It Happened in Brooklyn (1947) User Reviews

Sinatra Sings Opera!

[harry-76 · 7/10 · 29 May 2000]

It occurs in the cafe scene in "It Happened in Brooklyn." Sinatra joins Katherine Grayson in the famed duet, "La ci darem la mano" from Mozart's "Don Giovanni." What a novelty--and the two don't do too badly together, though the presentation is somewhat in a buffo style.

It points up the fact that Sinatra was born to be a singer; indeed, if he'd been endowned with an operatic vocal instrument, he probably would have been an opera singer. In fact, when he was coming out of his Palm Springs "retirement" to return to the stage, he reportedly got Met Opera baritone Robert Merrill to coach him. And in his latter days, became quite of fan and friend of Pavarotti and the "other two tenors." He also recorded Brahm's "Lullaby," (which he featured in "Anchors Aweigh") and an impressive "Soliloquy" from "Carosel."

There's just no doubt about it: the man loved to sing. In his second major musical for MGM, "It Happened in Brooklyn" Sinatra solos in some marvelous songs by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, including "Time After Time," "It's the Same Old Dream," and "The Brooklyn Bridge," while Grayson reprises the first and is featured in the complete "Bell Song" from Delibes' opera, "Lakme." Grayson is also featured in an novel arrangement based on Bach's "Two-Part Invention in F Major," featuring a children's choir and strings. Other delights are "I Believe" and "It's Gotta Come from the Heart," in which the "Ol' Snazolla," Jimmy Durante, joins Frankie for a comic romp.

With all these tunful treats, plus fine support from Peter Lawford and Gloria Graham, one would think this musical were a blockbuster. Not really so, surprisingly. It seems to be a case of the parts not quite equalling the whole. However, it's still a personal favorite, as these musical selections are just plain fun to hear and enjoy. So "It Happened in Brooklyn" is a staple in my video collection, which I replay with great pleasure and downright good fun.

Fantastic 1947 Classic Film

[whpratt1 · 8/10 · 8 June 2008]

Enjoyed this picture from the beginning to the very end with great old time musical numbers sung by Frank Sinatra, (Danny Webson Miller) who returns from the Army after four years of service to his hometown of Brooklyn, New York and meets up with some of his old friends. One of the friends is Jimmy Durante, (Nick Lombardi) who really stole the entire film in almost every scene. Kathryn Grayson, (Anne Fielding) had such a fantastic opera voice and sang some very famous Classical musical numbers. It was enjoyable seeing Peter Lawford, (Jamie Shellgrove) give a great song and dance number and also a blooming romance between him and Anne Fielding. Even Gloria Grahame, (Nurse) gave a great supporting role as a nurse taking care of Danny while he was in the service and how he sort of remembers her at the very end of the picture. Great film, don't miss this great Classic from 1947. Enjoy.

One of the more agreeable MGM musicals in B&W with Sinatra and Lawford...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 11 May 2008]

FRANK SINATRA's voice was in a warm and mellow tone when he did IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN and this little musical uses him musically in a nice way. He gets to warble an invigorating ditty as a serviceman joyous to be back in Brooklyn, so he belts out "Brooklyn Bridge" with baritone finesse. It almost sounds like a number out of ON THE TOWN. But it's his mellow rendering of "Time After Time" that brings back memories of how he crooned his way to stardom and became a teen idol in the early '40s.

Frank is a kind of shy guy here, but gets to loosen up after awhile thanks to the friendship of JIMMY DURANTE as a fellow Brooklynite, a janitor who lets Frank share his apartment until he can find a job. KATHRYN GRAYSON is the pretty girl Sinatra takes up with, both of them with singing aspirations. He even does a "Don Giovanni" duet with Grayson and it's not bad at all. Grayson does a nice solo spot on "The Bell Song" from Lakme and handles her acting chores in a pleasant enough manner. Likewise, even PETER LAWFORD gets to belt out a number for a bunch of record fans in a music store, loosening up to a little ditty called "Whose Baby Are You?" with a swing beat.

Durante and Sinatra have fun on a number called "The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart" and Sinatra is at his best crooning a ballad called "It's the Same Old Dream."

True, it's all rather formula as far as the storyline goes, but it's done in such an unpretentious way that it manages to charm most of the time. GLORIA GRAHAME has a small role at the beginning as a nurse from Brooklyn who doubts whether Sinatra hails from that borough.

