''Mississippi'' is a 1935 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy film directed by

A. Edward Sutherland Albert Edward Sutherland (January 5, 1895 – December 31, 1973) was a film director and actor. Born in London, he was from a theatrical family. His father, Al Sutherland, was a theatre manager and producer and his mother, Julie Ring, was a vaud ...

and starring

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...

, and Joan Bennett. Written by Francis Martin and Jack Cunningham based on the novel ''Magnolia'' by Booth Tarkington, the film is about a young pacifist who, after refusing on principle to defend his sweetheart's honor and being banished in disgrace, joins a riverboat troupe as a singer and acquires a reputation as a crackshot after a saloon brawl in which a villain accidentally kills himself with his own gun. The film was produced and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. ''Mississippi'' has the distinction of being the only W.C. Fields film with a score by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

. It is also the only film in which Fields co-starred with Crosby. Photographed by Charles Lang, the film featured art direction by

Hans Dreier Hans Dreier (August 21, 1885 – October 24, 1966) was a German motion picture art director. He was Paramount Pictures' supervising art director from 1927 until his retirement in 1950, when he was succeeded by Hal Pereira. Hans Dreier was born i ...

and Bernard Herzbrun and was edited by Chandler House. The sound man was Eugene Merritt. The original running time of this black-and-white film was 80 minutes. The film has been released on VHS and DVD as part of the W.C. Fields Collection in the United Kingdom.

Plot

Commodore Jackson (

) is the captain of a Mississippi showboat in the late nineteenth century. Tom Grayson (

) is engaged to be married and has been disgraced for refusing to fight a duel with Major Patterson ( John Miljan). Accused of being a coward, Grayson joins Jackson's showboat. Over the duration of the film, the behavior of the meek and mild Tom Grayson alters as a consequence of the constant representation of him, by Commodore Jackson, as "''The Notorious Colonel Steele''", "''the Singing Killer''", and the constant attribution, by Jackson, of duelling victories by Grayson to unrelated corpses freshly dragged from the river beside the showboat as "yet another victim of the notorious Colonel Steele, the Singing Killer". The film provides sufficient opportunities for Crosby to sing the Rodgers and Hart songs, including the centerpiece number, "Soon", while Fields gets to tell some outlandish stories. Crosby and Fields worked well together and there is one memorable scene in which Fields tries to tell Crosby how to act tougher. In the film, Crosby does a number of brilliantly engineered sight gags involving a chair and a bowie knife. Another highlight is Fields' remarkable story about his exploits among one notorious Indian tribe.

Cast

as Tom Grayson *

as Commodore Jackson * Joan Bennett as Lucy Rumford * Queenie Smith as Alabam' * Gail Patrick as Elvira Rumford * Claude Gillingwater Sr. as General Rumford * John Miljan as Major Patterson * Edward Pawley as Joe Patterson * Fred Kohler as Captain Blackie * Five Cabin Kids as the "Inky Kids" * John Larkin as Rumbo * Libby Taylor as Lavinia * Teresa Maxwell-Conover as Miss Markham * Paul Hurst as Hefty * Jan Duggan as Thrilled Passenger in Pilot House *

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagne ...

as Schoolgirl * Harry Myers as Stage Manager * King Baggot as First gambler * Mahlon Hamilton as Second gambler * Clarence Geldart as Hotel manager Introduction by Arthur Knight * Stanley Andrews as Gambler with Four Aces * Matthew Betz as Man at Bar * James Burke as Skeptical Passenger in Pilot House * Helene Chadwick as Attendee at Opening * Charles King as Desk Clerk * Jean Rouverol as Lucy's Schoolgirl Friend

Notes

There were two previous Paramount film versions of Booth Tarkington's play, ''Magnolia''. The first in 1924 filmed as a silent under the title '' The Fighting Coward'' starred Cullen Landis, Phyllis Haver, Mary Astor, Ernest Torrence and Noah Beery, Sr. The second version released in 1929, as '' River of Romance''; in early talkie and in silent editions, starred Buddy Rogers, Wallace Beery, Fred Kohler, Mary Brian, June Collyer and Henry B. Walthall. Fred Kohler reprises his Captain Blackie here from the 1929 film.

Reception

*'' The New York Times'' - "Amid an atmosphere of magnolia, crinoline, and Kentucky whiskey, the boozy genius of Mr. Fields and the subterranean croon of Mr. Crosby strike a happy compromise." *'' Motion Picture Herald'' - "The ilmis a melodramatic and sometimes tense romance. Fields' comedy, in both dialogue and action, is good for its full quota of laughs." *'' Variety'' - "Paramount obviously couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to do with the film; it's rambling and hokey. For a few minutes it's sheer farce, for a few moments it's romance. And it never jells...Fields works hard throughout the film and saves it, giving it whatever entertainment value it has."

Soundtrack

* " Swanee River" * "

It's Easy to Remember "It's Easy to Remember (And So Hard to Forget)" is a popular song written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. History Published in 1935, the song was written for the 1935 film ''Mississippi'' starring Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields. ...

" ( Rodgers & Hart) * "Down by the River" ( Rodgers & Hart) * "Soon" (Rodgers & Hart) - all sung by Bing Crosby * "Little David, Play on Your Harp" (Traditional negro spiritual) - sung by The Cabin Kids * "Roll Mississippi" (Rodgers & Hart) - sung by Queenie Smith and the Cabin Kids Crosby recorded his songs commercially for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

as well. "Soon" and "It's Easy to Remember" both topped the charts of the day. His songs were included on the Bing's Hollywood series.

Sources

*Deschner, Donald, ''The Films of W.C. Fields'' (New York: The Citadel Press, 1966) *Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation page 45

References

External links

* * {{Booth Tarkington 1935 films 1930s historical musical films 1935 musical comedy films 1935 romantic comedy films American historical comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films Films directed by A. Edward Sutherland Films set on ships Paramount Pictures films Films based on works by Booth Tarkington American historical romance films 1930s romantic musical films American historical musical films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films