Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Presenting Lily Mars
open-in-new
<h2 id="plot">Plot</h2> <p>Lily Mars (<a href="/facts/Judy_Garland/aVWBlL8A">Judy Garland</a>) is a small-town girl with big-city ambitions. She contrives to audition for a Broadway producer whose father was the local physician and whose family piano her father also happened to tune. However, the producer wants nothing to do with her. She then heads to <a href="/facts/Broadway_theatre/6USkK8x9">Broadway</a> hoping to convince him to cast her, but after a series of disappointments, the best she can manage is an understudy job.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="cast">Cast</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Judy_Garland/aVWBlL8A">Judy Garland</a> as Lily Mars</li> <li><a href="/facts/Van_Heflin/6agt63yK">Van Heflin</a> as John Thornway</li> <li><a href="/facts/Fay_Bainter/U71MACG7">Fay Bainter</a> as Mrs. Thornway</li> <li><a href="/facts/Richard_Carlson_(actor)/IxSvrKWF">Richard Carlson</a> as Owen Vail</li> <li><a href="/facts/Spring_Byington/cXzYEfSb">Spring Byington</a> as Mrs. Mars</li> <li><a href="/facts/Marta_Eggerth/ThPfxKpG">Marta Eggerth</a> as Isobel Rekay</li> <li><a href="/facts/Connie_Gilchrist/l80dL6nN">Connie Gilchrist</a> as Frankie</li> <li><a href="/facts/Leonid_Kinskey/29Ah5dDy">Leonid Kinskey</a> as Leo</li> <li>Patricia Barker as Poppy</li> <li>Janet Chapman as Violet</li> <li><a href="/facts/Annie_Ross/1gFBovbz">Annabelle Logan</a> as Rosie</li> <li><a href="/facts/Douglas_Croft/ElUatL2W">Douglas Croft</a> as Davey</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ray_McDonald_(actor)/vxmejtQq">Ray McDonald</a> as Charlie Potter</li> <li><a href="/facts/Lew_Payton/AgAEeHBD">Lew Payton</a> as Thornway's Butler</li> <li><a href="/facts/Charles_Walters/spPWvQuh">Charles Walters</a> as Lily's Dance Partner in Finale (uncredited)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Lillian_Yarbo/CBRfbdkF">Lillian Yarbo</a> as Rosa, Isobel's maid (uncredited)</li></ul> <h2 id="soundtrack">Soundtrack</h2> <p>The soundtrack includes: </p> <ul><li>"<a href="/facts/Every_Little_Movement_(Has_a_Meaning_All_Its_Own)/vG2nqYeD">Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own)</a>"</li> <li>"When I Look At You"</li> <li>"Tom, Tom The Piper's Son"</li> <li>"<a href="/facts/Three_O%2527Clock_in_the_Morning/FStRgYl7">Three O'Clock in the Morning</a>" and</li> <li>"Broadway Rhythm" featuring <a href="/facts/Tommy_Dorsey/G3f1Gk4V">Tommy Dorsey</a> and His Orchestra.</li></ul> <p>The finale, "Where There's Music", originally included parts of "<a href="/facts/St._Louis_Blues_(song)/Bz5mgS72">St. Louis Blues</a>", "In The Shade of the Old Apple Tree", and "<a href="/facts/It%2527s_a_Long_Way_to_Tipperary/MUHaRmzR">It's a Long Way to Tipperary</a>", which were deleted from the final version. </p> <h2 id="reception">Reception</h2> <p>According to MGM records the film earned <a href="/facts/United_States_dollar/naEEDUhC">USD</a>$2,216,000 in the US and Canada and $1,039,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,211,000.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>An April 30, 1943, <i><a href="/facts/The_New_York_Times/T9marWVX">New York Times</a></i> review bylined T. S. praises Judy Garland's “blithe talents” but concludes: “For all its sweetness, "Presenting Lily Mars" is uninviting fare; it is glorified monotony. Perhaps M-G-M should let Miss Garland grow up and stay that way.”<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Presenting Lily Mars. <ul><li><a href="https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/620"><i>Presenting Lily Mars</i></a> at the <a href="/facts/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films/61kFwpB6">AFI Catalog of Feature Films</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036275/"><i>Presenting Lily Mars</i></a> at <a href="/facts/IMDb_(identifier)/uWrqVYVy">IMDb</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.allmovie.com/movie/presenting-lily-mars-am28342"><i>Presenting Lily Mars</i> at AllMovie</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1706/enwp"><i>Presenting Lily Mars</i></a> at the <a href="/facts/Turner_Classic_Movies/0qS5jr3H">TCM Movie Database</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.thejudyroom.com/lilymars.html">The Judy Room "Presenting Lily Mars" Section.</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Presenting Lily Mars". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2024-09-06. <a href="https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1706/presenting-lily-mars#articles-reviews?articleId=72515" target="_blank">https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1706/presenting-lily-mars#articles-reviews?articleId=72515</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Presenting Lily Mars (1943), AllMovie. <a href="http://www.allmovie.com/movie/presenting-lily-mars-v39066" target="_blank">http://www.allmovie.com/movie/presenting-lily-mars-v39066</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Presenting Lily Mars, IMDb.com <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036275/fullcredits" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036275/fullcredits</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Top Grossers of the Season", Variety, 5 January 1944 p 54 <a href="https://archive.org/stream/variety153-1944-01#page/n51/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/variety153-1944-01#page/n51/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>T.S. (April 30, 1943). "At the Capitol". The New York Times. p. 0. Retrieved September 6, 2024. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1943/04/30/archives/at-the-capitol.html?searchResultPosition=3" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1943/04/30/archives/at-the-capitol.html?searchResultPosition=3</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>