I can't say much for the direction of Richard Thorpe. It moves at a snail's pace through its running time of one hour and forty-five minutes.

Durante, Sinatra, Grayson Charm

[Enrique-Sanchez-56 · 11 October 2001]

Very enjoyable musical romp. Wonderful songs and adaptations.

The stars bring us much to smile about. JIMMY DURANTE steals every scene he's in - even when SINATRA is with him. A great tribute to the magnetic personality of the great and good-hearted "snoz".

Young BOBBY LONG charms us with spectacular dancing and fresh voice in "I BELIEVE". Too bad we never saw him again. Show business is sure a tough business.

In the world of colorful musicals, the quiet charm of this one never leaves you feeling cheated just because it's in B&W.

Not bad MGM musical with Sinatra in his early film days

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 1 August 2020]

-Shy singer Danny Miller (Frank Sinatra) musters out of the army and returns home to Brooklyn. He ends up rooming with school janitor Nick (Jimmy Durante), while romancing music teacher Anne (Kathryn Grayson). A love triangle forms when Danny's acquaintance Jamie (Peter Lawford) comes over from England in order to try his hand in the music business.

There's a lot of music, and fans of early Sinatra will find much to enjoy. He attempts a semi-operatic duet with Grayson which was ill-advised. Grayson naturally gets a showcase operatic number late in the film during which the momentum screeches to a halt. Durante is amusing, and gets a couple of duets with Frank. Gloria Grahame makes the most of her small role as an army nurse at the film's start.

It Happened in Brooklyn was a wonderful musical teaming of Sinatra, Grayson, Lawford, and especially Durante

[tavm · 7/10 · 18 June 2009]

Before they became members of The Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford were both M-G-M contract players taking any picture offered them. So it was that one of their early teamings was in the studio's black-and-white musical entry, It Happened in Brooklyn. The other stars are Kathryn Grayson and the ever scene-stealing Jimmy Durante. The thin plots concern show biz aspirants in a romantic triangle helping an aspiring piano prodigy one age-17-shy of the requirement for a scholarship. That's pretty much it in a nutshell but despite that the acting performances, which includes another player from my favorite movie It's a Wonderful Life-Gloria Grahame-who plays an army nurse from Frankie's New York State hometown, are passably witty especially Durante who's hilarious whenever he starts talking in a falsetto. Among the nice original songs written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne was one called "Time After Time" which was nicely song by Sinatra and Grayson in separate segments. Grayson also has a beautiful fantasy sequence from the opera "Lakme" and Lawford warbles an entertaining swing number in front of a bunch of teenagers. Sinatra and Grayson also share an Italian opera number. The highlight, however, was Durante and Sinatra's duet on "The Song's Gotta Come From the Heart" with The Voice during his Schnozzola impression at the end. While the movie seemed a little longish at 103 minutes, I quite enjoyed It Happened in Brooklyn and the way things ended up. P.S. The "Time After Time" song here is definitely not the same as the one later sung by Cyndi Lauper in the '80s!

Surprisingly fresh and entertaining

[Openheart1 · 6/10 · 12 December 2006]

This movie deserves some rediscovery as a pre-50s gem of innocent witty dialogue, fresh performances, entertaining sets and as well as for its obliviousness to international boundaries. Jimmy Durante is a standout who well deserved his fame as a beloved comic. This movie deserves some rediscovery as a pre-50s gem of innocent witty dialogue, fresh performances, entertaining sets and as well as for its obliviousness to international boundaries. Jimmy Durante is a standout who well deserved his fame as a beloved comic. This movie deserves some rediscovery as a pre-50s gem of innocent witty dialogue, fresh performances, entertaining sets and as well as for its obliviousness to international boundaries. Jimmy Durante is a standout who well deserved his fame as a beloved comic.

A flawed, but entertaining piece

[Calysta · 7/10 · 12 September 2000]

There are many examples of classic film that have mistakenly been filmed in a garish process of technicolour, often when artificial sets are fiendishly evident. In the case of IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN, it would have been far more beneficial otherwise, even if the studio-bound Brooklyn sets were lacking in realistic qualities…simply to merely awaken the audience and poignantly show what could have been a greatly livened and exciting musical in MGM's top ranks. The faded shades of black and white had me continually straining to find any signs of life, especially when the whole thing would have photographed and run more smoothly in colour.

