By the Light of the Silvery Moon (film)

1953 American musical film by David Butler

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| David Butler
Written by| Booth Tarkington (Penrod stories)
Screenplay by| Irving Elinson
Robert O'Brien
Produced by| William Jacobs
Starring| Doris Day
Gordon MacRae
Cinematography| Wilfred M. Cline (as Wilfrid M. Cline)
Edited by| Irene Morra
Music by| Gus Edwards (By the Light of the Silvery Moon)
Max Steiner (music adapted by)
Distributed by| Warner Brothers

Release date

* March 26, 1953 (1953-03-26)

Running time

| 101 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $2,125,000 (US)[1]

By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a 1953 American musical film directed by David Butler and starring Doris Day and Gordon MacRae.[2][3] As with the film's predecessor On Moonlight Bay, the film is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington.

## Plot

[edit]

The Winfield family lives in small-town Indiana as daughter Marjorie's boyfriend William Sherman returns from military duty in World War I. Their unstable romance provides the backdrop for other family crises, caused mainly by son Wesley's wild imagination.

## Cast

[edit]

* Doris Day as Marjorie Winfield
* Gordon MacRae as William 'Bill' Sherman
* Billy Gray as Wesley Winfield
* Leon Ames as George Winfield
* Rosemary DeCamp as Alice Winfield
* Mary Wickes as Stella
* Russell Arms as Chester Finley
* Maria Palmer as Renee LaRue
* Howard Wendell as John H. Harris
* Walter Flannery as Ronald 'PeeWee' Harris

## Music

[edit]

* "By the Light of the Silvery Moon"
* “Your Eyes Have Told Me So”
* “Just One Girl”
* “Ain’t We Got Fun”
* “If You Were the Only Girl”
* “Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee”
* “I’ll Forget You”
* “King Chanticleer”

## Reception

[edit]

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "Despite the obviousness of the humor and the conventionality of the small-town tone—achieved and directed by David Butler as though he were reading from a prop department catalogue—the singing of several old songs hits by Miss Day and Mr. MacRae is agreeably melodious. (We won't mention the anachronism of the songs.) ... As usual, the two young people have that musical comedy sparkle and splash that is utterly artificial but consistent with the sort of work they do. On one point, however, we will quibble: that is, when someone says, "Would you care to go to the Nickelodeon with me?" In 1919? Warner Brothers, for shame!"[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954
2. ^ Variety film review; March 25, 1953, page 6.
3. ^ Harrison's Reports film review; March 28, 1953, page 50.
4. ^ Crowther, Bosley (1953-03-27). "'By Light of the Silvery Moon,' Warners Family Musical, Opens at Music Hall". The New York Times. p. 28.

## External links

[edit]

* By the Light of the Silvery Moon at IMDb
* By the Light of the Silvery Moon at Rotten Tomatoes
* By the Light of the Silvery Moon at the TCM Movie Database
* By the Light of the Silvery Moon at AllMovie
* By the Light of the Silvery Moon at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Article at DorisDay.net

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by David Butler

* High School Hero (1927)
* News Parade (1928)
* Win That Girl (1928)
* Prep and Pep (1928)
* Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (1929)
* Chasing Through Europe (1929)
* High Society Blues (1930)
* Just Imagine (1930)
* A Connecticut Yankee (1931)
* Delicious (1931)
* Business and Pleasure (1932)
* Hold Me Tight (1933)
* My Weakness (1933)
* Bottoms Up (1934)
* Handy Andy (1934)
* Have a Heart (1934)
* Bright Eyes (1934)
* The Little Colonel (1935)
* Doubting Thomas (1935)
* The Littlest Rebel (1935)
* Captain January (1936)
* White Fang (1936)
* Pigskin Parade (1936)
* Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937)
* You're a Sweetheart (1937)
* Kentucky Moonshine (1938)
* Straight, Place and Show (1938)
* Kentucky (1938)
* East Side of Heaven (1939)
* That's Right – You're Wrong (1939)
* If I Had My Way (1940)
* You'll Find Out (1940)
* Caught in the Draft (1941)
* Playmates (1941)
* Road to Morocco (1942)
* They Got Me Covered (1943)
* Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
* Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944)
* The Princess and the Pirate (1944)
* San Antonio (1945)
* Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946)
* The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946)
* My Wild Irish Rose (1947)
* Two Guys from Texas (1948)
* John Loves Mary (1949)
* Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
* It's a Great Feeling (1949)
* The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
* The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
* Tea for Two (1950)
* Lullaby of Broadway (1951)
* Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951)
* Where's Charley? (1952)
* April in Paris (1952)
* By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
* Calamity Jane (1953)
* The Command (1954)
* King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)
* Jump into Hell (1955)
* Glory (1956)
* The Girl He Left Behind (1956)
* The Right Approach (1961)
* C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967)

This article about a musical film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template