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Innovative use of music, and the longest close-up in motion picture history.
The Film Daily (Sept 30, 1929)
Date of Release: Nov 10, 1929
Studio: Fox
Director: Lewis Seiler
Screenplay: Frederick Hazlitt Brennan
Music: Sidney Mitchell, Con Conrad, Archie Gottler
Leading Actors: Joseph Wagstaff (Jerry Reavis), Lois Moran (Lee Coleman), Dorothy Burgess (Nancy Morgan), Douglas Gilmore (Kane Pitcairn), Herman Bing (Jake Kleinschmidt), Hedda Hopper (Mrs. Coleman), Edwards Davis (Mr. Coleman), Bert Woodruff (Steve)
A Song of Kentucky told the story of Lee Coleman (Lois Moran), a wealthy Southern girl. In New York, Lee falls in love with Jerry (Joseph Wagstaff), a composer. Lee’s Southern suitor, Kane Pitcairn (Douglas Gilmore) sabotages the budding romance by organizing for an old vaudeville friend, Nancy (Dorothy Burgess), to frame Jerry for a crime. Lee returns heartbroken to Kentucky, and makes a wager with Kane that if her horse doesn’t win the Kentucky Derby, she will marry him (Kane, not the horse). She loses the wager, and heads to a concert, where Jerry happens to be conducting his new symphony. At the end of the concert the truth about Jerry being framed is revealed, and Jerry and Lee are happily reunited.
According to Exhibitors Herald World, A Song of Kentucky was the first film to feature “a talking picture within a talking picture.” The film featured a Fox Movietone newsreel, which contained footage of the 1929 Kentucky Derby, was “shot as seen and heard by an audience which applauds at its conclusion.”
The film was well received by critics. Motion Picture News claimed the film was “above average,” and The Film Daily stated it was ““Modest in plot, but built up with a musical background and skillful direction to the point of a soaking human interest wallop.” The Educational Screen described the film as an “Unpretentious, pleasant romantic drama.”
Unlike other musicals of this period, several reviewers praised the innovative use of music. While Variety found the score to be “anemic as to melody or appeal,” The Film Daily and Motion Picture News celebrated the “catchy” Mitchel/Conrad/Gottler tunes, particularly the film’s climatic original symphony. Motion Picture News described the symphony as “an artistic, but realistic touch, that demonstrates what might be done in the future with the addition of sound in pictures.”
The music was written by Sidney Mitchell, Con Conrad, and Archie Gottler. Sidney Mitchell was a prolific composer who wrote hundreds of songs. His songs include “Walking with Susie,” “Doing the Boom-Boom,” “Broadway,” and “Hittin’ the Ceiling.” His other film credits from 1929 include Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, Broadway, and The Cock-Eyed World.
Con Conrad started out in vaudeville, touring extensively in the United States and abroad. He wrote for several Broadway shows including The Greenwich Village Follies (1923), Americana (1926) and Keep Shufflin’ (1928). In Hollywood Conrad became a staff writer for Fox and his songs can be heard in over one hundred films including The Cock-Eyed World (1929), New Movietone Follies of 1930 (1930), Goodbye Love (1933), I Like it That Way (1934) and Margie (1946). He won the Best Music (Original Song) Oscar in 1935 for The Gay Divorcee (1934). Conrad was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Archie Gottler was a staff writer for Fox who had started out as a pianist and moved onto writing for Broadway. His Broadway credits include Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 (1918), Broadway Breveties of 1920 (1920) and The Mimic World (1921). In Hollywood, Gottler joined the illustrious ranks of writers churning out song after song. His hits include “Walking with Susie,” “Broadway,” “Kiss Me Goodnight,” and “Easter Sunday on Parade.” In the mid-1930s, Gottler also directed and wrote a series of short films.
Actor Joseph Wagstaff received plenty of praise. The Film Daily described him as “a talented, likeable lad whom picture fans are sure to take to their hearts,” a sentiment echoed by Photoplay. Wagstaff was a well-liked Broadway performer who worked on stage for around ten years. Despite the critical approval for his performance in A Song of Kentucky, he appeared in just one more film, Let’s Go Places (1930).
Lois Moran was also praised by the critics, though usually for her good looks rather than her acting ability. American-born Lois Moran grew up in Paris, where, as a teenager, she worked with the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet. After appearing in a French movie, Moran returned to USA and became a celebrated silent film star. Whilst most actors’ careers went from stage to screen, Moran’s career did the opposite. Although brief, Moran had a successful stage career, appearing on Broadway in several celebrated productions such as Of Thee I Sing and Let Them Eat Cake. Moran was reportedly the inspiration for Rosemary Hoyt in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. She retired from acting in 1935 when she married Clarence M. Young.
According to Bradley’s The First Hollywood Musicals, the symphony scene featured an eleven minute close-up on Moran that was “the longest closeup ever made in all-talking motion pictures.”
Variety ran an article on the outfits worn by Lois Moran and Hedda Hopper, with Hopper receiving particular praise for her “ability” to wear stunning dresses. Hopper was an average stage and screen actor who found fame as a gossip columnist. Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood was notorious for its salacious stories about Hollywood’s brightest stars.
A Song of Kentucky played to relatively good houses, but was not able to stand up to tough competition from The Trespasser, Gold Diggers of Broadway and Tanned Legs.
