Men of the Sky (1931 film)

Last updated

Men of the Sky (1931)
MenoftheSky1931.jpg
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Written by Otto A. Harbach
Starring
Cinematography John F. Seitz
Edited byDesmond O'Brien
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • June 30, 1931 (1931-06-30)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$462,000

Men of the Sky (aka Call of the East' and Stolen Dreams ) is a 1931 all-talking American pre-Code musical drama film, directed by Albert E. Green which was produced by Warner Bros. in 1930 and released in 1931. [1] Men of the Sky stars Irene Delroy and Jack Whiting. Although aircraft were seen in the film, Men of the Sky was more of a spy drama. [2]

Contents

Plot

In the years before World War I, a love affair takes place between an American pilot named Jack Ames (Jack Whiting) and a French spy named Madeleine Aubert (Irene Delroy). Madeleine leaves her American fiancé to join her father (John St. Polis), another French spy, at an estate in Germany. Her father instructs her to accept the invitation of a Prussian officer, Eric von Coburg (Bramwell Fletcher), to live at his estate for a month.

Jack, believing that Madeleine no longer loves him, joins the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of French and American flyers. His first duty is to take a French spy, dressed as a Prussian officer, over the lines. The spy is wounded during the crossing, however, and Jack must take his place.

The French spy tells Jack that another French spy will signal him on the piano, playing a happy tune if danger threatens and sad music if the house is safe. Jack puts on the spy's uniform and arrives to find Madeleine at the piano. After Madeleine explains her mission, they continue to exchange messages.

The Germans, however, become suspicious of Madeleine and on a night Jack is set to visit, she is entertaining officers of the German intelligence. One of them asks her to play sad music. Realizing that this will place Jack in danger, she signals Jack in Morse code with her left hand. The officers discover the trick, and Jack and Madeleine are captured, accompanying her father to the firing squad.

Cast

Production

The original story and music were written by Otto A. Harbach and Jerome Kern. The film was originally intended to be released, in the United States, early in 1931, but was shelved due to public apathy towards musicals. Despite waiting a number of months, the public proved obstinate and the Warner Bros. reluctantly released the film in June 1931 after making some cuts. The film was released outside the United States (since there was no backlash against musicals outside the United States) as a full musical early in 1931. [3]

Men of the Sky was originally intended to be photographed entirely in Technicolor, but this was dropped midway into production when the studio realized due to the public backlash against musicals. The film was originally titled Call of the East but was retitled twice more before release: first to Stolen Dreams, then to Men of the Sky. Much of the music was cut and the film began to be advertised as a spy war drama. As a cost-saving measure, it was decided to release the film in black and white as color had come to be associated with musicals. [4]

The film was to have been the first of three of musicals to be written by Otto A. Harbach and Jerome Kern for Warner Bros. Due to the public apathy for musicals, however, Warner Bros. bought out their contract and the team returned to Broadway. [Note 1]

Songs

Reception

Men of the Sky was not widely released. Warner Bros. did not debut this film in the usual prestigious movie theaters. The film was immediately placed in general release with no fanfare. Very few reviewers had a chance to see the film, although Film Daily noted that there was a musical background. The surviving music does include a "conspicuous amount of music". [3]

Preservation status

Men of the Sky is considered to be a lost film since no film elements are known to exist. The soundtrack, which was recorded on Vitaphone disks, has survived in private hands. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Kern</span> American composer

Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Song Is You", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Long Ago ". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his era, including George Grossmith Jr., Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Harbach</span> Musical artist

Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broadway composers of the early 20th century, including Jerome Kern, Louis Hirsch, Herbert Stothart, Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin, and Sigmund Romberg. Harbach believed that music, lyrics, and story should be closely connected, and, as Oscar Hammerstein II's mentor, he encouraged Hammerstein to write musicals in this manner. Harbach is considered one of the first great Broadway lyricists, and he helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age more concerned with music, spectacle, and stars. Some of his more famous lyrics are "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Indian Love Call" and "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine".

<i>Doctor X</i> (film) 1932 film

Doctor X is a 1932 American pre-Code mystery horror film produced jointly by First National and Warner Bros. Based on the 1931 play originally titled The Terror by Howard W. Comstock and Allen C. Miller, it was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and Lee Tracy.

<i>The Life of the Party</i> (1930 film) 1930 American film

The Life of the Party is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy filmed entirely in Technicolor. The musical numbers of this film were cut out before general release in the United States because the public had grown tired of musicals by late 1930. Only one song was left in the picture. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred.

