''My Man'' is a 1928

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

sound

part-talkie A part-talkie is a sound film that includes at least some "talking sequences" or sections with audible dialogue. The remainder of the film is provided with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. These films more often than not contain ...

American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), 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 serv ...

directed by

Archie Mayo Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...

starring

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, Illustrated Songs, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. Sh ...

and featuring

Guinn "Big Boy" Williams Guinn Terrell Williams Jr. (April 26, 1899 – June 6, 1962) was an American actor who appeared in memorable western (genre), Westerns such as ''Dodge City (film), Dodge City'' (1939), ''Santa Fe Trail (film), Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), and ''The ...

. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English

intertitle In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...

s. The soundtrack was recorded using the

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...

sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent sys ...

system. This film was Brice's feature film debut at the age of 37. She was a star in the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

before she started acting in motion pictures.Progressive Silent Film List: ''My Man''
at silentera.com Warner Bros. had completely stopped making silent movies by 1928 and had switched exclusively to sound pictures by the end of the year, producing synchronized, part-talkies or full all-talking pictures. In 1929, Warner Bros. would lead the way in making sound movies in color.

Plot

Fannie Brand (

), an industrious girl who supports her brother and sister by working in a theatrical costume house, falls in love with Joe Halsey (

), a young fellow who earns a precarious living demonstrating an elastic exerciser in a drugstore window. Fannie and Joe set a date to be married, but the wedding is called off when Fannie finds Joe making love to her unprincipled sister, Edna (

Edna Murphy Edna Murphy (November 17, 1899 – August 3, 1974) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 80 films between 1918 and 1933. Murphy was voted "Most Photographed Movie Star of 1925" by '' ScreenLand Magazine''. For part of her ...

). Fannie auditions for Landau ( Andrés De Segurola), a theatrical producer, and goes on the Broadway stage. Fannie is a great success, and she and Joe soon find their way back into each other's arms.

Cast

as Fannie Brand (credited as Fannie Brice) *

as Joe Halsey *

as Edna Brand * Andrés De Segurola as Landau *

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

as Waldo *Billy Seay as Sammy *

Arthur Hoyt Arthur Hoyt (March 19, 1874 – January 4, 1953) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films. Career Born in Georgetown, Colorado, in 1874, Hoyt ma ...

as Thorne *

Ann Brody Ann Brody Goldstein (August 29, 1884 – July 16, 1944), known professionally as Ann Brody, was an American film actress of the silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogu ...

as Mrs. Schultz *

Clarissa Selwynne Clarissa Selwynne (26 February 1886 – 13 June 1948) was a British stage and film actress.Kear & King p. 143 She settled in the United States, working in Hollywood where she appeared in around 100 films. Partial filmography *'' Hearts in Exil ...

as Forelady

Reception

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $1,099,000 in the U.S. and $119,000 elsewhere.

Songs

* " I'd Rather Be Blue Over You" –

Fred Fisher Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach; September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Biography Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenbach ...

and

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...

* " My Man" – music by

Maurice Yvain Maurice Yvain (12 February 1891 – 27 July 1965) was a French composer noted for his operettas of the 1920s and 1930s. Some of which were written for Mistinguett, at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world. In the 1930s and 1940s, ...

, lyrics by Channing Pollock * " Second Hand Rose" – music by James F. Hanley, lyrics by

Grant Clarke Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891, Akron, Ohio – May 16, 1931, California) was an American songwriter. Clarke moved to New York City early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on Tin Pan Alley, ...

* "If You Want the Rainbow, You Must Have the Rain" – music by

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor (music), conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films ''Rhapsody in Bl ...

, lyrics by

Mort Dixon Mort Dixon (March 20, 1892 – March 23, 1956) was an American lyricist. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published e ...

and Billy Rose * "I'm an Indian" – music by Leo Edwards, lyrics by Blanche Merrill * "I Was a

Florodora ''Florodora'' is an Edwardian musical comedy. After its long run in London, it became one of the first successful Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the mus ...

Baby" – music by Harry Carroll, lyrics by

Ballard MacDonald Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley. Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...

All songs sung by Fanny Brice.

Premiere Vitaphone short subjects

''My Man'' premiered at the Warners' Theatre in Manhattan on December 21, 1928.

Film preservation

An incomplete version of this film reportedly survives. In addition to this incomplete copy, the full synchronized soundtrack survives on

discs, as well as the soundtrack for the theatrical trailer.

References

External links

* *
''New York Times'' feature''My Man'' Soundtrack at Internet Archive ''My Man'' Soundtrack Trailer at SoundCloud
{{Darryl F. Zanuck 1928 films Films directed by Archie Mayo Transitional sound comedy-drama films Lost American comedy-drama films Lost American musical comedy films Lost American musical drama films Films produced by Edward Small American black-and-white films Warner Bros. films 1920s musical comedy-drama films American musical comedy-drama films 1928 lost films 1928 comedy-drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films Part-talkie films English-language musical comedy-drama films 1928 musical films