King of Jazz (1930)
Did you know Technicolor movies go all the way back to 1930? I didn’t, even though I’m quite the old movie buff, so imagine my surprise when I rented King of Jazz and found it colored in the original Technicolor method! I only rented it to see Bing Crosby’s first screen appearance, as part of The Rhythm Boys, and unless that’s also your motivation or you’re very well-versed in the popular singers and comedy acts of 1930, you’ll probably be really bored.
This is a musical compilation, with song after song after skit after song after dance after brief speech by Paul Whiteman. Many unfamiliar faces will try to entertain you, but much of the talent and humor doesn’t stand the test of time. Bing and his band are given three songs, and John Boles is also given two songs. Many naughty pre-Code jokes are snuck past the censors during the comedy sketches; for example, a married couple with a baby reads in the newspaper that the preacher who married them wasn’t legitimate, so neither is their marriage. “I’m a bachelor!” the man exclaims, happy. “I’m a spinster,” the woman sulks. The baby sits up in his bassinet—a grown-man takes over in the close-up—and says, “What are two you squawking for? What do you think that makes me?” With a wink at the camera, he completes a very risqué joke to tickle 1930 audiences.
This movie almost feels like a documentary of what music and productions numbers were like at the start of the decade. Some of the special photographic techniques are impressive, given that this is a pre-Busby Berkeley film, so if you’re a student of film history, you might find it interesting. There are literally countless production numbers that are so massive, with dozens of dancers, elaborate sets, and multiple camera angles, that would be guaranteed to wow audiences of 1930. “Rhapsody in Blue”, “Happy Feet”, “It Happened in Monterey”, are just a few featured in this full-length musical extravaganza.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru, and thanks "Meringue in Sugartown USA" for posting!
More Bing Crosby movies here!
This is a musical compilation, with song after song after skit after song after dance after brief speech by Paul Whiteman. Many unfamiliar faces will try to entertain you, but much of the talent and humor doesn’t stand the test of time. Bing and his band are given three songs, and John Boles is also given two songs. Many naughty pre-Code jokes are snuck past the censors during the comedy sketches; for example, a married couple with a baby reads in the newspaper that the preacher who married them wasn’t legitimate, so neither is their marriage. “I’m a bachelor!” the man exclaims, happy. “I’m a spinster,” the woman sulks. The baby sits up in his bassinet—a grown-man takes over in the close-up—and says, “What are two you squawking for? What do you think that makes me?” With a wink at the camera, he completes a very risqué joke to tickle 1930 audiences.
This movie almost feels like a documentary of what music and productions numbers were like at the start of the decade. Some of the special photographic techniques are impressive, given that this is a pre-Busby Berkeley film, so if you’re a student of film history, you might find it interesting. There are literally countless production numbers that are so massive, with dozens of dancers, elaborate sets, and multiple camera angles, that would be guaranteed to wow audiences of 1930. “Rhapsody in Blue”, “Happy Feet”, “It Happened in Monterey”, are just a few featured in this full-length musical extravaganza.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru, and thanks "Meringue in Sugartown USA" for posting!
More Bing Crosby movies here!