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Mammy (1930 Film)
''Mammy'' (1930) is an American pre-Code musical drama film with Technicolor sequences, released by Warner Bros. The film starred Al Jolson and was a follow-up to his previous film, ''Say It with Songs'' (1929). ''Mammy'' became Al Jolson's fourth feature, following earlier screen efforts as ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927), ''The Singing Fool'' (1928) and ''Say It with Songs'' (1929). The film relives Jolson's early years as a minstrel man. The songs were written by Irving Berlin, who is also credited with the original story titled ''Mr. Bones''. Plot The story deals with the joys and tribulations of a travelling minstrel troupe known as the Merry Meadow Minstrels. Al Jolson plays as a blackface endman while Lowell Sherman plays as the interlocutor. Hobart Bosworth plays as the owner of the show, while his daughter, played by Lois Moran, serves as Al Jolson's love interest in the picture. Sherman's character, however, is also in love with Moran's. The show is in a miserable state unt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Morosco
Walter Morosco (February 1, 1899 – December 30, 1948 ) was an American film producer, writer, actor and director. Morosco was born in San Francisco, the son of theater impresario Oliver Morosco and grandson of Walter M. Morosco (1846-1901). He worked for United Artists and Fox Film Corporation before signing a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox. Morosco was married and divorced three times: From 1924 to 1934 he was married to the actress Corinne Griffith. His other wives were Shirley Newman Listenwalter, with whom he had a son, Tim, and Marie M. O'Keefe, Morosco died at the age of 49 after suffering a stroke. Partial filmography *''For Those We Love'' (1921) *''Silken Shackles'' (1926) (*director) *''The Divine Lady'' (1929) *'' Mammy'' (1930) * '' Lilies of the Field'' (1930) * ''A Man of Mayfair'' (1931) *''Aren't We All?'' (1932) *''Women Who Play'' (1932-producer) * '' Lily Christine'' (1932) *'' Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum'' (1940) *''Moon Over Her Shoulder'' (194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jazz Singer
''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated sequences). Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era. It was produced by Warner Bros. with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system and features 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 film depicts the fictional story of Jakie Rabinowitz, a young man who defies the traditions of his devout Jewish family. After singing popular tunes in a beer garden, he is punished by his father, a hazzan (cantor), prompting Jakie to run away from home. Some years later, now calling himself Jack Robin, he has become a talented jazz singer, performing in blackfa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
When You And I Were Young, Maggie
"When You and I Were Young, Maggie" is a folk song, popular song, and standard written by George W. Johnson and James Austin Butterfield. Origin Although Springtown, Tennessee, has a small monument outside an old mill claiming the song was written by a local "George Johnson", in 1864, for his Maggie, the truth is that its lyrics were written as a poem by the Canadian school teacher George Washington Johnson from Hamilton, Ontario. Margaret "Maggie" Clark, three years his junior, was his pupil. They fell in love and during a period of illness, George walked to the edge of the Niagara escarpment, overlooking what is now downtown Hamilton, and composed the poem. The general tone is perhaps one of melancholy and consolation over lost youth rather than mere sentimentality or a fear of aging. It was published in 1864 in a collection of his poems entitled ''Maple Leaves''. They were married October 21, 1864 but Maggie's health deteriorated and she died on May 12, 1865. James Austin Butt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pretty Baby (Tony Jackson Song)
"Pretty Baby" is a song written by Tony Jackson during the Ragtime era. The song was remembered as being prominent in Jackson's repertory before he left New Orleans in 1912, but was not published until 1916. The background as to how the song came to be published has been confused over the years. However, it appears that composer Egbert Van Alstyne and lyricist Gus Kahn were writing partners. Whilst Van Alstyne was Chicago manager of music publishers Jerome H. Remick & Company, they heard Tony Jackson singing the song one evening at a Chicago nightspot. Van Alstyne and Kahn liked the melody, but felt the lyrics were unsuitable for mass consumption. This resulted in Jackson being paid $250 for the rights to the tune, and Kahn re-writing the lyrics, with Van Alstyne adding a verse, which he took from one of his earlier unsuccessful songs. Jackson's name was included on the sheet music. The song was quickly interpolated into the Broadway show ''A World of Pleasure'' (which ran from Oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yes, We Have No Bananas
"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is an American novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn published March 23, 1923. It became a major hit in 1923 (placing No. 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones, Billy Murray, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman, and others. It was recorded later by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Spike Jones & His City Slickers, Kidsongs, and many more. The song became a best-selling sheet music in American history. It inspired a follow-up song, "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues", recorded by Billy Jones and Sam Lanin (with vocals by Irving Kaufman and others) in 1923. Al Jolson recorded on film, an operatic version, in blackface, in the 1930s. History Frank Silver explained the origin of the song to ''Time Magazine'': "I am an American, of Jewish ancestry, with a wife and a young son. About a year ago my little orchestra was playing at a Long Island hotel. To and from the hotel I was wont to stop at a fruit stand owned by a Greek, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Curtis (actor)
