- Published on
Image from IMDb
A mediocre musical that provides a glimpse of Buster Keaton’s brilliant comedy.
Date of Release: March 22, 1930
Studio: MGM
Director: Edward Sedgwick
Cinematographer: Leonard Smith
Editor: William Le Vanway, George Todd
Production Designer: Cedric Gibbons
Screenplay: Richard Schayer, Paul Dickey
Music: Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk
Sound: Karl E. Zint, Douglas Shearer
Choreography: Sammy Lee
Production Designer:
Costumes: David Ward
Leading Actors:
Buster Keaton (Elmer Butts)
Anita Page (Elvira)
Trixie Friganza (Ma)
Robert Montgomery (Larry)
Fred Niblo (Director)
Edgar Dearing (Officer)
Gwen Lee (herself)
John Milan (himself)
Lionel Barrymore (himself)
William Haines (himself, a guest)
Free and Easy was Buster Keaton’s first talkie, and second film with MGM after a non-speaking role in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. Buster Keaton was at the height of his career when he made Free and Easy, a somewhat ironic title given his sad decline following his move to MGM.
Production took place at the end of 1929 under the title On the Set. The film was released with the revamped title Free and Easy on March 22, 1930.
The plot follows Elmer Butz (Keaton), manager to Miss Gopher City and aspiring starlet Elvira (Anita Page) as he accompanies Elvira and her mother Ma Plunkett (Trixie Friganza) to Hollywood. After several hilarious mishaps, Elmer finds himself starring in a new musical and is awarded a studio contract. Not all ends happily however, as Elvira leaves to marry Larry (Robert Montgomery).
Demonstrating Keaton’s international appeal, the film was also shot in a Spanish-language version with Spanish actors, including Raquel Torres, and Keaton speaking Spanish phonetically. The Spanish version was released under the title Estrellados. An edited version of the original film with English and French intertitles was released in France.
Reviews were generally positive, praising the behind-the-scenes view into the MGM lot, the performances of Anita Page and Robert Montgomery, and most notably Buster Keaton’s comedic excellence. Reviewer Douglas Fox, writing for trade magazine Exhibitors Herald World, summarized “you have a picture that ought to attract people.” The National Board of Review Magazine noted the film was “exceedingly amusing where the star meets with many comic situations in his hapless manner but less so where he begins making slapstick.”
Buster Keaton received positive to glowing reviews. The New York Times film reviewer Mordaunt Hall enthused “In an extravaganza, with some violently funny episodes and others that are only mildly amusing, Buster Keaton… joins the ranks of the talking screen players and it is a pleasure to report that his voice… thoroughly suits his unique personality.” Writing for Hollywood Filmograph, Ed O’Malley stated Buster Keaton “has busted into the vocables, and if gusts of laughter coming from the auditories can be taken as criterion of his success, he surely has gone over the top with a wam…”
Free and Easy was a commercial hit. According to Keaton biographer James L. Neibaur, the film grossed $438,000 in the US alone. The film was still playing in December 1930, where it was advertised in Canada as “The Star-Studded Comedy Carnival.”
In 1958, Free and Easy was released on television under the title Easy Go.
In the early 1990s, TNT later aired Free and Easy under its original title.
Warner Bros released Free and Easy on DVD in 2004 as part of a 2-disc Buster Keaton Collection that also included The Cameraman, Spite Marriage, and a documentary So Funny It Hurts: Buster Keaton and MGM.
In 2014, the Warner Archive Collection released Free and Easy as a stand-alone DVD which included Estrellados.
Modern day reviewers agree that Keaton’s performance stands out in an otherwise banal film.
Reviewer J. Hoberman stated the film was “less a star vehicle than an advertisement for MGM,” and claimed that “Although inanely framed, Keaton’s performances are more than game.” Film historian Matthew Hoffman describes Free and Easy as “an awkward film,” but praises Buster Keaton’s performance. Hoffman noted “Despite the limitations imposed on him, Keaton is amazing... Unfortunately, when he’s not on the screen, the film is excruciating.”
I confess I had never seen a Buster Keaton movie until Free and Easy, and this film makes me want to seek out more of his work. I agree with other modern day reviewers – Keaton’s comedy is the saving grace of the film, and his sad clown persona is genuinely moving. Trixie Friganza as Ma Plunkett is a terrific foil to Keaton and it’s easy to see why she was a vaudeville headliner in her own right. The only musical numbers are scenes from the film which Elmer inadvertently finds himself in, over-the-top production numbers in period costume which do little to advance the plot.
Date of Release: March 22, 1930
Studio: MGM
Director: Edward Sedgwick
Cinematographer: Leonard Smith
Editor: William Le Vanway, George Todd
Production Designer: Cedric Gibbons
Screenplay: Richard Schayer, Paul Dickey
Music: Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk
Sound: Karl E. Zint, Douglas Shearer
Choreography: Sammy Lee
Production Designer:
Costumes: David Ward
Leading Actors:
Buster Keaton (Elmer Butts)
Anita Page (Elvira)
Trixie Friganza (Ma)
Robert Montgomery (Larry)
Fred Niblo (Director)
Edgar Dearing (Officer)
Gwen Lee (herself)
John Milan (himself)
Lionel Barrymore (himself)
William Haines (himself, a guest)
Free and Easy was Buster Keaton’s first talkie, and second film with MGM after a non-speaking role in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. Buster Keaton was at the height of his career when he made Free and Easy, a somewhat ironic title given his sad decline following his move to MGM.
