MARIO GAUCI
This Honorary Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning one-reeler is renowned for the participation of Frank Sinatra (then still at the beginning of his prolific and varied career) in both his musical and acting guises; he appears as himself recording a new song and then running into a number of children bullying a Jewish boy while taking a cigarette break. This leads him to lecturing them on tolerance by also crooning the title song: curiously enough, the film-makers being still in fervent anti-Japanese wartime mood (is that not in itself a racist attitude?!), he uses as example of different religious groups working in unison towards a common goal the case of the multi-ethnic crew of an Allied aircraft bombing an enemy submarine! That said, it is nicely handled all the way and never quite as sappy as it could have been – with the youths' response to the star's influence developing into a kind of adulation in much the same way The Dead End Kids did at the molding of James Cagney in ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (1938)...but, of course, Sinatra here proves a force for decency and understanding as opposed to encouraging truancy! Ironically, the screenplay was penned by Albert Maltz – soon to be one of "The Hollywood Ten", industry professionals that were infamously imprisoned for refusing to retract their presumed Communist affiliations!
MartinHafer
Frank Sinatra starred in this odd little short from RKO that is now in the public domain. The film came out at about the same time the war ended and is a nice plea for religious tolerance.The film begins with Sinatra on stage singing. After leaving the stage, he walks out into the alley and finds a group of kids picking on another because of his religion. Instead of yelling at the boys (or helping them for that matter), Sinatra delivers a nice civics lesson on religious toleration and equates prejudice with fascism. The kids seem to get the lesson but then, out of the blue, Sinatra begins singing a song that, frankly (get it?), kids would have hated. He had a lovely voice but unfortunately I think this detracted from the excellent message he gave to the kids about tolerance. It's a case of a good message with too much singing--even if the guy singing is Frank Sinatra. It's also an interesting curio--a nice historical piece that is often overlooked...plus it's quite touching even if it seems a bit schmaltzy.
bkoganbing
This short subject gathered kudos from all kinds of places for its plea for religious toleration. After a session at a recording studio Frank Sinatra leaves and comes upon a group of kids beating up on another because he was Jewish. He lectured them as only an American icon could about the meaning of prejudice and what we had just fought for against the Nazis. The meaning could not be clearer.Both songs from this short subject were recorded and sold big for Columbia records. If You Are But A Dream and the song written for the film, The House I Live In. The latter is one of the best songs about an idealized version of America, we'd all like to strive for.Sinatra in fact recorded The House I Live In again during the Sixties for a joint album he did for his Reprise record label. The album is now a rarity and it shouldn't be. His collaborators were Bing Crosby and Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians with the orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle.Axel Stordahl was Sinatra's primary music conductor and arranger during the forties. When he died that position eventually fell to Nelson Riddle. Stordahl does the orchestration for the short and the Columbia record, Riddle for the Reprise record. Sinatra aficionados and others should listen to both back to back and compare. And catch this worthwhile film whenever it is shown.
cjgruner
This is a very excellent movie. Although it is very short (10 minutes or so) it shows an ideal of America. Frank Sinatra used this vehicle to show his attitude toward this ideal of tolerance and understanding. It is worth seeing by just about anyone but I would especially like to see it shown to young people. It is probably too short to ever be a commercial success and I have not been able to find a VHS or DVD copy of it anywhere. I have only seen it twice and heard the complete sound track (not just the music, but the entire dialog as well) twice. I would certainly like to have it in my personal collection.
AD
