''Glorifying the American Girl'' is a 1929 American pre-Code

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

produced by

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

that highlights Ziegfeld Follies performers. The last third of the film, which was filmed in early Technicolor, is basically a Follies production, with appearances by Rudy Vallee,

Helen Morgan Helen Morgan may refer to: *Helen Morgan (singer) Helen Morgan (née Riggins; August 2, 1900 – October 9, 1941) was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in ...

, and

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

Rex Beach Rex Ellingwood Beach (September 1, 1877 – December 7, 1949) was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player. Early life Rex Beach was born in Atwood, Michigan, but moved to Tampa, Florida, with his family where his father ...

was paid $35,000 for the original story. The script for the film was written by J.P. McEvoy and Millard Webb and directed by John W. Harkrider and Millard Webb. The songs were written by Irving Berlin, Walter Donaldson, Rudolf Friml, James E. Hanley, Larry Spier and

Dave Stamper David Stamper (November 10, 1883September 18, 1963) was an American songwriter of the Tin Pan Alley and vaudeville eras, a contributor to twenty-one editions of the Ziegfeld Follies, writer for the Fox Film Corporation, and composer of more than ...

. The film is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

, and many prints exhibited on television are in black-and-white only, and do not include pre-

Code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

material, such as

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

Plot

The plot involves a young woman (

Mary Eaton Mary Eaton (January 29, 1901 – October 10, 1948) was an American stage actress, singer, and dancer in the 1910s and 1920s, probably best known today from her appearance in the first Marx Brothers film, ''The Cocoanuts'' (1929). A profession ...

) who wants to be in the Follies, but in the meantime is making ends meet by working at a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

department, where she sings the latest hits. She is accompanied on

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

by her childhood boyfriend (Edward Crandall), who is in love with her, despite her single-minded interest in her career. When a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer (Dan Healy) asks her to join him as his new partner, she sees it as an opportunity to make her dream come true. Upon arriving in New York City, our heroine finds out that her new partner is only interested in sleeping with her and makes this a condition of making her a star. Soon, however, she is discovered by a representative of Ziegfeld.

Cast

as Gloria Hughes *Dan Healy as Danny Miller *Kaye Renard as Mooney *Edward Crandall as Buddy Moore *

Gloria Shea Olive Gloria Shea (May 30, 1910 – February 8, 1995) was an American film actress. She was sometimes billed as Olive Shea. Biography Born in New York City, Shea received her schooling at the Convent of Notre Dame de Sande and was trained for ...

as Barbara (billed as Olive Shea) * Sarah Edwards as Mrs. Hughes *Lou Hearn as tailor shop customer

Cameo appearances

* Noah Beery * Irving Berlin *

Norman Brokenshire Norman Ernest Brokenshire (June 10, 1898 – May 4, 1965),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 42. nicknamed "Sir Silken Speech", wa ...

* Billie Burke *

Desha Delteil Desha Delteil (March 18, 1899 – July 17, 1980) was a Slovenia-born dancer and artists' model. Biography She was born Desha Eva Podgoršek in Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary (present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia), emigrated to the US with her sister ...

Charles B. Dillingham Charles Bancroft Dillingham (May 30, 1868 – August 30, 1934) was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway theatre, Broadway shows. Biography Charles Bancroft Dillingham was born on May 30, 1868 in Hartford, Connecticut to ...

Texas Guinan Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan (January 12, 1884 – November 5, 1933) was an American actress, producer and entrepreneur. Born in Texas to Irish immigrant parents, Guinan decided at an early age to become an entertainer. After becoming a st ...

Otto Kahn Otto Hermann Kahn (February 21, 1867 – March 29, 1934) was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of ''Time'' magazine and was sometimes ...

* Nancy Kelly * Ring Lardner * Bull Montana *

Tony Sansone Tony Sansone (September 19, 1905 – January 13, 1987) was an Italian-American bodybuilder and model. Background Anthony Joseph Sansone was born September 19, 1905, in New York City. His parents were both Sicilian immigrants: Ignazio (Charles) ...

* Louis Sorin * Rudy Vallee * Jimmy Walker * Johnny Weissmuller * Joseph Urban *

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; hu, Zukor Adolf; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produ ...

Production

*This Pre-Code movie is notable for being the first talkie to use the word "

damn Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, citizens would recite th ...

