C. Fields |
Sophie Tucker | Sophie Tucker |
Dorothy Donegan | Dorothy Donegan |
Directors
Writers
Frederick J. Jackson, Dorothy Bennett, Andrew L. Stone
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Eleanor Powell | Virginia 'Ginny' Walker |
Dennis O'Keefe | Junior Crane |
C. Aubrey Smith | Dan Lindsay |
Eugene Pallette | Gus Crane |
Mimi Forsythe | Julia Westcolt |
Lyle Talbot | Randall |
Hubert Castle | Olaf, The Great Gustafson |
W.C. Fields | W.C. Fields |
Sophie Tucker | Sophie Tucker |
Dorothy Donegan | Dorothy Donegan |
The Cristiani Family | The Christianis |
The Pallenberg Bears | The Pallenberg Bears |
Cab Calloway | Cab Calloway |
Woody Herman | Woody Herman |
David Lichine | David |
The Les Paul Trio | Les Paul Trio |
The Copelands | The Copelands |
The Johnson Brothers | Johnson Brothers |
Starless Night | Novelty Act |
The Huberts | The Huberts |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Andrew L. Stone | Producer |
Felix Jackson | Producer |
James Nasser | Producer |
Editors
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
1945 | Oscar | Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture | Nominated |