Production took place at the end of 1929 under the title On the Set. The film was released with the revamped title Free and Easy on March 22, 1930.
The plot follows Elmer Butz (Keaton), manager to Miss Gopher City and aspiring starlet Elvira (Anita Page) as he accompanies Elvira and her mother Ma Plunkett (Trixie Friganza) to Hollywood. After several hilarious mishaps, Elmer finds himself starring in a new musical and is awarded a studio contract. Not all ends happily however, as Elvira leaves to marry Larry (Robert Montgomery).
Demonstrating Keaton’s international appeal, the film was also shot in a Spanish-language version with Spanish actors, including Raquel Torres, and Keaton speaking Spanish phonetically. The Spanish version was released under the title Estrellados. An edited version of the original film with English and French intertitles was released in France.
Reviews were generally positive, praising the behind-the-scenes view into the MGM lot, the performances of Anita Page and Robert Montgomery, and most notably Buster Keaton’s comedic excellence. Reviewer Douglas Fox, writing for trade magazine Exhibitors Herald World, summarized “you have a picture that ought to attract people.” The National Board of Review Magazine noted the film was “exceedingly amusing where the star meets with many comic situations in his hapless manner but less so where he begins making slapstick.”
Buster Keaton received positive to glowing reviews. The New York Times film reviewer Mordaunt Hall enthused “In an extravaganza, with some violently funny episodes and others that are only mildly amusing, Buster Keaton… joins the ranks of the talking screen players and it is a pleasure to report that his voice… thoroughly suits his unique personality.” Writing for Hollywood Filmograph, Ed O’Malley stated Buster Keaton “has busted into the vocables, and if gusts of laughter coming from the auditories can be taken as criterion of his success, he surely has gone over the top with a wam…”
Free and Easy was a commercial hit. According to Keaton biographer James L. Neibaur, the film grossed $438,000 in the US alone. The film was still playing in December 1930, where it was advertised in Canada as “The Star-Studded Comedy Carnival.”
In 1958, Free and Easy was released on television under the title Easy Go.
In the early 1990s, TNT later aired Free and Easy under its original title.
Warner Bros released Free and Easy on DVD in 2004 as part of a 2-disc Buster Keaton Collection that also included The Cameraman, Spite Marriage, and a documentary So Funny It Hurts: Buster Keaton and MGM.
In 2014, the Warner Archive Collection released Free and Easy as a stand-alone DVD which included Estrellados.
Modern day reviewers agree that Keaton’s performance stands out in an otherwise banal film.
Reviewer J. Hoberman stated the film was “less a star vehicle than an advertisement for MGM,” and claimed that “Although inanely framed, Keaton’s performances are more than game.” Film historian Matthew Hoffman describes Free and Easy as “an awkward film,” but praises Buster Keaton’s performance. Hoffman noted “Despite the limitations imposed on him, Keaton is amazing... Unfortunately, when he’s not on the screen, the film is excruciating.”
I confess I had never seen a Buster Keaton movie until Free and Easy, and this film makes me want to seek out more of his work. I agree with other modern day reviewers – Keaton’s comedy is the saving grace of the film, and his sad clown persona is genuinely moving. Trixie Friganza as Ma Plunkett is a terrific foil to Keaton and it’s easy to see why she was a vaudeville headliner in her own right. The only musical numbers are scenes from the film which Elmer inadvertently finds himself in, over-the-top production numbers in period costume which do little to advance the plot.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Books
Articles
Websites
Other
Books
- Richard Barrios, A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film, Oxford University Press (1995)
- James L. Neibaur, The Fall of Buster Keaton: His Films for MGM, Educational Pictures, and Columbia, Bloomsbury (2010)
Articles
- Brian Cady, “Free and Easy,” Turner Classic Movies (Nov 12, 2004)
- Lindsey D, “Free and Easy (1930)” The Motion Pictures (June 5, 2014)
- Douglas Fox, “Service on Pictures: Free and Easy,” Exhibitors Herald-World (April 26, 1930) p.28
- Ed. Bettina Gunczy, “Selected Pictures Guide: Free and Easy,” National Board of Review Magazine (March 1930) p.16
- Mordaunt Hall, “THE SCREEN; Buster Keaton Talks. "Music Hath Charms,” NY Times (April 19, 1930)
- J. Hoberman, “Silent Comic, Finding His Voice,” NY Times (March 23, 2014)
- Matthew Hoffman, “Buster Keaton in Free and Easy (1930),” Park Ridge Classic Film (March 10, 2017)
- Ed O’Malley, “Free and Easy,” Hollywood Filmograph (April 19, 1930), p.29
- Richard T. Ryan, “Want dopey fun? Then play ‘Dodgeball’: New to DVD,” The Ann Arbor News (Dec 10, 2004)
- Uncredited, “The Shadow Stage: Free and Easy,” Photoplay (May 1930), p.55
- Uncredited, “Big All-Star-Cast in “Free and Easy”,” Drumheller Review (Dec 19, 1930), p.4
- Uncredited, “TV Today: Wednesday, August 20, 1958,” Tampa Bay Times, (Aug 20, 1958), p.13B
- Uncredited, “Monday late night,” The Herald: TV Herald (Rock Hill, South Carolina), (Oct 4, 1992), p.11
Websites
- AFI Catalog, “FREE AND EASY (1930)
Accessed via: https://catalog.afi.com/Film/9238-FREE-AND-EASY?cxt=filmography - Buster Keaton, “Keaton’s Films”
Accessed via: https://web.archive.org/web/20120712140907/http://www.busterkeaton.com/ - Criterion Forum, “Buster Keaton Collection”
Accessed via: https://criterionforum.org/Video/buster-keaton-collection-warner-bros-dvd
Other
- Dir. Christopher Bird and Kevin Brownlow, So Funny It Hurts: Buster Keaton and MGM (2004)
- Published on
We jump back briefly to 1928 to take a look at a film considered long lost.
