Till the Clouds Roll By

1946

Biography / Musical

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 100% · 6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 47% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.3/10 10 2896 2.9K

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Plot summary

Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'.

Director

Top cast

June Allyson as Jane (segment "Leave It to Jane")
Robert Walker as Jerome Kern
Dinah Shore as Julia Sanderson
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
1.22 GB
960*720
English 2.0
NR
us  
29.97 fps
2 hr 15 min
Seeds 15
2.26 GB
1440*1080
English 2.0
NR
us  
29.97 fps
2 hr 15 min
Seeds 29

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by bkoganbing 5 / 10

Fictional Biography of Jerome Kern

Back in the day when Hollywood was doing biographical pictures of some of our most famous popular composers, it was generally acknowledged that they were nothing more than an excuse to string musical numbers together. Till the Clouds Roll By is the best example of that tradition.Jerome Kern wrote some of the best music ever heard in the world. But he was a pretty dull fellow in real life. He married the love of his life, had one daughter and was never linked with any of the famous stars he wrote for. He actually did have two incidents in real life that would have made great screen drama. He had a heart attack that almost took him in 1938 where he was actually dead for several minutes. Kern always claimed after that any music he did write was due to heavenly intervention.When he did die in 1945, he collapsed on the street near Carnegie Hall in late 1945. He was back in New York after several years in Hollywood to negotiate with Rodgers&Hammerstein who were going to produce a musical about Annie Oakley. Of course we know who got that assignment eventually.His wallet must have fallen from his pocket and gotten lifted because Kern remained unidentified for a few days and was in a charity ward at a NYC hospital when he died. Kern in fact died while production plans were being made for Till the Clouds Roll By. Still those two true incidents would have made great cinema.The film opens with a montage of melodies from Show Boat, his greatest musical success. In fact that whole sequence could have been released as a short subject. The rest of the film is Kern in taxi giving a fictional flashback of his life up to Show Boat which premiered in 1927. We fast forward through the next several years when in fact he wrote his best music for stage and then the screen. And there is a musical finale.Curiously enough MGM had two guys on their lot at the time who actually had sung Kern songs on the screen, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and neither of them got in this film. Kathryn Grayson later did full adaptations of Show Boat and Roberta, but hadn't sung anything of Kern's up to that point. The only one in the cast actually performing a song he actually was identified with was Tony Martin. He sang Make Believe with Grayson during the Show Boat sequence, but also had made a hit record of one of Kern's best songs All the Things You Are which came out in 1939. Martin sang it beautifully during the finale.You certainly can't complain about the vocalizing here though. With such additional folks as Lena Horne, Van Johnson, June Allyson, and Judy Garland contributing their talents who could complain.Caleb Peterson who is a black baritone sang Ol Man River in the Show Boat sequence. During the finale, it's sung by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra sings it great, but given the song's identification with Paul Robeson it should have been done by him. Of course Mr. Robeson was having blacklist problems then. Still and all the white suited Sinatra was out of place to say the least.If you're a fan of Jerome Kern as I am, just put the plot out of your head. Sit back and listen to the music.
Reviewed by Space_Mafune 6 / 10

The Music is Great, the Story less so.

This movie, about the life and times of stage composer Jerome Kern works best when it showcases pieces of his famous musical productions such as SHOWBOAT, LEAVE IT TO JANE, SALLY, OH BOY amongst others. The story of his life just proves a lot less interesting...no that's not the right word I'm looking for...I mean a lot less captivating than his music. When we see stars such as Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Tony Martin, Angela Lansbury, June Allyson, Lena Horne, Katherine Grayson, Cyd Charisse, Ray McDonald amongst others singing and performing on stage, there's magic in the air. Robert Walker as Kern does prove likable enough in the lead role and there's an innocent charm at work in these proceedings but things do run on perhaps a little too long.
Reviewed by jotix100 7 / 10

The music man

Jerome Kern is the subject of this biopic that MGM put together as an after thought because even though it's about the great composer's life, little is learned about him. The movie was directed by Richard Whorf as a great spectacle, one in which the magnificent talent employed by the studio is showcased interpreting Mr. Kern's music.The composer is seen arriving in New York and being referred to a man who is supposed to be the best in arranging songs. The fictitious James Hessler is seen as an influential figure who worked close with Mr. Kern and acted as his mentor and collaborator. By his own admission Mr. Kern was not an exciting figure, but he left behind a body of work that still is vital and has survived the passing of time, as his songs became standards.The main reason for watching the film is to enjoy the MGM stars doing what they did best, singing and dancing for our benefit. In a spectacular and colorful finale, we are treated to a wonderful production number involving Jerome Kern's best known songs.Robert Walker's take on the composer makes a bland figure out of Mr. Kern. Van Heflin as Hessler proves to be much better. In the musical numbers we are treated by Lena Horne, June Allison, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Lucille Bremen, Van Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Angela Lansbury and others.Although the film doesn't break new ground, it's a wonderful way to catch up with the stars in the background in some great renditions of Jerome Kern's beautiful songs.
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