<i>Song of the Flame</i> (film) 1930 American musical film

Song of the Flame is a 1930 American pre-Code musical film photographed entirely in Technicolor. Based on the 1925 operetta of the same name, the film features a screenplay by Gordon Rigby adapted from the musical book written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach for the operetta. The movie also features many of the songs from the operetta which used lyrics by Hammerstein and Orbach and music by George Gershwin and Herbert Stothart. The film was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. It was the first color film to feature a widescreen sequence, using a process called Vitascope, the trademark name for Warner Bros.' widescreen process. The film, based on the 1925 Broadway musical of the same name, was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording. It is part of the tradition of operetta films, popular at the time.

<i>50 Million Frenchmen</i> 1931 film

Fifty Million Frenchmen is a 1931 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. It was photographed entirely in Technicolor. The film was produced and released by Warner Brothers, and was based on Cole Porter's 1929 Broadway musical Fifty Million Frenchmen.

<i>The Desert Song</i> (1929 film) 1929 film by Roy Del Ruth

The Desert Song is a 1929 American pre-Code operetta film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring John Boles, Carlotta King, Louise Fazenda, and Myrna Loy. It was photographed partly in two-color Technicolor, the first film released by Warner Bros. to include footage in color. The film included a 10-minute intermission during which music was played.

<i>No, No, Nanette</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

No, No, Nanette is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film with Technicolor sequences that was directed by Clarence G. Badger and released by First National Pictures. It was adapted from the play of the same title by Otto A. Harbach and Frank Mandel. No, No, Nanette was a popular show on Broadway, running for 321 performances, and was produced and directed by Harry Frazee.

<i>Paris</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Paris is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film, featuring Irène Bordoni. It was filmed with Technicolor sequences: four of the film's ten reels were originally photographed in Technicolor.

<i>Oh Sailor Behave</i> 1930 film

Oh, Sailor, Behave! is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film produced and released by Warner Brothers, and based on the play See Naples and Die, written by Elmer Rice. The film was originally intended to be entirely in Technicolor and was advertised as such in movie trade journals. Due to the backlash against musicals, it was apparently released in black-and-white only.

<i>Top Speed</i> (film) 1930 film

Top Speed is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical comedy film released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. It was based on a 1929 stage musical of the same name by Harry Ruby, Guy Bolton and Bert Kalmar. The film stars Joe E. Brown, Bernice Claire, Jack Whiting, Laura Lee, and Frank McHugh.

<i>Sunny</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by Herbert Wilcox

Sunny is a 1941 American musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Ray Bolger, John Carroll, Edward Everett Horton, Grace Hartman, Paul Hartman, Frieda Inescort, and Helen Westley. It was adapted by Sig Herzig from the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical play Sunny.

"I Won't Dance" is a song with music by Jerome Kern that has become a jazz standard. The song has two different sets of lyrics: the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, and second written by Dorothy Fields in 1935.

"Let's Begin" is a popular song composed in 1933 by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Otto Harbach. It was written for the musical Roberta (1933) where it was introduced by George Murphy. In the 1935 film version, the song was performed by Fred Astaire, Candy Candido and Gene Sheldon, with the band.

<i>Roberta</i> (1935 film) 1935 American musical film directed by William A. Seiter

Roberta is a 1935 American musical film released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by William A. Seiter. It stars Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and features Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Victor Varconi and Claire Dodd. The film was an adaptation of the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta, which in turn was based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller. It was a solid hit, showing a net profit of more than three-quarters of a million dollars.

<i>An Evening with Billie Holiday</i> 1953 studio album by Billie Holiday

An Evening with Billie Holiday is the second 10-inch LP studio album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released by Clef Records in 1953.

International Sound Version is a term for a film in which all dialogue is replaced with music and foreign inter-titles. It was a method used by movie studios during the early talkie period (1928-1931) to make sound films for foreign markets. This method was much cheaper than the alternative, the "Foreign Language Version", in which the entire film was re-shot with a cast that was fluent in the appropriate language.

<i>College Lovers</i> 1930 film

College Lovers is a 1930 American talkie Pre-Code comedy film produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and directed by John G. Adolfi. The movie stars Jack Whiting, Marian Nixon, Frank McHugh and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. The film was based on the story by Earl Baldwin.

<i>Torchy</i> (album) 1956 studio album by Carmen McRae

Torchy! is a 1956 album by jazz singer Carmen McRae arranged by Jack Pleis and Ralph Burns.

References

Notes

  1. Harbach had a role as a French major while Kern was an extra. [3]

Citations

  1. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:Men of the Sky
  2. Wynne 1987, p. 114.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bradley 2004, p. 285.
  4. Barrios 1995, p. 332.

Bibliography

  • Barrios, Richard. A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN   978-0-1950-8811-3.
  • Bradley Edwin M. The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. Jefferson, North Carolina: Mcfarland & Co Inc., 2004. ISBN   978-0-7864-2029-2.
  • Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN   0-933126-85-9.