The Big Broadcast is a 1932 American pre-Codemusical comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Bing Crosby, Stuart Erwin, and Leila Hyams. Based on the play Wild Waves by William Ford Manley, the film is about a radio-singer who becomes a popular hit with audiences, but takes a disrespectful approach to his career. His repeated latenesses leads to the bankruptcy of the radio station, but his career is saved by a new friend who buys the station and gives him his job back.
Radio-singer Bing Crosby[3] (Bing Crosby) is not very serious about his career. His chronic tardiness and his soon-to-be marriage with the notorious Mona Lowe (Sharon Lynn) has become an issue at station WADX.
After an unpleasant conversation with station manager George Burns, concerning dismissal and a lawsuit, the despondent singer visits a speakeasy. While there, Crosby sees miserable Texas oilman Leslie McWhinney (Stuart Erwin), who does not recognize Bing Crosby as a celebrity. Crosby consoles Leslie, who expresses his heartbreak over a woman swindling him out of $100,000. Crosby initially intends to comfort him, but he soon sees a newspaper article about Mona's betrayal. They both realize they have been wronged by their relationships.
That night, Crosby invites Leslie to his apartment, where the electricity goes out. They are both drunk, and Crosby convinces Leslie to join him in suicide via gas poisoning. Leslie reluctantly goes along with the plan, sitting side by side in the kitchen. As they near death, they are haunted by a ghostly apparition of a skull and an accordion player who sings "Here Lies Love" (Arthur Tracy).
Before they die, they are rescued by a doorman and Anita Rogers (Leila Hyams), secretary at station WADX and the former fiancée of Leslie.
The next morning, Crosby and Leslie wake up to find they are still alive. Anita admits to Leslie that she has fallen in love with Crosby. Crosby then invites Leslie to join them at WADX, saying he can find him a job around the radio station.
Meanwhile, station manager George Burns is riddled by the addled conversation and hijinks of his stenographer, Gracie Allen. After multiple mishaps, he loses the radio station and repo men begin to take out the furniture. A confused Leslie, looking for a job around the station, helps the repo men carry out a desk before realizing the station is going out of business.
Leslie reveals that he still has $900,000 and uses this money to buy the radio station, in order to help out Crosby and Anita, whom he still loves. Leslie comes up with the idea of putting on a "big broadcast" of stars to pull the station out of debt.
Mona returns on the scene and reinstates the wedding, which makes Crosby quickly forget about his budding romance with Anita. Crosby goes out with Mona hours before the big broadcast, threatening to ruin the show as he is the best-for-last performer.
Leslie expresses that he is unconditionally supportive of Crosby and Anita's relationship, which makes Anita cry. She admits to Leslie that she loves Crosby because he reminds her of Leslie, particularly his voice. She asks Leslie for a kiss, and despite his confusion he obliges.
Leslie then visits Mona's apartment hours after the show has started, only to find that Crosby is lying on the sofa, apparently drunk. In actuality, Crosby winks at Mona to indicate he is pretending to be intoxicated in order to skip the show and spend more time with her. Leslie continues to urge him to perform, while Mona seems to be incredibly furious at Crosby's irresponsibility. Leslie leaves after reminding Crosby that he is disappointing Anita. After he is gone, Mona demands to know who Anita is; when Crosby refuses to tell her, she throws a vase and shatters it against the wall by Crosby's head. Crosby is shown turning around furiously and pulling up his sleeves.
While walking back to the station, Leslie overhears an older couple listening to a record of Crosby singing "Please" in their first-floor apartment window. Leslie then gets the idea to find a record and spin it on the air, hopeful that people would assume it to be a live performance. The husband in the apartment window rises out of his seat and tosses the record out the window, where it shatters against the sidewalk. Desperately, Leslie attempts to find a record of the song and gets into various comedic situations, usually ending with an ironic twist that leads to the next situation. Situations include finding a record store, only for it to be closed; finding the record store owner's apartment and enticing him downstairs, only to accidentally knock over the display, spilling records all over the floor; attempting to throw a pineapple at the glass to rob the store, only to hit a policeman instead; falling over a child's toy and landing on the record; knocking over a woman's grocery bag; accidentally trading her the record for a slab of meat; nearly having a person step on the record; and lastly, melting the record right before his ascent to the radio station.
