''Swing High'' is a 1930 American
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...
musical film directed by
Joseph Santley
Joseph Mansfield Santley (born Joseph Ishmael Mansfield, January 10, 1890 – August 8, 1971) was an American actor, singer, dancer, writer, director, and producer of musical theatrical plays motion pictures and television shows. He adopted ...
and starring
Helen Twelvetrees
Helen Marie Twelvetrees ( Jurgens; December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958) was an American actress. She starred in Hollywood films in the sound film era from 1929 to 1939. Many of her roles were of "suffering women". She has a star on the Holly ...
,
Fred Scott and
Dorothy Burgess
Dorothy Burgess (March 4, 1907 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and motion-picture actress.
Family, education
Born in Los Angeles in 1907, Burgess was a niece of Fay Bainter. On her father's side, she was related to David C. Montgome ...
.
[Bradley, p. 235]
The film's sets were designed by the
art director Carroll Clark
Carroll Clark (February 6, 1894 – May 17, 1968) was an American art director. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 173 films between 1927 and 1968. He was born in Mountain View, Calif ...
.
Cast
*
Helen Twelvetrees
Helen Marie Twelvetrees ( Jurgens; December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958) was an American actress. She starred in Hollywood films in the sound film era from 1929 to 1939. Many of her roles were of "suffering women". She has a star on the Holly ...
as Maryan Garner
*
Fred Scott as Garry
*
Dorothy Burgess
Dorothy Burgess (March 4, 1907 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and motion-picture actress.
Family, education
Born in Los Angeles in 1907, Burgess was a niece of Fay Bainter. On her father's side, she was related to David C. Montgome ...
as Trixie
*
John Sheehan as Doc May
*
Daphne Pollard
Daphne Pollard (born Daphne Trott; October 19, 1891 – February 22, 1978) was an Australian-born vaudeville performer and dancer, active on stage and later in US films, mostly short comedies.
Diminutive stage star
Born Daphne Trott, in the in ...
as Mrs. May
*
George Fawcett
George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era.
Biography
Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to ...
as Pop Garner
*
Bryant Washburn as Ringmaster Joe
*
Nick Stuart as Billy
*
Sally Starr as Ruth
* 'Little Billy' Rhodes as Major Tiny
*
William Hall as Babe
*
Stepin Fetchit
Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black a ...
as Sam
*
Chester Conklin
Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...
asa Sheriff
*
Ben Turpin
Bernard "Ben" Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) was an American comedian and actor, best remembered for his work in silent films. His trademarks were his cross-eyed appearance and adeptness at vigorous physical comedy. Turpin wo ...
as Bartender
*
Robert Edeson
Robert Edeson (June 3, 1868 – March 24, 1931) was an American film and stage actor of the silent era and a vaudeville performer.
Life and career
Edeson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of manager and actor George R. Edeson. Afte ...
as Doctor
* Mickey Bennett as Mickey
* Dannie Mac Grant as Young Boy
*
Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's ''Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...
as Singer
*
Rolfe Sedan
Rolfe Sedan (born Edward Sedan; January 20, 1896 – September 15, 1982) was an American character actor, best known for appearing in bit parts, often uncredited, usually portraying clerks, train conductors, postmen, cooks, waiters, etc.
Ea ...
as Trouper
References
Bibliography
* Bradley, Edwin M. ''The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography Of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932''. McFarland, 2004.
External links
*
1930 films
1930 musical films
American musical films
Films directed by Joseph Santley
Pathé Exchange films
American black-and-white films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
English-language musical films
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