The real title, as he says in the movie, is "Stella By Starlight." It was a big hit apart from the movie and has been covered by a lot of singers over the years.
"The value of an idea has nothing to do with the honesty of the man expressing it."--Oscar Wilde
I just watched the film for the first time and thought the same thing--a portion of it sounds very similar to a passage in the instrumental version of "As Time Goes By" in Casablanca.
shareI disagree . . . when I first heard "Stella by Starlight," it sounded to mas as "Stella by Starlight" . . . I didn't even think of another song, or melody . . .
shareIt is most definitely similar to "As Time Goes By".
sharePerhaps because it was one of my favorite songs of that era, it sounds like nothing but "Stella by Starlight' to me. My favorite recording of it was the vocal by Dick Haymes. Just to check, I ran the melody of "As Time Goes By" through my mind's ear, but no, that sounded just like "As Time Goes By"! Both songs have very pretty melodies. Perhaps that's why they sound similar to younger rock n' roll tuned ears (with malice toward none).
You're probably right. Those raised on rock 'n' roll, or worse, on rap, are unpracticed at listening to music with distinctive melodic characteristics. "Stella by Starlight" does not sound like "As Time Goes By".
shareI never noticed before, its a beautiful piece of music. As Time Goes By does have hints of it.
**********************************************
http://anothersiteinla.weebly.com/
My favorite version of this major forties classic tune:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDQ-Erg3KlQ