Date of Release: Dec 30, 1929 
Studio: Sono-Art 
Director: Renaud Hoffman
Screenplay: Henry McCarty, Renaud Hoffman
Music: James Brockman, Eddie Dowling, James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald, Joseph McCarthy
Leading Actors: Eddie Dowling (Eddie Williams), Betty Compson (Helen Williams),  
Frankie Darro (Jean Williams), Henry B. Walthall (Burke), William Davidson (District Attorney), Ferdinand Schumann-Heink (Carl Hummel), Eddie Conrad (Abie), Frank Sabini (Tony), Broderick O'Farrell, The Rounders         

Blaze o’ Glory was based on Thomas Alexander Boyd’s short story “The Long Shot”. It combined several genres, war, backstage, and crime drama, into one unbelievable tale. The plot followed Eddie Williams (Eddie Dowling) a former Follies star who has returned from serving in the War. One night whilst waiting for his wife Helen (Betty Compson) to return home, he sees her talking to a man in the street below. Believing Helen is having an affair, Eddie shoots the man. Eddie is arrested and put on trial for murder. His lawyer Burke (Henry B. Walthall) is able to have him exonerated, and all ends happily. 

Sono-Art was one of the first studios to make a the same movie twice using different casts - one cast speaking in English, and the other in Spanish. The Spanish-language version was called Sombras de Gloria, and starred José “the Irving Berlin of South America” Bohr, and Mona Rico. The international cast and crew hailed from a diverse range of countries including Venezuela, Columbia, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, Chile, Peru, and the Philippines. 

Both versions were filmed at the Metropolitan Studios in Los Angeles.  

Blaze o’ Glory opened at the George M. Cohan Theatre in New York. Tickets for the premier cost an outrageous $11 each. New York Times film reviewer Mordaunt Hall lamented “whether the entertainment was worth that depends upon how much tugging at the heart strings one can stand without becoming peevish.” 

As reported by Variety, Blaze o’ Glory was edited down after opening night reviews panned the film. The edits could not save it, and the film played to mediocre houses.

The Film Daily described Blaze o’ Glory as “dull and lacking in continuity,” and Motion Picture News called it “hokum.” Photoplay stated it was “One of those leopard pictures… spotty.”

While the film overall received lackluster reviews, its stars fared better. The National Board of Review stated Eddie Dowling’s singing and acting were “worthy of commendation.”

Eddie Dowling was an incredibly influential and multi-talented performer who throughout his forty year career wrote, composed, directed, and produced for stage and screen. After starting out in vaudeville, Dowling went on to perform with the Ziegfeld Follies. He wrote and starred in the hit Broadway musical Sally, Irene and Mary, which was later adapted into a Hollywood film. Dowling appeared in over thirty Broadway shows as a principal player, also often producing, writing, and directing. He also appeared in Sono-Art’s first, and more successful 1929 musical, The Rainbow Man.

Betty Compson was described as “excellent” in her role. She appeared in several musicals in 1929 including Weary River, On With the Show, The Time, The Place and the Girl, Street Girl, and The Show of Shows. 

Child actor Frankie Darrow received good notices, with Variety claiming “The kid is a real actor.” Born into a circus family, Darrow (also known as Frankie Darro) started performing at a very young age. As a child actor, he made many appearances in silent films, particularly in Westerns. He went on to appear in over 150 films and television shows in a career that spanned nearly fifty years. An online biography states Darrow was the male equivalent of Shirley Temple — minus the singing and dancing, but with the same level of charm and lovability. He had a brief romance and engagement with Virginia Gumm, sister to Frances Ethel Gumm, more famously known as Judy Garland. 

The highest praise was reserved for Henry B. Walthall, with several critics giving special mention to his moving courtroom speech. Walthall started out as a stage actor and appeared in early silent films. His appearance in D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation led to consistent leading roles and he made a successful transition to talkies. Walthall continued to appear in films until 1936. Over the course of his career, he appeared in over 300 films including Klondike (1932), Me and My Gal (1932), and A Tale of Two Cities (1935).  