In a rush, Leslie asks for the curtains to be closed. He then plays the record on the air; however, as it is melted, it produces a humorously bad effect. The band begins to play "Please" and there is apparently no singer, as Crosby continues to be absent. Seeing no other option, an anxious Leslie bursts into song, accompanying the band with vocals that are evidently untrained. He stumbles over the lyrics and cannot produce the correct whistling tones.
Anita, listening to the broadcast, looks shocked as she recognizes Leslie's voice instead of Bing's. From her facial expression, it can be assumed that she finds Leslie brave and endearing and returns to her romance with Leslie.
Just in time for the second verse, Crosby returns and performs the song, improvising alternate lyrics as a message to Anita to take Leslie back as her fiancé. Crosby, who actually has been feigning irresponsibility to bring Leslie and Anita together, succeeds in reuniting the former lovers. Mona is listening to him in the booth; she pouts and has a black eye as she listens to him sing, looking with admiration and fear upon him. The black eye insinuates that Crosby had assaulted her earlier in the evening as punishment for leaving him and for her asking about Anita.[4]
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (main scenes)
Paramount Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA[6]
Soundtrack
Introductory sequence (signature tunes): "Where the Blue of the Night" (sung by Bing Crosby]; "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain" (sung by Kate Smith); "Shout, Sister, Shout" (sung by The Boswell Sisters); "Minnie the Moocher" (sung by Cab Calloway); "Goodbye Blues" (sung by The Mills Brothers). "I Surrender Dear" (snatch only - sung by Bing Crosby) "Dinah" (sung by Bing Crosby) "Here Lies Love" (sung by Arthur Tracy, and again by Bing Crosby) "I've Got Five Dollars" (snatch only - sung by Bing Crosby) "Please" (sung by Bing Crosby) "Tiger Rag" (sung by The Mills Brothers) "Drummer Man" (Vincent Lopez and His Orchestra) "Trees" (sung by Donald Novis) "Crazy People" (Sung by The Boswell Sisters) "It Was So Beautiful" (sung by Kate Smith) "Kicking the Gong Around" (sung by Cab Calloway)[7]
Crosby recorded the songs for Brunswick Records[8] and "Dinah" and "Please" both topped the charts of the day.[9]
It was Bing Crosby's first starring role in a full-length film and generally he got good reviews. "The film is a credit to Crosby as a screen juve possibility, although he has a decidedly dizzy and uncertain role which makes him behave as no human being does."[11]The New York American commented: "Bing Crosby is the star, make no mistake about it. The “Blue of the Night” boy is a picture personality, as he demonstrated in his two-reelers. He has a camera face and a camera presence. Always at ease, he troupes like a veteran."[12] The Hollywood Citizen News had more to say: ".... Bing Crosby croons several attractive songs which seem destined to enjoy wide popularity. For that matter, he needn’t be ashamed of his acting either. Burns and Allen have several good comedy sequences, and Cab Calloway and his orchestra are excellent in one sequence. All the radio stars are heard much as you hear them on the air. The novelty of seeing them may be an attraction. But Tuttle has not relied upon the drawing power of that novelty. He has injected little touches of fantasy, hints of satire, moments of slapstick comedy and a general impression of jolly good humor. He tells you frankly that this picture is not to be taken seriously and I think that most audiences will believe him and thereby enjoy it."[13]
During its initial release, the film earned $775,000 in North American theatrical rentals.[14]
Related Research Articles
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. was an American singer, actor, television producer, television and radio personality, and businessman. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. Crosby was a leader in record sales, network radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global cultural icons. Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs.
Going My Way is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest taking over a parish from an established old veteran. Crosby sings five songs with other songs performed onscreen by Metropolitan Opera's star mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens and the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir. Going My Way was the highest-grossing picture of 1944, and was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning seven, including Best Picture. Its success helped to make movie exhibitors choose Crosby as the biggest box-office draw of the year, a record he would hold for the remainder of the 1940s. After World War II, Crosby and McCarey presented a copy of the film to Pope Pius XII at the Vatican. Going My Way was followed the next year by a sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's.
