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Star vehicle for vaudeville duo Moran and Mack featuring racism!
Exhibitors Herald World (June 8, 1929)
Date of Release: Oct 4, 1929
Studio: Paramount Famous Lasky
Director: George Abbott
Screenplay: Hector Turnbull, George Abbott, Octavus Roy Cohen, George Marion Jr.
Music: Richard Whiting, Sam Coslow, Leo Robin
Leading Actors: Charles E. Mack (Charlie), George Moran (George), Evelyn Brent (Betty), Harry Green (Irving), Bert Swor (Bert), Freeman Wood (Powell), Lawrence Leslie (Casey), Helen Lynch (Marie), Selmer Jackson (Eddie), Jack Luden (Treasurer), Monte Collins Jr. (Skeets), George Thompson (Doorman), Eddie Kane (Manager), Charles Hall (Tough)
Moran and Mack, or “The Two Crows,” were a hugely popular vaudeville act featuring Charles E. Mack and George Moran in blackface. The act fluctuated over the years, with various people playing the role of Moran, though Why Bring That Up? was filmed with George Moran. Moran and Mack worked on the vaudeville circuit, and on Broadway, including in the Ziegfeld Follies. They were a regular feature on radio and released several popular records.
Why Bring That Up? was Moran and Mack’s first feature film. Initially slated as Backstage Blues, the title was changed to reflect a well-known gag from the act. Moran would relay an unfortunate event and Mack would respond, “Why bring that up?”
Studio: Paramount Famous Lasky
Director: George Abbott
Screenplay: Hector Turnbull, George Abbott, Octavus Roy Cohen, George Marion Jr.
Music: Richard Whiting, Sam Coslow, Leo Robin
Leading Actors: Charles E. Mack (Charlie), George Moran (George), Evelyn Brent (Betty), Harry Green (Irving), Bert Swor (Bert), Freeman Wood (Powell), Lawrence Leslie (Casey), Helen Lynch (Marie), Selmer Jackson (Eddie), Jack Luden (Treasurer), Monte Collins Jr. (Skeets), George Thompson (Doorman), Eddie Kane (Manager), Charles Hall (Tough)
Moran and Mack, or “The Two Crows,” were a hugely popular vaudeville act featuring Charles E. Mack and George Moran in blackface. The act fluctuated over the years, with various people playing the role of Moran, though Why Bring That Up? was filmed with George Moran. Moran and Mack worked on the vaudeville circuit, and on Broadway, including in the Ziegfeld Follies. They were a regular feature on radio and released several popular records.
Why Bring That Up? was Moran and Mack’s first feature film. Initially slated as Backstage Blues, the title was changed to reflect a well-known gag from the act. Moran would relay an unfortunate event and Mack would respond, “Why bring that up?”
The film featured Moran and Mack’s well-known routines, which had been made popular thanks to radio and recordings. The promotions played on them heavily, re-printing scenes and playing on them in advertisements.
Motion Picture News (Nov 30, 1929) reported that the Victory Theatre in Tampa, Florida hired “two overgrown boys dressed up to represent Moran and Mack.” The actors wandered the streets in blackface, with one actor in an oversized pram carrying two large dice that “whenever dropped…would turn to a seven and the boys would start a conversation along the lines used by the stars in the picture.” The stunt reportedly carried “a wallop as an outdoor ballyhoo” and was repeated in various cities.
Motion Picture News (Nov 30, 1929) reported that the Victory Theatre in Tampa, Florida hired “two overgrown boys dressed up to represent Moran and Mack.” The actors wandered the streets in blackface, with one actor in an oversized pram carrying two large dice that “whenever dropped…would turn to a seven and the boys would start a conversation along the lines used by the stars in the picture.” The stunt reportedly carried “a wallop as an outdoor ballyhoo” and was repeated in various cities.