Few reviewers mentioned the music, except to note that singing only occurred in flashbacks and that the songs were not particularly memorable. Mordaunt Hall noted in his New York Times review that Eddie Dowling was “mysteriously” accompanied by a full orchestra, suggesting that the film did not try to explain away a character breaking into song. Hall also noted that “The reproduction of the voices is quite life-like and it is a pity that the story itself is not so.”

The score featured the songs “What Do I Care?,” the novelty comedy song “The Man from the South With the Cigar in His Mouth,” ”Wrapped in a Red, Red, Rose,” “Doughboy’s Lullaby,” “Put a Little Salt on the Bluebird’s Tail,” and "Welcome Home."  

The Spanish-language version also featured "Canoodle, Oodle Along,” and "Oh Paris." 

Despite the critics' lack of enthusiasm, the songs sold well to the general public. The music writing team, James Brockman, Eddie Dowling, James Hanley, Ballard MacDonald, and Joseph McCarthy went on to continued successes. 

Russian-born James Brockman started out as an actor before becoming a tunesmith for Hollywood films. His songs include “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles,” “I’m Like a Ship Without a Sail,” and “Down Among the Sheltering Palms.” Brockman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Composer James Hanley wrote mostly for the stage, and is most famously remembered for composing “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart”. 

Ballard MacDonald was a prolific composer and lyricist for stage and film. Songs include “Beautiful Ohio,” “Rose of Washington Square,” “Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley!” and “There’s a Light That’s Burning in the Window of the Little House Upon the Hill.” MacDonald also contributed music to My Man (1928) and It’s a Great Life (1929). 

Joseph McCarthy started out as a music publisher before turning his skills to writing for Broadway shows. He wrote for Broadway shows including Irene, the Ziegfeld Follies, and Rio Rita (which was also adapted into a film in 1929), and some of his songs include “You Made Me Love You,” “Oui, Oui, Marie,” and “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows.” McCarthy was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. 

Two sisters fight for the same man. 

Date of Release: Dec 29, 1929
Studio: First National
Director: William Beaudine
Screenplay: Ray Harris
Music: Al Bryan, Eddie Ward
Leading Actors: H. B. Warner (Lewis Dike), Lois Wilson (Cornelia Quinn), Olive Borden (Eve Quinn), Hallam Cooley (Wilfred Meadows), James Ford (Tom Hazelton), Kathlyn Williams (Agatha), Aileen Manning (Esther Quinn)      

The Engagement 
Wedding Rings was based on the book The Dark Swan (1924) by Ernest Pascal. English-born Pascal was a prolific writer who penned novels, Broadway plays and Hollywood screenplays. The Shirley Temple films Wee Willie Winke (1937) and The Blue Bird (1940) are among his forty screenwriting credits.
 
The story of Wedding Rings followed two sisters, Eve Quinn (Olive Borden), a flapper, and Cornelia Quinn (Lois Wilson), a “good girl.” Eve is forever stealing men away from Cornelia and it’s all fun and games until they meet Lewis Dike (H.B. Warner), a wealthy man. Olive falls in love with Lewis, but Eve succeeds in marrying him. Tired of Eve’s manipulations, Olive plots to break the newlyweds apart. All ends happily.
 
Variety thought the story trite, though felt the sister plotting to take away her sibling’s husband was “the “daring” modern angle" that "could be exploited.”

The Big Day and Reception 
Opening on December 29, 1929 in New York, Wedding Rings played to strong houses around the country. Not everyone was happy with the film, as Exhibitors Herald World (Jan 4, 1930) reported, the censor in Ohio had the film banned and stated that “The picture will have to have to be entirely remade if shown.” No reason was given for the ban.
 
The critics gave Wedding Rings mixed reviews. The Film Daily described it as “highly entertaining” while Motion Picture News claimed it was “very dull and entirely too talkative.” Variety noted that the film was “beautifully acted and splendidly staged,” but described it as “dull.” A modern day reviewer on IMDb called the surviving reels "dead boring." 

The Wedding Party
Variety praised the visuals of the production, and some of the credit must go to costume designer Edward Stevenson. Archives held at ISU Special Collections Digital Projects provide tantalizing descriptions of Stevenson’s designs for the film.
 