The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) is an American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest and a nun who, despite their good-natured rivalry, try to save their school from being shut down. The character Father O'Malley had been previously portrayed by Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film was produced by Leo McCarey's production company, Rainbow Productions.
Little Boy Lost is a 1953 American drama film directed by George Seaton and starring Bing Crosby, Claude Dauphin, and Christian Fourcade. Based on the novel Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski, the film is about a war correspondent stationed in Paris during World War II and once married to a young Frenchwoman who was murdered by the Nazis. Following the war, he returns to France trying to find his son, whom he lost during a bombing raid but has been told is living in an orphanage in Paris.
The Big Broadcast of 1936 is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, and is the second in the series of Big Broadcast movies. The musical comedy starred Jack Oakie, Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman, The Nicholas Brothers, Lyda Roberti, Wendy Barrie, Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, Akim Tamiroff, Amos 'n' Andy, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Argentinian tango singer Carlos Gardel.
"You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" is a 1932 popular song with music by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Al Dubin, which became a standard. The lyrics of the song were noted for its references to addiction.
Going Hollywood is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Marion Davies and Bing Crosby. It was written by Donald Ogden Stewart and based on a story by Frances Marion. Going Hollywood was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 22, 1933.
"Don't Fence Me In" is a popular American song written in 1934, with music by Cole Porter and lyrics by Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
Dixie is a 1943 American biographical film of songwriter Daniel Decatur Emmett directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Filming in Technicolor, Dixie was only a moderate success and received mixed reviews. Contrary to rumor, it has not been withdrawn from circulation due to racial issues but is simply one of hundreds of vintage Paramount Pictures from the 1930s and 1940s now owned by Universal and not actively marketed; it was broadcast several times in the late 1980s on the American Movie Classics channel. The film produced one of Crosby's most popular songs, "Sunday, Monday, or Always".
College Humor is a 1933 American pre-Code musical comedy film, directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Richard Arlen, Mary Kornman and Mary Carlisle. Based on a story by Dean Fales, the film is about a college professor and the school's star football player who become rivals for the same beautiful student. Released by Paramount Pictures, the film co-stars George Burns and Gracie Allen.
Riding High is a 1950 black-and-white musical racetrack film featuring Bing Crosby and directed by Frank Capra. The songs were performed live during filming instead of the customary lip-synching to studio recordings. The film is a remake of an earlier Capra film with screenwriter Robert Riskin titled Broadway Bill (1934). While the film is generally a light musical comedy, its plot contains an unexpected tragic turn.
Rhythm on the River is a 1940 American musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin as ghostwriters whose songs are credited to a composer played by Basil Rathbone. Crosby and Martin sang "Only Forever", for which James V. Monaco (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Pennies From Heaven is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, and Edith Fellows.
This is a filmography for the American singer and actor Bing Crosby.
Too Much Harmony is a 1933 American black-and-white pre-Code musical film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Harry Green, and Judith Allen. It was released by Paramount Pictures.
Mr. Music is a 1950 film starring Bing Crosby and Nancy Olson, directed by Richard Haydn, and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the play Accent on Youth written by Samson Raphaelson. Filming took place from October to December 1949 in Hollywood.
The Star Maker is a 1939 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, written by Frank Butler, Don Hartman and Arthur Caesar, and starring Bing Crosby, Louise Campbell, Linda Ware, Ned Sparks, Laura Hope Crews, Janet Waldo and Walter Damrosch. Filming started in Hollywood on April 17, 1939 and was finished in June. The film was released on August 25, 1939, by Paramount Pictures, and had its New York premiere on August 30, 1939. It was the only film in which Crosby played a happily married man.
Out of This World is a 1945 American romantic comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake and Diana Lynn. The picture was a satire on the Frank Sinatra "bobby soxer" cult.
Please is a 1933 short musical comedy film directed and produced by Arvid E. Gillstrom. It stars Bing Crosby as himself along with Vernon Dent and Mary Kornman.
I Surrender Dear is a 1931 Educational-Mack Sennett Featurette starring Bing Crosby and directed by Mack Sennett. This was the first of the six short films Crosby made for Sennett and which helped launch his career as a solo performer.
References
↑ "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. October 15, 1990.
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