Dance Hall (1929 film)

Last updated

Dance Hall
DanceHallFilmPoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Melville Brown
Screenplay by Jane Murfin
J. Walter Ruben
Story by Viña Delmar [1]
Produced by Henry Hobart [2]
Starring Arthur Lake
Olive Borden
Cinematography Jack MacKenzie
Edited by Ann McKnight
George Marsh
Distributed by Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • December 15, 1929 (1929-12-15)(New York City) [3]
  • December 27, 1929 (1929-12-27)(United States) [2]
Running time
65 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Dance Hall is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film directed by Melville Brown and written by Jane Murfin and J. Walter Ruben, based on the short story of the same name by Vina Delmar. [4] [5] The film centers a love triangle with a shipping clerk competing with a dashing aviator for the affections of a young taxi dancer. [6] [7] It was Radio Pictures' second to last release of the decade, and was a critical and financial flop. [N 1]

Contents

Plot

Shipping clerk Tommy Flynn (Arthur Lake) engages Gracie Nolan (Olive Borden), a young taxi dancer, and the two gain some success in dance halls, winning several dance contests. As they do, he becomes infatuated with her, but she only has eyes for Ted Smith (Ralph Emerson) a pilot who wants her as a trophy of his own.

Flynn is unsuccessful in his attempts to woo the young Gracie, until the pilot crashes during his attempt at a transcontinental flight. Flynn hides the fact from Gracie that the pilot is still alive, as he attempts to get her to fall in love with him. When she discovers his subterfuge, she is enraged and rushes off to be with the pilot.

However, when she finds Smith, she uncovers that he has been living with another woman. Devastated, she returns to Tommy, who takes her back. Reunited, the two lovers become a successful dancing team.

Cast

Olive Borden and Arthur Lake OliveBordenArthurLake.DanceHall.1929.jpg
Olive Borden and Arthur Lake

Production

In February 1929, it was announced that Viña Delmar had been signed by RKO to write the story of Dance Hall. [8] By the end of June, RKO had scheduled filming to begin on approximately August 1, 1929. [9]

In September, The Film Daily reported that Melville Brown had been signed to a long-term contract by RKO, and that Dance Hall would be his first project with his new studio, and in early October, it was learned that J. Walter Ruben would be contributing to the script's dialogue. [10] Also in October, RKO announced that Arthur Lake and Olive Borden were attached to the project, [11] and also that Margaret Seddon, Ralph Emerson and Tom O'Brien would be joining the cast. [12] The production featured the introduction of two new dances: the "Dumb Drag" and the "Blue Bottom". [13]

While originally scheduled for August, filming on Dance Hall did not begin until mid-October 1929. [14] After production began, a fire at Consolidated Film Industries, the laboratory developing the negatives, destroyed two days worth of filming. [15] By November 20, filming on Dance Hall had concluded and the picture was being edited. [16]

Dance Hall opened on December 15, 1929, at the Globe Theater in New York City, [3] although the American Film Institute has it opening a day earlier. [2]

Reception

In his film review for The New York Times , Mordaunt Hall characterized Dance Hall as mildly entertaining, "... while it may be a slice of life, or whatever one cares to characterize it, the result is far from being an edifying entertainment. Possibly some of those who compete in marathon dances may find that this production appeals to them, but others, young or old, will, in all probability, wish for something just a trifle more stimulating to the mind than this tale of a dance cup winner and his love for his partner."

[17]

Film historians Richard Jewell and Vernon Harbin in The RKO Story (1982) considered Dance Hall, a "sour note ..." yet "... mildly diverting." They further described that the film "collapsed in the critical areas of acting (Arthur Lake was the weakest of the weak), (and) dialogue ..." [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Cimarron</i> (1931 film) 1931 film by Wesley Ruggles

Cimarron is a 1931 pre-Code epic Western film starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, and directed by Wesley Ruggles. Released by RKO, it won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Production Design.

<i>Dixiana</i> (film) 1930 film directed by Luther Reed

Dixiana (1930) is a lavish American pre-Code comedy, musical film directed by Luther Reed and produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The final twenty minutes of the picture were photographed in Technicolor. The film stars Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Joseph Cawthorn, Jobyna Howland, Ralf Harolde, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Dorothy Lee. The script was adapted by Luther Reed from a story by Anne Caldwell.