Stevenson worked for Fox, Columbia, First National, and eventually RKO, and became famous for designing beautiful gowns. In addition to his screen work, Stevenson ran a clothing boutique that catered to Hollywood’s most fashionable starlets. His work appeared in over two hundred films and television shows including Citizen Kane (1941), It’s A Wonderful Life (1946), The Lucy Show (1962-1968), and The Facts of Life (1960), the latter for which he won an Oscar.
 
Director William Beaudine, who had also directed The Girl from Woolworths, received generally positive reviews. After starting out as a silent film actor, Beaudine went on to become one of the most prolific directors of his time. He directed over 300 films and films and television shows, working in the UK and America, and for most of the major studios. Although he gained a reputation for low-budget films, he was highly respected within the industry for his efficiency and economical style of directing.
 
Variety felt actor H.B. Warner was miscast in his role. The Film Daily, however, gave him high praise stating “H.B. Warner adds another floral token to his bounty of successful and dramatically engrossing performances.” Born in England, Warner started out as a stage actor and worked on Broadway for over twenty years. He began working in film during the silent era, and made a successful transition to talkies, appearing in over 130 films. His credits include Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington (1936), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and Sunset Boulevard (1950).
 
The two female leads Lois Wilson was a much loved and highly regarded actress of stage and screen whose work spanned over four decades. She appeared in over 150 films including The Show of Shows (1929), Bright Eyes (1934), The Girl from Jones Beach (1949) and Guiding Light (1952).
 
In 1925 Olive Borden was named a WAMPAS Baby Star and quickly became a celebrated leading lady of the silent screen. Known as the “The Joy Girl,” Borden did not make a happy transition to talkies, and retired in 1934.
 
The Music
Wedding Rings was slated to feature three songs however it appears only two made the final cut – "Love Will Last Forever," a ballad, and "That's My Business," an up-tempo jazz number. Lois Wilson sang the ballad, while Olive Borden sang the jazz number. Variety stated “That’s My Business” was “nicely handled” and “likely to get some circulation.” 
 
Both songs were composed by Al Bryan and Eddie Ward, who had previously worked together on The Show of Shows. Al Bryan frequently collaborated with Fred Fisher, and some of his well-known songs include “Come Josephine in my Flying Machine,” the popular antiwar song “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to be a Soldier,” and “Oui, Oui, Marie.” He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. His other credits from 1929 include The Wolf Song, Broadway Babies, The Girl from Woolworths, and Paris. 
 
Eddie Ward was a prolific composer who worked extensively in Hollywood for over four decades. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award for Best Music or Best Scoring. His film credits include The Show of Shows (1929), No, No, Nanette (1930), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935), The Women (1939), and Phantom of the Opera (1944).
 
It Didn't Last 
Only 18 minutes worth of Wedding Rings survives, with the other reels deteriorating or missing altogether. Perhaps it's for the best this musical is no longer available... 

Sequel to The Cock-Eyed World (1929). ​

Date of Release: Dec 22, 1929
Studio: Fox
Director: Raoul Walsh
Screenplay: Charles J. McGuirk, Raoul Walsh, William K. Wells 
Composers: Walter Donaldson, Edgar Leslie
Leading Actors: Victor McLaglen, Fifi D’Orsay, El Brendel, Polly Moran, Lennox Pawle, August Tollaire, George Fawcett, Charles Judels, Edward Dillon, Rosita Marstini, Agostino Borgato, Yola d’Avril, Anita Murray, Dave Balles 

What a relief Hot for Paris is a lost film. Described by the critics as “broad, vulgar” and a purely “male divertissement,” Hot for Paris was the sequel of the painfully sexist lackluster musical The Cock-Eyed World.

Director Raoul Walsh was once again working with lead Victor McLaglen, and Fifi D’Orsay was bought in as the token charming French girl. 

In mid-October 1929 Motion Picture News reported that production on had been delayed until 1930. On December 7, however the same magazine printed a review. Production must have happened very quickly, though it is not clear why a delay was announced in the first place. 

