The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, originally a short story by James Thurber, is one
of Danny's most popular movies and was often referred to in articles. There were
many reporters who liked to compare Danny's life to that of Walter Mitty's. While
Walter daydreamed about many different professions and situations, Danny actually
lived it. He became a pilot, a chef, an owner of a professional baseball team, and
had an incredible knowledge of medicine and health. Walter Mitty is an excellent
movie and is enjoyed by many fans. For years now, there has been talk of making another
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty movie. Whether this would be an actual remake of
Danny's movie or just another version of the short story is unclear, and there have
been a variety of actors tied to the picture over the years including Jim Carrey,
Mike Myers, and most-
Film Information
Filmed: Apr. 8 -
Released: Sept. 1, 1947
(Koenig, David. Danny Kaye: King of Jesters, pg 102)
Danny’s fourth Samuel Goldwyn production.
This is Virginia Mayo’s fourth movie with Danny.
Danny’s wife, Sylvia, was pregnant with their only child during the filming of this movie.
The creation of “Symphony For Unstrung Tongue”: (October 1947)
The lanky comedian’s latest number, “Symphony For Unstrung Tongue,” similarly had
its creation beginnings in gatherings of Kaye’s friends. Based on an idea Mrs. Kaye
had after hearing Prokofieff’s “Peter and the Wolff,” the “Symphony” deals with the
efforts of a music professor at the Royal Academy to demonstrate vocally the qualities
of each instrument in the orchestra.
For three years prior to the writing
of this number, Mrs. Kaye had heard Danny “torturing” friends with polysyllabic,
Czecho-
When called upon
to write a number for the RAF dream sequence in which Danny caricatures the professor,
Mrs. Kaye combined his party dialect with another party routine in which he mimics
a conductor, to come up with “Symphony For the Unstrung Tongue.”
Given
the usual Kaye treatment, it was first presented before a group of friends. It proved
potent, and, according to Mrs. Kaye, “killed” people, especially Professor Dore Schary,
who had to leave the room convulsed with laughter. The number had “live” approval
and was incorporated in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
“Anatole of Paris” was first performed in Danny’s first Broadway production, Straw Hat Revue, in 1939.
Fay Bainter was also in The Kid From Brooklyn.
Articles
“The Secret Life of Danny Kaye” -
“Danny Kaye Is Latest Actor to Complain About Overwork” -
“Danny Kaye’s Shopping For a Broadway Show” -
Amusing Snippets Regarding Walter Mitty -