I know that Leon Ames' singing voice was dubbed by Arthur Freed. Does Mary Astor do her own singing and piano playing in this film?
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Any idea by whom?
As the trivia for the film specifically mentions that Leon Ames' singing voice was dubbed but mentions nothing about Mary Astor's, I thought there might be a possibility that she did her own singing and playing.
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Astor's singing and playing were dubbed... I have read somewhere who did the singing but can't remember where at the moment. Miss Astor was a very accomplished pianist - her mother insisted she learn and practice - but the nature of the medium dictates that the actual music is always dubbed.
I suspect that Miss Astor had no problem playing along to the "playback" during filming. Even actors who could not play were coached exhaustively on finger placement for such scenes... for her it was probably a walk in the park.
Mary Astor also played a very accomplished pianist in "The Great Lie" starring Bette Davis. She won an oscar there :)
shareSeems to me that with the exception of film buffs, this really wonderful actor who played parts in dozens of exceptional films is now largely forgotten... such a shame. Awfully nice to see others posting here who remember and appreciate her!
If Mary Astor being largely forgotten is the case then its unfortunate. Thought she was brilliant in Dodsworth (1936).
"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".
That is what I was thinking and I second the motion. Dodsworth is high on my Best of all Time List and Mary Astor is perfect in it.
shareI was wondering about the piano playing too because it looked like both Mary Astor and Lucille Bremer were both very good piano players. I thought someone else might have played on the overdub, but it definitely looked like they knew what they were doing and were playing correctly.
It made me think that back in the olden days many actresses probably had a better education in things like piano and dancing.
From some info I have: Denny Markas ... singing voice for Mary Astor - so she was dubbed.
Mary Astor is an actress who is forgotten, unfortunately, now. And it's a shame, she was very talented. I always wondered, in this film, who's idea it was for her character to close the dining room window when Rose is on the phone. Was it Ms. Astor or Vincent Minnelli? Haven't ever been able to find out and I thought it was such a nice touch - very real as a mother would think to do that so no one outside the family could hear the conversation.
Okay, so her singing voice was dubbed, but what about her piano playing?
shareLet me do a bit of research..
shareI never really focused on her piano playing in The Great Lie, where she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (alone this should guarantee nobody is forgotten, come on! :( ), but I guess I suggest people watch that (because it's a fantastic movie, where Bette Davis finds a co-star who is able to match her character, just like did in Miriam Hopkins, but in a different way) and they will see for themselves. There are a lot of scenes where her character plays the piano (she's a pianist).
And yes to the other comment, in those days playing a instrument was more common than today, as there were not really as many alternative activities.
It's not very likely that Mary Astor played the piano for the soundtrack, skilled as she may have been on the keyboard. That scene would have been filmed MOS (without sound) and dubbed later. One of MGM's staff musicians would have provided the piano accompaniment that was used in the soundtrack. It would not have made sense to use a highly-paid MGM star to record an instrumental track when a cheaper studio employee could do it.
By the way, not only does Arthur Freed provide Leon Ames's singing voice for "You and I," (a lovely song which has grown on me over the years) he also wrote the lyrics!
Yes, what a shame that no one plays an instrument these days. We might still have orchestras and concert pianists and high school bands and someone to accompany all of the singers that are now forced to sing acapella.
"Life is uncertain, eat dessert first!" -HOMER J.SIMPSON