Theatre managers employed the usual array of gimmicks to attract pundits. At a couple of theatres, managers developed the trick of making steam rise from the Hot for Paris front of house sign which “unquestionably attracted a lot of attention,” and in one instance resulted in the fire brigade being called in. Another theatre displayed a cut-out of Fifi D’Orsay “in the act of taking off a stocking.”​

At the Fox Japanese Garden in NYC, the theatre had a tie-in with a local restaurant, Fleischer’s, offering “a “'hot' meal” followed by the film. The meal was a “special blue plate dinner of boneless chicken pot pie and vegetables.”

Larger theatres also used live stage shows to flesh out the bill. At the Roxy in New York, a stage show ran in conjunction with the film that had an elaborate Moulin Rouge themed set with “gala signs [and] electrically studded windmill paddles.” The live show included Apache, Russian and Spanish dances and songs, the Roxy chorus, a ballet corps, and “32 Markert girls.” The show ran for over two hours, and led into Hot for Paris, which only ran for 71 minutes. Variety (January 1930) described the stage show as one of the best of its kind. The Academy Theatre brought in a “girl band that’s rated a draw.” 

Silent film star Billie Dove's first talkie. 

The film received mixed reviews. The Educational Screen claimed Billie Dove was “not up to the requirements” of her role, and Variety stated “Miss Dove has no singing voice, choosing to articulate and pout her way through.”

​Variety praised the camera work, stating that a “High perched camera, as well as under leg” angles helped to “relieve the monotony of revue grind element.”

Despite having nothing to do with the plot, the production numbers were well-received. Screenland described the numbers as, “lavish," and perhaps even more Ziegfeld than Ziegfeld himself. 

​“O, ye amateurs of Hollywood, stop, look, and listen, to this professional!”

​Date of Release: Nov 24, 1929
Studio: Fox
Director: Donald Gallaher
Screenplay: Maude Fulton, Frank Gay
Music: Abel Baer, L. Wolfe Gilbert
Leading Actors: Mae Clarke (Jackie Lee), Robert Ames (Bert Wills), William Harrigan (Johnny Brown), Maude Fulton (Stella Foster), George MacFarlane (Ed Foster), Frederick Graham (Baring), Camille Rovelle (Miss Woods), Grace Wallace (Bonnie Tucker), Hugh McCormack (Jim Tucker), Ben Hall (Cliff), Marshall Ruth (Billy), Billy Colvin (Hoffman), Louise Beavers (Magnolia)  
 
Nix on Dames was yet another backstage musical comedy. The lead actors were not well-known stars, and several commentators noted that the film would have trouble bringing in audiences.

As such, Motion Picture News advised theatre managers to pair the film with “lively” acts to help generate word of mouth. The New York screening at the Roxy presented the film in conjunction with a well-received live show that featured Daniel Haynes, who had appeared in Hallelujah, and an elaborate number called “Pastelle.” Mordaunt Hall described the number as “a huge painting, with a palette and brushes of relative proportions.”
 
Nix on Dames told the story of two acrobats, Bert Wills (Robert Ames) and Johnny Brown (William Harrigan), who swear to never let a girl interfere with their friendship. Johnny is injured during a performance, and the pair head to a boarding house to recuperate. They come across a pretty female, Jackie Lee (Mae Clarke) who also happens to be an acrobat and, of course, the two men fall in love with her. Johnny recovers from his accident, and when they begin to perform again, the two men fight over a misunderstanding to put Jackie in the act. The quarrel is resolved, and all ends well.
 
While the plot sounds fairly run-of-the-mill, the critics agreed that the comedy, particularly the portrayal of life in the boarding house, was very well done. 

It was also agreed that under Donald Gallaher’s direction, Nix on Dames was a cut above the average backstage musical. Picture Play stated “…there is knowing and imaginative direction of a simple, human story rich in characterization and quite devoid of backstage hokum.” Gallaher was a prominent early Broadway actor who later worked in Hollywood as an actor, writer, and director. He appeared in over twenty films, including Married in Hollywood ​(1929). 
 
The three leads, Robert Ames, William Harrigran, and Mae Clarke were described by The Film Daily as “An unusually fine cast,” and received high praise for their performances from the vast majority of critics. Robert Ames was a successful stage and screen actor, whose career was tragically cut short when he died unexpectedly at the age of 42 in 1931. He had also appeared in The Trespasser (1929).
 
