''My Man'' is a 1928

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

part-talkie A part-talkie is a partly, and most often primarily, silent film which includes one or more synchronous sound sequences with audible dialog or singing. During the silent portions, lines of dialog are presented as "titles"—printed text briefly ...

American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

musical 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 ...

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 comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...

and featuring

Guinn "Big Boy" Williams Guinn Terrell Williams Jr. (April 26, 1899 – June 6, 1962) was an American actor who appeared in memorable westerns such as ''Dodge City'' (1939), ''Santa Fe Trail'' (1940), and '' The Comancheros'' (1961). He was nicknamed "Big Boy" ...

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

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

before she started acting in motion pictures. At the time

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

made this film there were still some

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Cae ...

s in production and being released. ''My Man'' used

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

s but included talking sequences, synchronized music, and

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

s using a

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 from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...

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 syste ...

system.Progressive Silent Film List: ''My Man''
at silentera.com It was not until 1929 that talking movies would completely take over, but Warner Bros. had completely stopped making silent movies and switched to sound pictures by the end of that year, either part talking or full talking. Warner Bros. also started making movies in color as well as sound movies.
silentera.com

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 ...

). Fannie auditions for Landau (

Andrés De Segurola Andrés Perelló de Segurola (27 March 1874 – 23 January 1953) was a Spanish operatic bass. Biography He was born on 27 March 1874 in Valencia, Spain. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Company between 1901 and 1920 and later appeared ...

), 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 *

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 Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

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 Exi ...

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 Breitenba ...

and

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

* " My Man" – music by Maurice Yvain, lyrics by Channing Pollock * " Second Hand Rose" – music by James F. Hanley, lyrics by Grant Clarke * "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, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for reco ...

, lyrics by Mort Dixon and Billy Rose * "I'm an Indian" – music by Leo Edwards, lyrics by

Blanche Merrill Blanche L. Merrill (born Blanche V. Dreyfoos; July 22/23, 1883"Blanche Merrill," ''U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014'' on ''Ancestry.com'' accessed June 5, 2018 (access by subscription). – October 5, 1966) was a songwriter specia ...

* "I Was a

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

Baby" – music by Harry Carroll, lyrics by Ballard MacDonald 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 films Lost American 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 Lost comedy-drama films Lost musical films 1928 comedy films 1928 drama films 1920s American films