Merry Andrew is a musical comedy film starring Danny Kaye (as "Andrew Larabee") and Pier Angeli (as "Selena Gallini"). Tommy Rall also appeared in the film (as "Ugo Gallini", the most protective of Salena's five brothers). Kaye entertaining U.S. troops at Sasebo, Japan, 25 Oct 1945 David Daniel Kaminsky, known as Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian. ... Pier Angeli (born Anna Maria Pierangeli) (June 19, 1932 - September 10, 1971) was an Italian-born actress who made her debut in Domani é troppo tardi (1949). ... Tommy Rall was born Thomas Rall on December 27 in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, but the year of birth he claims (1929) would have made him about 11 or 12 when he made his movie debut in 1942. ...

Michael Kidd was both director and choreographer of the film. Saul Chaplin wrote the music and Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics. The writer of the film was I.A.L. Diamond. Michael Kidd (born Milton Greenwald 12 August 1919) is an Jewish-American film and stage choreographer. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... Saul Chaplin (born February 19, 1912 - died November 15, 1997) was one of Hollywoods preeminent composers and musical directors. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... Johnny Mercer John Herndon Johnny Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) is regarded as one of Americas greatest songwriters. ... Lyrics are the words in songs. ... I.A.L. Diamond (27 June 1920 - 21 April 1988) was a comedy writer in Hollywood during the 1940 and 50s. ...

Plot

Andrew Larabee is a teacher at a school which is run by his father as headmaster. Andrew has a unique and popular way of teaching, which his father does not approve of. Andrew's special interest is Archaeology, and he hopes to be able to publish and earn his father's respect though this field of study. Also, Letitia Fairchild, Andrew's fiancée of five years, insists that Andrew earn a promotion before she marries him. A principal is the chief administrator in an elementary school, secondary school, or high school. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... An engagement is an agreement by a couple to enter into marriage at some future time, usually accompanied by a formal or informal announcement to friends and family. ...

During the school holidays, Andrew rides his bike to some ancient ruins, where he thinks a statue of Pan can be found -- thereby leading to publication and marriage with Letitia. At the site, however, he finds the famous Gallini Circus occupying the area and a beautiful girl who is taking a shower in a special shower tent. Andrew, who has a licence to dig at the site, works out an arrangement with Gallini family to do so. He meets the beautiful girl, who turns out to be Selena Gallini, the niece of the ringmaster. By happenstance, Andrew occasionally finds himself playing funny roles within the ring, and proves to be a natural clown.

The inevitable happens, and Andrew and Selena fall in love with each other. Selena goes into the tunnel to speak to Andrew during the early evening, but they are trapped when there is a cave-in. The following morning, the Gallini family find Andrew and Selena in an innocent but seemingly compromising situation when the 'roof' of the tunnel suddenly collapses. To save the family honour, Selena's relatives insist that Andrew and Selena marry the following Saturday morning.

When the circus leaves, the Gallini family hold Andrew prisoner, so he cannot escape. Selena, though, does not want Andrew to marry her just because he is being forced to do so. She loves him, but she helps him escape so that he can return to the school. Arriving there, Andrew is horrified when he is given the promotion which Letitia had insisted on, and is told that a marriage had been arranged for Andrew and Letitia to marry the following Saturday - the same day that Andrew was to marry Selena. The dismayed Andrew tries to get out of marriage with Letitia, but unwillingly gives in to society's conventions. All seems lost, with Andrew headed for a loveless marriage, until fate takes a timely hand in the affair.

Songs from the film

• "Everything is Tickety Boo"
• "Pipes of Pan"
• "Chin Up, Stout Fellow"
• "Salud"
• "Here's Cheers"
• "Square of the Hypoteneuse"
• "You Can't Always Have What You Want"

Trivia

During the song, "Square of the Hypoteneuse", in which Andrew Larabee is teaching the schoolboys the Pythagorean theorem for right angle triangles, he "quotes" Einstein on the matter. In Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, Euclidean geometry no longer holds, and the Pythagorean Theorem is not true in general. In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem or Pythagoras theorem is a relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. ... Albert Einstein ( ) (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist widely considered one of the greatest physicists of all time. ... General relativity (GR) is the geometrical theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915/16. ... Euclid Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to the Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria. ...

At the end of the film, Andrew's father mentions that his ancestor was a jester in the court of a British king, a possible reference to The Court Jester, Danny Kaye's previous film. The Court Jester is a 1956 comedy film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, and Angela Lansbury. ...

External links

• Merry Andrew at the Internet Movie Database
• Merry Andrew — MGM Fan
• Merry Andrew — NNDB