William Harrigan was a stage and screen actor whose career spanned nearly six decades. Over the course of his career, Harrigan appeared in over forty films and television shows, and over thirty Broadway plays.
 
Despite the title nixing women, the clear stand out was Mae Clarke. Clarke had started out as a dancer, working in vaudeville before being scouted by Fox. Nix on Dames was one of her first screen appearances, and she went on to appear in over 120 films. Her best known credits are The Public Enemy (1931), in which James Cagney famously squished a grapefruit on her face, and Frankenstein (1931). Clarke continued to appear in film until the 1970, though her roles were usually small or uncredited. She made appearances in Royal Wedding (1951) and Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Her sister-in-law was Fannie Brice.
 
Motion Picture News stated that Clarke “gives a corking performance.” Picture Play gushed,

Another musical featuring horse racing. 

The film is unusual for having two women in lead creative positions, Adelaide Heilbron and Gene Searle. Despite a thirty year career in Hollywood, there is very little information currently available about Heilbron. She worked predominantly during the silent era, and wrote the Broadway play Something Gay (1935).
 
Gene Searle is uncredited, however a feature article in Screenland (Feb 1930) mentions her work on the film. Born Genevieve Searle and known as Nagene Searle or Bobby Jackson, Searle worked as a script supervisor and script clerk throughout the 1930s. Searle reportedly wanted to be director and was working as an assistant to gain experience. Searle came from a wealthy family, and was known for traveling to the studio each day in chauffeured cars, or driving herself in a “powerful, expensive roadster.”
 
The film opened regionally in November 1929 before opening in New York at the Strand on January 31, 1930. Around the country, the box office numbers were hit and miss. While it bombed in Los Angeles, the film played better in various regional centers and in New York – possibly because Buzzell was better known on the east coast.
 
Although the critics found the script to be clichéd and not particularly memorable, they thought the film was entertaining overall. Motion Picture News described it as “A splendid piece of entertainment fodder for picture houses,” and particularly noted that “The horses were convincing and entertaining.” The Film Daily agreed that “The race track scenes [were] well done,” but felt the finale “could have been done better.” 

Motion Picture News gave praise to director Mervyn LeRoy, stating “His treatment carries a warmth and a naturalness that do much to make the picture the entertainment affair that it is.” LeRoy had started out in vaudeville before moving to film. He worked in a variety of departments, including as a writer and actor. Under the guidance of Cecile B. DeMille, LeRoy became a director and went on to direct a variety of well-received films including Show Girl in Hollywood (1930), Little Caeser (1931), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Madame Curie (1943), Rose Marie (1954) and Gypsy (1962). He also directed Broadway Babies (1929).
 
Eddie Buzzell received positive reviews for his performance. Screenland claimed “…just to have Eddie with us on the screen is something,” and Motion Picture News stated Buzzell “comes through with a couple of colors flying bravely in the breeze. He is a surprise—the pleasant kind.” Despite Variety’s prediction that Little Johnny Jones was just the start of Buzzell’s talkie career, the film turned out to be his only feature length talkie. From the early 1930s he worked as a director for Universal and MGM, directing musical comedies such as Honolulu (1939), Song of the Thin Man (1947), and Neptune’s Daughter (1949).  
 
Buzzell’s co-stars received mixed reviews. Edna Murphy was described by Motion Picture News as “pretty terrible,” however Variety thought her “vamp [was] well and interestingly done.” Edna Murphy and Mervyn LeRoy were a married couple. In the gossip column “A Little from “Lots”” in The Film Daily (Aug 28, 1929), Ralph Wilk wrote “Mervyn LeRoy…declared this is the only time on record where a man not only refrained from stopping his wife’s talking, but actually directed her to do so.” Oh, sexism. Murphy had been a popular silent film actress and model, but retired from the industry in 1933 when she re-married. She also appeared in The Show of Shows (1929).
 
