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The Broadway Melody, also known as The Broadway Melody of 1929, is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the early musicals to feature a Technicolor sequence, which sparked the trend of color being used in a flurry of musicals that would hit the screens in 1929–1930. Today, the Technicolor sequence survives only in black and white. The film was the first musical released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was Hollywood's first all-talking musical.
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and the conflict on and off-stage between Fred Graham, the show's director, producer, and star, and his leading lady, his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi. A secondary romance concerns Lois Lane, the actress playing Bianca, and her gambler boyfriend, Bill, who runs afoul of some gangsters. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.
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George Albert "Georgie" Jessel was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and film producer. He was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies. He was widely known by his nickname, the "Toastmaster General of the United States," for his frequent role as the master of ceremonies at political and entertainment gatherings. Jessel originated the title role in the stage production of The Jazz Singer.
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Honeymoon Lane is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William James Craft and starring Eddie Dowling, June Collyer, Raymond Hatton. The film was released on July 25, 1931, by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the 1926 Broadway musical of the same title by Dowling and James F. Hanley.
Thumbs Up! is a musical revue in two acts, with book by H. I. Phillips, Harold Atteridge, and Alan Baxter. The show had songs with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald and Earle Crooker and music by James F. Hanley and Henry Sullivan. Additional lyrics by Karl Stark, Ira Gershwin, John Murray Anderson, Irving Caesar, Jean Herbert, and Vernon Duke and additional music by Vernon Duke, Gerald Marks, and Steve Child. The show was produced by Eddie Dowling at the St. James Theatre. The revue opened on December 27, 1934.
References
- ↑ Gerald Bordman American Musical Theater: A Chronicle 2001 p 466 "The same night, 20 September, Honeymoon Lane raised its curtain down Broadway at the Knickerbocker. It was the third musical in a row to play through the season, and like The Ramblers and Queen High, it, too, left one noteworthy tune ..."
- 1 2 Thomas S. Hischak (2009). "Honeymoon Lane". Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows Through 2007. McFarland & Company. p. 2371. ISBN 9780786453092.
- ↑ Michael R. Pitts Kate Smith: A Bio-bibliography 1988 Page 2 "She found it difficult to live on her salary since people were always after her for loans which were never repaid . Still HONEYMOON LANE was a big success and ran for nearly a year on Broadway and Kate remained with the show when it ..."
- ↑ Edwin M. Bradley The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography 2004 p34 "With Hanley , a composer of some renown , he'd written the score to the 1926 stage success Honeymoon Lane . Dowling had no pretentions about his audience - Irish and working class . His shows were moralistic , uncomplicated in plot ..."
- ↑ Holly George-Warren (2009). Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry. p. 33.
Marvin's romantic tenor enthralled audiences on Broadway, and his "The Little White House (at the End of Honeymoon Lane)"—from a popular Broadway musical, Honeymoon Lane—was one of the biggest songs of 1927. He'd made his name the year ...