Publicity stunt as reported in Motion Picture News (Nov 30, 1929)
Why Bring That Up? was among the first films to be featured in a national newspaper campaign orchestrated by Paramount. In a time when people of color were rarely featured in film trade magazines, it is insulting and infuriating to see that most of the trade magazines running full-page spreads featuring Moran and Mack in blackface.
The film opened at the Rialto in New York on October 4, 1929 (though the west coast premier appears to have taken place at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles a week earlier). The New York premier had the usual invited audience screening, followed by an experimental marathon where the theatre remained open throughout the night for late night viewings. The experiment was deemed a success, and plans were made to repeat it.
The opening audience numbers were strong, however the film’s popularity quickly dropped and it closed less than a month later.
Why Bring That Up? is a backstage comedy that tells the story of vaudeville act Mack and Moran. After starting out in Ohio, the duo eventually make it big in New York. Moran’s attention is consumed by Betty (Evelyn Brent), a conniving woman out to trick gullible men out of their money. Moran and Mack fight over Betty, and Betty’s boyfriend knocks Moran out with a lamp. Betty and her boyfriend skip town, and Moran is left in a coma in hospital. Mack comes to his side and, using a line from the act, successfully re-awakens his friend. The pair are friends once again and all ends happily.
The film received mixed reviews. Several critics praised the “refreshing” comedy and the high quality of the sound recording. Motion Picture News stated of the comedy sequences, “Every one is a natural” and noted that the sound recording “set a new standard for Paramount that has rarely been excelled by any picture.” The Educational Screen thought the film was a “delightful presentation for the millions…[and] human and appealing.”
The Film Daily was less enthusiastic, describing Why Bring That Up? as “Just another backstage story with Moran and Mack doing their blackface vaude stuff…” Screenland also felt the movie was redundant, given the plethora of recordings available of essentially the same material, and wondered why Paramount hadn’t just made “a series of short subjects” instead. Variety also gave a lukewarm review, stating that the final scene “amounts to the biggest punch in the picture – a picture with few real punches.”
The film opened at the Rialto in New York on October 4, 1929 (though the west coast premier appears to have taken place at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles a week earlier). The New York premier had the usual invited audience screening, followed by an experimental marathon where the theatre remained open throughout the night for late night viewings. The experiment was deemed a success, and plans were made to repeat it.
The opening audience numbers were strong, however the film’s popularity quickly dropped and it closed less than a month later.
Why Bring That Up? is a backstage comedy that tells the story of vaudeville act Mack and Moran. After starting out in Ohio, the duo eventually make it big in New York. Moran’s attention is consumed by Betty (Evelyn Brent), a conniving woman out to trick gullible men out of their money. Moran and Mack fight over Betty, and Betty’s boyfriend knocks Moran out with a lamp. Betty and her boyfriend skip town, and Moran is left in a coma in hospital. Mack comes to his side and, using a line from the act, successfully re-awakens his friend. The pair are friends once again and all ends happily.
The film received mixed reviews. Several critics praised the “refreshing” comedy and the high quality of the sound recording. Motion Picture News stated of the comedy sequences, “Every one is a natural” and noted that the sound recording “set a new standard for Paramount that has rarely been excelled by any picture.” The Educational Screen thought the film was a “delightful presentation for the millions…[and] human and appealing.”
The Film Daily was less enthusiastic, describing Why Bring That Up? as “Just another backstage story with Moran and Mack doing their blackface vaude stuff…” Screenland also felt the movie was redundant, given the plethora of recordings available of essentially the same material, and wondered why Paramount hadn’t just made “a series of short subjects” instead. Variety also gave a lukewarm review, stating that the final scene “amounts to the biggest punch in the picture – a picture with few real punches.”
Screenland (Nov 1929)
Several critics commended director George Abbott for his attention to detail and realistic portrayal of backstage life. Abbott went onto become one of the most successful and prolific directors of his time. When he died at the age of 107, he had over 100 Broadway credits (including Damn Yankees, Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game, Flora and the Red Menace, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), and over forty film credits (including All Quiet on the Western Front, and film versions of his musicals) to his name. Over the course of his career, Abbott won 7 Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an Oscar nomination.