Variety found Alice Day to be “charming, as usual,” and Motion Picture News stated that she did “nice work in a so-so part.” Day was a silent film star who retired shortly after the advent of talkies. Her film credits include Is Everybody Happy (1929), The Show of Shows (1929), Melody Man (1930), The Lady from Nowhere (1931), and Gold (1932).
 
The critics agreed that the George M. Cohan songs "The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "Give My Regards to Broadway," were old-fashioned but carried sentimental appeal. Cohan was a multi-talented, versatile, and immensely influential performer and writer. Born into a show business family, Cohan started out as a child prodigy violinist. Little Johnny Jones, which he wrote and starred in, was his first Broadway hit. He went on to write over three hundred songs, as well as composing and performing in over fifty Broadway shows. 

Little Johnny Jones is now considered a lost film. The stage musical was revived on Broadway in 1982, starring Donny Osmond. The production was described by the New York Times as “listless,” and closed on opening night.

​Innovative use of music, and the longest close-up in motion picture history. 

 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. 

Around the country, local football teams were used to help promote the film, appearing in newspaper copy and in person at the cinema. In Reading, Pennsylvania, college and high school students were invited to attend special screenings, along with college cheerleaders who led the audience “in the different college songs and cheers.” Fliers were distributed at local football games and the gathered crowds heard announcements about the new feature.  
 
As reported by Variety (Oct 9, 1929), in return for promoting their team in the film, the University of Southern California appointed director Eddie Cline as their mascot for a game.
 
The Forward Pass opened to full houses, however business declined sharply after a couple of weeks.
 
The film received mixed reviews. The critics agreed the script and story-telling were nothing new, but overall provided good entertainment. As Motion Picture News stated, “It’s strictly an action picture for the great American game, and will hit for that reason.” The Educational Screen was less enthused about the action shots, claiming that that the live-action footage was below the standard of football footage seen in the newsreels.
 
The Film Daily credited director Eddie Cline for getting “a lot more from the story than the author put into it.” Eddie Cline was an actor and director. He directed over 170 films in a career spanning over forty years, primarily working on comedies. As an actor he appeared in over forty films, often in small or uncredited roles. Cline also worked as a writer, though the vast majority of his screenplays were written during the silent era.

Colleen Moore's second talkie.  

Director William Seiter received positive reviews. After starting out as an actor in early silent comedies, William A. Seiter went on to become a prominent musical and comedy director. He hit his stride in the 1930s, directing Laurel and Hardy in Sons of the Desert (1933), Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, and Fred Astaire in Roberta (1935), and Shirley Temple in Dimples and Stowaway (1936). Seiter directed 150 films and television shows, and in 1956 was nominated for a Directors Guild of America “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television” Award.
​
The supporting cast, notably Raymond Hackett, Fredric March, and Edward Martindel, also received good notices. Raymond Hackett started out a child actor and went onto success as a stage and screen actor throughout the silent era. He retired from show business in 1934.
 
Fredric March was a highly regarded and immensely successful screen and stage actor. He worked for most of the major studios, appearing in nearly 90 films including The Royal Family of Broadway (1930), Death Takes a Holiday (1935), Les Miserables (1935), A Star is Born (1937), Death of a Salesman (1951), Inherit the Wind (1960), and The Iceman Cometh (1973). He was nominated for numerous awards, including five nominations for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He won the Oscar for his performances in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Best Years of Our Lives. 
 
Edward Martindel was an actor in vaudeville in the early 20th century, and went on to appear in over 90 films. Though most of his work was during the silent era, Martindel appeared in several talkies and musicals of 1929, including Why Be Good?, The Desert Song, and Innocents of Paris. ​

Like the film in general, Colleen Moore received mixed reviews. The Film Daily stated her accent “isn’t so hot,” while the Morning Telegraph surmised that “movie-goers are not likely to become excited over Miss Moore’s rather embarrassing attempt to appear and sound Gallic.”
 
Other critics thought Footlights and Fools ​was Moore’s best work. The Evening Journal claimed “Colleen gives an excellent performance and turns the picture into better-than-average entertainment…” Variety stated “Miss Moore’s presentation of the one girl with two names and opposite characteristics is a good bit of acting. She is and always was a beautifully sincere performer.” Finally, Screenland wrote “…Colleen proves that she is just about the most versatile little girl in this blinking age of celluloid.”

