Tag: Knickerbocker Holiday

Here we are again, the last of September. I finally, finally got to see Walter Huston in “Dodsworth” (1936), and of course it won’t be long now before I’ll be watching him as Mr. Scratch in “The Devil and Daniel Webster” (1941).

At the link, he sings Kurt Weill’s “September Song,” from the stage musical “Knickerbocker Holiday” (1938). The song, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, went on to become a popular standard, covered by many artists. But I have a soft spot for Huston, even though his character is basically the villain.

Apparently Burgess Meredith was originally set to play the romantic lead, but he left after it became clear that Huston, whose part kept expanding and evolving into more of a loveable rogue, was going to steal the show.

At all costs, avoid the film version, with Nelson Eddy and Charles Coburn in the Huston role. It drops most of the songs and replaces them with others not by Weill & Anderson!

The days grow short when you reach September…