The supporting cast also received positive notices. Bert Swor was a minstrel performer who replaced Moran in The Two Crows after Moran quit the act due to a pay dispute with Mack.
Monte Collins and Charles Hall made regular appearances in high profile comedies with Buster Keaton, the Three Stooges, and Laurel and Hardy. Lawrence Leslie was a stage and screen actor who appeared in several Broadway plays, and several contemporary sources described him as a brilliant actor. He tragically died less than a year after the film's release at the age of 22, possibly from influenza.
A few reviews made mention of the spectacular and showy dance numbers. Given the prominence of chorus girls in some of the advertising, it is surprising that the dancers, and choreography, were uncredited. Several trade magazines stated that the dancers were from Albertina Rasch ballet, a dance corps known for its classically trained and highly disciplined dancers. The ballet had also appeared in the 1929 musicals Devil-May-Care, and The Hollywood Revue of 1929, and the 1930 musical Sally.
Variety (Oct 9, 1929) however asserted that Earl Lindsey "was recognizable" as the choreographer. Lindsey was a prominent Broadway choreographer, producer and director who worked on many stage shows throughout the 1920s including Gay Paree (1925), Artists and Models (1927), Luana (1930) and Ballyhoo of 1930 (1930). In Hollywood, Lindsey’s credits included The Dance of Life (1929), Sweetie (1929), Happy Days (1930), and Her Golden Calf (1930).
While it was not unusual for choreographers to be uncredited at this time, the snub remains in place today on IMDb where the role of choreographer is listed under “Other crew." A petition was launched on Change.org at the beginning of 2016 requesting IMDb give choreographers their own category, and their due credit.
Apart from the chorus girls, the only woman in Why Bring That Up? was Evelyn Brent playing the conniving Betty. The critics agreed she gave a decent performance. Brent started out as a stage actress and became a prominent silent film star noted for her strong acting abilities, beauty, and infamous scowl. She appeared in Paramount’s first talkie, Interference (1928), along with appearances in over 100 more films, though mostly in small secondary roles. She worked consistently as an actor, and then as an agent, until her death in 1975. A biography of her life, Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood’s Lady Crook by Lynn Kears was published in 2009.
The score featured three songs, “The Early Bird,” “Do I Know What I’m Doing?” and “Shoo Shoo, Bogey Boo.” The tunes were composed by Paramount staff writers Richard Whiting, Sam Coslow, and Leo Robin who had contributed songs to other 1929 musicals
Sweetie, Broadway Scandals, The Dance of Life, The Time, the Place, and the Girl, and Syncopation.
Why Bring That Up? is not currently available to watch or buy commercially. The sound reels are held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the film was screened in its entirety at the Syracuse Cinefest in 2013. Film historian Richard Barrios and critic Leonard Maltin both agreed that the film displays George Abbott's talents as a director, and provides an interesting look at backstage life.
As Barrios wrote in his festival note, the film
The supporting cast also received positive notices. Bert Swor was a minstrel performer who replaced Moran in The Two Crows after Moran quit the act due to a pay dispute with Mack.
Monte Collins and Charles Hall made regular appearances in high profile comedies with Buster Keaton, the Three Stooges, and Laurel and Hardy. Lawrence Leslie was a stage and screen actor who appeared in several Broadway plays, and several contemporary sources described him as a brilliant actor. He tragically died less than a year after the film's release at the age of 22, possibly from influenza.
A few reviews made mention of the spectacular and showy dance numbers. Given the prominence of chorus girls in some of the advertising, it is surprising that the dancers, and choreography, were uncredited. Several trade magazines stated that the dancers were from Albertina Rasch ballet, a dance corps known for its classically trained and highly disciplined dancers. The ballet had also appeared in the 1929 musicals Devil-May-Care, and The Hollywood Revue of 1929, and the 1930 musical Sally.
