“The Girl Next Door” is a cheerful musical with a lot of unique features. It’s got the usual songs, dances, and romances one would expect from a 1950s musical, but many of its numbers really stand out as being memorable. In fact, you’ll want to watch the movie again and again just to see a favorite number.
This is a 20th Century Fox production starring June Haver, Dan Dailey, and Dennis Day. While these names could sound vaguely familiar to you, you shouldn’t be ashamed if you’ve never heard of them. None of this movie’s cast members rank alongside Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth in terms of enduring popularity and fame. However, they were very successful performers in their day who still have a claim to fame.
June Haver was a 1940s-50s musical star who was styled by Fox to be a second Betty Grable. She was dubbed “The Pocket Grable” because she was only 5’2” and very petite. In fact, June was only cast in this movie after Betty turned it down. This would be Haver’s last movie before she married Fred MacMurray and retired from acting.
The Story
Jeannie Laird is a famous musical star in New York. After touring Europe, she decides to buy a house in upstate New York, where she can enjoy some peaceful domesticity between shows in the Big Apple. Handling the deal is her tight-fisted business manager, Reed Appleton (Day), who is in love with Jeannie’s best friend and former fellow chorus girl, Rosie Green (Cara Williams). Jeannie is surprised when her country cottage turns out to be an ultra-modern architectural wonder, complete with “creepy” butler Samuels (Clifton Sundberg).Jeannie’s fancy housewarming party is interrupted by distractions from her next-door neighbors. She angrily rushes over there to tell them off, but she cools down when she meets them. Her neighbors are Bill Carter (Dailey), his young son, Joe (Billy Gray), a dog, a raccoon, and a collection of other assorted wildlife. Bill draws a cartoon strip for a newspaper about his adventures with his son and their pets. Joe’s mother died years ago, but he and his father are very happy together.
Bill and Jeannie grow very fond of each other, frequently climbing over their shared wall to pay each other visits. Then, Bill goes to see Jeannie’s night club act. Joe is not happy about their blossoming romance, since he’s afraid Jeannie is stealing his father’s affections. Will Bill be able to convince his boy he doesn’t love him any less because of his romance with the girl next door?
I Dream of Jeannie
“The Girl Next Door” stands out from many other classic musicals because of its dream sequences. It features three fantasy montages, two of which are musical numbers that almost classify as dream ballets. The first is “Nowhere Guy,” which begins as a routine Jeannie is performing in her nightclub act. As Bill watches, he imagines himself as her dancing partner, a mysterious leading man who begins and ends as just a shadow. This is my favorite dream sequence, since it tells a very dramatic crime romance story, a complete diversion from the movie’s actual plot. The dynamic score evokes George Gershwin’s jazz-infused classical compositions. June Haver and Dan Dailey do some very impressive dance partnering in this number. Although some of the special effects used in the number, including the tricky shadow partnering, might be impossible onstage, they are highly effective on film.The second dream sequence is Joe’s, in the form of a cartoon. The little boy is imagining a cartoon in his father’s strip. The drawings of Bill, Joe, Benny the dog, and Low Life the raccoon are adorable! In the cartoon, the foursome is going fishing in Canada’s North Woods, but their camping trip is interrupted by Jeannie, who is a beautiful witch. She looks like a cross between Veronica Lake’s character in “I Married a Witch” (1942) and Elizabeth Montgomery’s character in the 1960s sitcom “Bewitched.” This dream sequence doesn’t count as a musical number, but it’s a charming addition nonetheless! Near the end of the film, there’s another adorable cartoon sequence, this time telling the story of Noah’s ark.
Father and Son
“The Girl Next Door” has a lot of great musical numbers in it, written by Joseph Myrow and Mack Gordon. It begins with a group number about “We Girls of the Chorus,” sung by a bunch of chorus girls throughout the opening credits. It segues into a solo for the newly famous Jeannie, “A Quiet Little Place in the Country.” Interestingly, all June Haver’s vocals in this film were overdubbed by Beryl Davis, although Haver was a singer herself. Her excellent dancing is on display, though, in such numbers as “You,” which also features singing and dancing by Dailey and Day. The romantic ballad in the score is “If I Love You a Mountain,” which is sung by Jeannie and Bill and is also crooned by Reed to Rosie. Other songs in the score include “The Great White Way,” “You’re Doin’ Alright,” and “I’m Mad About the Girl Next Door.”One of the cutest numbers is a duet between Bill and Joe, “I’d Rather Have a Pal than a Gal Anytime.” The father and son duo first sing this pledge to stick together against women while washing dishes. They sing, whistle, and toss plates back and forth with impressive skill! They reprise the catchy tune a few times later in the film, as a reminder of their bond.
The most charming aspect of this story is the relationship between this widowed father and his son. They love each other’s company, but they don’t just goof around together. They also have an orderly life, without even the help of a housekeeper. In addition to fun and games, Bill teaches Joe how to cook, wash dishes, camp outdoors, care for animals, and draw cartoons. Although Joe starts the story as a woman hater, he later develops an adorable juvenile romance with a little girl, Sally (Mary Smith), who helps him understand his father’s love for Jeannie. This is a wonderful film for the whole family to enjoy!
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