All the Fine Young Cannibals is a 1960 American drama film directed by Michael Anderson, starring Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton, and Pearl Bailey. Hamilton said that the film "combined Southern Gothic with a biopic of jazzman Chet Baker." It was loosely based on The Bixby Girls, a 1957 novel by Rosamond Marshall that was set in the World War I era.

Plot

Two young people in love, musician Chad Bixby (Robert Wagner) and Sarah "Salome" Davis (Natalie Wood), are forced apart despite the latter's pregnancy. They marry others, but are brought back together by chance. A downtrodden blues singer (Pearl Bailey) mothers Bixby while guiding his career.

Cast

Production

All the Fine Young Cannibals was the first film that Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood made together. George Hamilton says that director Vincente Minnelli shot some scenes when Michael Anderson was unavailable, including an ending for the film that was not used. Wagner's character is loosely based on the jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $950,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and $860,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $1,108,000.

Influence

The film's title was later taken by the English band Fine Young Cannibals.