"Halloween" from My Blue Heaven (1950)

A number of classic Christmas songs originated in the movie musicals of the Golden Age of Hollywood, from "White Christmas" in Holiday Inn (1942) to "Silver Bells" in The Lemon Drop Kid (1951). This was certainly not the case with Halloween. While Irving Berlin wrote a song for nearly every other holiday, he totally ignored Halloween in Holiday Inn. And while Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) is known for its beloved Halloween sequence, nowhere is there a song about the holiday in the movie. One musical that did not snub Halloween was My Blue Heaven (1950), which features a song about Halloween titled, well, "Halloween."

My Blue Heaven (1950) starred Betty Grable and Dan Dailey as Kitty and Jack Moran, a married couple who are stars of their own radio show. And like many radio show stars of the time the Morans want to make the transition to television. It is then early in the movie that Kitty and Jack visit their friends, Janet and Walter Pringle (Jane Wyatt and David Wayne) on their farm to talk them into writing material for their new TV show. As it turns out, their arrival corresponds with Halloween so the Pringles' children are dressed in their costumes. That night, Kitty, Jack, and Walter, accompanied by Janet on the piano, perform the song "Halloween" for kids.

"Halloween" was written by composer Harold Arlen and lyricist Ralph Blane who wrote every other song in the movie except for the title tune ("My Blue Heaven" was written by Walter Donaldson and George A. Whiting, and dates to 1927). What makes "Halloween" amusing is that it starts out by ribbing Irving Berlin for never having written a song about the holiday of "Halloween." Both Harold Arlen and Ralph Blane had remarkable careers. Harold Arlen composed the music for the songs "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" and "Over the Rainbow" with lyricist E. Y. Harburg and "Stormy Weather" with Ted Koehler. For much of his career  Ralph Blane was partnered with Hugh Martin, and together they wrote "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).

For those of you in the mood for a Halloween song from a classic Hollywood musical, there is "Halloween."