also claims a good working relationship with Crosby." The Canadian weather proved to be uncooperative, Fontaine was ill for a period of time, and at one point Wilder underwent minor surgery. As a result, the film ran over schedule and budget, and Wilder ran into problems during post-production. It was his first color film, and he was dissatisfied with the way the exteriors had been photographed in Technicolor. He had much of the flora native to the area hand-painted to give it a more authentic look. Although principal photography was completed in September 1946, it wasn't until April 30, 1948 that the film premiered in London. It opened in Los Angeles on May 26, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 17, and went into wide theatrical release in the United States on July 2. Wilder later confessed, "The picture didn't come out what I wanted ... I was looking back at my childhood in Austria—waltzes, Tyrolean hats, cream puffs—shutting out what came later", a reference to the war-torn Vienna he visited prior to the film's start. "I would like to have done the picture as a tribute to Lubitsch. A tribute to Lubitsch, it was not." Score The film's underscore was composed by Victor Young. Bing Crosby had some success with "The Kiss in Your Eyes", with lyrics by Johnny Burke and a melody from the operetta Der Opernball by Richard Heuberger. Burke also contributed lyrics to "Friendly Mountains", based on two Austrian yodeling songs, and "The Emperor Waltz", with music by Johann Strauss II, and he and Jimmy Van Heusen collaborated on "Get Yourself a Phonograph". The latter song was not used in the final version of the film."I Kiss Your Hand, Madame" was by Fritz Rotter and Ralph Erwin, and Arthur Pryor wrote "Whistler and His Dog". Also heard in the film is "Santa Lucia", a barcarolle popularized by Venetian gondoliers. Crosby recorded four of the songs for Decca Records in January and March 1947 and they were issued as a 2-disc 78 rpm album. Crosby's songs were also included in the Bing's Hollywood series. Reception The film was placed in 14th in the list of top-grossing films in the US in 1948 taking $3,209,000. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times observed: "Picture it all in Technicolor, with the courtiers in flashing uniforms, the ladies in elegant dresses and Bing in an