Despite the treat of a star-studded cast featuring Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Kathryn Grayson and Peter Lawford, only the stellar performances of Durante and Sinatra are worth the running time. Lawford as the grandson of an English duke is too stuffy to fit in within the movie and is too pompously intolerable to put up with for the common audience member, although one can eventually like him a little more by the film's end. Kathryn Grayson's nightingale operatic soprano voice is pleasant, if not fiendishly good, and her performance charming, but despite early flashes of temperament, her effort proves to be wasted in a film that seems to retread every other film of hers except for KISS ME KATE. Gloria Grahame also makes a small appearance as a nurse at the beginning of the film who would have been a better substitute for both Lawford and Grayson had it not been for her singing inability. Her few performances under contract to the studio are demonstrative of talent and beauty at the studio that did not fit into the general mould of performers which is reflected because they did not know what to do with her by relegating her minor parts.

However, the story line of BROOKLYN is somewhat interesting and can almost justifiably be credited for this factor, in comparison to the continuous output of films from the studio which lead the viewer through the tiresome back lot tour. Sinatra, Grayson and Durante take at least forty five minutes to succeed in doing to Lawford what only took Judy Garland twenty seconds to do to Jose Iturbi in THOUSANDS CHEER. The screenplay seems to specialise in prolonging epic delays in its events and lacks the rousing comedy of a Comden and Green script, but in general is not too bad an effort, even if some of the most important scenes are either rushed or haltingly abrupt. There is a general message of kindheartedness which in turn makes the film cheerful and pleasant even though `everyone is miserable in Brooklyn', and the fact that the director is almost screaming at his audience to love the film and the people in it.

As always with the majority of many films of the genre, the musical program intentionally exceeds the plot's importance, which can be expected. In MGM's case, this method often produced a hit song. Despite some lovely music and lyrics by Cahn and Styne, I strain to remember any song. This may have been because opera was strongly integrated in a film of style clashes and thus I couldn't remember any of the songs since opera is generally a painful experience, or because they lacked the entertaining passion of many other MGM's songs. In addition to this, Andre Previn's piano solos are thrown in. Gene Kelly is missing but since none of the lead actors are good enough dancers, a pre-teen kid is pushed into the mix to pick up where Kelly's athleticism left off.

Because of these haphazard factors, IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN can be best compared to a jigsaw of innovative elements virtually impossible to put together. None of the factors are able to complement each other, but the film is demonstrative of a well-handed routine musical that could have stood out with others had Busby Berkley or the Freed unit been at the helm. It is an enjoyable entertainment piece that showed great promise, but I'll be damned if I know why.

Rating: 7.5/10

Makes One Nostalgic

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 3 September 2004]

As it happens this writer made his earthly debut in 1947 in Brooklyn, so I have a soft spot for this film.

Considering that this was all done in Hollywood, the film does have a nostalgic glow to it as it recaptures Brooklyn of 1947. Interspersed throughout the film are references to Brooklyn places and streets that a native would immediately know. There is a scene towards the beginning of the film when Frank Sinatra first meets Kathryn Grayson and she gives the newly discharged soldier a lift to the armory and in the background they pass shots of rows and rows of brownstone houses. Looks just like Park Slope on the way to the armory located there.

Sinatra has his personal songwriting team of Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn come up with a good selection of tunes for him. Time After Time was the biggest hit out of this film and that song is also repeated in good style by Kathryn Grayson. He does I Believe with Jimmy Durante and young Bobby Long who sings and dances up a storm in number done at a school gymnasium. It's a philosophical song in the style that Sinatra's rival Bing Crosby normally would have sung. He also sings a song Brooklyn Bridge, dedicated to same, on the footpath across. The footpath is deserted which is impossible. And there's another ballad entitled It's the Same Old Dream.

Jimmy Durante is the kindly school custodian who takes Sinatra in. I found this part of the picture sad. Durante has an apartment right on the public school premises and Sinatra moves in with him because he has no family at all. I guess he loved Brooklyn a lot because normally someone with no family and recently discharged from the service would have had the world to choose from in where to settle. Durante and Sinatra have a great old time with The Song Gotta Come From the Heart.

