Flame and the Flesh

Here's a real obscurity - a soundtrack EP from the 1954 film Flame and the Flesh. The songs here are by Nicholas Brodszky (his name is spelled various ways in various sources) with Jack Lawrence's lyrics.

Brodszky's main claim to fame was working on several popular Mario Lanza vehicles, including The Toast of New Orleans with its big hit Be My Love. The RCA LP from that film will probably be making an appearance here later on.

Brodszky did not have Lanza to work with here. Instead the star/singer was Carlos Thompson, an Argentinian actor of Swiss-German extraction who here was playing an Italian. Thompson could not provide Lanza's volume, but his singing was convincing enough for his role as a saloon singer. (I haven't seen the film so can't attest to his acting. Thompson did play the lead in several Hollywood films in this period.)

The plot was one that had been used for two earlier films - Thompson dumps good-girl Pier Angeli for bad-girl Lana Turner. Eventually the bad girl does the noble thing and clears out so the good girl can have her man back. It's not real deep.

Apparently the curvaceous figure on the right is supposed to be Turner, who undyed her blond hair for this film; presumably for the publicity. (Do I seem cynical?) And just so that there is no doubt from her posture that she is a bad girl, she is leaning on a streetlight. The demure figure on the left is Angeli.

The songs are tuneful enough, so if you like The Toast of New Orleans, The Student Price, Love Me or Leave Me, Rich, Young and Pretty or Serenade - all Brodszky's work - you should try this. Rich, Young and Pretty also will be featured here soon.