It is now considered a lost film.
Studio: Fox
Director: Lewis Seiler
Screenplay: Frederick Hazlitt Brennan
Music: Sidney Mitchell, Con Conrad, Archie Gottler
Leading Actors: Joseph Wagstaff (Jerry Reavis), Lois Moran (Lee Coleman), Dorothy Burgess (Nancy Morgan), Douglas Gilmore (Kane Pitcairn), Herman Bing (Jake Kleinschmidt), Hedda Hopper (Mrs. Coleman), Edwards Davis (Mr. Coleman), Bert Woodruff (Steve)
A Song of Kentucky told the story of Lee Coleman (Lois Moran), a wealthy Southern girl. In New York, Lee falls in love with Jerry (Joseph Wagstaff), a composer. Lee’s Southern suitor, Kane Pitcairn (Douglas Gilmore) sabotages the budding romance by organizing for an old vaudeville friend, Nancy (Dorothy Burgess), to frame Jerry for a crime. Lee returns heartbroken to Kentucky, and makes a wager with Kane that if her horse doesn’t win the Kentucky Derby, she will marry him (Kane, not the horse). She loses the wager, and heads to a concert, where Jerry happens to be conducting his new symphony. At the end of the concert the truth about Jerry being framed is revealed, and Jerry and Lee are happily reunited.
According to Exhibitors Herald World, A Song of Kentucky was the first film to feature “a talking picture within a talking picture.” The film featured a Fox Movietone newsreel, which contained footage of the 1929 Kentucky Derby, was “shot as seen and heard by an audience which applauds at its conclusion.”
The film was well received by critics. Motion Picture News claimed the film was “above average,” and The Film Daily stated it was ““Modest in plot, but built up with a musical background and skillful direction to the point of a soaking human interest wallop.” The Educational Screen described the film as an “Unpretentious, pleasant romantic drama.”
Unlike other musicals of this period, several reviewers praised the innovative use of music. While Variety found the score to be “anemic as to melody or appeal,” The Film Daily and Motion Picture News celebrated the “catchy” Mitchel/Conrad/Gottler tunes, particularly the film’s climatic original symphony. Motion Picture News described the symphony as “an artistic, but realistic touch, that demonstrates what might be done in the future with the addition of sound in pictures.”
The music was written by Sidney Mitchell, Con Conrad, and Archie Gottler. Sidney Mitchell was a prolific composer who wrote hundreds of songs. His songs include “Walking with Susie,” “Doing the Boom-Boom,” “Broadway,” and “Hittin’ the Ceiling.” His other film credits from 1929 include Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, Broadway, and The Cock-Eyed World.
Con Conrad started out in vaudeville, touring extensively in the United States and abroad. He wrote for several Broadway shows including The Greenwich Village Follies (1923), Americana (1926) and Keep Shufflin’ (1928). In Hollywood Conrad became a staff writer for Fox and his songs can be heard in over one hundred films including The Cock-Eyed World (1929), New Movietone Follies of 1930 (1930), Goodbye Love (1933), I Like it That Way (1934) and Margie (1946). He won the Best Music (Original Song) Oscar in 1935 for The Gay Divorcee (1934). Conrad was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Archie Gottler was a staff writer for Fox who had started out as a pianist and moved onto writing for Broadway. His Broadway credits include Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 (1918), Broadway Breveties of 1920 (1920) and The Mimic World (1921). In Hollywood, Gottler joined the illustrious ranks of writers churning out song after song. His hits include “Walking with Susie,” “Broadway,” “Kiss Me Goodnight,” and “Easter Sunday on Parade.” In the mid-1930s, Gottler also directed and wrote a series of short films.
Actor Joseph Wagstaff received plenty of praise. The Film Daily described him as “a talented, likeable lad whom picture fans are sure to take to their hearts,” a sentiment echoed by Photoplay. Wagstaff was a well-liked Broadway performer who worked on stage for around ten years. Despite the critical approval for his performance in A Song of Kentucky, he appeared in just one more film, Let’s Go Places (1930).
Lois Moran was also praised by the critics, though usually for her good looks rather than her acting ability. American-born Lois Moran grew up in Paris, where, as a teenager, she worked with the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet. After appearing in a French movie, Moran returned to USA and became a celebrated silent film star. Whilst most actors’ careers went from stage to screen, Moran’s career did the opposite. Although brief, Moran had a successful stage career, appearing on Broadway in several celebrated productions such as Of Thee I Sing and Let Them Eat Cake. Moran was reportedly the inspiration for Rosemary Hoyt in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. She retired from acting in 1935 when she married Clarence M. Young.
According to Bradley’s The First Hollywood Musicals, the symphony scene featured an eleven minute close-up on Moran that was “the longest closeup ever made in all-talking motion pictures.”
Variety ran an article on the outfits worn by Lois Moran and Hedda Hopper, with Hopper receiving particular praise for her “ability” to wear stunning dresses. Hopper was an average stage and screen actor who found fame as a gossip columnist. Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood was notorious for its salacious stories about Hollywood’s brightest stars.
A Song of Kentucky played to relatively good houses, but was not able to stand up to tough competition from The Trespasser, Gold Diggers of Broadway and Tanned Legs.
It is now considered a lost film.
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