Imagine (from “Athena”)

The May 14, 2020 installment of the Chicago Tribune’s “Coronavirus Overdue Film Festival“ featured a review of the now-obscure 1954 film “Athena”:

“The phrase ‘MGM musical’ shimmers with nostalgia, but what does it evoke, exactly? Technicolor dreams of tuneful romance? Backlot depictions of Times Square, Paris or the Scottish Highlands, along with occasional bursts of realism, as when the 1949 “On the Town” managed to sneak in a few days’ location filming in New York City? Yes, all that. Also, orchestral swells and mile-wide Gene Kelly and Judy Garland smiles, and a deathless handful of triple threats who really could sing, act and dance. But the ‘MGM musical’ label misleads. So many MGM musicals, the famous ones, were treated to royal budgets and top talent, while so many others had to settle for smaller budgets, mismatched contract players and lesser material. For every ‘Singin’ in the Rain‘ or ‘The Band Wagon‘ there’s a lesser-known commodity — or outright oddity — revealing a different story, more about the musical genre’s struggles to remain vital than the onscreen romantic complications taxing our patience in between numbers.

One of the strangest is ‘Athena,’ … a contemporary riff on MGM’s big musical draw that year, ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers‘ … Crooner and sometime actor Vic Damone, a diffident MGM staple of the day, paired off in ‘Athena’ with Debbie Reynolds. They’re treated to the duet “Imagine,” a melodically unpredictable standout in the Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane score … There are compensations, as there are in other offbeat, youth-craze MGM titles of the era … Damone may have been a mite bland, but he could sing.”

According to the trailer, the film was categorized as a romantic comedy — but not quite like the rom-coms viewers became accustomed to in the 1990s! Apparently much of the action took place in the family home of Reynolds’ character; the family were health and wellness enthusiasts. The movie took that premise and ran with it, dropping a Mr. Universe bodybuilding contest into the film (see trailer, below) … as one does.

Jamie A., the former host of Cinema Songbook on Martha’s Vineyard’s WVVY FM, submitted the tune. He adds more detail: “This movie actually started out as an idea for a film with Esther Williams, about a goddess come to life on Earth. But studio bosses were trying to force her out because her films were too high budget, and they sabotaged her last film at MGM, ‘Jupiter’s Darling’ (worth a view—a musical about Hannibal’s march on Rome with elephants!). The concept changed drastically when Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds took over.”

Damone’s feature is in A major, transitioning to Reynolds’ section in Gb major at 1:12.