Jane Powell & Vic Damone - Will You Remember, Sweetheart

Описание: With music by Sigmund Romberg, lyrics and book by Rida Johnson Young, and additional lyrics by Cyrus Wood, 'Maytime' became a major Broadway hit in 1917, clocking up 492 performances spread over four different theatres — Shubert, 44th Street, Broadhurst and Lyric. It starred Peggy Wood who, almost a half-century later, would gain an Academy Award nomination for her role as the Mother Abbess in the film version of 'The Sound of Music', and Charles Purcell. The production's most memorable musical number was the heart-tuggingly melodic "Will You Remember, Sweetheart", the only Romberg song to be carried over to the 1937 MGM movie version that headlined Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
The hugely popular MacDonald and Eddy co-starred in eight movies, of which 'Maytime' was their third and, while I enjoyed many a Hollywood musical filmed in the Thirties and Forties, these did not include any of their vehicles. Far more satisfying to me was the Fifties pairing of Jane Powell and Vic Damone in MGM's 'Rich, Young and Pretty' [1951] and 'Hit the Deck' [1955]. They did also appear in 'Athena' that same year, but in that film Jane's love interest was Edmund Purdom and Damone was coupled with Debbie Reynolds.
Sandwiched between their starring roles was their guest partnership in the Romberg biopic 'Deep In My Heart [1954]. Unashamedly biased where Jane is concerned, I regard their performance of "Will You Remember, Sweetheart" vastly superior to the MacDonald-Eddy version and THE highlight of the movie. Seven decades later it continues to remain a wonderful memory of a then 25 years old Jane and Vic, 26.