I Love Melvin

I Love Melvin is a 1953 American Technicolor musical romantic comedy film directed by Don Weis, starring Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds.

The film's most famous scene depicts Reynolds playing a human American football in a dance sequence. The movie reunited Reynolds and O'Connor after their 1952 smash hit Singin' in the Rain, However, according to MGM records, the film earned $1,316,000 in the United States and Canada and $654,000 overseas, resulting in a loss of $290,000.

Plot
Small-time actress Judy Schneider dreams of becoming a Hollywood star even as she struggles along playing a human football in a kitschy Broadway musical. One day in Central Park she bumps into Melvin, the bumbling assistant to a Look magazine photographer. Melvin is smitten with Judy and endures disapproval from her father who wants her to marry Harry Flack, the boring heir to a paper box company. He exaggerates his importance at the magazine in order to impress Judy and her family and promises to get her on the cover, using the photo shoots as an excuse to spend time with her. His charade is exposed when her picture doesn't appear on the cover and she discovers that he is just a lowly assistant. Too ashamed to face her, Melvin abandons his job and disappears into Central Park. While hiding in the Park he sees Judy's picture on the cover of Look and discovers that the editor made her a cover girl so he would see it and come out of hiding.

Cast

 * Donald O'Connor as Melvin Hoover
 * Debbie Reynolds as Judy Schneider a.k.a. Judy LeRoy
 * Una Merkel as Mom Schneider
 * Richard Anderson as Harry Flack
 * Allyn Joslyn as Frank Schneider
 * Les Tremayne as Mr. Henneman
 * Noreen Corcoran as Clarabelle Schneider
 * Jim Backus as Mergo
 * Barbara Ruick as Studio Guide
 * Robert Taylor as himself (cameo appearance in Judy's dream)

Music
Lyrics by Mack Gordon, and music by Josef Myrow
 * 1) "Lady Loves" (Debbie Reynolds)
 * 2) "We Have Never Met as Yet" (Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor)
 * 3) "Saturday Afternoon Before the Game" (Chorus)
 * 4) "Where Did You Learn to Dance" (Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor)
 * 5) "I Wanna Wander" (Donald O'Connor)
 * 6) "Life Has Its Funny Ups and Downs" (Noreen Corcoran)

Comic book adaptation

 * Eastern Color Movie Love #20 (April 1953)