Song of the Open Road

Song of the Open Road is a 1944 musical comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon, from a screenplay by Irving Phillips and Edward Verdier. It was the debut film of teenage singer Jane Powell. Powell's real name was Suzanne Burce, but prior to the release of this film MGM assigned her the stage name "Jane Powell" (the name of the character she portrays in this film).

Plot
Child film star Jane Powell, tired of her life being run by her stage mother, runs away from home and tries to lead a "normal" life at a Crops Corps camp. When a crop needs picking, Powell enlists the help of some celebrity friends.

Cast

 * Jane Powell as Jane Powell
 * Bonita Granville as Bonnie
 * Peggy O'Neill as Peggy
 * Jackie Moran as Jack Moran
 * Bill Christy as Bill
 * Reginald Denny as Director Curtis
 * Regis Toomey as Connors
 * Rose Hobart as Mrs. Powell
 * Sig Arno as Spolo
 * Edgar Bergen as Edgar
 * Charlie McCarthy as Charlie
 * W. C. Fields as himself
 * Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra as Themselves
 * Frank, Harry and Steve Condos as Condos Brothers
 * The Lipham Four as The Lipham Four
 * Irene Tedrow as Miss Casper
 * Pat Starling as Pat
 * Hollywood Canteen Kids as Themselves
 * Catron & Popp as Themselves

Production
Director S. Sylvan Simon had difficulty filming scenes with W. C. Fields because of Fields' alcoholism.

Although Fields often made fun of singers and singing in general, he had a fondness for the promising young singer Jane Powell and even referred to her (as "little Janie Powell") on one of his CBS radio broadcasts (preserved on transcription discs). Powell sang several songs in the film and made such an impression that MGM signed her to a contract to make a number of musical comedies for them, through the mid-1950s. Powell's real name was Suzanne Burce, but prior to the release of this film, MGM assigned her the stage name "Jane Powell", the name of the character she portrays in this film.

Location shooting was done in Palm Springs, California and at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles.

This was W. C. Fields's next-to-last film; his last (Sensations of 1945) would be released only 9 days after this film was issued. In the film, Fields—who began his career as an accomplished juggler—plays himself and juggles some oranges for a few moments. He remarks "This used to be my racket". Then, missing a catch, he drops the oranges and walks away muttering "used to be my racket, but it isn't anymore!"

The film also has a brief continuation of the long-running feud between Fields and woodenhead dummy Charlie McCarthy with a new twist: "Charlie McCarthy Jr." is a miniature version of the dummy that sits on the larger dummy's knee with Charlie as his ventriloquist. The sight of this has Fields throwing away his bottle and vowing to give up drinking.