''Syncopation'' is a 1929 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

Bert Glennon Bert Lawrence Glennon (November 19, 1893 – June 29, 1967) was an American cinematographer and film director. He directed ''Syncopation'' (1929), the first film released by RKO Radio Pictures. Biography Glennon was born in Anaconda, Mont ...

and starring Barbara Bennett,

Bobby Watson Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. Music career Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...

, and Ian Hunter (although top billing went to

Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...

and his Pennsylvanians). It was the second film produced by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

and the first to be released by the studio; the company's first produced film, ''

Street Girl ''Street Girl'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Betty Compson, John Harron and Jack Oakie. It was adapted by Jane Murfin from "The Viennese Charmer", a short story by William Carey Wonderly. While it was ...

'', was not released until August 1929. The film was made at the company's New York City studios and is based on the novel ''Stepping High'' by

Gene Markey Eugene Willford "Gene" Markey (December 11, 1895 – May 1, 1980) was an American writer, producer, screenwriter, and highly decorated naval officer. Biography Early life Markey was born in Michigan in 1895. His father, Eugene Lawrenc ...

. The film was heavily marketed on its release, being the first film to be broadcast over the radio, as well as RKO's first sound musical, and was a significant success. This film was the first made in the

RCA Photophone RCA Photophone was the trade name given to one of four major competing technologies that emerged in the American film industry in the late 1920s for synchronizing electrically recorded audio to a motion picture image. RCA Photophone was an opt ...

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...

process, and was an important test for

Radio Corporation of America The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Com ...

, which had invested heavily in the newly-created RKO.

Plot

Benny and Flo are a husband and wife dance team, traveling around the country as part of a revue. The revue gets picked up and taken to New York City, to be on Broadway. However, it quickly folds, and the two are forced to look for other employment. They eventually find work in a nightclub, becoming famous. While performing at the nightclub, Flo becomes entranced by a young, sophisticated millionaire playboy, Winston. Swayed by his sweet words, Flo leaves Benny and finds another dancing partner, who she pairs with in another revue, this one financed by Winston. However, her new act is a flop, and when Winston offers to take her to Europe but is unwilling to marry her, she realizes the mistake she's made. She repents and returns to Benny, who takes her back and re-establishes their act, going back on the road.

Cast

* Barbara Bennett as Fleurette ("Flo") *

as Benny * Ian Hunter as Winston *

Morton Downey Sean Morton Downey (November 14, 1901 – October 25, 1985), also known as Morton Downey Sr., was an American singer and entertainer popular in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, enjoying his greatest success in the late 1 ...

as Lew *

Osgood Perkins James Ridley Osgood Perkins (May 16, 1892 – September 21, 1937) was an American actor. Life and career Perkins was born in West Newton, Massachusetts, son of Henry Phelps Perkins Jr., and his wife, Helen Virginia (née Anthony). His maternal g ...

as Hummel * Mackenzie Ward as Henry *

Verree Teasdale Verree Teasdale (March 15, 1903 – February 17, 1987) was an American actress born in Spokane, Washington. Early years A second cousin of Edith Wharton, Teasdale attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and trained as a stage actr ...

as Rita * Dorothy Lee as Peggy (screen debut) *

and the Pennsylvanians as Themselves. Although they had top billing, Waring and his Pennsylvanians only appeared in two scenes.

Songs

*"Jericho" – Leo Robin, Richard Myers *"Mine Alone" – Herman Ruby, Richard Myers *"Do Something" – Bud Green, Sammy Stept *" I'll Always Be In Love With You" – Herman Ruby, Bud Green, & Sammy Stept

Production

''Syncopation'' was shot in New York City. It was originally slated to be titled ''Stepping High''.

Reception

When the film opened at the New York Hippodrome, it had a run of two weeks, during which time it broke the records for that theater for a film.

References

Bibliography

* Barrios, Richard. ''A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film''. Oxford University Press, 2010.

External links

* *
''Syncopation'' at SilentEra
* {{Bert Glennon 1929 films 1920s musical comedy-drama films American musical comedy-drama films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films set in New York City RKO Pictures films Films directed by Bert Glennon 1929 comedy films 1929 drama films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films