Photoplay, Nov 1928
Date of Release: Sept 23, 1928
Studio: First National
Director: Alfred Santell
Writer: James T. O'Donohue, George Marion
Costumes: Max Rée
Music: Irving Caesar, Edward Grossman, Joseph Meyer, Ted Ward
Choreography: Seymour Felix
Cast: Alice White (Dixie Dugan), Donald Reed (Álvarez Romano), Lee Moran (Denny), Charles Delaney (Jimmy), Richard Tucker (Milton), Gwen Lee (Nita Dugan), James Finlayson (Mr. Dugan) Kate Price (Mrs. Dugan), Hugh Roman (Eppus), Bernard Randall (Kibbitzer)
This film represents yet another musical missing from the AFI catalog of movie musicals, and yet was an early piece of work for many important industry players.
Show Girl was based on Joseph Patrick McEvoy’s best-selling novel of the same name. The novel was also the basis for the Dixie Dugan comic strip, a popular series which chronicled the life of a Hollywood showgirl.
The novel was heavily employed in promoting the film, with the serialized version of the novel re-released in local newspapers, and copies of the book distributed to theatre managers. Screenland (Nov 1928) also featured an article by the film’s star, Alice White, extolling the novel’s comedic value.
Studio: First National
Director: Alfred Santell
Writer: James T. O'Donohue, George Marion
Costumes: Max Rée
Music: Irving Caesar, Edward Grossman, Joseph Meyer, Ted Ward
Choreography: Seymour Felix
Cast: Alice White (Dixie Dugan), Donald Reed (Álvarez Romano), Lee Moran (Denny), Charles Delaney (Jimmy), Richard Tucker (Milton), Gwen Lee (Nita Dugan), James Finlayson (Mr. Dugan) Kate Price (Mrs. Dugan), Hugh Roman (Eppus), Bernard Randall (Kibbitzer)
This film represents yet another musical missing from the AFI catalog of movie musicals, and yet was an early piece of work for many important industry players.
Show Girl was based on Joseph Patrick McEvoy’s best-selling novel of the same name. The novel was also the basis for the Dixie Dugan comic strip, a popular series which chronicled the life of a Hollywood showgirl.
The novel was heavily employed in promoting the film, with the serialized version of the novel re-released in local newspapers, and copies of the book distributed to theatre managers. Screenland (Nov 1928) also featured an article by the film’s star, Alice White, extolling the novel’s comedic value.
Alice White's feature in Screenland, Nov 1928
The promotions paid off, and Show Girl did well at the box office. In New York, part of the appeal of Show Girl was that the Strand Theatre was one of the few theatres wired for sound. Audiences loved being able to see, and hear, up-coming talkie previews.
Although the critics thought Alice White “wasn’t so good in her part,” audiences loved her. As reported in Motion Picture Magazine (Dec 1928), one fan bemoaned the fact that while White and the chorus girls had worn as little as permitted by the censors on screen, the scantily clad scenes were only filmed in long shots.
White started out as a secretary and script supervisor, and her good looks led her to being cast as a flapper, and eventually the leading roles in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928). White was involved in a love triangle that flared into a scandal and effectively ended her career. Even long after her career had faded however she continued to receive fan mail.
Overall the critics enjoyed Show Girl, although they thought the book was better. The usually more snarky Educational Screen (December 1928) wrote, “Some gorgeous sets and costumes, dancing and swift action make just fair entertainment.” Motion Picture News (Nov 10, 1928) described the film as one for the masses, and Variety complained that apart from a few songs and some applause effects, there wasn’t enough use of sound.
Although the critics thought Alice White “wasn’t so good in her part,” audiences loved her. As reported in Motion Picture Magazine (Dec 1928), one fan bemoaned the fact that while White and the chorus girls had worn as little as permitted by the censors on screen, the scantily clad scenes were only filmed in long shots.
White started out as a secretary and script supervisor, and her good looks led her to being cast as a flapper, and eventually the leading roles in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928). White was involved in a love triangle that flared into a scandal and effectively ended her career. Even long after her career had faded however she continued to receive fan mail.
