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Lady, Play Your Mandolin!
''Lady, Play Your Mandolin!'' is the first ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon, and stars Foxy, a character who appeared in three 1931 shorts. It was released as early as June 13, 1931. It is directed by Rudolf Ising of Harman and Ising. Overview The cartoon features Foxy as a gaucho. He visits a local saloon which is disguised as a café, reflecting that when this cartoon was made, Prohibition was law of the land in the United States. Also, as a reflection of Prohibition, liquor bottles have skull and crossbones labels. His horse soon finds himself drunk and begins to hallucinate wildly. Similarly to Foxy, the cartoon features a female fox character that is very reminiscent of Minnie Mouse. Production As was typically the case with the early entries in the ''Merrie Melodies'' series, one purpose of the cartoon was to promote a Warner-owned popular song. The title theme, written by Oscar Levant with lyrics by Irving Caesar, was a 1930 #5 pop hit sung by Nick Lucas and released ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Harman
Hugh Harman (August 31, 1903 – November 25, 1982) was an American animator. He was known for creating the Warner Bros. Cartoons and MGM Cartoons studios and his collaboration with Rudolf Ising during the Golden Age of American animation. Career He began his work with Walt Disney in 1922, working on Disney's early Laugh-O-Gram Cartoons. When that company went bankrupt, Harman and partner Rudolf Ising tried to start a new series based on the ''Arabian Nights'', but were unable to obtain funding. Disney called them back when he began work for Charles Mintz, producing the Alice Comedies live-action/animation hybrid shorts and the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons. After a dispute over money, Mintz forced out Disney in 1928 and lured most of his animators, Harman and Ising included, to join him. After Carl Laemmle replaced Mintz with a young Walter Lantz in early 1929, Harman and Ising, alongside a number of former Oswald animators put together a pilot short, "Bosko the Tal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prohibition In The United States
The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and Prohibition was formally introduced nationwide under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933. Led by Pietism, Pietistic Protestantism in the United States, Protestants, prohibitionists first attempted to end the trade in alcoholic drinks during the 19th century. They aimed to heal what they saw as an ill society beset by alcohol-related problems such as alcoholism, domestic violence, and Saloon bar, saloon-based political corruption. Many communities introduced alcohol bans in the late 19th and early 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1931 Films
The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1931 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 5: RKO acquires the producing and distribution arm of Pathé for $4.6 million. * March 14: '' Alam Ara'', the first Indian-made sound film, premieres at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay. * June 20: Monogram Pictures releases its first film, ''Ships of Hate''. * July 7: Anti-competitive practices disclosed about certain distributors and producers in Canada. * November 17: E. R. Tinker elected president of Fox Films replacing Harley L. Clarke. * December 14: RKO refinancing plan approved. Best money stars '' Variety'' reported the following as the biggest male stars in the U.S. in alphabetical order although grouped George Arliss and Ronald Colman together as having equal ranking. The following were the biggest women ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Cartoon Database
The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) was an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows, and cartoon shorts. The BCDB project began in 1997 as a list of Disney animated features on creator Dave Koch's local computer. In response to increasing interest in the material, the database went online in 1998 as a searchable resource dedicated to compiling information about cartoons, including production details such as voice actors, producers, and directors, as well as plot summaries and user reviews of cartoons. In 2003, BCDB became a 501(c) non-profit corporation. On June 24, 2009, it was announced by creator Dave Koch on his BCDB forums that the site had 100,000 titles. Due to system issues that have been unable to be resolved, all cartoon information on the site is non-existent after 2019. Users have ceased to contribute to the site due to the issue. Since the creator is no longer active and the moderators ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Caesar (film)
''Little Caesar'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film distributed by Warner Brothers, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and starring Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Glenda Farrell. The film tells the story of a hoodlum who ascends the ranks of organized crime until he reaches its upper echelons. The storyline was adapted from the novel of the same name by William R. Burnett. Little Caesar was Robinson's breakthrough role and immediately made him a major film star. The film is often listed as one of the first fully-fledged gangster films and continues to be well received by critics. The Library of Congress maintains a print. Plot Small-time criminals Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello and his friend Joe Massara move to Chicago to seek their fortunes. Rico joins the gang of Sam Vettori, while Joe wants to be a dancer. Olga becomes his dance partner and girlfriend. Joe tries to drift away from the gang and its activities, but Rico makes him participate in the robbery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harman-Ising
Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were an American animation team and company known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios. In 1929, the studio was founded under the name Harman-Ising Productions, producing ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' for Leon Schlesinger from 1930 to 1933. From 1934 to 1938, Harman-Ising produced the '' Happy Harmonies'' series, with William Hanna as their employee. Early history Harman and Ising first worked in animation in 1922 at Laugh-O-Gram Studio, Walt Disney's studio in Kansas City. When Disney moved operations to California, Harman was back at United Film Ad Service and Ising had a photofinishing business. Their plans went nowhere, however, and the men soon came back to Disney on June 22, 1925, to work on his ''Alice Comedies'' and ''Oswald the Lucky Rabbit'' films. Ising was fired from Disney in March 1927, when Disney signed the contract to distribute Oswald films to Universal Pictures. It was during this ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Records
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became the RCA Victor Division of the Radio Corporation of America until late 1968, when it was renamed RCA Records. Established in Camden, New Jersey, Victor was the largest and most prestigious firm of its kind in the world, best known for its use of the iconic "His Master's Voice" trademark, the design, production and marketing of the popular "Victrola" line of phonographs and the company's extensive catalog of operatic and classical music recordings by world famous artists on the prestigious RCA Victor Red Seal, Red Seal label. After Victor merged with RCA in 1929, the company maintained its eminence as America's foremost producer of records and phonographs until the 1960s. History In 1896, Emile Berliner, the inventor of the Phonograph, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing products ranging from pianos to sporting equipment since 1845. The company first began producing phonographs in 1916, then began marketing their own line of records as an afterthought. These first Brunswick records used the vertical cut system like Edison Disc Records, and were not sold in large numbers. They were recorded in the United States but sold only in Canada. In January 1920, a new line of Brunswick Records was introduced in the U.S. and Canada that employed the lateral cut system which was becoming the default cut for 78 discs. Brunswick started its standard popular series at 2000 and ended up in 1940 at 8517. However, when the series reached 4999, they skipped over the previous allocated 5000s and continued at 6000. When the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Lucas
Dominic Antonio Nicholas Lucanese (August 22, 1897 – July 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Nick Lucas, was an American jazz singer and guitarist. He was the first jazz guitarist to record as a soloist. His popularity during his lifetime came from his reputation as a singer. His signature song was " Tiptoe Through the Tulips". Background and career Formative years Lucas was born into an Italian-American family in Newark, New Jersey on August 22, 1897, his parents hailing from Ariano di Puglia, Campania. He had eight siblings, five of whom surpassed their formative years. His father, Otto, a landscaper and tree surgeon, was illiterate in English, although he was able to speak it; owing to his poor health, the family had relocated to the country—particularly Silver Lake—around 1900. A year subsequent, he tasked his son, Frank, a renowned accordionist, to teach the young Nick, then known as Dominic, a musical instrument. Since he was "too small to comfortab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Caesar
Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 17, 1996) was an American lyricist and composer primarily for theater who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", " Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for Two", one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. In 1972, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jewish lawyer and socialist, was born in New York City, United States. His older brother Arthur Caesar was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. Around 1901, Caesar composed his first poem—which can be ascribed to his exposure to literature in the environment of his father's bookstore.https://www.ascapfoundation.org/irving-caesar/about The Caesar brothers spent their childhood and teen years in Yorkville, the same Manhattan neighborhood where the Marx Brothers were raised. Caesar knew the Marx Brothers during his childhood. He was educated at Chapp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor (music), conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films ''Rhapsody in Blue (film), Rhapsody in Blue'' (1945), ''The Barkleys of Broadway'' (1949), ''An American in Paris (film), An American in Paris'' (1951), and ''The Band Wagon'' (1953). He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 for recordings featuring his piano performances. He was portrayed by Sean Hayes in the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Good Night, Oscar'', written by Doug Wright. Levant appeared as himself in the Gershwin biopic ''Rhapsody in Blue'' (1945). Early life Levant was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1906, to Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Max, a watchmaker, and Annie, who emigrated from Russia. Levant's parents were married by his maternal grandfather, who was a rabbi. Levant moved to New York ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minnie Mouse
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. The longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue (or pink or red) polka-dotted dress, white bloomers and yellow low-heeled shoes occasionally with ribbons on them. The comic strip story "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers" (published September 22 – December 26, 1930) introduced her father Marcus Mouse and her unnamed mother, both farmers. The same story featured photographs of Minnie's uncle Milton Mouse with his family and her grandparents Marvel Mouse and Matilda Mouse. Her best-known relatives, however, remain her uncle Mortimer Mouse (Mortimer was almost the name of Mickey) and her twin nieces, Millie and Melody Mouse, though most often a single niece, Melody, appears. In many appearances, Minnie is presented as the girlfriend of Mickey Mouse, best friend of Daisy Duck and a friend to Clarabelle Cow. In honor of her 90t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
