''Rudy Vallee Melodies'' is a 1932

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

which is presented by

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

and was originally released 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 ...

. The film, which features

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

with a plethora of animals as she throws a house party in her house, stars Rudy Vallee as he sings three separate songs. The film also features sing-along versions to the songs that Vallee sings. The songs that Vallee sings during the film are: "

Deep Night "Deep Night" is a song and jazz standard with a melody composed in 1929 by Charles E. Henderson and lyrics written by Rudy Vallee. The tune is written in a minor key. History The song was first recorded in 1929 by Vallee with The Connecticut Yank ...

", "A Little Kiss Every Morning" and Vallee's " Stein Song". Released on August 5, 1932, the film is part of the "follow the bouncing ball" series entitled ''

Screen Songs ''Screen Songs'', formerly known as KoKo Song Car-Tunes, are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 1945, n ...

''. In these films, the audience would be invited to sing the songs featured in the film.

Plot

The film begins at Betty Boop's house, as she throws a house party. She is seen in a room serving a

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

to the other animals. Due to the drink, an argument breaks out between two animals, whom ultimately agree at the end to toss a coin. However, when one of the animals flips a coin, it comically ends up sideways. So one of the animals flips again, but flips it so high that a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

comically catches it and takes it. After that, Betty then asks for anyone that can sing and dance. A rabbit then comes forward and says that he can play the

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 ...

. So, Betty asks Hanson to bring in the piano. However Hanson is a small bug, so comically has to tug at it to get it in the room, whilst a big hippo comically only carries a stool. Betty then hands the rabbit some

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 ...

, but the rabbit says that he only plays "by ear". However, when he starts to play, he comically uses his ears to play the piano. Betty then requests for a singer whilst she plays. All of the animals decline her request. Until a picture of Rudy Vallee from a book of sheet music comes to life and says he will sing. Betty then asks Vallee is the songs will be old or new, Vallee then says that he'll sing songs that they will all know; and he'll sing them with the bouncing ball. His first song that he sings is "Deep Night", with footage of

beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...

and

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

accompanying the song . The second song that he sings is "A Little Kiss Every Morning", with footage of a

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

firstly showcasing multiple species of birds kissing, then transitioning to babies and their

mothers ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gesta ...

, then to young couples, and then to elderly couples. The final song that Vallee sings is "Stein Song", a college song, with accompanying footage showcasing a noisy game of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

. After the three songs, the party concludes, and all the guests depart from Betty's house. Betty then wishes Vallee good night. Vallee, who is in a picture frame, begins to sing " Good Night Sweetheart". After that performance, Betty then laughs and wishes him a good night. The film ends with Vallee singing "Keep a Little Song Handy".

Characters

In this film, there are a variety of characters. One of these characters is Betty Boop, whose house is the scene of the party which takes place during the film. These are also a variety of species of animals which are also featured in the film. The film, also includes Rudy Vallee, who sings the three songs during the bouncing ball sequences.

Reception

''Rudy Vallee Melodies'' received positive reviews from the cinema magazines at that time. ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' said that the film was "Swell", and also said that the film was "A swell piece of entertainment". Whilst ''Variety'' said that the film was a "Novel kink", and also said that Vallee's singing "helped this film over nicely". And, ''The Motion Picture Herald'' said that the idea of combining Betty Boop and Rudy Vallee is "quite an idea", and also said that the film was "Pleasing entertainment, for young and old".

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, id=tt0023413, title=Rudy Vallee Melodies 1932 films 1932 animated films 1930s American animated films American black-and-white films