Overall the critics enjoyed Show Girl, although they thought the book was better. The usually more snarky Educational Screen (December 1928) wrote, “Some gorgeous sets and costumes, dancing and swift action make just fair entertainment.” Motion Picture News (Nov 10, 1928) described the film as one for the masses, and Variety complained that apart from a few songs and some applause effects, there wasn’t enough use of sound.
"Gorgeous sets and costumes" Screenland, Oct 1928
The “gorgeous sets and costumers” were designed by Max Rée, and White was lucky enough to wear 22 different costumes throughout the film. Danish-born Rée worked on Broadway and in Hollywood, and he went on to win an Oscar for Best Art Direction of Cimarron (1931). His other credits include Dixiana (1930), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935), and Carnegie Hall (1947). A wonderful summary (including pictures) of his work can be found here.
The score included the film’s theme song, “Show Girl,”“Buy, Buy for Baby” and “She’s One Sweet Show Girl.” The excellent Vitaphone Varieties blog features the latter two, and the music is bright and fun. The music team, Irving Ceasar and Joseph Meyer, were already big names by 1928, and went on to even greater success.
Irving Caesar worked on Broadway contributing lyrics and music to over forty productions including No, No Nanette (1925) and George White’s Scandals (1931) and various revues. Over the course of his career he composed over 700 songs including “Swanee” and “Tea for Two.” He was an early member of ASCAP, and a founding member of the Songwriters Guild of America.
Joseph Meyer was a prolific composer who worked extensively on Broadway. Shows include Big Boy (1925), Ziegfeld Follies of 1934 (1934) and Shuffle Along (1952). His most well-known songs include “If You Knew Susie,” "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You," and “California, Here I Come.” He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.
The rest of the creative team were just as accomplished.
Alfred Santell was a prolific and well regarded director. Over the course of his three decade career he worked for most of the major studios, and directed over 90 films including Daddy Long Legs (1931), Winterset (1936), The Hairy Ape (1944), and That Brennan Girl (1946).
James T. O'Donohue wrote scripts primarily during the silent era.
George Marion was a prolific writer who worked in Hollywood for over twenty years. His other credits include Sweetie (1929), The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Too Many Girls (1940).
Edward Grossman was a composer and teacher, who had also trained to be a lawyer. He composed mainly for piano, and was active in several synagogues and Jewish organizations.
Joseph Meyer was a prolific composer for stage and screen. His hit songs include “California Here I Come,” “If You Knew Susie,” “Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie,” and “Singing a Song to the Stars.”
Ted Ward was a well-regarded composer who was nominated for seven Academy Awards – twice for Best Original Song, “Always and Always” from Mannequin (1939) and “Pennies for Peppino” from Flying with Music (1943); and five times for Best Scoring, Cheers for Miss Bishop (1942), Tanks a Million (1942), All-American Co-Ed (1942), and Phantom of the Opera (1944). Over the course of his career Ward worked for MGM, United Artists, and Universal.
After starting out as a vaudeville dancer, Seymour Felix became a well-known Broadway dance director. He contributed choreography for over thirty films including Sunnyside Up (1929), Everybody Sing (1938), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Dancing in the Dark (1949), and the television series Our Miss Brooks (1955).
For the most part, the cast of Show Girl went on to substantial acting careers.
Mexican born Donald Reed appeared in over forty films over fifteen years.
Lee Moran was an incredibly prolific actor, writer and director, predominantly during the silent era. He started out in vaudeville, and along with writing partner Earle Lyons created popular situational humor comedies. In a career spanning over twenty years, Moran appeared in nearly five hundred films, directed over a hundred, and wrote ninety-one scripts.
Starting out in silent film, Charles Delaney was an actor whose career spanned over five decades. He appeared predominantly in action and Western films.
Richard Tucker appeared in close to three hundred films, including The Jazz Singer (1927), Lucky Boy (1928), My Man (1928), Puttin on the Ritz (1930), and Stepping Out (1931). He was reportedly the first official member oF the Screen Actors Guild.
Named as a WAMPAS Baby star in 1928, Photoplay (January 1929) described Gwen Lee as “beautiful and attractive and a splendid dancer.“ Lee appeared in over sixty films including Lucky Boy (1928), and Untamed (1929). According to IMDb, Lee’s star faded after an unfortunate synchronization issue in Untamed led to her voice appearing “switched“ with her male co-star.
Scottish born James Finlayson was a highly popular and well-regarded comedic actor. He worked as an actor in the UK before moving to the US and working in vaudeville. An original Keystone Kop, Finlayson appeared in many Laurel and Hardy films.
Irish born Kate Price started out as a stage actress, and went on to appear in nearly three hundred films.
Russian born Bernard Randall emigrated to the USA as a child. He started out in vaudeville and was soon acting in film. He went on to appear in over thirty films and television shows.
The score included the film’s theme song, “Show Girl,”“Buy, Buy for Baby” and “She’s One Sweet Show Girl.” The excellent Vitaphone Varieties blog features the latter two, and the music is bright and fun. The music team, Irving Ceasar and Joseph Meyer, were already big names by 1928, and went on to even greater success.
Irving Caesar worked on Broadway contributing lyrics and music to over forty productions including No, No Nanette (1925) and George White’s Scandals (1931) and various revues. Over the course of his career he composed over 700 songs including “Swanee” and “Tea for Two.” He was an early member of ASCAP, and a founding member of the Songwriters Guild of America.
