''Street Girl'' is a 1929

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 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 brea ...

directed by

Wesley Ruggles Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. Life and work He was born in Los Angeles, California, younger brother of actor Charlie Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a do ...

and starring

Betty Compson Betty Compson (born Eleanor Luicime Compson; March 19, 1897 – April 18, 1974) was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in '' The Docks of New York'' an ...

John Harron John Harron (March 31, 1903 – November 24, 1939) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1918 and 1940. Born in New York, New York, he was the brother of actor Robert Harron and of actress Mary Harron. Harron di ...

and

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (194 ...

. It was adapted by Jane Murfin from "The Viennese Charmer", a short story by William Carey Wonderly. While it was the first film made 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 ...

, its opening was delayed until after ''

Syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

'', making it RKO's second release. It was very successful at the box office, accounting for almost half of RKO's profits for the entire year.

Plot

The Four Seasons are a very good

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

quartet, but they perform in a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

cafe for only $100 a week, forcing them to share a small, rundown apartment. The quartet consists of Joe Spring on clarinet, Pete Summer on accordion and guitar, Mike Fall on piano and trumpet, and an ever-pessimistic Happy Winter on violin. On his way home one night, Mike drives off a man accosting a young blonde named Frederika Joyzelle. When she tells him she has not eaten in two days, he persuades her to share the group's dinner. She tells them that back in her homeland, she was a violinist. The highlight of her career given a command performance for her homeland's ruler, Prince Nicholaus of Aregon. Mike convinces his bandmates to allow "Freddie" to room with them for two weeks, after they discover she has no place to go. Freddie talks the band into asking for a raise to $200, but when they are turned down, they impulsively quit. Mike is further discouraged when they return to the apartment to find Freddie gone. However, Freddie soon returns with great news. She has spent all day trying to convince Keppel, the owner of the well-known Little Aregon Cafe, to give the quartet a tryout. She finally succeeded, and at a salary of $300 a week. She gets a job there too, as a

cigarette girl In Europe and the United States, a cigarette girl is a person who sells or provides cigarettes from a tray held by a neck strap. They may also carry cigars and other items like candy, snacks, and chewing gum on their trays. Uniform The most ...

and part-time violinist. As time goes on, Mike falls in love with Freddie, but is unsure how she feels about him. Prince Nicholaus of Aregon is in town, trying to arrange financing for his country. He and his entourage go to the cafe, much to Keppel's delight. When Freddie performs for him, he remembers her and kisses her on the forehead. The newspaper coverage of the kiss causes the cafe to skyrocket in popularity overnight. When a competitor of Keppel's asks the group to perform at his establishment, Keppel wins a bidding war by raising their wages to $3000 a week. This enables them to move into a much fancier apartment. However, the kiss also causes Mike to become jealous to the point of quitting the band. The popularity of Keppel's cafe allows him to move into the larger "Club Joyzelle". With the help of Prince Nicholaus, Freddie and Mike are reunited in time for the grand opening. Even Happy, who is anything but, smiles as a result.

Cast

as Frederika "Freddy" Joyzelle *

as Mike Fall *

as Joe Spring *

Ned Sparks Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. He was known for his deadpan expression and comically nasal, monotone delivery. Life and career ...

as Happy Winter * Guy Buccola as Pete Summer *

Joseph Cawthorn Joseph Bridger Cawthorn (March 29, 1868 – January 21, 1949) was an American stage and film comic actor. Biography Born on March 29, 1868, in New York City to a minstrel-show family, Cawthorn started out in show business as a child, debu ...

as Keppel *

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev ( rus, Иван Васильевич Лебедев), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his no ...

as Prince Nicholaus of Aregon *

Doris Eaton Doris Eaton Travis (March 14, 1904 – May 11, 2010) was an American dancer, stage and film actress, dance instructor, owner and manager, writer, and rancher, who was the last surviving Ziegfeld Girl, a troupe of acclaimed chorus girls wh ...

as Singer at Club Joyzelle *

Gus Arnheim and His Ambassadors Gus Arnheim (September 4, 1897 – January 19, 1955) was an American pianist and an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He ...

Unbilled

* André Cheron as Aide to Prince Nicholaus *

June Clyde June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as ''A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Clyd ...

as Blonde at McGregor's *

Russ Columbo Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madness ...

as Violinist with Gus Arnheim and His Ambassadors * Eddie Kane as Mr. Gilman *

Wilfrid North Wilfrid North (16 January 1863 – 3 June 1935), also spelled Wilfred North, was an Anglo-American film director, actor, and writer of the silent film era. He directed 102 films, including short films; acted in 43 films; and wrote the story for ...

as Man with Prince Nicholaus *

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 Patron at Little Aregon *

Ellinor Vanderveer Ellinor Vanderveer (August 5, 1886 – May 27, 1976), was an American actress who usually played dowagers, high class society matrons or party guests. She appeared in 111 films between 1924 and 1953, including several Laurel and Hardy come ...

as Dowager at Little Aregon *

Florence Wix Florence Wix (16 May 1883 – 23 November 1956) was an English-born American character actress who worked from the 1920s in silent films through sound films of the 1950s. Biography Born on 16 May 1883, in Hertfordshire in England, Wix woul ...

as Prince Nicolaus' Escort

Reception

The film opened at

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...

(now named the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre) and earned over a million dollars for

RKO 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-Orpheu ...

. It made $806,000 domestically and $198,000 overseas, resulting in a profit of $800,000, almost half of RKO's total profit for the year of $1,670,000.

Songs

* "My Dream Memory" - Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare — Performed by Betty Compson on violin * "Lovable and Sweet" - Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare — Performed by John Harron, Ned Sparks, Jack Oakie, and Guy Buccola * "Broken Up Tune You're Doin' It" - Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare — Performed by Doris Eaton with Gus Arnheim band

Remakes

Due to its initial success, ''Street Girl'' was remade by RKO twice. The first film, '' That Girl From Paris'' (1936), starred

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she s ...

and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

. The second, ''Four Jacks and a Jill'' (1942), starred

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in ...

Anne Shirley Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel ''Anne of Green Gables'' by L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic book series, which revolve around her life and family in 19th and 20th-century Prince Ed ...

, and

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', in which he c ...

. This was a rare coincidence in Hollywood where a husband and wife appeared in two different versions of the same film.

Notes

The March 1928 short story upon which the film is based originally appeared in ''Young's Magazine'', and its title, "The Viennese Charmer", would indicate that Freddie's original homeland might have been Austria, but was fictionalized to Aregon for the film version.

References

External links

* * * * {{Wesley Ruggles 1920s romantic musical films 1920s musical comedy-drama films 1929 films American black-and-white films American romantic musical films American musical comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Wesley Ruggles Films set in New York City RKO Pictures films Films with screenplays by Jane Murfin 1920s romantic comedy-drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films