<i>Rio Rita</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Rio Rita is a 1929 American pre-Code RKO musical comedy starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles along with the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. The film is based on the 1927 stage musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, which originally united Wheeler and Woolsey as a team and made them famous. The film was the biggest and most expensive RKO production of 1929 as well as the studio's biggest box office hit until King Kong (1933). Its finale was photographed in two-color Technicolor. Rio Rita was chosen as one of the 10 best films of 1929 by Film Daily.

<i>Going Wild</i> 1930 film

Going Wild is a 1930 Warner Brothers pre-Code comedy film based on the 1910 play The Aviator by James Montgomery and directed by William A. Seiter. The film stars many musical stars along with Joe E. Brown, Frank McHugh and Johnny Arthur.

<i>Millie</i> (film) 1931 film

Millie is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon from a screenplay by Charles Kenyon and Ralph Morgan, based on a novel of the same name by Donald Henderson Clarke. The film was an independent production by Charles R. Rogers, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, after their acquisition of Pathé Exchange. It stars Helen Twelvetrees in one of her best roles, with a supporting cast that includes Lilyan Tashman, James Hall, Joan Blondell, John Halliday and Anita Louise.

<i>The W Plan</i> 1930 film

The W Plan is a 1930 British spy film produced and directed by Victor Saville and starring Brian Aherne, Madeleine Carroll, Gibb McLaughlin, and Gordon Harker. The screenplay was written by Saville with Miles Malleson and Frank Launder, based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Graham Seton. When the film was released in the United States, Aherne was appearing in The Barretts of Wimpole Street on Broadway, and receiving praise for his performance as Robert Browning. The film was a critical success, but did not do well at the box office.

<i>The Vagabond Lover</i> 1929 film by Marshall Neilan

The Vagabond Lover is a 1929 American pre-Code black-and-white musical comedy-drama film about a small-town boy who finds fame and romance when he joins a dance band. The film was directed by Marshall Neilan and is based on the novel of the same name written by James Ashmore Creelman, who also wrote the screenplay. It stars Rudy Vallee, in his first feature film, along with Sally Blane, Marie Dressler and Charles Sellon.

<i>Lonely Wives</i> 1931 film

Lonely Wives is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Russell Mack and produced by E.B. Derr for Pathé Exchange, and was distributed by RKO Pictures after the merger of the two studios; it starred Edward Everett Horton, Esther Ralston, Laura La Plante, and Patsy Ruth Miller. The screenplay was written by Walter DeLeon, based upon a successful German vaudeville act entitled Tanzanwaltz, penned by Pordes Milo, Walter Schütt, and Dr. Eric Urban. The German production had been translated for the American stage by DeLeon and Mark Swan and, under the same title as the film.

<i>Beau Ideal</i> 1931 film by Herbert Brenon

Beau Ideal is a 1931 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Herbert Brenon and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was based on the 1927 adventure novel Beau Ideal by P. C. Wren, the third novel in a series of five novels based around the same characters. Brenon had directed the first in the series, Beau Geste, which was a very successful silent film in 1926. The screenplay was adapted from Wren's novel by Paul Schofield, who had also written the screenplay for the 1926 Beau Geste, with contributions from Elizabeth Meehan and Marie Halvey.

<i>The Air Circus</i> 1928 film

The Air Circus is a 1928 American sound part-talkie drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Arthur Lake, Sue Carol, David Rollins, and Louise Dresser. It is the first of Hawks's aviation films. The film is notable as the first aviation oriented film with dialogue.

<i>Born to Love</i> (film) 1931 film

Born to Love is a 1931 American pre-Code melodrama film, directed by Paul L. Stein from an original screenplay by Ernest Pascal. It starred Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea and Paul Cavanagh in a lovers' triangle set in London during World War I. It was only the second film produced by RKO Pathé after the merger of the two studios, and according to RKO records, it made a profit of $90,000.

<i>The Gay Diplomat</i> 1931 film

The Gay Diplomat is a 1931 American pre-Code film. Directed by Richard Boleslawski for RKO Radio Pictures, it starred Ivan Lebedeff, Genevieve Tobin and Betty Compson.

<i>White Shoulders</i> 1931 film

White Shoulders is a lost 1931 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Melville W. Brown and starring Mary Astor and Jack Holt, with major supporting roles by Ricardo Cortez and Sidney Toler. The film was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and J. Walter Ruben was adapted from Rex Beach's short story, The Recoil.