Variety (Oct 9, 1929) however asserted that Earl Lindsey "was recognizable" as the choreographer. Lindsey was a prominent Broadway choreographer, producer and director who worked on many stage shows throughout the 1920s including Gay Paree (1925), Artists and Models (1927), Luana (1930) and Ballyhoo of 1930 (1930). In Hollywood, Lindsey’s credits included The Dance of Life (1929), Sweetie (1929), Happy Days (1930), and Her Golden Calf (1930).
While it was not unusual for choreographers to be uncredited at this time, the snub remains in place today on IMDb where the role of choreographer is listed under “Other crew." A petition was launched on Change.org at the beginning of 2016 requesting IMDb give choreographers their own category, and their due credit.
Apart from the chorus girls, the only woman in Why Bring That Up? was Evelyn Brent playing the conniving Betty. The critics agreed she gave a decent performance. Brent started out as a stage actress and became a prominent silent film star noted for her strong acting abilities, beauty, and infamous scowl. She appeared in Paramount’s first talkie, Interference (1928), along with appearances in over 100 more films, though mostly in small secondary roles. She worked consistently as an actor, and then as an agent, until her death in 1975. A biography of her life, Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood’s Lady Crook by Lynn Kears was published in 2009.
The score featured three songs, “The Early Bird,” “Do I Know What I’m Doing?” and “Shoo Shoo, Bogey Boo.” The tunes were composed by Paramount staff writers Richard Whiting, Sam Coslow, and Leo Robin who had contributed songs to other 1929 musicals
Sweetie, Broadway Scandals, The Dance of Life, The Time, the Place, and the Girl, and Syncopation.
Why Bring That Up? is not currently available to watch or buy commercially. The sound reels are held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the film was screened in its entirety at the Syracuse Cinefest in 2013. Film historian Richard Barrios and critic Leonard Maltin both agreed that the film displays George Abbott's talents as a director, and provides an interesting look at backstage life.
As Barrios wrote in his festival note, the film
...is intriguing on any number of levels: as a well-crafted piece of early-sound filmmaking, a valuable record of a once-celebrated comedy act, [and] a meditation on the changing (black)face of popular entertainment... It may not exactly be what many of us would consider great art, but why bring that up?”
Trading on racist stereotypes. Exhibitors Herald World (Nov 2, 1929)
There is division today over whether or not Moran and Mack’s act was racist. Defendants claim that most of the jokes were just puns and silly word play that turned innocuous phrases on their head. What is inescapable is the fact that these jokes were performed in blackface. The characters speaking those seemingly innocent lines relied on and perpetuated negative stereotypes of African Americans as slow and stupid.
Moran and Mack purposefully appropriated and traded on a culture that wasn’t their own, and profited from it. As I wrote in my review on Hallelujah, people knew then, as they do now, that racism is unacceptable. The popularity of Moran and Mack, and other blackface comedians and performers at this time, speaks to the deep seated racism in the United States in the early twentieth century. While blackface is no longer an accepted practice, the undercurrent of racism that supported it frustratingly still exists.
The Moran and Mack act ended when Charles Mack was killed in a car accident in 1934. Moran continued to perform, and appeared occasionally in film, but he never regained the success he had enjoyed in the 1920s.
Moran and Mack purposefully appropriated and traded on a culture that wasn’t their own, and profited from it. As I wrote in my review on Hallelujah, people knew then, as they do now, that racism is unacceptable. The popularity of Moran and Mack, and other blackface comedians and performers at this time, speaks to the deep seated racism in the United States in the early twentieth century. While blackface is no longer an accepted practice, the undercurrent of racism that supported it frustratingly still exists.
The Moran and Mack act ended when Charles Mack was killed in a car accident in 1934. Moran continued to perform, and appeared occasionally in film, but he never regained the success he had enjoyed in the 1920s.
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