Jack Curtis (May 28, 1880 – March 16, 1956) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1915 and 1950. He was born in San Francisco, California, and died in Hollywood, California. Curtis performed on stage and in vaudeville before he began working in films in 1915. Curtis was married to actress Anna Chandler. Their daughter, Beatrice Antoinette Curtis, performed in vaudeville. Partial filmography * ''Graft'' (1915) * '' Secret Love'' (1916) * ''The Woman's Law'' (1916) * ''The Secret of the Swamp'' (1916) * ''It Happened in Honolulu'' (1916) * '' The Iron Hand'' (1916) * ''The Yaqui'' (1916) * ''Up or Down?'' (1917) * ''Broadway Arizona'' (1917) * ''Mutiny'' (1917) * ''The Greater Law'' (1917) * ''Southern Justice'' (1917) * '' God's Crucible'' (1917) * '' Little Red Decides'' (1918) * '' The Golden Fleece'' (1918) * ''The Last Rebel'' (1918) * '' Treat 'Em Rough'' (1919) * ''The Coming of the Law'' (1919) * '' The Pest'' (1919) * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tully Marshall
Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning almost three decades. Early years Marshall was born in Nevada City, California. He attended private schools and Santa Clara College, from which he graduated with an engineering degree. ) Stage Marshall began acting on the stage at 19, appearing in ''Saratoga'' at the Winter Garden in San Francisco on March 8, 1883. He played a wide variety of roles on Broadway from 1887. His Broadway credits include ''The Clever Ones'' (1914). For several years, Marshall played with a variety of stock theater troupes, including both acting and being stage manager for E. H. Sothern's company. Film In 1914, Marshall arrived in Hollywood. His screen debut was in '' Paid in Full'' (1914). By the time D. W. Griffith cast him as the High Priest of Bel in ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louise Dresser
Louise Dresser (born Louise Josephine Kerlin; October 5, 1878 – April 24, 1965) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the many films in which she played the wife of Will Rogers, including ''State Fair'' and ''David Harum''. Early life Louise Josephine Kerlin was born on October 5, 1878, in Evansville, Indiana to Ida (née Shaffer) and William S. Kerlin, a railroad engineer who died when she was 15 years old. She had a younger brother, William Lambert Kerlin. Career Dresser took her professional last name from Paul Dresser, who was a friend of her father. Upon finding out Louise was William Kerlin's daughter, he launched her as his younger sister, and she took on his last name. Many people believed the two were related, and when Paul died, Louise was mentioned in his obituary as a surviving relative. Dresser worked as a burlesque dancer and a singer at the Boston dime museum and then made her vaudeville debut in 1900. She formed a team name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Hopping
Freighthopping or trainhopping is the act of surreptitiously boarding and riding a freight railroad car, which is usually illegal. Origins and history In the United States, freighthopping became a common means of transportation following the American Civil War as the railroads began pushing westward, especially among migrant workers who became known as " hobos". It continued to be widely used by those unable to afford other transportation, especially during times of widespread economic dislocation such as the Great Depression. For a variety of reasons the practice is less common in the 21st century, although a community of freight-train riders still exists. The practice was heralded in popular culture of 20th century America with songs such as " King of the Road", and films like ''Emperor of the North Pole''. Typically, hoppers will go to a rail yard where the trains switch out crew. They will either know from other riders of a spot to hide and wait, or they will find one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitchell Lewis (actor)
Mitchell Lewis (June 26, 1880 – August 24, 1956) was an American film actor whose career as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player encompassed both silent and sound films. Born in 1880, Lewis appeared in more than 175 films between 1914 and 1956, although many of the roles in his later films were uncredited. He played supporting roles, such as Sheihk Idrim in 1925's '' Ben Hur'' in the silent era and Ernest Defarge in ''A Tale of Two Cities'' (1935) in the sound era, but his career would diminish to small uncredited roles like the Captain of the Winkie Guards in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). His last film was ''The Fastest Gun Alive'', starring Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford, which was released shortly before Lewis' death in 1956. Mitchell also served as one of the original board members of the Motion Picture Relief Fund, now known as the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Selected filmography * ''The Million Dollar Mystery'' (1914, Serial) - Gang Leader * ''Zudora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hobart Bosworth
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil War. When Bosworth was 12 years old, he ran away to sea. In June 1885, he was on shore leave in San Francisco when an opportunity arose for him to join McKee Rankin's stage company. That led to a theatrical career for him. Career Thinking he would like to become a landscape painter, a friend suggested that he work as a stage manager to raise the money to study art. Acting on his friend's advice, Bosworth obtained a job with McKee Rankin as a stage manager at the California Theatre in San Francisco. Earning some money, he undertook the study of painting. Eventually, he was pressed into duty as an actor in a small part with three lines. Though he botched the lines, he was given other small roles. Bosworth was eighteen years old, and on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation" or the " dandified coon". By the middle of the century, blackface minstrel shows had become a distinctive American artform, translating formal works such as opera into popular terms for a general audience. Early in the 20th century, blackface branched off from the minstrel show and became a form in its own right. In the United States, blackface declined in popularity beginning in the 1940s and into the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s,Clark, Alexis.How the History of Blackface Is Rooted in Racism. ''History''. A&E Television Networks, LLC. 2019. and was generally considered highly offensive, disrespectful, and racist by the turn of the 21st century, though the practice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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