Joseph Meyer was a prolific composer who worked extensively on Broadway. Shows include Big Boy (1925), Ziegfeld Follies of 1934 (1934) and Shuffle Along (1952). His most well-known songs include “If You Knew Susie,” "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You," and “California, Here I Come.” He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.
The rest of the creative team were just as accomplished.
Alfred Santell was a prolific and well regarded director. Over the course of his three decade career he worked for most of the major studios, and directed over 90 films including Daddy Long Legs (1931), Winterset (1936), The Hairy Ape (1944), and That Brennan Girl (1946).
James T. O'Donohue wrote scripts primarily during the silent era.
George Marion was a prolific writer who worked in Hollywood for over twenty years. His other credits include Sweetie (1929), The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Too Many Girls (1940).
Edward Grossman was a composer and teacher, who had also trained to be a lawyer. He composed mainly for piano, and was active in several synagogues and Jewish organizations.
Joseph Meyer was a prolific composer for stage and screen. His hit songs include “California Here I Come,” “If You Knew Susie,” “Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie,” and “Singing a Song to the Stars.”
Ted Ward was a well-regarded composer who was nominated for seven Academy Awards – twice for Best Original Song, “Always and Always” from Mannequin (1939) and “Pennies for Peppino” from Flying with Music (1943); and five times for Best Scoring, Cheers for Miss Bishop (1942), Tanks a Million (1942), All-American Co-Ed (1942), and Phantom of the Opera (1944). Over the course of his career Ward worked for MGM, United Artists, and Universal.
After starting out as a vaudeville dancer, Seymour Felix became a well-known Broadway dance director. He contributed choreography for over thirty films including Sunnyside Up (1929), Everybody Sing (1938), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Dancing in the Dark (1949), and the television series Our Miss Brooks (1955).
For the most part, the cast of Show Girl went on to substantial acting careers.
Mexican born Donald Reed appeared in over forty films over fifteen years.
Lee Moran was an incredibly prolific actor, writer and director, predominantly during the silent era. He started out in vaudeville, and along with writing partner Earle Lyons created popular situational humor comedies. In a career spanning over twenty years, Moran appeared in nearly five hundred films, directed over a hundred, and wrote ninety-one scripts.
Starting out in silent film, Charles Delaney was an actor whose career spanned over five decades. He appeared predominantly in action and Western films.
Richard Tucker appeared in close to three hundred films, including The Jazz Singer (1927), Lucky Boy (1928), My Man (1928), Puttin on the Ritz (1930), and Stepping Out (1931). He was reportedly the first official member oF the Screen Actors Guild.
Named as a WAMPAS Baby star in 1928, Photoplay (January 1929) described Gwen Lee as “beautiful and attractive and a splendid dancer.“ Lee appeared in over sixty films including Lucky Boy (1928), and Untamed (1929). According to IMDb, Lee’s star faded after an unfortunate synchronization issue in Untamed led to her voice appearing “switched“ with her male co-star.
Scottish born James Finlayson was a highly popular and well-regarded comedic actor. He worked as an actor in the UK before moving to the US and working in vaudeville. An original Keystone Kop, Finlayson appeared in many Laurel and Hardy films.
Irish born Kate Price started out as a stage actress, and went on to appear in nearly three hundred films.
Russian born Bernard Randall emigrated to the USA as a child. He started out in vaudeville and was soon acting in film. He went on to appear in over thirty films and television shows.
Photoplay, April 1929
Long considered a lost film, a silent version was found in Milan and screened at the Italian Podenone Silent Film Festival (Giornate del Cinema Muto) in 2015. The sound version is scheduled to play at this year’s festival and if anyone wants to spot me a ticket to the festival (and a plane ticket to Italy), I’ll happily accept!
Reading the plot notes and advertising for Show Girl, I had dismissed it as another fluffy backstage musical comedy. After reading through Podenone’s program notes however, I really want to see this film.
The notes describe Show Girl as “socially historic and deliciously cynical” and “exemplary for its pace and economy.” The protagonist, Dixie Dugan is characterized as “the new “New Woman” – the post-Flapper, symbolizing the final days of the Roaring Twenties… while her predecessors were “smoking, drinking, never thinking…” Dixie calculates, cooly. She has big ambitions and knows how to use her looks and her sexuality to achieve them.” It would be so refreshing to see a film from this era where at least one woman has agency in her world!
A second film based on the same material, Show Girl in Hollywood, was released in 1930.
The next post will be back to 1929, and in the meantime I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open for a New York screening.
Reading the plot notes and advertising for Show Girl, I had dismissed it as another fluffy backstage musical comedy. After reading through Podenone’s program notes however, I really want to see this film.
The notes describe Show Girl as “socially historic and deliciously cynical” and “exemplary for its pace and economy.” The protagonist, Dixie Dugan is characterized as “the new “New Woman” – the post-Flapper, symbolizing the final days of the Roaring Twenties… while her predecessors were “smoking, drinking, never thinking…” Dixie calculates, cooly. She has big ambitions and knows how to use her looks and her sexuality to achieve them.” It would be so refreshing to see a film from this era where at least one woman has agency in her world!
