Sing Boy Sing (film)
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| Sing, Boy, Sing | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Henry Ephron |
| Written by | Claude Binyon Paul Monash (story) |
| Starring | Tommy Sands Lili Gentle |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Budget | $860,000[1] |
Sing, Boy, Sing is a 1958 musical-drama film, released by 20th Century Fox. The film starred two newcomers, Tommy Sands and Lili Gentle.
The film was an expansion of the January 1957 Kraft Television Theatre episode "The Singin' Idol", also starring Sands. Sands, billed by the studio as a potential new teen idol, played an Elvis Presley-type singer.
The film was Gentle's only starring role, and her penultimate film appearance. 20th Century Fox had plans to promote Gentle as its new dashing red-head, but the right type of roles to offer her did not materialize.[citation needed]
Sing, Boy, Sing was released in the United States in February 1958, to positive reviews, but did rather poorly at the box-office, despite being somewhat popular with teenage audiences.[citation needed]
Cast
- Tommy Sands as Virgil Walker
- Lili Gentle as Leora Easton
- Edmond O'Brien as Joseph Sharkey
- Nick Adams as C.K. Judd
- John McIntire as Rev. Farley Walker
- Diane Jergens as Pat Barry
- Josephine Hutchinson as Caroline Walker
- Jerry Paris as Arnold Fisher
- Tami Conner as Ginnie
- Regis Tommey as Rev. Easton
- Art Ford as Disc Jockey
- Bill Randle as Disc Jockey
- Biff Collie as Disc Jockey
The Singing Idol
| "Sing Boy Sing (film)" |
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The movie was based on the episode The Singing Idol. This episode in turn drew heavily on The Jazz Singer.[2]
Tommy Sands had been discovered by Colonel Tom Parker who also managed Elvis Presley. Parker got Sands cast in the lead role on the show, which turned him into a star overnight. Sands later said that because of this "Colonel Parker was the best thing that ever happened to me."[3]
A song from the episode, "Teenage Crush", went to number two on the charts and sold over a million copies.[4]
References
- ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p251
- ^ Thomas Doherty, Teenagers And Teenpics: Juvenilization Of American Movies, Temple University Press, 2010 p 168 accessed 18 January 2014
- ^ Interview with Tommy Sands at Elvis 2001 site accessed 18 January 2014
- ^ Tommy Sands biography accessed 18 January 2014