''Song of the Flame'' 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 photographed entirely in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. It was the first color film to feature a

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

sequence, using a process called

Vitascope Vitascope was an early film projector first demonstrated in 1895 by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. They had made modifications to Jenkins' patented Phantoscope, which cast images via film and electric light onto a wall or screen. The ...

, the trademark name for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

' widescreen process. The film, based on the 1925

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical of the same name, was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Sound Recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...

( George Groves). It is part of the tradition of

operetta film Operetta films (German: Operettenfilm) are a genre of musical films associated with, but not exclusive to, German language cinema. The genre began in the late 1920s, but its roots stretch back into the tradition of nineteenth century Viennese oper ...

s, popular at the time.

Plot

Aniuta (

Bernice Claire Bernice Claire (born Bernice Jahnigen; January 27, 1906 – January 17, 2003)Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...

) is a revolutionary who also falls in love with Aniuta, much to the anger of his lover, Natasha ( Alice Gentle). The revolutionaries succeed in overthrowing the regime, leaving the Prince and his aristocratic class in peril for their lives and fortunes. Konstantin becomes the new leader and his brutal treatment of the people make many regret having supported the revolution in the first place. After he attempts to seduce her, Aniuta flees to a village in her native Poland. The Prince, fleeing from the new regime, happens to arrive at the same village. When he meets the girl again, he decides to stay. They put their political differences aside and become romantically involved. Hearing from his spies that the Prince is at a Polish village, Konstantin immediately goes there and arrests him, announcing that he attends to execute him. Aniuta desperately attempts to free the Prince by agreeing to have sex with Konstantin. The Prince is released from prison through this ruse, but when it is discovered that she had no intention of keeping her side of the bargain, she is thrown into jail. The Prince disguises himself and attempts to free the girl, but he is discovered and imprisoned again. Before they can be executed, Natasha, revealing the real reason behind Konstantin's execution order, tells the troops to release both the Prince and Aniuta. Konstantin is arrested by the troops soon after as a traitor to the revolution, and is executed, leaving the Prince and the girl free to pursue their romance.

Cast

* Alexander Gray as Prince Volodya *

as Konstantin * Alice Gentle as Natasha *

Bert Roach Egbert "Bert" Roach (August 21, 1891 – February 16, 1971) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 320 films between 1914 and 1951. He was born in Washington, D.C., and died in Los Angeles, California, age 79. Selected filmogr ...

as Count Boris *

Inez Courtney Inez Courtney (October 12, 1897 – April 5, 1975) was an American actress on the Broadway stage and in films. Early years Born in Amsterdam, New York, Courtney came from a large Irish-American family. After her father's death when she was fif ...

as Grusha * Shep Camp as Officer *

Ivan Linow Ivan Linow (born Jānis Linaus; November 21, 1888 – November 11, 1940), also known as Jack Linow, was a Latvian-born American wrestler, who became a character actor in American films during the silent and early sound film eras. Biography Born ...

as Konstanin's Pal * Janina Smolinska as Dancer (uncredited) Cast notes: *

Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...

was widely praised for his deep bass voice, which he first exhibited in this film in the song "One Little Drink." This song was satirized in the Bosko cartoon entitled: ''

The Booze Hangs High ''The Booze Hangs High'', released in December 1930, is the fourth title in the ''Looney Tunes'' series. The short features Bosko, Warner Bros.' first cartoon character. Plot The scene opens with a close up shot of a cow's rear end. She moos ...

'' (1930). Based on the success of this song, Warner Bros. subsequently cast Beery in a number of musical films, most notably in '' Golden Dawn'' (1930). The public was so enthralled by his singing abilities that

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

hired Beery to record songs from both of these films which were issued in their popular series.

Songs

*"Song of the Flame" – words by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, music by George Gershwin *"Cossack Love Song" – words by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Herbert Stothart and George Gershwin *"One Little Drink" – words by Grant Clarke, music by Harry Akst *"When Love Calls" – words by Grant Clarke, music by Eddie Ward Source:

Preservation

The film is believed to be

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. Only the soundtrack, which was recorded separately on

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

disks, survives. All nine songs are preserved in the sound disc performances. There were four choruses as well, three of traditional

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

folk tunes Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and one drawn from

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

.''

Stage musical

The stage musical the film is based on opened on Broadway at the

44th Street Theatre The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It opened and operated for three years as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall. Its rooftop theatre, the Nora Bayes Theatre, present ...

on December 30, 1925 and closed on July 10, 1926 after 219 performances. the music was by Herbert P. Stothart and George Gershwin, with lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical was directed by

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

, dances and ensemble pictures were arranged by Jack Haskell, and the scenic design was by

Joseph Urban Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872 – July 10, 1933) was an Austrian-American architect, illustrator, and scenic designer. Life and career Joseph Urban was born on May 26, 1872, in Vienna. He received his first architectural commission at age 19 wh ...

. The cast included Phoebe Brune as Natasha, Greek Evans as Konstantin, Tessa Kosta as Aniuta ("The Flame"), and the 52-member Russian Art Choir.

Looney Tunes connection

''Song Of The Flame'' is notable as the film that was accompanied in its initial release by Warner Bros.' first ever Looney Tunes cartoon short, '' Sinkin' in the Bathtub''.

References

Notes Further reading *Coles, David (2001
''Magnified Grandeur: The Big Screen, 1926-31''

External links

* * * * {{Alan Crosland 1930 films 1930s color films 1930 lost films Lost American films First National Pictures films Warner Bros. films American films based on plays 1930 musical films Films directed by Alan Crosland Films set in the Russian Empire 1925 musicals Broadway musicals American musical films Operetta films Early color films Russian Revolution films Films set in Poland 1930s English-language films 1930s American films