Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Hey Boy! Hey Girl! (1959), 6+ b/w, fs

KS recruits LP & band to play at fundraiser for youth, he recruits her to sing with the band; her little brother causes friction.
1h 23min | Musical | 5 August 1959 | b/w, fs
Director: David Lowell Rich
Writers: Raphael Hayes, James West
Stars: Louis Prima, Keely Smith, James Gregory, Henry Slate.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052887/
Watched online, mediocre print, very wobbly (vhs artifacts).

10 songs in the Soundtracks, only 2 written by LP.

LP & KS are the antecedent to Sonny & Cher. Cher (b. '46) met Sonny in '62. In this film, LP & KS play people who just met, so they don't have the bickering act on stage that I relate to S&C's TV shows. KS also started singing with LP at age 16; they divorced in '61. She was his 4th of 5 wives. She's part Cherokee, as Cher's mother is reported to be.

This looks like their only film acting together. They also appeared in Senior Prom (1958); looks like they were a music act there. I didn't find that online. And in Ocean's 11 (1960) they have a performance credit. After that, their collaborations jump to '80, just Soundtrack stuff. She has a 3rd acting credit: Thunder Road (1958).

This film is cute, and we get some good tunes. LP is his exuberant self, and KS plays nearly deadpan, but not quite. It's light entertainment, but because I like them, I like the film.

Columbia, dir. Rich; 6+