A second film based on the same material, Show Girl in Hollywood, was released in 1930.
The next post will be back to 1929, and in the meantime I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open for a New York screening.
- Published on
Date of Release: Nov 2, 1929
Studio: Paramount
Director: Frank Tuttle
Music: Richard A. Whiting and George Marion Jr.
Choreographer: Earl Lindsay
Screenplay: Lloyd Corrigan and George Marion Jr.
Leading Actors: Nancy Carroll , Helen Kane, Stanley Smith, Jack Oakie, William Austin, Stuart Erwin, Wallace MacDonald, Charles Sellon, Aileen Manning
Inspired by the Broadway college football musical smash Good News, Sweetie was one of three “college film musicals” released in 1929. Deftly directed by Frank Tuttle, Paramount’s second talkie offering is a fun film that, except for some dated racist references, holds up well over time.
Aspiring actress Barbara Pelham, (Nancy Carroll), inherits an entire all-boys college, Pelham. Her “sweeter than sweet”, Biff Bentley, (Stanley Smith), is Pelham’s football captain. Jilted by her sweetheart, Barbara arrives at the school seeking revenge, and hijinks ensue, complete with singing and dancing. The story also follows the trials and tribulations of the tomboyish Helen Fry, (Helen Kane) who attends the neighboring Miss Twill’s School for Girls, Barbara’s act partner Tap-Tap Thompson (Jack Oakie), and the unfortunate less-than-bright football jock Axel (Stuart Erwin).
Nancy Carroll was already a highly popular stage and screen actress with several hits under her belt by the time she filmed Sweetie. I enjoyed Carroll’s earlier performance in Close Harmony, and her performance here is just as charming. The screen time, and most of the songs, however, go to co-star Helen Kane. Kane was the model for Betty Boop, (she was not compensated for the use of her image), and Sweetie was released at the height of her popularity. It’s easy to see why Kane was so adored. She’s mischievous and fun, and, despite her squeaky voice, her character makes from a welcome change from the swooning silly ladies of earlier films.
Although going on to become well regarded and prolific actors, the lead men pale next to the exuberance of the women. Charles Sellon’s performance as the bumbling, well-meaning professor, Dr Oglethrope, is interesting, if bizarre. As evidenced in the first moments of the film, where he walks over and through a hedge, much of the comedy is overdone or overplayed.
At times the plot is utterly ridiculous, but throughout the script are some moments of excellent comedy and visual story-telling. Particularly noteworthy is the tongue-in-cheek commentary about the roles of women. The film opens on a beautifully shot group of young ladies learning to pour tea. The composition of the scene, although set in a garden, is intensely theatrical and visually appealing.
The world of the polite lady is shattered by the appearance of Helen Fry, a gun-popping, tree-climbing, boy-crazy lass who cannot maintain “good posture”, and has “no honor." Her wiles are amusingly showcased in the number “I Think You’ll Like It”, sung to Axel as she surreptitiously undresses him by pulling the thread on his shirt.
Upon Barbara’s arrival at Pelham, Dr. Oglethrope introduces the boys to their new headmistress - “A woman’s place is in the home, therefore let’s make it feel like home and all shall be well.” Barbara, “who will and does speak for herself,” responds with a hilarious speech about how history is positively littered with examples of women thriving in environments where they surrounded by men, such as Joan of Arc, and for that lady, “everything was quite nice”. The audience knows full well that everything was not quite nice at all for Joan of Arc, and we at once understand that Barbara is doomed as headmistress of Pelham, and impressed that she there at all.
The music, by George Marion Jr. and Richard A. Whiting, in Sweetie is terrific, and its frequent and cohesive use throughout the film make it stand out from the other films I have watched thus far. Richard A. Whiting is famous for songs such as “Hooray for Hollywood” and “On the Good Ship Lollipop,” and 1929 was his first year in Hollywood.
The music has an overarching peppy and fun tone that matches the film’s content, and the arrangements are just wonderful. Early in the film we are treated to an a cappella performance of Pelham’s spirit song “Bear Down Pelham”, sung by the football team in the locker room. The song occurs mostly off-camera, providing accompaniment for Biff’s vision of his team’s triumph. A cappella does away with the painful convention during this period to explain the presence of musicians, and fits in with the playful nature of the film.
Unfortunately, a band must appear at some point, and we are forced to sit through an unnecessarily long set-up to learn we are outside the band's rehearsal hall. Barbara is excited to see her sweetheart Biff, and what-d’ya-know, the band starts playing “her song!”. She sings “My Sweeter Than Sweet,” a saccharine ballad, describing her love for the wonderful Biff. The song is repeated, by different characters, and with varying arrangements (including a babershop quartet), to surprisingly good effect several times throughout the film.
“Alma Mammy” is an upbeat, problematic, song written to showcase the skills of Jack Oakie and parody the hugely famous Al Johnson. The first rendition is fine enough, complete with a throw-away “you ain’t heard nothin’ yet,” referencing Al Johnson's famous line from The Jazz Singer. When the song is reprised as a chorus number at the big game, all the men are wearing minstrel masks. I was confused and disturbed by the use of blackface when Al Johnson did it in The Jazz Singer, and it makes no more sense here. In the world of the film, African American people are completely absent, and there is no other reference to the minstrel tradition.