<i>The Falcon in Danger</i> 1943 film by William Clemens

The Falcon in Danger is a 1943 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Amelita Ward and Elaine Shepard. The film was the sixth of thirteen The Falcon detective films produced by RKO, all starring Conway.

<i>Girl of the Port</i> 1930 film directed by Bert Glennon

Girl of the Port is a 1930 pre-Code melodramatic adventure/romance American film directed by Bert Glennon. The screenplay was written by Beulah Marie Dix and Frank Reicher based on the short story "The Fire-walker" by John Russell. The film stars Sally O'Neil, Reginald Sharland, Mitchell Lewis and Duke Kahanamoku.

<i>Beau Bandit</i> 1930 film directed by Lambert Hillyer

Beau Bandit is a 1930 American Pre-Code Western film, directed by Lambert Hillyer, from a screenplay by Wallace Smith, based on his short story, "Strictly Business" which appeared in the April 1929 edition of Hearst's International-Cosmopolitan. The film starred Rod La Rocque, Mitchell Lewis, Doris Kenyon, and Walter Long. The story is based loosely on the legend of Robin Hood.

<i>The Fall Guy</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

The Fall Guy is a 1930 American pre-Code crime drama film directed by Leslie Pearce and adapted for the screen by Tim Whelan. Based on the 1925 Broadway hit The Fall Guy, a Comedy in Three Acts, which was written by George Abbott and James Gleason, the RKO production stars Jack Mulhall, Pat O'Malley, and Mae Clarke. The year after this film's release, Clarke would become famous as a result of her minor role in another crime drama, The Public Enemy, in which James Cagney shoves a grapefruit into her face.

<i>Shes My Weakness</i> 1930 film by Melville W. Brown

She's My Weakness is a 1930 American Pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Melville W. Brown and starring Sue Carol and Arthur Lake. The screenplay was written by J. Walter Ruben, based on the Broadway play Tommy by Howard Lindsay and Bertrand Robinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lita Chevret</span> American actress

Lita Chevret was an American actress who began her career at the genesis of sound films. She appeared in over 60 films between 1929 and 1940, although in most of those she had small or non-billed parts.

<i>Captain Swagger</i> 1928 film

Captain Swagger is a 1928 American synchronized sound crime drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith and stars Rod La Rocque. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects utilizing the RCA Photophone sound-on-film sound system. The film was released with both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film formats. The film was produced and distributed by the Pathé Exchange company.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The RKO Story (1982) has Dance Hall listed as the last release, and it was the last general release, but Seven Keys to Baldpate premiered on Christmas Day, 1929, although it was not released until January 1930. [1]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Jewell and Harbin 1982, p. 23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Detail view: 'Dance Hall'." American Film Institute. Retrieved: June 3, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "The Broadway parade.' The Film Daily, December 16, 1929, p. 2. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Shades of old at Riverside." Milwaukee Sentinel, January 13, 1930, p. 9.
  5. ↑ "'Dance Hall' at Park." The Reading Eagle, January 16, 1930, p. 25.
  6. ↑ Wynne 1987, p. 172.
  7. ↑ Pendo 1985, p. 10.
  8. ↑ "Two more writers added to Radio Pictures staff." The Film Daily, February 10, 1929, p. 9. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Shooting Schedules set on 4 new Radio films." The Film Daily, June 30, 1929, p. 6. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Director signs long contract." The Film Daily,'September 30, 1929, p. 9. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  11. ↑ "At works in 'Dance Hall'." The Film Daily, October 23, 1929, p. 6. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  12. ↑ "RKO signs Rupert Julian and twelve new players." The Film Daily, October 20, 1929, p. 5. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Film introduces popular dances." The Nevada Daily Mail and The Evening Post, August 2, 1930, p. 3.
  14. ↑ "Radio's Octette." Variety, October 2, 1929, p. 8. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Negatives and heavy damage at disastrous Con. Lab Coast fire." Variety, October 30, 1929, p. 9. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Cutting four." Variety, November 20, 1929, p. 8. Retrieved: January 15, 2016.
  17. ↑ Hall, Mordaunt. "The screen; A tragedy of the desert." The New York Times, December 16, 1929.

Bibliography

  • Jewell, Richard B. and Vernon Harbin. The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House, 1982. ISBN   0-517-54-656-6.
  • Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN   0-8-1081-746-2.
  • Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN   978-0-93312-685-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.