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Street Girl
''Street Girl'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Betty Compson, John Harron and Jack Oakie. It was adapted by Jane Murfin from "The Viennese Charmer", a short story by William Carey Wonderly. While it was the first film made by RKO Radio Pictures, its opening was delayed until after ''Syncopation'', making it RKO's second release. It was very successful at the box office, accounting for almost half of RKO's profits for the entire year. Plot The Four Seasons are a very good jazz quartet, but they perform in a New York City cafe for only $100 a week, forcing them to share a small, rundown apartment. The quartet consists of Joe Spring on clarinet, Pete Summer on accordion and guitar, Mike Fall on piano and trumpet, and an ever-pessimistic Happy Winter on violin. On his way home one night, Mike drives off a man accosting a young blonde named Frederika Joyzelle. When she tells him she has not eaten in two days, he persuades her to share the gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wesley Ruggles
Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. Life and work He was born in Los Angeles, California, younger brother of actor Charlie Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a dozen or so silent films, on occasion with Charlie Chaplin. In 1917, he turned his attention to directing, making more than 50 films—including a silent version of Edith Wharton's novel ''The Age of Innocence'' (1924)—before he won acclaim with '' Cimarron'' in 1931. The adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel '' Cimarron'', about homesteaders settling in the prairies of Oklahoma, was the first Western to win an Oscar as Best Picture. Ruggles followed this success with the light comedy '' No Man of Her Own'' (1932) with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, the comedy ''I'm No Angel'' (1933) with Mae West and Cary Grant, '' College Humor'' (1933) with Bing Crosby, and ''Bolero'' (1934) with George Raft and Carole Lombard. He teamed with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syncopation (1929 Film)
''Syncopation'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film directed by Bert Glennon and starring Barbara Bennett, Bobby Watson, and Ian Hunter (although top billing went to Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians). It was the second film produced by RKO Radio Pictures and the first to be released by the studio; the company's first produced film, ''Street Girl'', was not released until August 1929. The film was made at the company's New York City studios and is based on the novel ''Stepping High'' by Gene Markey. The film was heavily marketed on its release, being the first film to be broadcast over the radio, as well as RKO's first sound musical, and was a significant success. This film was the first made in the RCA Photophone sound-on-film process, and was an important test for Radio Corporation of America, which had invested heavily in the newly-created RKO. Plot Benny and Flo are a husband and wife dance team, traveling around the country as part of a revue. The revue gets picke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilfrid North
Wilfrid North (16 January 1863 – 3 June 1935), also spelled Wilfred North, was an Anglo-American film director, actor, and writer of the silent film era. He directed 102 films, including short films; acted in 43 films; and wrote the story for three films. Biography Wilfrid North was born in London on 16 January 1863. A stage actor long before entering films, North had appeared on Broadway in 1899 with Mrs. Fiske and Maurice Barrymore in ''Becky Sharp'' and with Julia Marlowe in 1901 in ''When Knighthood was in Flower''. North joined Vitagraph Studios as a director in 1912. Vitagraph appointed him the director of films of its comedy star, John Bunny. North directed several films of the Bunny series like ''Bunny's Honeymoon'', ''Bunny Versus Cutey'', ''Bunny and the Bunny Hug'', ''Bunny's Birthday Surprise'', ''Bunny as a Reporter'', ''Bunny's Dilemma'' and ''Bunny for the Cause'', earning him popularity in the Vitagraph Studios, which led to his appointment as the supervising d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Kane
Eddie Kane (August 12, 1889 – April 30, 1969) was an American actor who appeared in over 250 productions from 1928 to 1959. Biography Kane was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His early career was in vaudeville as a member of the two-man team of Kane & Herman. Some of his more famous films include ''The Public Enemy'' (1931), ''The Mummy'' (1932), ''Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'' (1936), '' Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939), ''Meet John Doe'' (1941), ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942), ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), and ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956). Kane appeared in three Academy Award for Best Picture winners: ''The Broadway Melody'' (1929), ''It Happened One Night'' (1934) and '' You Can't Take It with You'' (1938). Late in his career, Kane made a few appearances on television including the role of Mr. Monahan, Ralph Kramden's Gotham Bus Company boss on ''The Honeymooners''. Kane retired after the 1950s and died of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles in 1969. See a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russ Columbo
Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love" and his own compositions " Prisoner of Love" and "Too Beautiful For Words". Early life Columbo was born in Camden, New Jersey, the twelfth child of Italian immigrant parents Nicola and Giulia (Julia) Colombo. He attended Everett Grammar School and started playing the violin at a very young age, debuting professionally at the age of 13. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was 16, and he attended Belmont High School there. He left high school at age 17 to study violin under Calmon Luvovski and travel with various bands around the country. He sang and played violin in numerous nightclubs. Career Films By 1928, at the age of 20, Columbo began to participate in motion pictures, including a Vitaphone short in which Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
June Clyde
