Dennis Day Movies

Walter Matthau gives voice to Scrooge in this animated version of A Christmas Carol. Other noted voices include Tom Bosley, Theodore Bikel, Robert Morse and Dennis Day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Singer-comedian Dennis Day guest stars as Cornelius Heatherington Jr. the octogenarian president of the Wesleyan bank. To keep Heatherington in a good mood while he and boss Cheever (Roy Roberts) arrange a banquet in the old guy's honor, Mooney (Gale Gordon) persuades Lucy to be Heatherington's date--a task that requires our heroine to don an elaborate "age" makeup, complete with grey wig and shawl. What results is one of The Lucy Show's most energetic episodes ever, as the young-at-heart Heatherington enthusiastically squires Lucy's superannuated alter ego "Amelia Van Dyne." (Trivia note: At the time this episode was filmed, Dennis Day was actually all of 49 years old--or roughly eight years younger than Lucille Ball!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode of Disneyland consists primarily of four lengthy excerpts from two of Disney's animated features of the 1940s. The Kings' Men Quartet musically narrate the story of those famous feudin' families, the Martins and the Coys, in a sequence originally seen in Make Mine Music (1946). Also from the same source, Jerry Colonna delivers a spirited narration to the cartoon version of "Casey at the Bat", by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. And Dennis Day doubles as the voice of the narrator and the title character of "Johnny Appleseed", a segment lifted from Melody Time (1948). Rounding out the episode is a newly animated musical adaption of "Casey Jones, the Brave Engineer", again featuring the considerable talents of Jerry Colonna. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This lightweight 20th Century-Fox Technicolor musical stars Dan Dailey as Bill Carter, a widowed comic strip illustrator and June Haver as Jeannie, the title character, a glamorous Broadway star. When next-door-neighbors Bill and Jeannie fall in love, Bill's son Joe (Billy Gray) seethes with resentment. Fortunately, Joe's schoolmate (and erstwhile sweetheart) Kitty (Mary Jane Saunders) convinces the boy that the world would be a sorry place without couples, using Noah's Ark as an example. This provides the cue for an extended animated cartoon sequence, courtesy of UPA Studios (then under contract to Columbia: Fox's house cartoonists at Terrytoons weren't quite up to the assignment). Naturally, the film finds time for a few engaging song-and-dance interludes, performed by Dailey and Haver. What really makes The Girl Next Door click is the unforced camaraderie between Dan Dailey and little Billy Gray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

I'll Get By is an updated remake of the 1940 20th Century-Fox musical Tin Pan Alley. William Lundigan and Dennis Day play William Spencer and Freddie Lee respectively, successful song publishers who make hits out of such numbers as "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", "Deep in the Heart of Texas", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "There Will Never Be Another You", and other favorites (the rights to all of these songs were conveniently held by 20th Century-Fox). The partnership has some hard times, especially during the feud between ASCAP and the radio networks, when only public-domain songs like "I Dream of Jeannie" were permitted to be broadcast. Still, Spencer and Lee remain pals throughout, while the boys' romances likewise weather the years. Steve Allen makes a rare film appearance as a wisecracking disc jockey (what a stretch!) while Harry James, Jeanne Crain, Reginald Gardiner, Victor Mature and Dan Dailey show up in uncredited cameos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This third film version of James Hagan's stage play One Sunday Afternoon was directed by Raoul Walsh, who helmed the second adaptation (1941's Strawberry Blonde). This time around, songs have been added to accommodate the talents of Dennis Morgan and Janis Paige. Morgan stars as turn-of-the-century dentist Biff Grimes, who has spent the last ten years regretting that he hadn't married Amy Lind (Dorothy Malone), the girl of his dreams. Biff also harbors a grudge against Amy's husband Hugo Barnstead (Don DeFore), who was instrumental in getting Biff sent to prison on a fraud charge. Unbeknownst to his ever-loving wife Virginia (Janis Paige), who has stood by him through thick and thin, Biff schemes to exact an awful revenge on the two-faced Barnstead-only to discover in the nick of time that he's been better off all along because he didn't wed the avaricious Amy. Though consistently pretty to look at, One Sunday Afternoon pales in comparision to the earlier movie adaptations of the Hagan play, especially Strawberry Blonde, which had the added benefit of Jimmy Cagney in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a plucky young woman launches a successful campaign and becomes mayor of her tiny hometown. Now she must also rid her town of rampant corruption and get it back on track. Songs include: "If You Are There," "You're the Fondest Thing I Am Of," "I'm Not Myself Anymore" (Ned Washington, Phil Ohman), "Sleepy Lagoon" (Jack Lawrence, Eric Coates), "I'm On My Way," "I Do" (Buddy Pepper, Inez James), "Take It And Git" (James T. Marshall, Johnny Green). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

To fully appreciate Buck Benny Rides Again, one must have some familiarity with Jack Benny's radio programs of the 1939-40 season. During this period, Jack's broadcast costars included bandleader Phil Harris, announcer Don Wilson, singer Dennis Day and comedians Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Andy Devine. All five supporting players appear in this film, all playing "themselves" just as Benny does. Falling in love with aspiring singer Joan Cameron (Ellen Drew), Jack vows to go out of his way to impress her. When he learns that Joan is headed for a western dude ranch, he poses as "Buck" Benny, a rootin'-tootin'-shootin' 100% genuine cowboy. In truth, both Jack and his valet Rochester are terrified at the Wide Open Spaces, certain that they'll be scalped by Indians at the first opportunity, but through a series of silly coincidences Benny manages to convince Joan that he's an honest-to-goodness frontiersman. The plot thickens when a pair of modern-day desperadoes (Ward Bond and Morris Ankrum) plot to rob the dude ranch's safe, but our hero saves both the day and his girlfriend, with the unsolicited but very welcome assistance of his pet polar bear Carmichael (the same bruin who allegedly ate the gas man on Jack's radio show). Benny fans will get an extra kick out of seeing his legendary Maxwell in all its sputtering, backfiring glory, while old-time radio aficionados will enjoy hearing the voices of Mary Livingstone (Mrs. Benny) and Jack's "friendly enemy" Fred Allen. Frank Loesser's musical score includes such hit-parade favorites as "Say It (Over and Over Again)" and "My! My!", the latter sung by Rochester to his sweetie Josephine (Theresa Harris). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide