Vaudeville is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition or light poetry, interspersed with songs or ballets. It became popular in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s, while changing over time.
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.
Jack Benny was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing the violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with a highly popular comedic career in radio, television, and film. He was known for his comic timing and the ability to cause laughter with a long pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated summation "Well! "
"The Blood" is the 160th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the fourth episode for the ninth and final season. It aired on October 16, 1997. This was Lloyd Bridges's last television performance before his death. He reprised his role as Izzy Mandelbaum, who becomes Jerry's personal trainer in the episode. Other plotlines include George becoming obsessed with combining sex with food and TV and Kramer donating three pints of blood to save a mortally injured Jerry.
"Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. The song also appeared in the film version of Babes in Arms two years later.
Hello Pop! is the third of five short films starring Ted Healy and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 16, 1933. A musical-comedy film, the film also featured the Albertina Rasch Dancers and Bonnie Bonnell. The film was considered lost until a 35mm nitrate print was discovered in Australia in January 2013. Stooges Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard were billed as "Howard, Fine and Howard."
The Duncan Sisters were an American vaudeville duo who became popular in the 1920s with their act Topsy and Eva.
Children of Pleasure is a 1930 American pre-Code MGM musical comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont, originally released with Technicolor sequences. It was adapted from Crane Wilbur's 1929 play, The Song Writer.
George "Buster" Cooper was an American jazz trombonist.
Stella Dallas was an American radio soap opera that ran from October 25, 1937, to December 23, 1955. The New York Times described the title character as "the beautiful daughter of an impoverished farmhand who had married above her station in life."
Lord Byron of Broadway (1930), also known as What Price Melody?, is an American Pre-Code musical drama film, directed by Harry Beaumont and William Nigh. It was based on a best selling book by Nell Martin, which "was widely praised by critics as an extremely true and amusing romance of stage life." It was filmed in black and white with two-color Technicolor sequences.
The March of Time is the title of an unreleased 1930 American pre-Code musical film directed by Charles Reisner. The film was originally scheduled to be released in September 1930 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) but was shelved. The March of Time would have been one of the many musicals partially filmed in two-color Technicolor.
Zis Boom Bah, also known as College Sweethearts, is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by William Nigh, and starring Grace Hayes, Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy. The plot concerns a vaudeville singer who comes to a floundering college to instill values and self-confidence in its entitled students.
Father Steps Out is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Frank Albertson, Jed Prouty, Lorna Gray and Frank Faylen. It is a remake of the 1934 film City Limits.
Kick In is a 1922 American silent crime drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and starring Betty Compson and Bert Lytell. The picture was directed by George Fitzmaurice, who previously directed a 1917 film version of the story. Both films are based on Willard Mack's 1913 play that was produced on Broadway in 1914 starring John Barrymore. The supporting cast features Charles Ogle, who had played the first screen Frankenstein's monster in the original 1910 version of Frankenstein.
Jed Prouty was an American film actor.
Life Begins in College is a 1937 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter. It marked the Ritz Brothers' first starring role in a feature film.
Two Flaming Youths is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film directed by John Waters and written by John W. Conway, Donald Davis, Percy Heath, and Herman J. Mankiewicz. The film stars W. C. Fields, Chester Conklin, Mary Brian, Jack Luden, George Irving, and Cissy Fitzgerald. The film was released on December 17, 1927, by Paramount Pictures.
Jimmy and Sally is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by James Tinling and written by Paul Schofield and Marguerite Roberts with additional dialogue by William Conselman. Starring James Dunn, Claire Trevor, Harvey Stephens, Lya Lys, and Jed Prouty, the story concerns a self-centered publicist who relies on his secretary's creativity but takes her affection for him for granted. After a series of publicity blunders and being fired several times, he humbly acknowledges that he is the one responsible for letting their relationship collapse. Though she has accepted a marriage proposal from another publicist in his absence, the girl still loves him, and ultimately chooses him.
Marianne is a 1929 pre-Code romantic-musical film set at the end of World War I. Marianne is French farm girl who, although her French fiancé is away, fighting, falls in love with an American soldier. It is a remake of a silent film that was released earlier in 1929. Although the films feature mostly different casts, Marion Davies starred in both versions. This was Davies' first released talking movie. The pictures were released less than eleven years after the Armistice, and the title would have had a profound meaning for European audiences. “Marianne” has been a beloved personification of France and the battle for democracy—and the courage of French women in particular—since the Revolution. She was a key figure in French propaganda, and American men who served in Europe in 1917-1918 would have seen representations of her all around them, in public buildings, on posters and in newspapers, on coins and postage stamps.