June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as '' A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Clyde was born on December 2, 1909, near Maysville, Missouri, as Ina Parton. She was the third child of William Arthur Parton and Orpha Dorothy Day. William and Orpha divorced about 1913, when Orpha took the three girls to live in St. Joseph, Missouri. The girls were nieces of actress Leona Hutton. By 1915, the family moved to Arbuckle, California. Around 1916, Orpha married Harvey Arthur Clyde. Career When Clyde was six years old, she appeared on stage as Baby Tetrazinia. When she was 19, she starred in the film ''Tanned Legs'' (1929). She was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1932 and she progressed in a career in Hollywood films before marrying film director Thornton Freeland. Clyde moved to England with her husband and appeared in several Briti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André Cheron (actor)
André Cheron (born André Louis Duval; 24 August 1880 – 26 January 1952) was a French-born American character actor of the late silent and early sound film eras. During his 16-year career he appeared in over 100 films, usually in smaller roles, although with the occasional featured part. Life and career Born André Louis Duval on August 24, 1880, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, Cheron immigrated to the United States where he entered the film industry in 1925 under the stage name André Cheron, which came from his mother's maiden name, Marie Chéron. He made his film debut in Arthur Rosson's silent melodrama, ''The Fighting Demon'', starring Richard Talmadge. Other notable films in which he appeared include: Cecil B. DeMille's silent epic '' The King of Kings'' in 1927; '' Emma'' (1932), starring Marie Dressler; the 1935 classic version of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, starring Greta Garbo and Fredric March; the screwball comedy, '' Wife vs. Secretary'' (1936), with Clark Gable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gus Arnheim And His Ambassadors
Gus Arnheim (September 4, 1897 – January 19, 1955) was an American pianist and an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He also had a few small acting roles. Career Arnheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. In 1919, three men who all would become famous band leaders played together at the Sunset Inn in Santa Monica, California. Arnheim played piano, Abe Lyman played the drums, and Henry Halstead played violin. Arnheim grew up in Chicago and at one point was accompanist to vaudevillian Sophie Tucker. When Lyman organized a full dance orchestra, Arnheim came along as pianist, leaving to start his own group in 1927. Arnheim's orchestra made at least three film short subjects for Warner Brothers' Vitaphone Corporation in 1928–29. Arnheim first recorded for OKeh in 1928–1929, when he signed with Victor in 1929 and stayed through 1933. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doris Eaton
Doris Eaton Travis (March 14, 1904 – May 11, 2010) was an American dancer, stage and film actress, dance instructor, owner and manager, writer, and rancher, who was the last surviving Ziegfeld Girl, a troupe of acclaimed chorus girls who performed as members in the Broadway theatrical revues of the Ziegfeld Follies. She began performing onstage as a young child, and along with her siblings, she was one of The Seven Little Eatons, an extended family of show-business performers. She made her Broadway debut in stage production at age 13, and a year later she was cast as a member of the famed ''Ziegfeld Follies''—the youngest ever cast in the show. She continued to perform in stage productions and silent films throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. When her career in stage and screen declined, Travis started a second career as an dance instructor for the Arthur Murray Studios and was a local television personality in Detroit. Her association with Arthur Murray lasted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Lebedeff
Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev ( rus, Иван Васильевич Лебедев), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his novel, ''Legion of Dishonor'', was published. Biography Lebedeff was born in Ushpol, now Užpaliai, then part of the Russian Empire, now Lithuania, on 18 June 1894. He migrated to the United States in 1925 and in 1930 was recorded at Los Angeles as an actor. On 15 August 1937, he was recorded as re-entering the United States from Mexico, when it was noted that he had resided in the U. S. between 2 October 1925 and 14 October 1930, and again between 20 April 1932, and 13 August 1937. His closest relation was given as his sister Nathalie Lebedeff, of Nice, in the south of France. On 12 November 1937, he was naturalized in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. In 1944, he campaigned on behalf of Governor Thomas Dew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Cawthorn
Joseph Bridger Cawthorn (March 29, 1868 – January 21, 1949) was an American stage and film comic actor. Biography Born on March 29, 1868, in New York City to a minstrel-show family, Cawthorn started out in show business as a child, debuting at Robinson's Music Hall in New York in 1872. He appeared in minstrel shows and vaudeville as a "Dutch" comic, employing a thick German dialect. He later worked in British music halls and American touring companies. Cawthorn made his Broadway debut in 1895, 1897 or 1898, and embarked on a long career lasting over two decades. His first success was playing Boris in Victor Herbert's 1898 operetta '' The Fortune Teller''. Other notable Broadway roles included the title character in ''Mother Goose'' (1903) and inventor Dr. Pill in the fantasy musical ''Little Nemo'' (1908). In the latter, he was called upon to ad lib to buy time during one performance while a problem backstage was dealt with. As "the scene called for him to describe imagin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ned Sparks
Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. He was known for his deadpan expression and comically nasal, monotone delivery. Life and career Sparks was born in Guelph, Ontario, but moved to St. Thomas, Ontario, where he grew up. He left home at 16 and attempted prospecting in the Klondike Gold Rush. After running out of money, he began performing. Billed as a "Singer of Sweet Southern Songs" and costumed in a straw hat, short pants and bare feet, he won a spot as a singer on a traveling musical company's tour. At 19, he returned to Canada and briefly attended a Toronto seminary. He then worked for the railroad and in theater in Toronto. In 1907, he moved to New York City to try his hand in the Broadway theatre, where he appeared in his first show in 1912. On Broadway, Sparks developed his trademark deadpan expression while portraying a hotel clerk in the play ''Little Miss B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
