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* [[Chester Conklin]] – sailor (uncredited)
* [[Chester Conklin]] – sailor (uncredited)


==Production==
The film was originally known as ''Heat Wave''.<ref>Rainer Seeking Gala Trail to Hollywood
Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 04 Sep 1945: A2. </ref>
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 02:02, 20 December 2014

Song of Scheherazade
1947 Theatrical Poster
Directed byWalter Reisch
Written byWalter Reisch
Produced byEdward Kaufman
Edward Dodds
StarringYvonne De Carlo
Jean-Pierre Aumont
Eve Arden
Brian Donlevy
Charles Kullman (as Charles Kullmann)
Elena Verdugo
Phillip Reed
John Qualen
George Dolenz
CinematographyHal Mohr
William V. Skall
Edited byFrank Gross
Music byNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Miklós Rózsa
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal International Pictures
Release date
1947
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish

Song of Scheherazade is a 1947 American musical film directed by Walter Reisch. It tells the story of an imaginary episode in the life of the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov ("Nicky"; Jean-Pierre Aumont), in 1865, when he was a young naval officer on shore leave in Morocco. It also features Yvonne De Carlo as a Spanish dancer named Cara de Talavera, Eve Arden as her mother, and Brian Donlevy as the ship's captain. Charles Kullman (credited as Charles Kullmann), a tenor with the Metropolitan Opera, plays the ship's doctor, Klin, who sings two of Rimsky-Korsakov's melodies.

Rimsky-Korsakov was indeed a naval officer, but the film otherwise bears no relationship to reality[citation needed].

Plot

Rimsky-Korsakov, a midshipman in the Imperial Russian Navy, secretly yearns to be a composer, but naval regulations prevent him from doing so. He uses a stopover in Tangiers to work on his next composition, Scheherazade (which is actually a symphonic suite but in the film is a ballet), with the tacit support of his captain. There he meets Cara de Talavera and her mother, and romantic events and complications ensue. He has to leave to return home to Russia, where his ballet is staged, but Cara unexpectedly turns up as one of the dancers, and they are reunited.[1][2]

Soundtrack and choreography

The film contains much colourful music and dancing. The choreography was by Tilly Losch. Rimsky-Korsakov's music was orchestrated by Miklós Rózsa and (uncredited) Eugene Zador. Themes by Rimsky-Korsakov that are used include: "Song of India" from Sadko (sung by Charles Kullman); Flight of the Bumblebee from The Tale of Tsar Saltan; "Hymn to the Sun" from The Golden Cockerel; Capriccio Espagnol, and Scheherazade.[3]

Cast

Production

The film was originally known as Heat Wave.[4]

References

  1. ^ Answers.com
  2. ^ Amazon.com
  3. ^ Soundtrack
  4. ^ Rainer Seeking Gala Trail to Hollywood Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 04 Sep 1945: A2.