In 1950, Warner Bros. Pictures released the third film adaptation of the 1920s Broadway musical No, No, Nanette, this time retitled after one of its most popular songs, "Tea for Two." The movie co-starred
Doris Day and
Gordon MacRae, and the score took liberties from the show, including some of the original songs but also interpolating much other material. Since Warner had no record label at the time, no soundtrack album was released, and since
Day was signed exclusively to Columbia Records as a recording artist while
MacRae was with Capitol, no real re-creation could be made, either. Instead, Columbia brought in second-billed dancer Gene Nelson, along with the Page Cavanaugh Trio, an orchestra conducted by Axel Stordahl, and various vocal groups for an album of songs from the motion picture. Even further liberties were taken with the score. Rodgers & Hart's "Here in My Arms," which was not in the show or in the movie, was added, while the song "No, No, Nanette," performed by
Day and Nelson in the movie, was dropped.
Day took over material from her co-stars and made do without a male counterpart to duet with. (Nelson tap-danced for the most part.) The result didn't have much to do with the movie, really, but it was an enjoyable collection of vintage material that
Day handled ably. Especially impressive was her version of "I Only Have Eyes for You" (another song not from the original show). And her fans didn't mind; this
Tea for Two LP became a Top Five hit for her. ~ William Ruhlmann