1h 38min | Animation, Comedy, Music | 20 April 1930 | Color
Director: John Murray Anderson
Stars: Paul Whiteman, John Boles, Laura La Plante.
Russell Markert ... dance director
Criterion dvd set.
Already blogged from online viewing on 20Dec17.
Not Jazz as we think of it now.
Some of this is deadly dull, but some is presented in very visually interesting ways. We get kaleidoscopic sequences and overhead shots, and this was released 6 months before Whoopee! ('30), B.Berkeley's first film (dance director) credit.
The colors exclude blue, a design constraint of 2-strip Technicolor. So this is heavily red & green, with at least 1 golden scene. A few scenes have stills replacing missing footage, and the commentary track reveals at least 1 scene missing entirely.
Also interesting to see Bing Crosby as just one of the members of The Rhythm Boys; I don't know the names of the other 2, but they mention his name once or twice, and he's the featured singer of Happy Feet. He contorts his mouth in strange ways; it's subtle, but definitely not what I'm used to with him. This is his 1st film credit.
Among the extra features on disc 2, we learn that the film's director came from B'way, and was given carte blanche to create whatever lavish scenes he wanted, and boy did he. His B'way work was competition to Ziegfeld and Earl Carroll, namely enormous revue shows that changed each season and had to outdo everything prior. (Recall that the Condos Bros, Frank & "Harry", actually most likely Nick, were in the cast of the Earl Carroll Vanities of '30.) One of the extra features is a 19 min 1929 short of a melting pot live prologue Anderson designed for Paramount theatres.
The line of precision dancers is the Russell Markert Dancers, the forerunners of the Rockettes (Radio City Music Hall opened 27 Dec 32.)
The better print and the extra features elevate my rating from the Dec online viewing.
Universal, dir. Anderson; 7-
