“Three Coins in the Fountain” is a popular song which received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1955.
The melody was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was written for the romance film, Three Coins in the Fountain and refers to the act of throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome while making a wish. Each of the film’s three stars performs this act.
Cahn and Jule Styne were asked to write the song to fit the movie, but were unable to either see the film or read the script. They completed the song in an hour and had produced a demonstration record with Frank Sinatra by the following day. The song was subsequently used in the film soundtrack, but in the rush 20th Century Fox neglected to sign a contract with the composers, allowing them to claim complete rights over the royalties. The song was subsequently recorded by The Four Aces(backed by the Jack Pleis Orchestra), who had a number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard pop chart in 1954, while the Sinatra recording topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September and October that year.
A recording by Dinah Shore with orchestra conducted by Harry Geller was made at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on March 24, 1954. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-5755 (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master’s Voice label as catalog number B 10730. Harry James recorded a version on his 1955 album Jukebox Jamboree (Columbia CL-615).
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jean Negulesco |
| Produced by | Sol C. Siegel |
| Written by | John Patrick |
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| Music by | Victor Young |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Edited by | William Reynolds |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Budget | $1.7 million |
| Box office | $5 million (US rentals); $12 million (worldwide rentals) |
Three Coins in the Fountain is a 1954 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Rossano Brazzi, and Maggie McNamara. Written by John Patrick, the film is about three American women working in Rome who dream of finding romance in the Eternal City.
The film’s main title song “Three Coins in the Fountain” (sung by an uncredited Frank Sinatra) went on to become an enduring standard. The story was adapted by John Patrick from the novel Coins in the Fountain by John H. Secondari. It was made in Italy during the “Hollywood on the Tiber” era.
At the 27th Academy Awards in 1955, the film received two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Song, and was nominated for Best Picture.
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