Song Of Scheherazade (1947)

Rather silly Technicolor musical fantasy "inspired" by the life of the famous Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov but with the actual facts tossed aside in favor of fabricated romanticism. When the Russian navy is docked in Morocco, sailor Rimsky-Korsakov (Jean Pierre Aumont) meets an exotic Spanish nightclub dancer (Yvonne De Carlo) who inspires him to compose Scheherazade. One's tolerance for the film may depend on your appetite for 40s Hollywood kitsch (I'm partial) and/or the music of Rimsky-Korsakov (very partial). Some of the musical interludes are tiresome like Metropolitan opera star Charles Kullman bellowing out Song Of India but there's a charming fandango danced by De Carlo and Eve Arden. Arden looks a tad young to be playing De Carlo's mother but she's the most steadily amusing thing about the film. De Carlo's dancing leaves a lot to be desired. While she's fine doing the fandango, she's inadequate during the ballet sequences. Miklos Rozsa performed the conducting and adaptation duties on Rimsky-Korsakov's music. Walter Reisch directs. With Brian Donlevy, Elena Verdugo, John Qualen and Phillip Reed.