How many organizations, politicians, and foundations claim to be helping underprivileged youth? It seems that there are more resources for young artists than ever before, but, unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that there are plentiful opportunities for all talented young people. Perhaps more than ever before, people are more likely to judge people on their age than their talent and ability.
Today’s moment of movie wisdom is from “It Happened in Brooklyn” (1947). The scene in question takes place 78 minutes into this 104-minute movie. An immigrant mother (Tamara Shayne) goes to her son’s music teacher (Kathryn Grayson) to express her regret that she can’t do more for her son, a talented pianist. The teacher and her two friends (Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford) are appalled that the prodigious boy can’t afford to continue his music studies after high school. The mother feels like a failure because she can’t provide for her son’s musical training, but her new friends pledge to help them, because great musical talent deserves to be celebrated, championed, and aided by everyone.
The movie begins when Danny Miller (Sinatra) gets out of the Army after serving in World War II. He returns to his hometown of Brooklyn, which he thinks is the most wonderful place in the world. This attitude is not shared by Anne Fielding (Grayson), a music teacher and aspiring opera singer who gives him a ride on his first day back. The pretty young lady is bitter because her opera career seems destined for failure, and she feels stuck in Brooklyn. However, despite her initial frustration with frequently running into Danny, they end up being friends.
Danny also reunites with the janitor from his old high school, the lovable Nick Lombardi (Jimmy Durante), who helps him adjust to civilian life. Meanwhile, Danny unexpectedly becomes the host of a foreign visitor, a reserved young Englishman named Jamie Shellgrove (Lawford). Jamie’s grandfather (Aubrey Mather) witnessed Danny’s attempts at friendliness on his last night before returning to the States, so he decided that he would be the perfect person to teach his shy grandson some social skills. Danny agrees to help Jamie gain some confidence and find a girl. Little does he realize that Jamie has already found the girl he wants, Anne, who Danny thinks is his girl.
The Scene
This scene takes place quite late in the story. By this point, the love triangle between the three main characters has become very tense. Everyone is highly aware of it, except Danny. He has no clue that his “girl” has much stronger feelings for Jamie than she ever has had for him. Jamie, however, is keenly aware of this but refuses to hurt Danny. Although he and Anne care about each other greatly, he also cares about Danny. He decides to return to England. He has just announced this decision to an alarmed Danny when the doorbell rings. Mrs. Kardos (Shayne) is there, looking for Anne.
She explains that Leo (Billy Roy), Anne’s prize student, is her son. The two women have never met before, so Anne is delighted to meet her. Mrs. Kardos, however, is very sad because of their situation. As Anne already knows, Leo’s mother is a poor widow, so she can’t afford to pay for his music studies after he graduates from high school at the end of the year. Leo insists that he is happy to work with her in their shop, but his mother knows that his heart is breaking. This sad news is no surprise to Anne, since Leo already told her about his bleak musical future in an earlier scene. She explains to her shocked friends that there is one scholarship which could finance Leo’s studies for four years, but he is too young to even apply. Danny and Jamie, who are both aspiring musicians themselves, vow to help Leo and his mother find a way.
Its Significance
Danny may not be as gregarious as Jamie’s grandfather thinks he is, but he truly loves helping people. He isn’t afraid to offer someone some advice or a helping hand, even if he has to go out of his way. As soon as he hears Leo’s story, told by his loving mother, he exclaims that the situation is terrible. Anne is overwhelmed by guilt for not having done more for Leo. She admits that she was so disappointed with her own music career that she couldn’t help anyone else’s. Mrs. Kardos tells her not to blame herself, since boys like Leo need more from parents than ordinary children, and she just didn’t have enough to give him.Danny tenderly tells Mrs. Kardos that everyone should be proud of someone as talented as Leo, not just his mother, so everyone should be interested in seeing that he gets the opportunities he deserves. This isn’t just idle talk, though; they take action immediately. The next day, Anne, Danny, and Jamie go to the Brooklyn Music Forum and plead with the director to at least listen to Leo play so they will see how much he deserves the scholarship. The trustee replies that he’s sure Leo is excellent, but he refuses to make an exception to the age policy. Anne is very discouraged, but Danny refuses to admit defeat. All Leo needs is a chance to show what he can do, so they plan for him to give a concert in the music shop where he works, with the people of Brooklyn as his sponsor. The group puts all their energy into this goal for the rest of the movie.