They did love sopranos over at the Lion studio. In addition to Grayson at one time they had Jeanette MacDonald, Ann Blyth, and Jane Powell all at the same time. Grayson had a porcelain delicacy to her and her voice that was magnetic, never more so here. She sings the Bell Song from Lakme and makes it memorable. Sinatra shows some guts here also as he and Grayson tackle La Ci Darem la Mano from Don Giovanni. Grayson and Mozart took it easy on Frank. Grayson did three films with Sinatra and in only one did she wind up with him.

Peter Lawford plays the shy gentlemanly scion of an aristocratic family who Sinatra befriends while in England. This was years before the Rat Pack was started and before Lawford married into the Kennedy clan. The role was no stretch for Lawford since that's what he was in real life. I wonder if Peter Lawford would still be here and have a career if the Kennedys and Sinatra had never entered his life.

And there were only minimal references to the Dodgers for a film about Brooklyn in a year they won the pennant.

Time after time....the plots of these pictures don't change

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 13 October 2013]

Minor MGM musical with the usual lightweight framework providing the stars a chance to break out in song. If you enjoy that type of movie than this will be a pleasant diversion especially since it introduced the beautiful ballad *Time After Time" which is performed in various versions several times throughout the film. However if you're looking for any semblance of reality this isn't the picture for you. Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson are in fine voice and Jimmy Durante his usual warm, wisecracking somewhat befuddled self. Gloria Grahame although prominently billed, due to a best supporting actress nomination that year, is in and out of the picture after the first five minutes.

Time After Time

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 11 May 2008]

Jazzy singer Frank Sinatra (as Danny Webson Miller) returns to Brooklyn, after serving during World War II. Mr. Sinatra moves in with his old high school janitor Jimmy Durante (as Nick Lombardi). Sinatra suffers not from "shell shock", but from "stage fright", as he tries to make it in the music business. He falls in love with operatic soprano Kathryn Grayson (as Anne Fielding). A "love triangle" is formed when visiting pal Peter Lawford (as Jamie Shellgrove) also falls for Ms. Grayson.

Not much of a movie, really. Sinatra is the highlight; he sings the timeless classic "Time After Time", and other songs written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne. Sinatra and Mr. Durante are a likable team, performing "The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart" and "I Believe", the latter with young Bobby Long (as Johnny O'Brien). Young pianist Billy Roy (as Leo Kardos) performs well. Sexy Gloria Grahame has an early walk around appearance. Sinatra's accompanying Columbia single was, deservedly, an instant double-sided hit: "I Believe" (#5) / "Time After Time" (#16).

**** It Happened in Brooklyn (3/13/47) Richard Whorf ~ Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford

Modest, enchanting MGM Musical. Sinatra sings "Time After Time"

[sdiner82 · 10/10 · 25 June 2001]

Most MGM musicals of the late 1940s were lavish, Technicolored extravaganzas, which is why this modest, low-keyed, filmed in glorious black-and-white effort has always been overlooked. A pity, because it's one of the most endearing, enduring musicals of all time. Firstly, it has a plot--a bittersweet Isobel Lennart screenplay about an ex-soldier (Frank Sinatra) returning from WWII to his beloved Brooklyn, and realizing it is not the same as he remembered it. Secondly, that dream cast working together in perfect dramatic and vocal harmony--Sinatra (never more likeable and sweet-natured); Kathryn Grayson (whose charming down-to-earth sincerity truly makes the screen glow); Peter Lawford (has anyone ever given this actor the credit for the class and gentlemanly warmth he brought to every film he was in?), and, of course, the immortal Jimmy Durante (bolstering all of his co-stars with his brilliant comedic and dramatic talents). And thirdly, an immortal Jule Styne score to die for. "Time After Time" ranks as one of the most poignant, melodic ballads ever composed. Many artistic greats have recorded it, but no one has ever interpreted it with the wistful perfection of Grayson and Sinatra. Add Sinatra's "The Brooklyn Bridge" and "It's the Same Old Dream". Lawford's delightful jive turn "Whose Baby Are You?" And the rousing Sinatra/Durante showstopper "The Song's Gotta Come from the Heart" (excerpted in "That's Entertainment II"). "It Happened in Brooklyn" is a wistful, rueful, enchanting musical the likes of which MGM (nor any other studio) ever made nor even attempted. A buried treasure occasionally unearthed by TCM! See it, tape it, and savor one of the most loving and lovely movie-musicals ever made!

