JohnHowardReid
Songs by Milton Ager (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics): "Music Has Charms" (played by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra, sung by The Rhythm Boys—Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker); "My Bridal Veil" (Whiteman and Orchestra, Jeanette Loff, Stanley Smith, The Russell Markert Dancers, Jeanie Lang and The Hollywood Beauties); "A Bench In the Park" (Whiteman and Orchestra, Jeanette Loff, Stanley Smith, The Rhythm Boys—Crosby, Barris and Rinker, The Brox Sisters, The Russell Markert Dancers, The Sisters "G" and The Hollywood Beauties); "The Song of the Dawn" (John Boles); "Happy Feet" (Whiteman and Orchestra, Jeanie Lang, The Rhythm Boys—Crosby, Barris and Rinker, The Russell Markert Dancers, The Sisters "G", Al Norman, Charles Irwin); "I Like To Do Things For You" (Whiteman and Orchestra, Jeanie Lang, The Rhythm Boys—Crosby, Barris and Rinker). Songs by Mabel Wayne (music) and Billy Rose (lyrics): "It Happened In Monterey" (Jeanette Loff, John Boles, The Russell Markert Dancers, The Sisters "G", George Chiles, Johnny Fulton); "My Ragamuffin Romeo" (sung by George Chiles, Jeanie Lang; danced by Don Rose, Marion Statler). Song by Billy Moll and Harry Barris: "So the Blackbirds and the Bluebirds Got Together" (The Rhythm Boys —Crosby, Barris and Rinker). Music by George Gershwin: "Rhapsody In Blue" (the Whiteman Orchestra conducted by Paul Whiteman. Piano solo by George Gershwin with The Sisters "G", Jacques Cartier, Markert Dancers, Hollywood Beauties). Song by Harry Barris and James Cavanaugh: "Mississippi Mud" (The Rhythm Boys—Crosby, Barris and Rinker). Song by Buddy De Sylva and Robert Katcher: "When Day Is Done" (interpolated in the "Bench In the Park" sequence). Medleys played by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra including "The Melting Pot of Jazz" production number* were orchestrated by Ferde Grofe from the following: "Caprice Viennoise" by Fritz Kreisler; "Nola" by Felix Arndt and James Burns; "Linger Awhile" by Harry Owens and Vincent Rose; "Aba Daba Honeymoon" by Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan; "Ballet Egyptien" by Alexandre Luigini; "A-Hunting We Will Go"; "Rule Britannia"; "D' Ye Ken John Peel?"; "Santa Lucia"; "Funiculi-Funicula"; "Comin' Through the Rye"; "Vienna Blood" by Johann Strauss; "Fair Killarney"; "The Irish Washer-woman"; "Ay-yi Ay-yi-yi"; "Song of the Volga Boatmen"; "Otchichornia"; a couple of marches by John Philip Sousa; a parody, "Has Anybody Seen Our Nelly?" Another parody, "Oh, How I'd Like To Own a Fish-store!"eventually leads us into a very funny, if-not-suitable-for-children jest as Slim Summerville explains to Otis Harlan his "Pretty Lucky So Far." The delightful "I'd Like To Do Things for You" has now been restored to its rightful place. Most enjoyable! Who said film critics don't fulfill a useful function? Jeanie Lang romances Paul Whiteman, then Grace Hayes and William Kent have a bash, while Nell O'Day joins the Tommy Atkins Sextette in some show-stopping acrobatics.Whether you like Barbershop Quartettes (and parodies of same) will determine your appreciation of "Has Anybody Seen Our Nellie?" I found it awfully funny (but then I'm with Sinclair Lewis. I like kicking the boot into dead dreary Main Streets like Shamokin, PA). Incidentally the threesome that join our spellbinding lead vocalist are Laura La Plante, Walter Brennan and William Kent. Stiff-as-a-bored (yes, that's the right spelling) John Boles rejoins us at this point for "Song of the Dawn." Thanks, John. Thanks a lot! (The sound recording, incidentally, is absolutely wonderful here, as indeed it is throughout the entire picture. But just listen to that full-throated roar of the male chorus, as our John urges the dawn into the skies)!And now we come to what the producer intended as the musical highlight of the whole film, "The Melting Pot of Jazz". This title, of course, merely provides an excuse for a vast nationalistic pot of production numbers from England, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Mexico, France and Spain, with cartloads of singers and hordes of dancing girls. The showgirls, I must admit, are super-attractive as always, though their costumes in this final number are not nearly as appealing as the filmy creations previously on show. All the same, it's enough to make Busby Berkeley gnash his