Despite the prediction that Moore would go on to great success in talkies, she never again achieved the greatness of her silent films.

Moore retired from show business in the mid-1930s, and in the decades following reportedly discussed her time in the film industry with great affection. Thanks to savvy income investment, Moore was able to live luxuriously in her retirement. She dedicated time to building an elaborate 8 foot doll house which she toured around the country raising funds for various children’s charities. The doll house, now known as “Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle,” is on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Moore wrote two autobiographies, The Story of My Life (1926) and Silent Star (1968). Colleen Moore: A Biography of the Silent Film Star by Jeff Codori was published in 2012. 
 
Footlights and Fools is believed lost. ​

George Jessel's failed attempt to make it big in talkies. 

Date of Release: Nov 3, 1929
Studio: Fox
Director: William K. Howard, Henry Kolker (staged by)
Screenplay: Dana Burnet, Edwin Burke, George Jessel
Music: Abel Baer, L. Wolfe Gilbert
Leading Actors: George Jessel (Luigi), Lila Lee (Margharita), David Rollins (Pasquale Gallupi), Henry Kolker (Enrico), Kenneth MacKenna (Dr. Price), John Reinhardt (Mario), Dick Winslow Johnson (Mike), Henry Armetta (Tony), Marcia Manon (Sylvia), Jerry Mandy (Barber)
 
George Jessel was a prominent vaudeville performer who had starred in the hit stage production of The Jazz Singer. Due to conflicts with Warner Bros, Jessel did not star in the phenomenally successful movie version. While on the stage Jessel was just as popular as Al Jolson, he never achieved the same success or popularity on screen.
 
Jessel was keen to establish himself in talkies. After signing a lucrative deal with Fox, Jessel went into production on a film version of the play The Hurdy-Gurdy Man by Leroy Clemens and John B. Hymer. The play does not appear to have played on Broadway, and little information is currently available about its origins or history. At some point during production, the title of the film was changed to Love, Live and Laugh, a key line from the script.
 
The story followed an Italian immigrant in America, Luigi (George Jessel). Luigi has fallen in love with the sweet Margharita (Lila Lee), but before he can marry her, Luigi is called back to Italy to be with his dying father. Luigi is caught up in the Austro-Italian war, becomes a prisoner of war, and is blinded. Convinced Luigi is dead, Lila marries Dr. Price (Kenneth MacKenna). Three years later, Luigi finally returns to America. A surgeon is able to cure his blindness and Luigi seeks him out to express his gratitude. He discovers that the surgeon is Dr. Price, Margharita’s husband. Margharita offers to leave the doctor, but seeing she is happy in her new life, Luigi tells her it is her duty to “love, live and laugh” and he leaves.
 
Overall the reviews for Love, Live and Laugh were positive. The New York Times stated “It may be a piece of well-polished hokum in plot, but it possesses a certain refreshing levity that makes it a good entertainment.”
 
The critics gave particular praise to director William K. Howard. Howard started out as an engineer before moving into film distribution. He eventually became a director who was known for his fluid and dynamic visual style. Howard directed over fifty films including Sherlock Holmes (1932), Fire Over England (1937) and Johnny Come Lately (1943). Later in his career Howard was relegated to B-grade films, however his earlier work and style are considered quite influential.
 
Motion Picture News stated that Howard “imparted warmth and feeling to the story by his effective and appreciative treatment…” The Film Daily described Howard’s direction as “stimulating and diverting throughout.” Finally, Motion Picture News credited Howard with bringing out the best in Jessel – “Directional restraint and sympathy… lead Jessel through an intensely human and likeable role.”
 
George Jessel’s performance received mostly positive reviews. Photoplay described Jessel’s work as “splendid,” and Motion Picture News stated “Georgie gives a surprise performance, vastly different from those other screen appearances of his.” The same publication later wrote “The bravado is gone and in its stead, Jessel becomes a sympathetic and warm character.”
 
