The Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrna Loy as Billie Burke.
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American part-talkie musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synchronous singing and speech. Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, featuring six songs performed by Al Jolson. Based on the 1925 play of the same title by Samson Raphaelson, the plot was adapted from his short story "The Day of Atonement".
The Jolson Story is a 1946 American biographical musical film, a highly fictionalized account of the life of singer Al Jolson. It stars Larry Parks as Jolson, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson, William Demarest as his performing partner and manager, Ludwig Donath and Tamara Shayne as his parents, and Scotty Beckett as the young Jolson. Some of the film's episodes are based on fact but the story is extremely simplified, with people disguised or combined into single characters.
Eddie Cantor was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era.
Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies (1907–1931), inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat. He was known as the "glorifier of the American girl". Ziegfeld is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Thank Your Lucky Stars is a 1943 American musical comedy film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser, with a slim plot involving theater producers. The stars donated their salaries to the Hollywood Canteen, which was founded by John Garfield and Bette Davis, who appear in this film. It was directed by David Butler and stars Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S.Z. Sakall.
The Jazz Singer is a 1952 remake of the famous 1927 talking picture The Jazz Singer. It stars Danny Thomas, Peggy Lee, and Eduard Franz, and was nominated for an Oscar for best musical score. The film follows about the same storyline as the version starring Al Jolson. It was also distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Show Girl is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn, and a book William Anthony McGuire. It ran at Broadway's Ziegfeld Theatre 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 showgirl Dixie Dugan as she is pursued by four suitors.
"Mandy" is a popular song by Irving Berlin, published in 1919.
Out of the Fog is a 1941 American film noir crime drama directed by Anatole Litvak and starring John Garfield, Ida Lupino and Thomas Mitchell. The film was based on the play The Gentle People by Irwin Shaw. It was made and released by Warner Brothers.
Al Jolson was a Lithuanian-born American singer, actor, and vaudevillian.
"If You Knew Susie" is the title of a popular song written by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Meyer. It was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. in 1925. The sheet music included ukulele tabs by Richard Konter. In the largely comic song, a man sings that he knows a certain woman named Susie to be much wilder and more passionate than most people realize.
Aline Laveen MacMahon was an American actress. Her Broadway stage career began under producer Edgar Selwyn in The Mirage during 1920. She made her screen debut in 1931, and worked extensively in film, theater, and television until her retirement in 1975. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Dragon Seed (1944).
Marilyn Erskine is an American actress who started performing at the age of three on radio, and has since appeared in radio, theater, film and television roles from the 1920s through the 1970s.
Henry Keefe Brasselle was an American film actor, television actor/producer and author. He is best remembered for the starring role in The Eddie Cantor Story (1953).
The Clown is a 1953 American drama film starring Red Skelton with Jane Greer and Tim Considine, and directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The story is derived from The Champ (1931).
Bannerline is a 1951 American drama film directed by Don Weis. The film stars Keefe Brasselle, Sally Forrest and Lionel Barrymore.
While the Patient Slept is a 1935 comedy murder mystery film directed by Ray Enright starring Aline MacMahon as a nurse/crime sleuth and Guy Kibbee as her boyfriend and police detective. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Mignon G. Eberhart.
Not Wanted is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elmer Clifton and an un-credited Ida Lupino and starring Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle and Leo Penn.
Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women is a 1978 television biopic based on the life of theater impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. It was directed by Buzz Kulik and stars Paul Shenar as Ziegfeld, Samantha Eggar as Billie Burke, Barbara Parkins as Anna Held, Walter Willison as Frank Carter, Catherine Jacoby as Fanny Brice, and Inga Swenson as Nora Bayes. It was produced by Columbia Pictures and first aired on NBC in May 1978. Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson, daughter of Ziegfeld and Billie Burke, was a consultant on the film. The film was nominated for several Emmy Awards for 1978 winning in the cinematography category, Gerald Finnerman.
