A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film
Drawing on meticulous research, sharp wit, and Insightful analysis, Richard Barrios illuminates the origins of the movie musical in this extensively revised and updated edition of his highly acclaimed a song in the dark. From Warner Bros. and Jolson to the Oscar-winning Broadway Melody and beyond, here is the whole funny and peculiar History of these films, their creators, and their audiences. Ranging from the smash hits of The singing Fool and sunny side up to bizarre flop like Golden Dawn...
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Drawing on meticulous research, sharp wit, and insightful analysis, Richard Barrios illuminates the origins of the movie musical in this extensively revised and updated edition of his highly acclaimed A Song in the Dark. From Warner Bros. and Jolson, to the Oscar-winning Broadway Melody and beyond, here is the whole funny and peculiar history of these films, their creators, and their audiences. Ranging from the smash hits of The Singing Fool and Sunny Side Up to bizarre flops like Golden Dawn and Cecil B. DeMille's Madam Satan, they form a body of work unlike anything else in the history of popular entertainment. Here too are legendary performers, directors, and composers: from Fannie Brice, James Cagney, and Mae West, to Busby Berkeley, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, and countless others. With many new rare photographs, some not published in nearly 80 years, this new edition traces the rise and fall, and rise again, of this quintessential piece of the American experience.
Introduction 31 Vitaphone Prelude 152 The Sound Barrier 433 "You Were Meant for Me" 594 On with the Show! 755 Finding a Voice 1016 Dueling Mammies 1397 Hollywood, Revued 1578 Broadway Babies 1839 "With All Its Original Stage Enchantment" 21510 Just Imagine 23711 The Cuckoos 25312 Of Viennese Nights and Golden Dawns 26913 Is It a Musical? 29914 The March of Time 31315 Voices in the Wilderness 33116 "We're in the Money" 35917 The Past as Prologue 395Finale 419App. I Notes on Lost Films 433App. II A Selective Discography: The First Musicals on Record 437Source Notes 453Selected Bibliography 469Index 475
