This morning, like so many of you, I awoke an hour earlier than necessary because of the time change to Eastern Standard Time. At first, I considered turning over and going back to sleep, but I flipped on the TV to see if anything of importance happened overnight in the news. Finding nothing to keep my eyes open, I began a search with the remote. When I landed on Turner Classic Movies, I stopped. Here was a film from the golden age of movies of which I was not aware…actually had never seen it before. It was Till the Clouds Roll By, released in 1946 (before I was born), a film about the life of Jerome Kern. Kern was the genius behind these Broadway classics: Showboat, Roberta, and Sweet Adeline.

The film was loaded with some of Kern’s finest pieces. Some of these were featured:
“Ol’ Man River”
“Can’t Help Lovin Dat Man”
“A Fine Romance”
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”
“The Way You Look Tonight”
“Long Ago (and Far Away)”
“I Won’t Dance”
“Make Believe”
“Bill”
“The Last Time I Saw Paris”

The movie starred Robert Walker as Jerome Kern, but it had smaller bit parts for some of Hollywood’s finest, some of whom appeared in cameo parts, while others played characters in Kern’s life.
Among them were Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Esther Williams, Angela Lansbury, Lena Horne, Van Heflin, Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Tony Martin, Van Johnson, and Judy Garland. Add to that the dancing talents of Gower Champion and Cyd Charisse.
So, although my body clock still needs readjusting, I do not regret the moments of watching the film version about a man whose music we still sing after all these years. It was an enjoyable way to start my day.