Your voice is too cold! Why it doesn't have enough schmaltz?

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 18 December 2015]

***SPOILERS**** Frank Sinatra is returning from the wars Pvt. Danny Miller who's suffering from shyness as well as stage fright that had made him into an oddball to everyone, especially the opposite sex, who meets him. It's in fact the US Army nurse Gloria Grahame, who in the end of the film turned out to be his secret love, treating him for a imaginary case of the mumps who give him the push or kick in the butt that he needs to get on the ball and, as they said in the 1960's, do his own thing that finally straightens him out. And in that way there's also the janitor at his high school back in Brooklyn Nick Lombarbi, played by the famous Snnazola himself Jimmy Durante, whom Danny moves in with and is encouraged by Nick to become a teenage heartthrob and singing sensation. And later have Danny help his friends also overcome their shyness and insecurities as well.

Sinatra is at his best playing at first against type, afraid of girls and unable or unwilling to belt out a song, gets down to business when he meets up with Nick Lombardi who gives him the confidence that he so desperately needs. It's both music teacher Anne Fielding, Kathryn Grayson, and next in line to become the Duke of Dunstable Jamie Shellgrove, Peter Lawford, with both Nick as well as a now full of confidence in himself Danny turn around for the better as well. There's also young 16 year old pianist Leo Kardos, Billy Roy, who's stuck in working for the rest of his life as a counter-boy at his moms's, Tamara Shayne, candy store that the three, Danny Anne & Jamie, get to receive a 5 year scholarship to the prestigious "Brooklyn Academy of Music" or "Music Form" in the movie that turns out to be a one way ticket for him to Carnegie Hall.

Great music including Frank Sanitra in a duet with Kathryn Grayson singing "Don Giovanni" as well as Frankie singing, while walking across it, the hometown song "Brooklyn Bridge" with the by far best song in the movie done by non other then the shy and introverted Jami Shellgrove. With Jamie playing the piano as well as singing and dancing, to the hysterical screams of a gang of wild eyed teenage girls at the local record store, "Time after Time" that in fact Danny wrote the lyrics for.

For fans of Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford and Jimmy Durante

[jacobs-greenwood · 5/10 · 25 October 2016]

This is not a great movie, but if you like its cast of singing stars – Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson (without Technicolor), Peter Lawford and Jimmy Durante – you'll enjoy it anyway (and as a bonus there's Gloria Grahame!). It was directed by Richard Whorf and scripted by Isobel Lennart (one of the four Sinatra films that she wrote) from a story by John McGowan.

Sinatra plays a Brooklyn born soldier that returns home to find that he hadn't changed as much as he'd thought he had. He believed himself to be more confident. But he's influenced by Durante, his old high school's janitor, who takes him under his wing and encourages a would-be romantic relationship with the music teacher come opera singer Grayson.

Sinatra's character discovers that he's happy helping others with their dreams. Lawford plays a shy fellow that Sinatra had met in England (during which Grahame plays a nurse, also from Brooklyn) just before his discharge from the Army. He's sent to Brooklyn to satisfy his Duke (Aubrey Mather) grandfather, who'd hoped that Sinatra could give him confidence.

Lawford and Grayson make a better match. Everyone is hitting on all cylinders when they help a young pianist (uncredited Billy Roy, whose compositions are performed off stage by 17 year old André Previn, also uncredited) that wants to earn a scholarship.

It's Gotta Come From The Heart!

[GManfred · 28 August 2011]

"It Happened In Brooklyn" is so good-natured and cloying you can't help but like it. It's about a soldier (Sinatra) just discharged from the army after WW II to find a girl friend and a life. He disembarkation point is England, and after making friends with Peter Lawford, off he goes, returning to Brooklyn. From here the plot is so contrived it is hard to recount due to the lack of believability, and the story can barely drag its carcass from one song to the next, so shameless are the screenwriters.

But the songs. They are exquisite, written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, and the main reason for my rating. Sinatra is in fine voice, and Jimmy Durante has been irreplaceable on America's stellar list of entertainers. "Time After Time', "It's the Same Old Dream" are two of Frank's better numbers, but the piece de resistance is Sinatra and Durante doing, " It's Gotta Come From The Heart". Priceless. There are a couple of opera numbers for Kathryn Grayson, so there is something for everyone in this picture.

It is a flag-waver and a preposterous tall tale, but it all works. All you have to do is wait for the musical numbers. And they are worth waiting for.

