''New Faces of 1937'' is a 1937 American

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 breaks ...

directed by

Leigh Jason Leigh Jason (July 26, 1904 – February 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter. He was born in New York, New York, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He married Ruth Harriet Louise in 1927 at Temple B'nai B'rith, wi ...

and starring

Joe Penner Joe Penner (born József Pintér; November 11, 1904 – January 10, 1941) was an American vaudeville, radio, and film comedian. Early life Penner was an ethnic Hungarian born József Pintér in Nagybecskerek, Austria-Hungary, (present-day Zren ...

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

and Harriet Hilliard. Its plot is similar to '' The Producers'' (1968). Intended as the first film of an annual

RKO 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-Orphe ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

series, poor reception ended plans for future productions.

Plot

A crooked theatrical producer deliberately sets about creating an unsuccessful show after selling more than 100% of it to investors.

Cast

as Seymore Seymore, aspiring actor *

as Wallington 'Wally' Wedge *

Parkyakarkus Harry Einstein (May 6, 1904 – November 24, 1958), known professionally as Harry Parke and other pseudonyms, most commonly Parkyakarkus, was an American comedian, writer, and character actor. A specialist in Greek dialect comedy, he became famo ...

as Parky * Harriet Hilliard as Patricia 'Pat' Harrington *William Brady as James 'Jimmy' Thompson *

Jerome Cowan Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early years Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...

as Robert Hunt *

Thelma Leeds Thelma Leeds (December 18, 1910 – May 27, 2006), also known as Thelma Bernstein, was an American actress. Life and career Leeds was born Thelma Goodman in New York City, to Katie and Joseph Goodman, Russian-Jewish immigrants. She was the ...

as Elaine Dorset *

Lorraine Krueger Lorraine Krueger (February 27, 1918 – July 15, 2003) was an American actress. She appeared in the films ''New Faces of 1937'', '' Everybody's Doing It'', '' I'm From the City'', ''Exposed'', '' Idiot's Delight'', '' The Farmer's Daughter'', '' ...

as Suzy *Tommy Mack as Judge Hugo Straight, Conductor * Bert Gordon as Count Mischa Moody *

Patricia Wilder Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...

as Pat, Hunt's Secretary * Richard Lane as Harry Barnes, Broker *Dudley Clements as Plunkett, Stage Manager *

William Corson William Corson (December 23, 1909 – January 28, 1981) was an American film actor. Partial filmography *'' Sea Devils'' (1937) - Coast Guard Seaman (uncredited) *'' China Passage'' (1937) - Ship's Officer (uncredited) *'' The Woman I L ...

as Assistant Stage Manager *

George Rosener George Michael Rosener (May 26, 1884 – March 29, 1945) was an American film actor and writer. He also wrote and acted in the Frank Buck (animal collector), Frank Buck serial ''Jungle Menace''. Career Rosener began his acting career at ag ...

as Peter, Stage Doorman *

Dewey Robinson Dewey Robinson (August 17, 1898 – December 11, 1950) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 250 films made between 1931 and 1952. Career Dewey Robinson was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1898, and made his B ...

as Joe Guzzola * Harry C. Bradley as Count Moody's Secretary

Production

An alternate title for this film, which was in production from late March to mid-May 1937, had been listed as ''Young People''. Singer Rene Stone, who appears in the film, was discovered by

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

singing while cleaning dishes in a Manhattan restaurant.

Soundtrack

* "New Faces" :(1937) :Music and Lyrics by Charles Henderson :Played during the opening credits :Sung and danced by showgirls (including The Brian Sisters) and showboys to open the final show :Danced by Ann Miller :Sung by Harriet Hilliard and showgirls * "The Widow in Lace" :(1937) :Music by Harold Spina :Lyrics by Walter Bullock :Sung by Thelma Leeds and showgirls at rehearsal :Played and danced by unidentified children, probably The Loria Brothers * "Our Penthouse on Third Avenue" :(1937) :Music by Sammy Fain :Lyrics by Lew Brown :Played on piano by Harriet Hilliard and sung by her and William Brady * "It Goes to Your Feet" :(1937) :Music by Sammy Fain :Lyrics by Lew Brown :Played and sung by Eddie Rio and Brothers :Danced by Lowe,

Hite Hite or HITE may refer to: *HiteJinro, a South Korean brewery **Hite Brewery *Hite (surname) *Hite, California, former name of Hite Cove, California *Hite, Utah, a ghost town * HITE, an industrial estate in Pakistan See also *''Hite v. Fairfax ...

and Stanley act, with Lorraine Krueger * "If I Didn't Have You" :(1937) :Music by Sammy Fain :Lyrics by Lew Brown :Sung by Harriet Hilliard and William Brady * "Love Is Never Out of Season" :(1937) :Music by Sammy Fain :Lyrics by Lew Brown :Sung by William Brady and danced by Harriet Hilliard and male chorus * "When the Berry Blossoms Bloom" :(1937) :Written by Joe Penner and Hal Raynor :Sung and danced by Joe Penner in the show * "Peckin'" :(1936) :Music and Lyrics by

Ben Pollack Ben Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, ...

and

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

:Additional lyrics by Eddie Cherkose (1937) :Sung and danced by The Three Chocolateers, The Four Playboys and chorus in the big finale in the show * "Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)" :(uncredited) :from "Lohengrin" :Music by Richard Wagner :Swing version in the song "Peckin'" * "The Wedding March" :(uncredited) :from "A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.61" :Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy :Swing version in the song "Peckin'"

Reception

The film recorded a loss of $258,000. Reviews were mixed. The film was meant to be the first in a series of musical revues designed to introduce new RKO talent, but this did not eventuate. Film writers Richard B. Jewell and Vernon Harbin wrote that:

Containing not a single memorable musical number or inspired comedy routine, this tedious mish-mash caused the studio embarrassment a-plenty. Theatre owners and audiences displayed such hostility towards the Edward Small production in general, and Penner and Parkyakaras in particular, that RKO cancelled plans to make a ''New Faces of 1938''.Richard B. Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story'', Octopus 1984 p 108

References

External links

* * *
New Faces of 1937
' at

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

*
New Faces of 1937
' at

Answers.com Answers.com, formerly known as WikiAnswers, is an Internet-based knowledge exchange. The Answers.com domain name was purchased by entrepreneurs Bill Gross and Henrik Jones at idealab in 1996. The domain name was acquired by NetShepard and sub ...

*
New Faces of 1937
' at Flixster * *

', by Craig Hodgkins {{Edward Small 1937 films 1937 musical films Films with screenplays by Irving Brecher Films with screenplays by Philip G. Epstein American black-and-white films Films produced by Edward Small American musical films RKO Pictures films Films directed by Leigh Jason 1930s English-language films 1930s American films