Editing Larry Parks (section)

==Stardom ==
[[File:Teresa Wright and Larry Parks - Ford Theatre 1954.jpg|thumb|Parks with [[Teresa Wright]] in ''The Happiest Day'', a 1954 [[Ford Theatre]] presentation.]]
Now that Parks was a full-fledged star, Columbia kept him busy in elaborate productions. He appeared opposite the studio's biggest star, [[Rita Hayworth]], in ''[[Down to Earth (1947 film)|Down to Earth]]'' (1947), a musical sequel to Columbia's 1941 fantasy ''[[Here Comes Mr. Jordan]]''. Exhibitors voted him one of America's biggest boxoffice stars, ranking at #15.<ref>"Bing's Lucky Number: Pa Crosby Dons 4th B.O. Crown" By Richard L. Coe. ''The Washington Post'' January 3, 1948: 12.</ref> Columbia tried to mold him into a dashing, romantic leading man by casting him in two swashbucklers, ''[[The Swordsman (1948 film)|The Swordsman]]'' (1948) and ''[[The Gallant Blade]]'' (1948, filmed in [[Cinecolor]]). 

Parks tried to break his contract with Columbia in 1948. ''Modern Screen'', publishing an interview with Parks, explained the situation: "Larry's battle with his studio has nothing to do with money. What he's wrangling about concerns a contract signed before, not after, ''The Jolson Story''. Larry says he has a year to go on his contract. Columbia says he has five. He's up for a suit for declaratory relief. That's lawyer language, but it means a verdict to clear Larry's studio future. If he wins, he'll go right back to work for another year and then call his own shots. If he loses, he'll be Mister Columbia for five more terms."<ref>Kirtley Baskette, ''Modern Screen'', Jan. 1948, p. 78.</ref> Federal judge [[William Carey Mathes]] heard the case and sympathized with Parks but ruled against him. Trade publisher Pete Harrison commented on the outcome: "[A] practice that was condemned by Judge Mathes in no uncertain terms is the one by which a company, at a time when only a short period remains on a rising star's contract, insists that the star sign a new term contract, using as a blackjack the threat to assign the star to minor roles in "B" pictures for the remainder of the existing contract if he or she should refuse to sign the new contract. Parks claimed that such coercive methods had been employed by Columbia to obtain his signature on a new contract and, from the evidence, Judge Mathes found that it had been obtained by undue influence, indicating that he might have ruled in Parks' favor had he not waited too long to file the suit."<ref>Pete Harrison, ''Harrison's Reports'', "Columbia Wins the Larry Parks Case", Mar. 20, 1948, p. 48.</ref> 

He remained on the Columbia payroll and starred in ''Jolson Sings Again'' (1949), another huge boxoffice hit earning Parks another set of rave reviews. ''Showmen's Trade Review'': "Larry Parks, who scored a triumph in his original role of the singer, seems even more assured and more at home in the role in this follow-up film; he doesn't perform Jolson, he IS Jolson [capitalization theirs]."<ref>''Showmen's Trade Review'', Aug. 13, 1949, p. 14.</ref>  Thomas M. Pryor of ''The New York Times'' wrote, "The vitality of the Jolson voice is suitably matched in the physical representation provided by Larry Parks, who by now comes close to perfection in aping the vigorous expression with which Jolson tackles a song."<ref>Thomas M. Pryor, ''The New York Times'', August 18, 1949, p. 16.</ref> His co-star in the film, [[Barbara Hale]], teamed with him again in the comedy feature ''[[Emergency Wedding]]'' (1950). 

In 1950 he and his wife [[Betty Garrett]] announced plans to make their own film ''Stakeout''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230172108 |title=Larry Parks plans to finance his own movie |newspaper=[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]] |issue=12,534 |location=Sydney, Australia |date=March 30, 1950 |access-date=October 10, 2017 |page=35|edition=LATE FINAL EXTRA |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> British exhibitors voted him the 9th-most popular star in the United Kingdom.{{cn|date=July 2024}}