''Follow Thru'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

musical romantic comedy film photographed entirely in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. It was the second all-color all-talking feature to be produced by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on the hit 1929 Broadway musical of the same name by

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

, B. G. DeSylva, Ray Henderson and Laurence Schwab. The musical ran a total of 401 performances from January 9, 1929 to December 21, 1929.

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...

and

Zelma O'Neal Zelma O'Neal (May 29, 1903 – November 3, 1989) was an actress, singer, and dancer in the 1920s and 1930s. She appeared on Broadway and in early sound films, including the Paramount Pictures films ''Paramount on Parade'' and ''Follow Thru ...

, who starred in the Broadway production, reprised their roles in the film version. The film is one of dozens of musicals made in 1929 and 1930 following the advent of sound, and it is one of several to feature color cinematography. Though many of these films have been lost or were destroyed by the original studios, the original camera negative of ''Follow Thru'' survives in its entirety and in excellent condition. It has been preserved by the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

Cast

Charles "Buddy" Rogers Charles Edward "Buddy" Rogers (August 13, 1904 – April 21, 1999) was an American film actor and musician. During the peak of his popularity in the late 1920s and early 1930s he was publicized as "America's Boyfriend". Life and career Early ...

as Jerry Downes *

Nancy Carroll Nancy Carroll (born Ann Veronica Lahiff; November 19, 1903 – August 6, 1965) was an American actress. She started her career in Broadway musicals and then became an actress in sound films and was in many films from 1927 to 1938. She was t ...

as Lora Moore *

as Angie Howard *

as Jack Martin *

Eugene Pallette Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946. After an early career as a slender leading man, ...

as J.C. Effingham *

Thelma Todd Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, sh ...

as Mrs Van Horn *

Claude King Claude King (February 5, 1923 – March 7, 2013) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain". Biography King was born in Keithville in southern Caddo Parish south ...

as Mac Moore *

Kathryn Givney Kathryn Givney (October 27, 1896 – March 16, 1978) was an American actress on stage and in films. Biography In 1928, Givney was a member of the S. E. Cochran Repertory Company. In 1930, she appeared in ''Stepping Sisters'' at the Hollywood Pl ...

as Mrs Bascomb *Margaret Lee as Babs Bascomb *Don Tomkins as Dinty Moore *

Albert Gran Albert Gran (August 4, 1862 – December 16, 1932) was a Norwegian-born American stage and film actor. He is most associated with his appearance in drama and light comedy films. Biography Albert Gran was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the s ...

as Martin Bascomb

Songs

*"A Peach of a Pair" by George Marion Jr. (lyrics), Richard A. Whiting (music) *"It Must Be You" by Elwood Eliscu and

Manning Sherwin Manning Sherwin (January 4, 1902 – July 26, 1974) was an American composer. Born in Philadelphia, Sherwin attended Columbia University before embarking upon a long career in musical theatre and films. His most enduring composition is the music ...

(lyrics and music) *"Then I'll Have Time for You," "I Want to be Bad" and "

Button Up Your Overcoat "Button Up Your Overcoat" is a popular song. The music was written by Ray Henderson, the lyrics by B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The song was published in 1928, and was first performed later that same year by vocalist Ruth Etting. However, the mos ...

" by

and B. G. DeSylva (lyrics), Ray Henderson (music)

Production

The film was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

. The extras who appear in golf course scenes had to be coached with regards to golf etiquette (when to applaud a strike, etc.). About two hundred extras were used for the climactic golf championship sequence.

Preservation

For a long time, the film was believed to be lost, but a print was found in the 1990s and it was carefully restored and preserved by the

References

External links