Harold Arlen
Composer · Died April 23, 1986, aged 81 · Buffalo, New York, USA
No American has written more first-rate songs than Arlen. He grew up in a musical family (his father was a cantor), and disappointed but didn't surprise his parents by dropping out of high school to become a musician. A stint as pianist and singer with a dance band, the Buffalodians, allowed him to escape Buffalo for New York City. Arlen stayed on after the band's demise; after some mostly unsuccessful attempts to conquer vaudeville or Broadway, Arlen stumbled onto a tune that, with lyrics by Ted Koehler, became "Get Happy", his first hit. With Koehler as lyricist, Arlen became the staff composer for Harlem's Cotton Club, a premiere showcase for African-American entertainers such as Cab Calloway and Ethel Waters. They wrote "I've Got the World on a String" and "Ill Wind", among dozens of others. Arlen's second important collaborator was E.Y. Harburg, with whom he composed the score for _Wizard of Oz, The (1939)_, celebrated specialty numbers for Bert Lahr and Groucho Marx, and two Broadway musicals. In the 1940s, Arlen reached the peak of his popularity with his third major partner, Johnny Mercer; most of their hits, such as "Blues in the Night", "My Shining Hour" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", were written for the movies, as Hollywood replaced the stage as the songwriters' most lucrative market. As he aged, Arlen grew increasingly frustrated with Hollywood's waste of material and Broadway's rigmarole; his personal life in this period was also unhappy. His best songs, though, in renditions by performers li ke Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra and later cabaret singers and jazz musicians, have continued to be seen as classics.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 15, 1905
- April 23, 1986 (aged 81)
- Buffalo, New York, USA
- Composer
- 21 on MovieCove · 41 credits in all
Known for
Where can I watch Harold Arlen's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Harold Arlen's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
41 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Berlin Jazz Piano Workshop 1965 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
The Wizard of Oz on Ice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
I Could Go on Singing(1963)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Gay Purr-ee(1962)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Bloomer Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Paris in the Springtime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
The Country Girl(1954)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
A Star Is Born(1954)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
The Farmer Takes a Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Mr. Imperium(1951)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
My Blue Heaven(1950)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Summer Stock(1950)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
The Petty Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Slightly French (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
Casbah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
Earl Carroll Sketchbook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)
Out of This World(1945)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Here Come the Waves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Kismet(1944)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Youth Runs Wild (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Up in Arms(1944)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
The Sky's the Limit(1943)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Cabin in the Sky(1943)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
They Got Me Covered(1943)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Rio Rita(1942)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Star Spangled Rhythm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Blues in the Night(1941)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
I Wake Up Screaming(1941)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
At the Circus(1939)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
The Wizard of Oz(1939)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Love Affair(1939)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Artists & Models (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Gold Diggers of 1937(1936)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Stage Struck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
The Singing Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Strike Me Pink (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Splendor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
Let's Fall in Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Lydia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)