A musical which is actually best when they aren't singing.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 5 May 2014]

Some musicals are filled with great songs and you cannot help but like them. "It Happened in Brooklyn", oddly, is a film with no great songs and , and, believe it or not, the story is by far the strongest part of the film. This is very unusual for a musical and I found that every time they sang, my attention span wavered--especially with some of the more operatic tunes sung by Kathryn Grayson. She was a lovely actress and I liked her in the film, but I just don't like this style of music. Even good operatic music annoys me...and I am pretty sure I am not alone on this.

The story begins with a private, Danny (Frank Sinatra) at a party but he just isn't in the mood. Instead, he's mooning about being back in Brooklyn--and he's expected to be sent back there soon. However, at the party he makes a friendship with a member of royalty and his son, Jamie (Peter Lawford). Danny offers to show Jamie around if he ever comes to Brooklyn.

Soon, Danny is back in his old stomping ground, though it's funny to watch all the Brooklyners talking about how they hate the place! He's also surprised that finding a place to live and a job isn't nearly as easy as he expected. Fortunately, he finds a nice old acquaintance, Nick (Jimmy Durante) and he invites Danny to live with him.

As for Nick, he's a cute character and takes a special interest in Danny and a teacher at his school, Anne (Grayson). Nick thinks they'll make a nice couple and does his best to get them together. However, when Jamie unexpectedly shows up, it soon becomes apparent that he, too, is smitten with Anne. And, Anne might just be interested in Jamie--even though she and Danny are now dating. How will all this work out? See the film!

The plot is simple but works very well because you really like the characters. They all seem so nice--and that's why it's a shame when it suddenly becomes a three-way romance. Still, since they are all such nice people, they cannot possibly hurt poor Danny...so they do nothing. Again, how will this work out?

By the way, in the scene at the rooftop Italian restaurant, pay attention to the wine that the three folks are drinking with their spaghetti. First, it's a white wine, then it becomes red wine and, finally, it's white again!! Maybe most won't notice this, but I did since I thought 'wow...I wouldn't drink white wine with spaghetti!'--and then it magically changed! I assume this was not intentional....or perhaps it was an inside joke!

Early Vintage Sinatra!

[malvernp · 7/10 · 8 November 2023]

Frank Sinatra has had an interesting film career---one that ranged from playing a grimy cowboy in a Western spoof, a Runyonesque character, a Spanish revolutionary, an army misfit, a criminal mastermind, a dope addict, etc. It was not always this way. In the beginning of that career, his handlers created a nice guy image for him, and he usually was cast as a sweet natured, kind, decent, likable and almost asexual fellow who often seemed too good to be believed. It Happened in Brooklyn (IHIB) is a movie from that early period, and is quite typical of the kind of roles he was.accepting before everything changed after he took on the part of Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953). IHIB was made between his appearance in the Jerome Kern biopic Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) and his almost saintly village priest in The Miracle of the Bells (1948).

It is hard to believe that the character Danny Webson Miller in IHIB was played by the same actor who could also make you accept him as a private eye in the manner of Humphrey Bogart's Marlowe in The Big Sleep.(1946). How many moviegoers in 1947 had the foresight to see in Sinatra's nascent film appearances the range and versatility he would repeatedly demonstrate throughout his extensive and remarkable film career?

In any event, IHIB captures an early incarnation of Sinatra in a most enjoyable musical--one of the declining number from this period made by MGM in black and white. His work with the legendary Jimmy Durante confirms just how natural and unassuming he could be on the screen. And once again, Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson complemented each other in producing an entertaining pair of most talented singers on the cusp of breakout stardom. His easy-going charm was so typical of him at this stage of his film work. It is a shame that he would in just a short seven years become Presidential assassin John Baron in Suddenly (1954), and move into a totally different phase of his movie stardom.

Frank Sinatra rose from a bobby sox crooner in the mold of Bing Crosby (his idol) to become one of the most popular movie stars of his generation. He did so primarily on the basis of a huge reserve of latent natural talent. In IHIB, you can see this gift in early bloom. It is a classic entertainment from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

easy charms

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 8 September 2023]

It's the end of the war. Danny Webson Miller (Frank Sinatra) is recovering in England and eager to go home to the friendly Brooklyn in his mind. He befriends shy Jamie Shellgrove (Peter Lawford). Once back in Brooklyn, he goes back to his old school and meets music teacher Anne Fielding (Kathryn Grayson). He reunites with janitor Nick Lombardi (Jimmy Durante) who takes him into his home. Jamie gets sent to Danny. Everybody is looking for something even if they don't know what.