Others were not so enthralled. While The Film Daily called his performance “the best thing Jessel has done on the screen,” the reviewer panned his Italian accent. Picture Play criticized Jessel’s arrogance and claimed that “…it serves him right that once scene, from which he nobly absents himself, is the best in the picture.” Variety felt the film was too long and claimed that “All the cutting… will not eliminate the strained and highly artificial atmosphere dominated by Jessel.” Finally, Harrison’s Reports wrote “…George Jessel is too cold for the part of the hero. In situations where he is required to show deep emotion, he is like an icicle.”

The supporting cast received positive reviews, particularly Lila Lee, David Rollins, and Henry Kolker. Lee’s was described by Motion Picture News as “charming and again demonstrating that she ranks among the best of players brought forward by sound,” playing the role of the sweetheart “with a vast sympathy and understanding…”
 
Lila Lee was a child star affectionately known as Cuddles. Immensely popular during the silent film years, her star faded in the 1930s – most likely due to her struggles with alcoholism. She continued to act however, and appeared in B grade films and various television programs into the 1960s. Lee also appeared in the 1929 musicals Honky Tonk and The Show of Shows. She was the mother of James Kirkwood Jr., who wrote the book for A Chorus Line. 
 
David Rollins was predominantly a silent film star. He appeared in The Big Trail (1930), famous for being John Wayne's first starring role. Rollins was interviewed for Michael Ankerich's book, Broken Silence: Conversations with 23 Silent Film Stars. He appeared in Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (1929), Happy Days (1930), The Big Trail (1930) and The Phantom Express (1932).
 
German-born Henry Kolker was a prominent stage actor who went on to appear in over 170 films. He also worked as a director during the silent era.
 
Unlike many of the films I’ve researched thus far, music actually played an important role in Love, Live and Laugh. Motion Picture News stated that “The musical interludes, in German and Italian, carry a vast appeal because they progress the action and, therefore, have a fitting place in the story.”
 
The score featured original songs, including “(A Song of) Margharita,” “Two Little Baby Arms,” and “If You Believe in Me,” written by Abel Baer and Louis Wolfe Gilbert. After starting out in medicine Abel Baer went on to become a prominent Broadway and Hollywood composer. His songs include “My Mother’s Eyes,” “Gee Buy You’re Swell,” “Chapel of the Roses,” and “I’m Sitting Pretty.”
 
Ukrainian-born Louis Wolfe Gilbert was a prominent stage and screen composer who is credited with writing the first theme song for a film, “Ramona.” His other songwriting credits include “Hop-along Cassidy March,” “Lucky Lindy,” and “My Mother’s Eyes.”
 
Recognizable songs such as “Santa Lucia,” “Funiculi, Funicula,” “O Sole Mio,” and “Silent Night” were also used. A scene in the trenches with Austrian, German, and Italian soldiers singing “Silent Night” in their respective languages was described by Mordaunt Hall in the New York Times as “touching.”
 
It seems that despite the strong use of music, the recording was not top quality. Several reviewers made mention of the poor quality of the sound.
 
Several reviewers also made mention of the film’s “particular” appeal to women. The Film Daily stated “…femmes…will eat up the sentiment and pathos…” and Variety claimed that David Rollins was “out of place but maybe the girls will go for him.” This infuriatingly reinforces a narrow view of women as emotional and only useful for their romantic interest in men.
 
Despite the positive reviews, and relatively strong houses, Love, Live and Laugh was not the inspiring success Jessel had hoped for. Its release date meant it was competing with the box office smashes The Trespasser and Sweetie. 

Pehraps an earlier or later release would have helped, but ​Jessel's own behavior may have contributed to his lack of screen success. As mentioned by a few of the reviewers, Jessel had a reputation for being arrogant and self-absorbed. This trait is evident in his first talkie, the somewhat painful, Lucky Boy. 
 
Following the release of Love, Live and Laugh, Picture Play reported that Fox quietly bought out Jessel’s contract, releasing him from the studio. Jessel attempted a few more talkies, but they were not hits. He had more success on the stage and, later in his career, as a presenter and host and advocate for various charities. This latter work led to Jessel being awarded the Jean Hershold Humanitarian Academy Award in 1970.
 
Love, Live and Laugh is considered a lost film. ​