Sweetie’s choreography is attributed to “dance director” Earl Lindsay. We get a glimpse of a lovely tap number during rehearsals for Barbara and Tap-Tap’s show, complete with gorgeously designed costumes and proscenium arch. But the dancing is really featured in the lead up to the school dance with “The Prep Step”. The camera cuts between wide shots of the whole room (awkwardly, and inexplicably, framed by two ladders and later two pot plants), mid-shots of the couples dancing, and close ups of the tapping feet. The number is enhanced by the simple yet highly effective costumes, pretty light-colored uniform dresses and suits with black tap shoes. The costumes not only look great in black and white, but draw our attention to the dancers’ feet. The gorgeous dresses at the school dance are equally effective, and it is a shame the costume designer is not credited.
Apart from the glaring racism in “Alma Mammy,” Sweetie is a genuine light-hearted comedy with great music and dance. Unfortunately the restoration to DVD is not great, and the sound quality is often muddied by the whir of the film reel.
In researching this film, I was reminded that there is no such thing as a definitive movie musical list, or a clear definition of what actually constitutes a movie musical. Film historian Richard Barrios refers to three college musicals released in 1929 - Universal's College Love, MGM's So this is College, and Paramount's Sweetie. Depending on which source you look at, the first two films are often not classified as movie musicals.
I wrote to the AFI and asked them how they define the categories in their catalogue. Editor of the AFI Catalogue, Bob Birchard, states that categories are based on contemporary trade magazine classifications, and the cataloguer’s discretion.
So just what is a movie musical? I’ve been trying to answer this question for myself for a while, and it will have it’s own blog post very soon!
Studio: Paramount
Director: Frank Tuttle
Music: Richard A. Whiting and George Marion Jr.
Choreographer: Earl Lindsay
Screenplay: Lloyd Corrigan and George Marion Jr.
Leading Actors: Nancy Carroll , Helen Kane, Stanley Smith, Jack Oakie, William Austin, Stuart Erwin, Wallace MacDonald, Charles Sellon, Aileen Manning
Inspired by the Broadway college football musical smash Good News, Sweetie was one of three “college film musicals” released in 1929. Deftly directed by Frank Tuttle, Paramount’s second talkie offering is a fun film that, except for some dated racist references, holds up well over time.
Aspiring actress Barbara Pelham, (Nancy Carroll), inherits an entire all-boys college, Pelham. Her “sweeter than sweet”, Biff Bentley, (Stanley Smith), is Pelham’s football captain. Jilted by her sweetheart, Barbara arrives at the school seeking revenge, and hijinks ensue, complete with singing and dancing. The story also follows the trials and tribulations of the tomboyish Helen Fry, (Helen Kane) who attends the neighboring Miss Twill’s School for Girls, Barbara’s act partner Tap-Tap Thompson (Jack Oakie), and the unfortunate less-than-bright football jock Axel (Stuart Erwin).
Nancy Carroll was already a highly popular stage and screen actress with several hits under her belt by the time she filmed Sweetie. I enjoyed Carroll’s earlier performance in Close Harmony, and her performance here is just as charming. The screen time, and most of the songs, however, go to co-star Helen Kane. Kane was the model for Betty Boop, (she was not compensated for the use of her image), and Sweetie was released at the height of her popularity. It’s easy to see why Kane was so adored. She’s mischievous and fun, and, despite her squeaky voice, her character makes from a welcome change from the swooning silly ladies of earlier films.
Although going on to become well regarded and prolific actors, the lead men pale next to the exuberance of the women. Charles Sellon’s performance as the bumbling, well-meaning professor, Dr Oglethrope, is interesting, if bizarre. As evidenced in the first moments of the film, where he walks over and through a hedge, much of the comedy is overdone or overplayed.
At times the plot is utterly ridiculous, but throughout the script are some moments of excellent comedy and visual story-telling. Particularly noteworthy is the tongue-in-cheek commentary about the roles of women. The film opens on a beautifully shot group of young ladies learning to pour tea. The composition of the scene, although set in a garden, is intensely theatrical and visually appealing.
The world of the polite lady is shattered by the appearance of Helen Fry, a gun-popping, tree-climbing, boy-crazy lass who cannot maintain “good posture”, and has “no honor." Her wiles are amusingly showcased in the number “I Think You’ll Like It”, sung to Axel as she surreptitiously undresses him by pulling the thread on his shirt.
Upon Barbara’s arrival at Pelham, Dr. Oglethrope introduces the boys to their new headmistress - “A woman’s place is in the home, therefore let’s make it feel like home and all shall be well.” Barbara, “who will and does speak for herself,” responds with a hilarious speech about how history is positively littered with examples of women thriving in environments where they surrounded by men, such as Joan of Arc, and for that lady, “everything was quite nice”. The audience knows full well that everything was not quite nice at all for Joan of Arc, and we at once understand that Barbara is doomed as headmistress of Pelham, and impressed that she there at all.