This allows Frank to sing some and display his easy charms. The story is a bit meandering. It's so meandering that the end abruptly loops back to the beginning for no particular reason. The opening is a bit strange to begin with. I just don't understand the fight over friendly Brooklyn. This is much more about the actors. I like all four main characters and these actors. This movie has an easy charm about it.

Frank's Love Song to Roebling's Bridge, and his duet with Jimmy

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 11 May 2008]

It's a friendly film from MGM - I can't say it is the best of the early MGM Sinatra musicals (ON THE TOWN is a good competitor), but it certainly gave Frank Sinatra his best part of the musicals. He was dominated in ON THE TOWN, ANCHORS AWAY, and TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME by co-star partner Gene Kelly (in fact Kelly has the center of the story lines in several of these). Here Sinatra is at center stage for a change, supported by Durante, Grayson, and Peter Lawford. His character is not as annoying naive here as in ANCHORS AWAY, and has opportunities to stretch. The only thing that is missing is that the screenplay shows he has a potential love partner at the end - but sees fit not to have her available for the finale.

IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN is about a returning soldier (Sinatra). Stationed in England, he is going home and he is taken to task by a nurse (Gloria Grahame) for not socializing with his fellow soldiers, or the women at a final dance, or the English people. When she hears he is from Brooklyn (where she's from too) she has a fit because (as she puts it) Brooklyn people are supposed to be friendly. Prodded, Sinatra fitfully does mingle, and actually makes the acquaintance of a British Duke* (Aubrey Mather) and his grandson (Peter Lawford). The Duke's mother was from Brooklyn, and he wishes his grandson would stop being so withdrawn and more like the Brooklyn people that Mather has in his blood. Sinatra has already gotten to know that Lawford is a fine pianist and composer, and says that if Lawford ever comes to Brooklyn he should look Sinatra up and Sinatra will do what he could to open Lawford's personality up.

[*Aubrey's title is Duke of Dunstable. If so, it shows that the screenwriter was acquainted with Gilbert and Sullivan: the Duke of Dunstable is one of the "Heavy Dragoons" who turn aesthetic in the opera PATIENCE. Either that, or that Duke of Dunstable (from 1881) is Aubrey's grandfather - and Lady Jane is his grandmother, and the mother-in-law of the lady from Brooklyn. What would Reginald Bunthorne have said?]

When Sinatra returns to Brooklyn he meets a music teacher (Kathrine Grayson) at his old high school (New Utrecht High - which is a real high school, by the way). He also is reunited with the janitor at the high school (Durante). Jimmy invites Frank to room with him while he tries to find work. Soon his pep talks and support allow Sinatra to get a better job in a music store, and encourage Sinatra to date Grayson. But then Lawford shows up, and he and Grayson soon find themselves left on their own while Sinatra gets involved in his career, Lawford's potential musical career (as songwriter), and helping Grayson push the potentially great career of a local piano prodigy (William Roy) who desperate needs a scholarship to continue studies. As Grayson and Lawford are together more and more (with only Durante noticing what's happening) the inevitable occurs as they start falling for each other. And we'll leave the conclusion for the viewer to find.

It has a nice score, including the standard TIME AFTER TIME. But most movie buffs recall the film's music for two sequences with Frank. In one he just lands in Brooklyn, and he takes a cab to his favorite landmark: the Brooklyn Bridge. And he sings to it. Later, when he has to audition for a promotion at the music store, Durante accompanies him, and they sing the duet "You Got To Sing From The Heart". The latter sequence was shown in the movie THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT - but part was cut, wherein both singers tackle foreign language lyrics (from "Oy Tchochonya" among other tunes). But it ends with Frank going into his imitation of Jimmy's style, down to Jimmy's leg movements. He does a nice imitation - and would do it again in later television shows, wherein Jimmy would show up again unannounced.

Grayson does her opera aria - the "Bell Song" from Delibes' LAKME. It is a lovely number - but too static. Lawford also sings (a "boogy-woogy" number) in the music shop, to show he too is loosening up.

