Born to Sing (1942 film)

Born to Sing is a 1942 American feature film directed by Edward Ludwig starring Virginia Weidler and Ray McDonald.

Born to Sing
Film poster
Directed by	Edward Ludwig
Written by	Franz Schulz Harry Clork
Produced by	Frederick Stephani
Starring	Virginia Weidler Ray McDonald Leo Gorcey Rags Ragland Douglas McPhail
Cinematography	Sidney Wagner
Edited by	Robert J. Kern
Music by	Lennie Hayton David Snell
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	1942 (1942)
Running time	82 mins
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$465,000
Box office	$543,000

Plot

Frank Eastman is a down-on-his-luck show tune composer. He wrote some music while in prison which was subsequently stolen by well-to-do show promoter Arthur Cartwright. When Eastman's teenage daughter Patsy befriends some boys her age who plead with Cartwright to get Eastman the credit he is due. Cartwright calls the police, claiming extortion.

When the boys are arrested, they are placed in the same paddy wagon as gangster Pete Detroit. Pete's gang frees them all.

Patsy and the boys decide they can prove Eastman is the true composer if they perform a show before Cartwright's show debuts. They recruit neighborhood children and teens to perform.

Cast

• Virginia Weidler as Patsy Eastman
• Ray McDonald as Steve
• Leo Gorcey as "Snap" Collins
• Rags Ragland as Grunt
• Douglas McPhail as Murray Saunders
• Sheldon Leonard as Pete Detroit
• Henry O'Neill as Frank Eastman
• Larry Nunn as Mike Conroy
• Margaret Dumont as Mrs. E. V. Lawson
• Beverly Hudson as Maggie Cooper
• Richard Hall as Mozart Cooper
• Darla Hood as Quiz Kid
• Lester Matthews as Arthur Cartwright
• Ben Carter as Eight Ball
• Lee Phelps as Mr. Porter
• Connie Gilchrist as Welfare Worker
• Cy Kendall as Police Captain

Reception

The film made $298,000 in the US and Canada and $245,000 elsewhere, making MGM a loss of $138,000.

External links

• Born to Sing at IMDb
• Born to Sing at TCMDB
• Born to Sing at AllMovie
• Born to Sing at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films