" (that credit usually goes to either ''

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

'' or '' Gone with the Wind''). The word is used twice by Sarah Edwards as well as multiple times in the skit involving Eddie Cantor, Louis Sorin and Lew Hearn. (The word was also used twice in the film ''

Coquette A coquette is a flirtatious woman. It may refer to: * ''The Coquette'' (film), a 1917 German silent comedy film * ''Coquette'' (film), an Academy Award-winning 1929 film starring Mary Pickford * ''Coqueta '' (1949 film), a Mexican musical film * ' ...

'', released in April of the same year.) *The revue sequence contains virtual nudity and revealing costumes. *Both Paramount and EMKA failed to renew the copyright and the film is now in the

. EMKA's successor,

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, continues to hold the original film elements; though technically the EMKA library is part of

NBC Universal Television NBCUniversal Television and Streaming is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2003 to 2019. History NBC Broadcasting In ...

, successor to Universal Television and MCA Television (EMKA was a subsidiary of

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

Preservation

The black-and-white prints currently shown on television, with a cut-down running time of 87 minutes, were made in the 1950s and have a number of sequences cut due to their Pre-Code content, i.e. nudity, etc. The film was restored, to the length of 96 minutes, with the original Technicolor sequences, 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 archiv ...

.Feature films preserved by UCLA (1977-2012)
/ref>

Miscellany

*The movie contains brief shots of Noah Beery, Irving Berlin, Billie Burke,

, Ring Lardner, and

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of New York City Jimmy Walker as themselves, taken from newsreels and other productions. *There is an uncredited, non-speaking scene with Johnny Weissmuller wearing nothing but a fig leaf. *The greater part of the final half of the film is a revue given over to a re-creation of a Follies production, replete with musical solos by Rudy Vallee and

and a comedy sketch with

and Louis Sorin as a pair of Jewish tailors. *Glorifying The American Girl was released on dvd and blu ray by Kino Lorber on December 3, 2019. This version is taken from the UCLA restoration and includes the complete film including the Technicolor sequences. *

Soundtrack

The film begins with a medley of hits from Ziegfeld productions, including "Tulip Time", "

A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1919 which became the theme song of the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The first verse and refrain are considered part of the Great American Songbook and are often covered as a ...

", "Sally, Won't You Come Back?", and "No Foolin'." The band at the picnic plays " Bye Bye Blackbird" and " Side by Side." * "No Foolin'" :Music by Rudolf Friml and

James F. Hanley James Frederick Hanley (February 17, 1892 – February 8, 1942) was an American songwriter and author. Biography Hanley was born in Rensselaer, Indiana on February 17, 1892. He attended Champion College and the Chicago Musical College. He serve ...

:Lyrics by

Gene Buck Edward Eugene Buck (August 7, 1885 – February 24, 1957) was an American illustrator of sheet music, musical theater lyricist, and president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Early career Buck was born in De ...

and Irving Caesar :Sung by Mary Eaton * "Baby Face" :Music by

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In ...

:Sung by Mary Eaton * "I'll Be There" :Music by Larry Spier,

J. Fred Coots John Frederick Coots (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American songwriter. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for t ...

, and Lou Davis :Sung by Mary Eaton and played on the piano several times by Edward Crandall * "Spooning with the One You Love" :Performed by Dan Healy and Kaye Renard * " Blue Skies" :Music by Irving Berlin :Played by a band while the acrobats are performing * "Sam, the Old Accordion Man" :Music by Walter Donaldson :Danced to by Dan Healy and Mary Eaton at the picnic and later onstage * "Hot Feet" :Music by Jimmy McHugh :Danced to by Dan Healy and Mary Eaton * "I'm Just a Vagabond Lover" :Music by Rudy Vallée and Leon Zimmerman :Performed by Rudy Vallée and His Connecticut Yankees * "What Wouldn't I Do for That Man?" :Music by Jay Gorney :Lyrics by

E.Y. Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...

:Performed by

* "There Must Be Somebody Waiting For Me" :Music by Walter Donaldson :Performed by Mary Eaton and chorus in the finale. Played by pianist while Eaton dances en pointe. Played during opening credits.

References

External links

* * * * (censored version) * {{Ziegfeld Follies 1929 films 1929 musical comedy films 1920s color films American musical comedy films 1920s English-language films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Millard Webb Ziegfeld Follies American black-and-white films 1920s American films