teeth in envy, (particularly as Anderson has anticipated Busby by occasionally employing Buzz's trademark overhead shots).Incidentally, Anderson's style, apart from these few overhead shots, is strictly proscenium point-of-view. There are no reverse angles. None at all. This doesn't worry me. What does surprise me is a review on a certain web site that complains of a sound track that "pops and hisses". Not on the print under review. Admittedly, the color looks a little washed-out in places, though the two-strip Technicolor remains never less than appealingly novel. Its few blemishes like over- exposure won't worry a soul. The sound track, however, can only be rated one hundred per cent plus. Not a crackle, not a pop, not a hiss. Absolutely brilliant. Turn the volume right up — right, right up — and it's still crystal clear. My only complaint is that the sound track, like the movie, ends somewhat abruptly. Admittedly on an end title. But surely the curtain didn't just ring down at this point? Surely Whiteman provided a few minutes of run-out music to cheer the crowds on their way? (If he did, it ain't there no more. A pity).Summing up: All told, I don't quite echo Mordaunt Hall's miraculously rave review in The New York Times. Not every vignette rates ten out of ten in my book. Every musical production number, yes. Every "comic" interlude, no. Nonetheless, I still think Mordaunt's definitely on the right wave length: "This sparkling extravaganza reveals John Murray Anderson to be a magician of far greater powers than one imagined, even from his stage compositions. A Technicolor potpourri of songs, dancing and fun, it is a marvel of camera wizardry, joyous color schemes, charming costumes and seductive lighting effects." Right on!
mikequinlan61
Fortunately, the history of jazz was little troubled by this farcical musical travesty. The one black person... (did you know that it was people of color who created Jazz, innovated and sustained it decade after decade only to be constantly supplanted by less talented and creative whites who popularized their music and made millions off it?)... who appears is a cute little girl sitting on the lap of Paul White-Man, the purported king of jazz in a brief segment. The only jazzy number in the film is 'Happy Shoes' with the entire remainder of the film devoted to middle of the road popular schmaltz music and pseudo-classical Gershwin. That said, the film, however distasteful, dated and unfunny, is in some ways an important historical predecessor of the Hollywood musicals to come.I had read that the production numbers were something to see, but by the end I no longer cared. Not so hot. Comedy, very poor. Female vocals, very poor. White-man and his vaudevillians, crap. Bing Crosby, as usual, quite good.
Spondonman
I've always been fascinated by and mesmerised whenever watching the King of Jazz, and I'm glad to see I'm not alone. I wanted to check whether a DVD (remastered or not) has been released yet as I taped my copy off TV in 1987 and am in danger of wearing it out. The copy I've got would need some heavy visual remastering too! Although ironically the sound quality generally was good and the lip-sync nearly always spot-on. A good 2nd feature on a DVD release would be the UK's lesser copy from 1930 "Elstree Calling".I'm glad most everything good and bad appears to have been commented on - especially by lugonian! I love the music throughout, and some of the visuals, costumes and sets are dazzlingly striking even today - but it really is a roller-coaster ride for the viewer with so much crap to wade through as well. The music and/or the acting can change from good to bad, impressive to cloying, realistic to embarrassing, sublime to ridiculous and back again in a couple of seconds. All subjective however! Paul Whiteman had a good band (wasn't he in Below Zero this year?? Hem.) but he could afford the best musicians. Crosby wouldn't have a had such an easy ride if he hadn't joined, and the Orchestra was a safe harbour for many of the "true" jazz musicians of the period. If only Bix had been well enough ... But Secrest sounded fine in the cornet snatches heard and we have a few splendid seconds of Venuti and Lang anyhow.My personal favourite segment: "Ragamuffin Romeo", the song and the dance; I probably could've done without "D'ye ken John Peel" etc however, although I wouldn't really want KOJ any other way.