On the whole it is an entertaining film - not one of the great musicals of all time, but worthy of it's stars and pleasant to watch. I only wish they had just thought better of not bringing Sinatra's future choice of girlfriend back. But you can't have everything.

Not the best postwar musical

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 13 September 2017]

In It Happened in Brooklyn, Frank Sinatra comes home from WW2, ecstatic about returning to his hometown. Brooklyn is fantastic in his memory, but as he soon finds out, it's not as great in reality. He can't get a job and nobody's friendly to him. Finally, he bunks up with Jimmy Durante, gets a job singing songs in a music store, and falls in love with Kathryn Grayson. But when his friend Peter Lawrence pays a visit, everything might change. . .

This isn't the worst silly post-war movie that came out of Hollywood in the 1940s, but it's a far cry from the best. It's pretty clear Hollywood was trying to give Frank Sinatra a chance to act, but in his early movies, he does much more singing and dancing than he does acting. I usually think Kathryn Grayson adorable, but maybe she was in a bad mood when she made this movie. She was pregnant during the filming, so perhaps she was tired; during her scenes, she seemed like she just wanted to go home and rest. If you liked silly musicals like The Kissing Bandit and Take me out to the Ball Game, you can give this one a watch, but for a good quality musical, try Show Boat or Guys and Dolls instead.

An enjoyable movie experience.

[billeksqltr4919 · 10/10 · 22 December 2006]

I found this to be a sweet movie with likable characters and good music. It was a delight to watch. Really enjoyed Jimmy Durante! Kathryn Grayson had such a lovely voice. Frank Sinatra's voice still had some maturing to do but still was a joy to listen to. Peter Lawford looked so young. Did not realize that it was Andre Previn playing the piano but should have known it was an expert on the keys. Black and white movies still have the ability to make a statement. And to see a movie with a happy ending is a real treat. I will be looking for additional movies of this caliber to enjoy that do not expose me to bloodshed or graphic sex. I highly recommend this film and would enjoy watching it again.

Watch Durante!

[hemisphere65-1 · 3/10 · 17 November 2021]

Sinatra and Grayson are as weak as usual, and that preposterous singing style of Grayson's is awful!

The songs are poor, as is the story.

I'm not sure how much longer people who enjoy this sort of film will be around; there will be no new audience for this garbage.

All that being said, it was great seeing Jimmy Durante in his prime! He is fun to watch!

It Happened in Brooklyn-Only in My Borough ***1/2

[edwagreen · 9/10 · 12 May 2008]

Wonderful film with a stellar cast.

Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford shine as two quiet buddies who return to Brooklyn after World War 11 service in England. Actually, it's a first trip to Brooklyn.

The film is so endearing due to its themes of clinging to your aspirations. Sinatra finds Kathryn Grayson and falls in love, but when she introduces Lawford to him, you know the rest.

Jimmy Durante plays a rather subdued custodian in a school where Grayson teaches music. She is down as she wants an operatic career.

The film is lifting when she and the 3 guys all join forces to make sure that a poorly financed student, who is brilliant at the piano, can continue his musical education after college. In Hollywood tradition, they succeed. Tamara Shayne shows her usual earthy appealing as the boy's mother.

Sinatra belts out Time After Time and Grayson's operatic scene is memorable.

This film is definitely heartwarming and a joy to watch.

What movie did you people see ???

[fguerras · 3 January 2007]

CHICAGO ??? "Can't remember any songs ?" Hello, brain-damage victims !!! It's not called "It Happened In Chicago" and one of the great Jule Styne's best songs, "Time After Time", recorded by everyone, is right up there on screen and wasn't even nominated for an Oscar. Technicolor ? There are enough M-G-M Technicolor blockbusters. This is a small, cozy, neighborhood movie that is FULL of wonderful songs, even with the opera numbers thrown in. This movie has that lost art called "charm" by the barrelful. The stars appear to be real people, and as a life-long Brooklynite, it's bathed in old-time Brooklyn nostalgia. Highly recommended to all but brain-damage victims !!!

it happened in brooklyn

[mossgrymk · 5/10 · 24 August 2021]

Highlight for me was Frank's tone poem to the eponymous bridge. Unfortunately, it comes 15 min in. The rest is...Kathryn (Shoot me now) Grayson. And glorious Gloria G is not so much wasted as discarded. A truly stupid movie.