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 ...
First National Pictures
First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...
. It was adapted from the play of the same title by
Otto A. Harbach
Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broa ...
and
Frank Mandel
Frank Mandel (1884 – April 20, 1958) was an American playwright and producer. He co-wrote several productions. Some of his works were adapted by others. Several of his collaborations were adapted into films. UCLA's libraries have a collection of ...
. ''
No, No, Nanette
''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves th ...
'' was a popular show on Broadway, running for 321 performances, and was produced and directed by
Harry Frazee
Harry Herbert Frazee (June 29, 1880 – June 4, 1929) was an American theatrical agent, producer, and director, and owner of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923. He is well known for selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yanke ...
.
Plot
Jim Smith, a millionaire due to his Bible publishing business, is married to the overly frugal Sue. They desire to teach their ward Nanette to be a respectable young lady; she, in turn, has an untapped wild side. Nanette wants to have some fun in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
, while she is being pursued by Tom Trainor.
With so much unspent income at his disposal, Jim decides to become the benefactor for three beautiful women, but soon realizes his good intentions are bound to get him in trouble. He enlists his lawyer friend Bill to help him discreetly ease the girls out of his life. Sue and Billy's wife, Lucille, learn about the women and assume their husbands are having affairs with them.
Eventually, Bill and Jim explain the situation and are forgiven by their wives. Likewise, Nanette and Tom sort out their difficulties and decide to get married.
Cast
*
Bernice Claire
Bernice Claire (born Bernice Jahnigen; January 27, 1906 – January 17, 2003)Lucien Littlefield as Jim Smith
* Louise Fazenda as Sue Smith
* Lilyan Tashman as Lucille
* Bert Roach as Bill Early
*
ZaSu Pitts
Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...
Al Bryan
Alfred Bryan (September 15, 1871 – April 1, 1958) was a Canadian lyricist.
Bryan was born in Brantford, Ontario. He worked as an arranger in New York and wrote lyrics for many Broadway shows in the late 1910s and early 1920s. In the 1920s he m ...
and Ed Ward
*"Dancing to Heaven" – words and music by Al Bryan and Ed Ward
*"As Long As I'm With You" – words and music 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, ...
and
Harry Akst
Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963) - accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Ned Washington, Herb Magidson and Michael Cleary
Preservation
According to the George Eastman Museum 2015 Book "The Dawn of Technicolor, 1915-1935" the BFI National Archive holds a 35mm incomplete nitrate print 160 ft.
Box office
According to Warner Bros records the film earned $839,000 domestically and $612,000 foreign.
Critical reception
Mordaunt Hall of '' The New York Times'' wrote, "''No, No, Nannette'', proves to be quite a merry affair with tunes that are now well known and players whose activities were rewarded with gusts of laughter from the first-night audience at Warners' Strand. It is a show that stirs up mirth from persons who might desire a more sophisticated type of entertainment, for its comedy of wives discovering the more or less harmless deceit of their husbands is invariably unfailing. The technicolor sequences are not always as well lighted as one would wish, but the staging of these tinted episodes is wrought with no little imagination, especially the glimpses of an airship with turquoise lights and a variety of colors on the fuselage. It is from this stage contrivance that Bernice Claire as Nanette sings one of her songs. Her partner, Tom Trainor, played by Alexander Gray, is also moved to song. The most effective stretches of this diversion, however, are those in black and white."