The music, by George Marion Jr. and Richard A. Whiting, in Sweetie is terrific, and its frequent and cohesive use throughout the film make it stand out from the other films I have watched thus far. Richard A. Whiting is famous for songs such as “Hooray for Hollywood” and “On the Good Ship Lollipop,” and 1929 was his first year in Hollywood.
The music has an overarching peppy and fun tone that matches the film’s content, and the arrangements are just wonderful. Early in the film we are treated to an a cappella performance of Pelham’s spirit song “Bear Down Pelham”, sung by the football team in the locker room. The song occurs mostly off-camera, providing accompaniment for Biff’s vision of his team’s triumph. A cappella does away with the painful convention during this period to explain the presence of musicians, and fits in with the playful nature of the film.
Unfortunately, a band must appear at some point, and we are forced to sit through an unnecessarily long set-up to learn we are outside the band's rehearsal hall. Barbara is excited to see her sweetheart Biff, and what-d’ya-know, the band starts playing “her song!”. She sings “My Sweeter Than Sweet,” a saccharine ballad, describing her love for the wonderful Biff. The song is repeated, by different characters, and with varying arrangements (including a babershop quartet), to surprisingly good effect several times throughout the film.
“Alma Mammy” is an upbeat, problematic, song written to showcase the skills of Jack Oakie and parody the hugely famous Al Johnson. The first rendition is fine enough, complete with a throw-away “you ain’t heard nothin’ yet,” referencing Al Johnson's famous line from The Jazz Singer. When the song is reprised as a chorus number at the big game, all the men are wearing minstrel masks. I was confused and disturbed by the use of blackface when Al Johnson did it in The Jazz Singer, and it makes no more sense here. In the world of the film, African American people are completely absent, and there is no other reference to the minstrel tradition.
Sweetie’s choreography is attributed to “dance director” Earl Lindsay. We get a glimpse of a lovely tap number during rehearsals for Barbara and Tap-Tap’s show, complete with gorgeously designed costumes and proscenium arch. But the dancing is really featured in the lead up to the school dance with “The Prep Step”. The camera cuts between wide shots of the whole room (awkwardly, and inexplicably, framed by two ladders and later two pot plants), mid-shots of the couples dancing, and close ups of the tapping feet. The number is enhanced by the simple yet highly effective costumes, pretty light-colored uniform dresses and suits with black tap shoes. The costumes not only look great in black and white, but draw our attention to the dancers’ feet. The gorgeous dresses at the school dance are equally effective, and it is a shame the costume designer is not credited.
Apart from the glaring racism in “Alma Mammy,” Sweetie is a genuine light-hearted comedy with great music and dance. Unfortunately the restoration to DVD is not great, and the sound quality is often muddied by the whir of the film reel.
In researching this film, I was reminded that there is no such thing as a definitive movie musical list, or a clear definition of what actually constitutes a movie musical. Film historian Richard Barrios refers to three college musicals released in 1929 - Universal's College Love, MGM's So this is College, and Paramount's Sweetie. Depending on which source you look at, the first two films are often not classified as movie musicals.
I wrote to the AFI and asked them how they define the categories in their catalogue. Editor of the AFI Catalogue, Bob Birchard, states that categories are based on contemporary trade magazine classifications, and the cataloguer’s discretion.
So just what is a movie musical? I’ve been trying to answer this question for myself for a while, and it will have it’s own blog post very soon!
- Published on
There is no time in my living memory when I haven't seen The Sound of Music, or Mary Poppins, or My Fair Lady, or The Pajama Game, or Singin' in the Rain, West Side Story, or every single Disney cartoon since 1988. They have always just been there, like old friends whom no matter how many times I revisit them, still retain the same technicolour, all singing, all dancing, magical charm as when I was a seven year old sitting watching Abuela's video tapes, rewinding them, and watching them again and again and again.
So imagine my surprise as a grown up that there are musical movies outside the 20 or so I have watched religiously since forever. In fact, a couple of years ago the American Film Institute (AFI) released a list of the best 25 Movie Musicals of all time (well, since the advent of such a category anyway). I had a look at the "shortlist" of nominated 200 films and was staggered to realise just how many films I hadn't seen. There is a rich history to movie musicals that I had not even begun to scrape the surface of.
So began the idea for a project. For the next however long it takes me, I am going to watch my way through the history of movie musicals. I will watch as best as I can in chronological order, read about the history of each film, and blog about it. My list, over 800 films in total, is predominantly based on films catalogued by the AFI in the categories of movie musical and musical comedy, and any other extras I can pick up along the way. Here goes!
So imagine my surprise as a grown up that there are musical movies outside the 20 or so I have watched religiously since forever. In fact, a couple of years ago the American Film Institute (AFI) released a list of the best 25 Movie Musicals of all time (well, since the advent of such a category anyway). I had a look at the "shortlist" of nominated 200 films and was staggered to realise just how many films I hadn't seen. There is a rich history to movie musicals that I had not even begun to scrape the surface of.
So began the idea for a project. For the next however long it takes me, I am going to watch my way through the history of movie musicals. I will watch as best as I can in chronological order, read about the history of each film, and blog about it. My list, over 800 films in total, is predominantly based on films catalogued by the AFI in the categories of movie musical and musical comedy, and any other extras I can pick up along the way. Here goes!