Funny Girl is a musical with score by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart, that first opened on Broadway in 1964. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice, featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein.
The following is an overview of 1930 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Fania Borach, known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. She is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series The Baby Snooks Show.
Funny Lady is a 1975 American biographical musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen.
El Dorado is a 1966 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Written by Leigh Brackett and loosely based on the novel The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown, the film is about a gunfighter who comes to the aid of an old friend who is a drunken sheriff struggling to defend a rancher and his family against another rancher trying to steal their water. The supporting cast features James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, Arthur Hunnicutt, Michele Carey, R. G. Armstrong, Ed Asner, Christopher George, Adam Roarke and Jim Davis.
Ziegfeld Follies is a 1945 American musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, primarily directed by Vincente Minnelli, with segments directed by Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, and George Sidney, the film's original director before Minnelli took over. Other directors that are claimed to have made uncredited contributions to the film are Merrill Pye, Norman Taurog, and Charles Walters. It stars many MGM leading talents, including Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, James Melton, Victor Moore, William Powell, Red Skelton, and Esther Williams.
Cavalcade is a 1933 American epic pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Lloyd. The screenplay by Reginald Berkeley and Sonya Levien is based on the 1931 play of the same title by Noël Coward. The film stars Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook.
Everybody Sing is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin, and starring Allan Jones, Judy Garland and Fanny Brice, and featuring Reginald Owen and Billie Burke. The screenplay and story by Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf had additional work by James Gruen and Milton Merlin with uncredited contributions from Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Dalton Trumbo.
Whoopee! is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy musical Western film photographed in two-color Technicolor. It was directed by Thornton Freeland and stars Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta and Eleanor Hunt. The film's plot closely follows that of the 1928 stage show produced by Florenz Ziegfeld.
Funny Girl is a 1968 American biographical musical comedy-drama film directed by William Wyler and written by Isobel Lennart, adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same title. It is loosely based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein.
Thornton Freeland was an American film director who directed 26 British and American films in a career that lasted from 1924 to 1949.
Three Live Ghosts is a 1929 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Beryl Mercer, Harry Stubbs, and Joan Bennett; with Robert Montgomery, and Tenen Holtz. The screenplay concerns three veterans of World War I who return home to London after the armistice, only to find they have been mistakenly listed as dead. It was based on the 1920 play Three Live Ghosts by Frederic S. Isham.
My Man is a 1928 black and white sound part-talkie American comedy-drama musical film directed by Archie Mayo starring Fanny Brice and featuring Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
The Waning Sex is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Based on the 1923 play of the same name by Fanny and Frederic Hatton, the film starred Norma Shearer and Conrad Nagel.
Paradise for Two is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Hulbert, Patricia Ellis and Arthur Riscoe. It was released in the U.S. with the alternative title Gaiety Girls. A chorus girl is mistaken for a millionaire's girlfriend.
The Acquittal is a 1923 American silent mystery film based on the play of the same name by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Clarence Brown, who would later start a long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Norman Kerry, Claire Windsor, Richard Travers, and Barbara Bedford. The film was released by Universal Pictures.
Week-End Marriage is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Loretta Young. It was produced by First National Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. It is based on the 1932 novel, Week-End Marriage, by Faith Baldwin. The film is preserved at the Library of Congress.
Down on the Farm is a 1920 silent film feature-length rural comedy produced by Mack Sennett, starring Louise Fazenda, and featuring Harry Gribbon, James Finlayson and Billy Armstrong. It premiered at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, California on December 28–30, 1919, and was released nationally three months later, opening at the Strand Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana on April 4, 1920.
Robert North was an American vaudeville performer who became a success as a stand-up comedian. Later he became a prolific motion picture producer.
Big Money is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Russell Mack and starring Eddie Quillan, Robert Armstrong, and James Gleason. It was produced and distributed by Pathé Exchange, shortly before the company was completely absorbed by RKO.
