Transcript:
Hi, I'm Harry Marks and this is Let's All Go to the Lobby—your introduction to the film you're about to watch. Up next is an early Frank Sinatra vehicle about a theater producer with a hefty hotel bill to pay and a new show he hopes will help him get out of debt.
That is until his girlfriend, played by Gloria DeHaven, falls for playwright Glenn Russell—played by Sinatra, who croons his way into DeHaven's heart thanks to songs provided by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn.
This is 1944's Step Lively, from RKO Pictures.
Step Lively marked the second time this particular plot had been captured on film. It had been made six years earlier with the Marx Brothers and Lucille Ball in the lead roles—back when it was called Room Service.
Step Lively is the second—and last—film that Sinatra made for RKO before he made the leap to MGM the following year, with Anchors Aweigh—alongside Gene Kelly.
Coincidentally, Gloria DeHaven was on loan from MGM at the time in order to make Step Lively.
The film's director, Tim Whelan, had written a bevy of silent films for the likes of Harold Lloyd and Harry Langdon before directing big ticket pictures like 1935's The Murder Man starring Spencer Tracy, and 1940's The Thief of Baghdad starring Conrad Veidt of 7. Casablanca fame.
Step Lively is notable for several reasons. For one, it was the first time Sinatra had ever made top billing. His previous films, like Reveille with Beverly and Higher and Higher—the latter of which also directed by Whelan—had Sinatra listed second and third, respectively.
Another reason was that Step Lively marked the crooner's first on-screen kiss. The film was something of a hit when it came out, no doubt bolstered by young women running out to see their favorite heartthrob lock lips with Miss DeHaven.
But Step Lively is an important film—to me at least—for one very personal reason: that guy right there.
My grandfather, Harry Noble, played a small role as "Father," during the scenes where the actors are rehearsing the play within the movie.
Noble was a songwriter, responsible for songs like the little-known Christmas ballad "Out of the East," as well as the 1965 hit "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," made famous by Mel Carter.
And the role of "Mother" in the film was played by his singing partner, Frances King.
And so, without further ado, here are Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, George Murphy, Adolph Menjou, and of course, Harry Noble—performing the songs of Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn…in Tim Whelan's musical comedy, 1944's Step Lively.