Call Me Mister

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For the 1966 book of the same name, see Call Me Mister.

Call Me Mister is a revue with sketches by Arnold Auerbach and words and music by Harold Rome. The title refers to returning soldiers who expected to be addressed as civilians instead of by their military rank.

The Broadway production, directed by Robert H. Gordon, opened on April 18, 1946 at the National Theatre. It transferred twice, to the Majestic and the Plymouth, before completing its run of 734 performances. The cast included Betty Garrett, George Irving, Maria Karnilova, Harry Clark, Jules Munshin, and Lawrence Winters. A cast recording was released by Decca Records.

In 1951, 20th Century Fox released a Lloyd Bacon-directed film version with a storyline corresponding with current events. Only three songs from the Broadway production were retained. Set in Japan during the transition period between World War II and the Korean War, it starred Betty Grable as American USO entertainer Kay Hudson, who crosses paths with former husband Shep Dooley (Dan Dailey), determined to win her back despite the presence of her current beau, Capt. Johnny Comstock (Dale Robertson). The plot basically served as an excuse for Grable and Dailey to demonstrate their dancing skills in routines choreographed by the legendary Busby Berkeley, who had collaborated with Bacon on the 1933 film classic 42nd Street. Cast as a GI who hates the army, newcomer Danny Thomas performed a truncated version of his own nightclub act, and an unbilled Bobby Short played the piano in several sequences, and sang Going Home Train, one of the few songs retained from the show. Benay Venuta, Richard Boone, and Jeffrey Hunter rounded out the cast.

[edit] Song list on original cast recording

• Going Home Train
• Along With Me
• Little Surplus Me
• Red Ball Express
• Military Life
• Yuletide, Park Avenue
• When We Meet Again
• Face on the Dime
• South America, Take It Away
• Call Me Mister

[edit] External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing
• Internet Movie Database listing

v • d • e Harold Rome musicals Pins and Needles · Sing Out the News · Let Freedom Sing · Call Me Mister · Bless You All · Wish You Were Here · Fanny · Destry Rides Again · I Can Get It for You Wholesale · Harold Rome's Gallery · The Zulu and the Zayda · Scarlett (Gone with the Wind)

v • d • e Busby Berkeley: Choreographer and director Broadway pre-Hollywood Holka Polka (chor,1925) · The Wild Rose (chor,1926) · Lady Do (chor,1927) · A Connecticut Yankee (chor,1927) · White Eagle (chor,1927) · Present Arms (chor,1928) · Earl Carroll's Vanities (1928) (chor,1928) · Good Boy (chor,1928) · Rainbow (chor,1928) · Hello, Daddy (chor,1928) · Pleasure Bound (chor,1929) · A Night in Venice (chor,1929) · Broadway Nights (chor,1929) · The Street Singer (dir & prod,1929) · Nine-Fifteen Revue (chor,1930) · The International Review (chor,1930) · Sweet and Low (chor,1930) 1930s Whoopee! (chor,1930) · Kiki (chor,1931) · Palmy Days (chor,1931) · Flying High (chor,1931) · Sky Devils (chor,1932) · Girl Crazy (chor,1932) · Night World (chor,1932) · Bird of Paradise (film) (chor,1932) · The Kid From Spain (chor,1932) · 42nd Street (chor,1933) · Gold Diggers of 1933 (chor,1933) · She Had To Say Yes (dir,1933) · Footlight Parade (chor,1933) · Roman Scandals (chor,1933) · Dames (dir mus nmbrs,1934) · Fashions of 1934 (chor & dir mus nmbrs,1934) · Wonder Bar (chor,1934) · Gold Diggers of 1935 (dir & chor,1935) · Bright Lights (dir,1935) · I Live For Love (dir & chor,1935) · In Caliente (chor & dir mus nmbrs,1935) · Stars Over Broadway (chor & dir mus nmbrs,1935) · Stage Struck (dir,1936) · Varsity Show (dir finale,1937) · The Singing Marine (chor & dir mus nmbrs,1937) · Gold Diggers of 1937 (dir mus nmbrs,1937) · The Go Getter (dir,1937) · Hollywood Hotel (dir & chor,1937) · Men Are Such Fools (dir,1938) · Gold Diggers in Paris (chor & dir mus nmbrs,1938) · Garden of the Moon (dir,1938) · Comet Over Broadway (dir,1938) · Broadway Serenade (dir finale,1939) · They Made Me A Criminal (dir,1939) · Fast and Furious (dir,1939) · Babes in Arms (dir,1939) · The Wizard of Oz (Scarecrow's dance-cut,1939) 1940s Forty Little Mothers (dir,1940) · Strike Up The Band (dir,1940) · Blonde Inspiration (dir,1941) · Lady Be Good (dir mus nmbrs,1941) · Ziegfeld Girl (dir mus nmbrs,1941) · Babes on Broadway (dir,1941) · For Me and My Gal (dir,1942) · Calling All Girls (chor & dir mus nmbrs,1942) · Born to Sing (dir finale,1942) · Cabin in the Sky (dir "Shine" seq,1943) · The Gang's All Here (dir & chor,1943) · Three Cheers for the Girls (chor,1943) · All Star Musical Revue (dir mus nmbrs,1945) · Cinderella Jones (dir,1946) · Romance on the High Seas (chor,1948) · Take Me Out to the Ball Game (dir,1949) 1950s Annie Get Your Gun (dir-cut,1950) · Big Town (dir TV series,1950) · Weeks With Love (chor,1950) · Call Me Mister (chor,1950) · Ticket to Broadway( chor,1951) · The Blue Veil (dir,1951) · Dollar Mermaid (chor,1952) · Town Girl (chor,1953) · Easy to Love (chor,1953) · Rose Marie (chor,1954) 1960s Billy Rose's Jumbo (chor & dir 2nd unit,1962) Broadway post-Hollywood No, No, Nanette (prod supv,1971)