Cabaret legend Julie Wilson died this week, and I thought I might pay tribute to her by presenting this relatively obscure soundtrack recording from
This Could Be the Night, a 1957 film where she played (what else) a nightclub singer. Wilson's vocal LPs of the period have been reissued, but not this item, as far as I can tell.
Wilson was 32 when the film was shot. She had already become a fixture at the posh La Maisonette at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, with her repertoire of standards and mildly risque material - a sophisticated mix for a high-end audience. She also had appeared in several shows, and this acting experience and her striking looks made her a natural for Hollywood.
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| Ray Anthony and Julie Wilson |
Along with
This Could Be the Night, Wilson was cast in the
The Strange One (which soundtrack has also appeared here, although it does not feature her). The former film was set backstage at a nightclub. Quite a club - for a band, it employed Ray Anthony's ensemble, and for a stripper, it had the wonderfully attractive Neile Adams (who met her future husband Steve McQueen while making this film).
The movie sounds like fun, but the the soundtrack is nothing special, sorry to report. Anthony does a number of his set pieces - including two hits from 1952, "Trumpet Boogie" and "The Bunny Hop," that old-time wedding reception favorite. (The hop in this one is not as bouncy as the original version, a fixture in my juke box.) There also is something of a Sinatra flavor to the proceedings, with a cover of "The Tender Trap" and a rendition of "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die," which Anthony cut with The Voice back in 1954.
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| Neile Adams |
The latter song has a solo by Julie Wilson, who admittedly did not have such a great voice herself. What she had was presence and personality. Her idol was Billie Holiday, who influence is apparent in two songs associated instead with other famous singers - "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" (Ivie Anderson) and "Taking a Chance on Love" (Ethel Waters). She also lets loose with the flapper-era favorite "Sadie Green," and one of the two versions of the title song, written by Nicholas Brodszky and Sammy Cahn. There is a vocal for Neile Adams, who may have been a wonderful dancer and actor, but whose singing was more like squawking.
M-G-M's sound is uncharacteristically close and harsh, but good enough, I guess. I don't have personnel for the band, unfortunately. The film credits suggest that at least some of the arrangements were by Billy May and Skip Martin.
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| Ray shows the chorus line his spit valve |
