American composer Frank Loesser is more closely associated with Broadway thanks to his classic quartet Where's Charley (1948), Guys and Dolls (1950), Most Happy Fella (1956) and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (1961). From 1938 through 1949, however, Loesser toiled almost exclusively in Hollywood, farming out his services to studios both big and small. Since Loesser was one of those rare birds who wrote both music and lyrics, he came in handy in the B-picture field, where a solo composer was a lot more attractive financially than a team. On more prestigious projects, however, Loesser did work in collaboration: With Alfred Newman, he wrote "Moon of Manakoora" for Goldwyn's The Hurricane (1939), while he was teamed with Frederick Hollander for such Destry Rides Again (1939) ditties as "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have." Largely unknown by name until the 1942 hit "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," Loesser became increasingly famous during his years at Paramount Pictures on the strength of such songs as "I Don't Want to Walk Without You, Baby," and "Jingle Jangle Jingle." 1949 was a particularly felicitous year for Loesser: He not only won the Academy Award for "Baby It's Cold Outside" (from MGM's Neptune's Darling) but also made his screen acting debut as a gangster in the Betty Hutton vehicle Red, Hot and Blue (1949). After composing such tunes as "Copenhagen," "Thumbelina" and "Inchworm" for Goldwyn's Hans Christian Andersen (1952), Loesser directed his energies almost exclusively to the Broadway stage (with a few sidetrips into TV commercial jingles). Frank Loesser's last direct-to-screen work consisted of three new songs for the 1955 film version of Guys and Dolls.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Freshman
Featured Music |
1990 | |||
|
Big
Featured Music |
1988 | |||
|
Radio Days
Featured Music |
1987 | |||
|
Hans Brinker
Songwriter |
1969 | |||
| 1967 | ||||
|
Guys and Dolls
Composer (Music Score), Lyricist |
1955 | |||
|
Hans Christian Andersen
Composer (Music Score) |
1952 | |||
|
Where's Charley?
From Musical by |
1952 | |||
|
The Guy Who Came Back
Songwriter |
1951 | |||
|
Neptune's Daughter
Composer (Music Score) |
1949 | |||
|
Red, Hot and Blue
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
Roseanna McCoy
Songwriter |
1949 | |||
|
On Our Merry Way
Songwriter |
1948 | |||
|
The Perils of Pauline
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
|
Variety Girl
Composer (Music Score) |
1947 | |||
|
See Here, Private Hargrove
Songwriter |
1944 | |||
|
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1943 | |||
|
Tornado
Songwriter |
1943 | |||
|
Beyond the Blue Horizon
Songwriter |
1942 | |||
|
Happy Go Lucky
Songwriter |
1942 | |||
|
Priorities on Parade
Composer (Music Score), Screenwriter |
1942 | |||
|
Sweater Girl
Songwriter |
1942 | |||
|
The Forest Rangers
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
This Gun for Hire
Songwriter |
1942 | |||
|
Tortilla Flat
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1942 | |||
|
True to the Army
Composer (Music Score) |
1942 | |||
|
Aloma of the South Seas
Songwriter |
1941 | |||
|
Caught in the Draft
Songwriter |
1941 | |||
|
Hold Back the Dawn
Songwriter |
1941 | |||
|
Sailors on Leave
Songwriter |
1941 | |||
|
Buck Benny Rides Again
Songwriter |
1940 | |||
|
Johnny Apollo
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1940 | |||
|
Seven Sinners
Songwriter |
1940 | |||
|
The Farmer's Daughter
Songwriter |
1940 | |||
|
The Quarterback
Composer (Music Score) |
1940 | |||
|
Those Were the Days
Songwriter |
1940 | |||
|
Typhoon
Songwriter |
1940 | |||
|
Youth Will Be Served
Songwriter |
1940 | |||
|
Cafe Society
Songwriter |
1939 | |||
|
Heritage of the Desert
Songwriter |
1939 | |||
|
St. Louis Blues
Composer (Music Score) |
1939 | |||
|
Zaza
Composer (Music Score), Songwriter |
1939 | |||
|
College Swing
Songwriter |
1938 | |||
|
Stolen Heaven
Composer (Music Score) |
1938 | |||
|
Blossoms on Broadway
Songwriter |
1937 | |||
|
Fight for Your Lady
Composer (Music Score) |
1937 | |||
|
Old Homestead
Actor |
1916 |


