You Were Meant for Me

This 1948 film starts its action 20 years earlier in 1928 when the country was in the throes of the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age when it seemed like the national party would never end. You Were Meant For Me stars Dan Dailey as a Rudy Vallee like band-leader with Jeanne Crain as the small town girl whom he falls for and marries while on tour. One thing though, Vallee never had the dance moves that Dan Dailey had. I always marveled at how gracefully that big man moved.

If this had been done over at Warner Brothers Jack Carson would have been cast in the lead. Dailey is quite the party animal when good times are plentiful. But the stock market crash comes even with bookings canceling all around him, Dailey feels the need to put up a big front. The man needs a reality trip and Crain is ready to give it to him.

The score is taken from various standards of the Roaring Twenties and that's the best part of the film. Oscar Levant is in the cast as his usual witty and cynical self and we hear him do Gershwin's Concerto in F. Percy Kilbride and Selena Royle are Crain's small town, home town parents who give out some practical advice.

If you like the music of the Twenties than You Were Meant For Me is meant for you.

This is an enjoyable bit of nostalgia but to call it an original script is nonsense. The first 20 minutes are so closed to Fox's "Orchestra Wives" it borders on plagiarism. Even the bus that leaves Jeanne Crane in the arms of Dailey is the same that left Ann Rutherford in the grips of George Montgomery.

The score is fun, but written in 1940s Style - not 192Os.

Dailey's dancing is delightful. Crane is beautiful. Levant is sufficiently sarcastic, and it's always fun to see and hear Percy Kilbride.

The plot gets more interesting after the market crash.

One of the musical highlights is Oscar performing an excerpt from Concerto in F.

This is enjoyable fun.

that really is Levant at piano "You Were Meant For Me" stars two second-tier stars, Jeanne Crain and Dan Daily and it's obvious that it's a lesser Twentieth Century-Fox production. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Provided you like old formulaic films, you'll have a nice time watching it.

Dan Daily stars as a big band leader back in the late 1920s. A young fan (Crain) falls in love with him and they are soon married. Life for the couple consists of them begin on the road all the time, but it works since they are so much in love. But, when the stock market crashes in late 1929, bookings are canceled right and left and Daily and his band cannot find work. So, they move back home with her family. The problem is that Daily is used to being a big-shot and after a while this gets in the way of him finding work, as his sights are simply set too high. With his wife about to have a baby, she's simply had too much--too many dreams, too much talk and too much bragging. So, she explodes and he takes a walk. What's next? See the film.

I noticed that one reviewer didn't like the ending. Well, perhaps it is a little too perfect, but I liked it. As for the rest of the film, it's pleasant fluff--undemanding but pleasant. Not a film you should rush to see but worth your time if you have nothing else to do.

The movie puzzles me. On the whole, it's a rather dour little musical, but not without its moments. However, I'm struck that the cast is not well served by the quality of the production. Given TCF's reputation for gloss, particularly in its musicals, this production almost looks like a neglected child. The b&w is undistinguished, the direction uninspired, the production numbers meager and the script erratic, particularly in the final few minutes. It's as if the producers wanted a quick, happy wrap regardless of what went before. Given Crain's rising star, State Fair (1945) and Leave Her to Heaven (1945), the studio's apparent disregard seems doubly puzzling.

Nonetheless, Crain's charm shines through as she battles to keep her marriage together through both high times and low. Dailey too, is engaging as a bandleader who has trouble coping when the Depression suddenly dries up his gigs. Happily, there's some genuine chemistry in their pairing. To me, the high point comes when he and Crain break into an impromptu little dance in the drugstore. It's a charming little display of musical talent, helped along by the movie's generally tuneful selection of songs. Speaking of talent, Levant's gift for dourly humorous asides is ill served by director Bacon. Levant is primarily a personality, not an actor, so he needs a lot of coaching, which his uneasy performance apparently didn't get. Too bad, since he can be delightfully sour when more comfortable.

All in all, the two stars shine through even though the production doesn't.

"You Were Meant for Me" has all the elements of a very nice film. We have a dance band and Jeanne Craine falling for and marrying band leader Dan Dailey over night.

All goes well until the stock market crashes in 1929 and the band is forced to disband.

Dailey and Jeanne move back with her parents, Percy Kilbride, who, for a change is not funny here and the dependable Selena Royle who really never was known for comedic gifts. Their lack of it is showing here. Kilbride,in particular, wastes chances to enhance his part. Known for deadpan humor, it is missing here.

Invariably, when Dailey refuses a job offer that he considers beneath him, the two argue and Dailey runs off to N.Y.

It is at this point that the film goes awry. Dailey, at the bus depot, looks out at Bloomington, Indiana. He runs back to Craine where he finds long-time pal Oscar (Oscar Levant) at the house. Kilbride comes home from his job. By the next scene, Dailey is leading a band and Levant is working selling bricks at Kilbride's place.

Craine and Dailey dance and the film ends. There was no proper segue leading up to this end.

In addition, the few dance numbers are too stilted. Craine, tries but gives little pep to this film. Song and dance man Dailey is wasted here.