Land Without Music

Last updated

Land Without Music
Directed by Walter Forde
Written by
Produced by Max Schach
Starring Jimmy Durante
Cinematography John W. Boyle
Edited by Lynn Harrison
Music by
Production
company
Capitol Film Corporation
Distributed by General Film Distributors
Release date
  • 8 October 1936 (1936-10-08)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Land Without Music is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Richard Tauber, Diana Napier and Jimmy Durante. It was made at Denham Studios. [1] The film was one of a number of operetta films made in Britain during the decade.

Contents

The film is also known by the alternative title Forbidden Music in the United States.

Plot summary

After discovering that her state is penniless because its citizens spend their time making music instead of money, a European Grand Duchess bans music in her domains. [2] A New York journalist conspires with rogues to stage a concert.

Cast

Soundtrack

The musical score for this film was composed by Oscar Straus. [3] The main songs are 'Simple Little Melody', 'Smile for Me', 'Heaven in a Song' and 'You must have Music', all of which were recorded by Tauber for Parlophone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Durante</span> American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist (1893–1980)

James Francis Durante was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose helped make him one of the United States' most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s. He often referred to his nose as the schnozzola, and the word became his nickname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Tauber</span> Austrian tenor and actor

Richard Tauber was an Austrian lyric tenor and film actor. He sang the tenor role in number of operas, including Don Giovanni by Mozart and Da Ponte.

<i>Jumbo</i> (musical) 1935 musical produced by Billy Rose

Jumbo is a musical produced by Billy Rose, with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and book by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.

<i>Dreamgirls</i> 1981 Broadway musical

Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, but closely follows the story of The Supremes as the musical follows the story of a young Black female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called "The Dreams", who become music superstars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn Ankers</span> British-American actress (1918–85)

Evelyn Felisa Ankers was a British-American actress who often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man (1941) opposite Lon Chaney Jr., a frequent screen partner.

Mary Losseff ; was a Russian-born British singer and film actress.

Nicholas "Slug" Brodszky was a composer of popular songs for the theatre and for films.

<i>Billy Roses Jumbo</i> 1962 film

Billy Rose's Jumbo is a 1962 American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, and Martha Raye. An adaptation of the stage musical Jumbo produced by Billy Rose, the film was directed by Charles Walters, written by Sidney Sheldon, and featured Busby Berkeley's choreography. It was nominated for an Academy Award for the adaptation of its Rodgers and Hart score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarmila Novotná</span> Czech actress, opera singer and singer

Jarmila Novotná was a Czech lyric coloratura soprano and actress. From 1940 to 1956, she was a star of the Metropolitan Opera.

<i>Hollywood Party</i> (1934 film) 1934 musical film collaboration

Hollywood Party, also known under its working title of The Hollywood Revue of 1933 and Star Spangled Banquet, is a 1934 American pre-Code musical film starring Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Jimmy Durante, Lupe Vélez and Mickey Mouse. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Each sequence featured a different star with a separate scriptwriter and director assigned.

Show Girl is a musical by William Anthony McGuire that ran from Jul 2, 1929 to Oct 5, 1929. A backstage musical, much of the action of the musical's story takes place at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Other scenes take place in Trenton, New Jersey; Brooklyn; and at a Penthouse apartment in New York City. The show tells the story of aspiring Broadway showgirl Dixie Dugan as she is pursued by four suitors. The music was written by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn.

<i>Hearts Desire</i> (1935 film) 1935 British film

Heart's Desire is a 1935 British musical drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Richard Tauber, Leonora Corbett, Kathleen Kelly, Diana Napier and Frank Vosper. Its plot involves a young opera singer who is discovered in Vienna and brought to London where he rises to stardom. The film was made at Elstree Studios in April/May 1935, and had its charity premiere at the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch, London on 17 October that year. It was part of a cycle of British operetta films.

<i>On an Island with You</i> 1948 film by Richard Thorpe

On an Island with You is a 1948 American musical Technicolor romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalbán, Cyd Charisse, Kathryn Beaumont and Jimmy Durante.

Alice Mary Wolkowicki, known professionally as Diana Napier, was an English film actress.

<i>Pagliacci</i> (1936 film) 1936 British film

Pagliacci is a 1936 British musical film directed by Karl Grune and starring Richard Tauber, Steffi Duna and Diana Napier. It is an adaptation in English of the 1892 opera Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo.

Falling in Love is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Charles Farrell, Mary Lawson, Diana Napier and Gregory Ratoff. The film was shot at Walton Studios. It was released in the United States the following year under the alternative title Trouble Ahead.

<i>Mimi</i> (1935 film) 1935 film

Mimi is a 1935 British romance film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Gertrude Lawrence and Diana Napier. Set in nineteenth century Paris, the screenplay concerns a composer who becomes inspired by a young woman he encounters. The film is based on the 1851 novel La Vie de Bohème by Henri Murger. The score includes arrangements of Giacomo Puccini's music from the opera La bohème, arranged by George H. Clutsam.

Operetta films are a genre of musical films associated with, but not exclusive to, German language cinema. The genre began in the late 1920s, but its roots stretch back into the tradition of nineteenth century Viennese operettas.

<i>George Whites Scandals</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by George White

George White's Scandals is a 1934 American pre-Code musical film directed by George White and written by Jack Yellen. The film stars Rudy Vallée, Jimmy Durante, Alice Faye, Adrienne Ames, Gregory Ratoff, Cliff Edwards and Dixie Dunbar. The film was released on March 16, 1934, by Fox Film Corporation. George White also produced George White's Scandals for RKO in 1945. It was directed by Felix E. Feist and starred Joan Davis and Jack Haley.

<i>The Warren Case</i> 1934 film

The Warren Case is a 1934 British crime film directed by Walter Summers and starring Richard Bird, Nancy Burne and Diana Napier. It was made at Welwyn Studios by British International Pictures. It was based on the play The Last Chance by Arnold Ridley.

References

  1. Wood p. 91
  2. LAND WITHOUT MUSIC (1936) Because Films Inspire
  3. "Land without Music (1936) - Elenco e Equipe no MUBI". mubi.com. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

Bibliography