Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Where we can talk about photoplay created after the silent era!
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Kitty
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by Kitty »

donnie wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 3:03 pm
This is one of my favorites of the early WB Vitaphones. It isn’t a vaudeville act per se, but a pretty funny comedy short about vaudeville, The Happy Hottentots (1930)
This was really cute! I felt bad for the poor guys.
donnie wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 3:03 pm
To explain the gag behind it...
I didn't know this, either!

The thing I was most interested in was the advertisers on the screen behind them. I wanted to know if they were real, but I could only verify the Societe Chocolates one, (and obviously the famous Bijou) which leads me to believe that they probably were all real. If you notice the open door that they show multiple times outside the stage, it says "Meadows Merry Minstrels" which is most likely (definitely!) a nod to another WB film, the Al Jolson vehicle Mammy, which was also released in 1930. That is the name of the troupe in which Jolson is a part of in the film.
You trying to tell me you didn't hear that shriek? That was something trying to get out of its premature grave, and I don't want to be here when it does. - Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

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donnie
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by donnie »

Kitty wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 6:21 pm
donnie wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 3:03 pm
To explain the gag behind it...
I didn't know this, either!
That seemed kind of odd to me because I would have thought it would probably be the other way round, with the big popular acts having to perform more because they were more in demand, but not so.
Kitty wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 6:21 pm
The thing I was most interested in was the advertisers on the screen behind them. I wanted to know if they were real, but I could only verify the Societe Chocolates one, (and obviously the famous Bijou) which leads me to believe that they probably were all real.
Yes, I was eyeing those as well. I assumed they were all made up, but apparently not. If they actually used a back wall that cluttered in those days, seems like it would be detracted from the acts.
Kitty wrote:
Sun Sep 13, 2020 6:21 pm
If you notice the open door that they show multiple times outside the stage, it says "Meadows Merry Minstrels" which is most likely (definitely!) a nod to another WB film, the Al Jolson vehicle Mammy, which was also released in 1930. That is the name of the troupe in which Jolson is a part of in the film.
No, I'd not noticed that. Good observation!

Now...are you going to hear Mandy Lane, Mandy Lane... all night in your sleep? :lol:

Edit: I shouldn't have made that last comment because now I have it going in my head over and over and over and it won't stop. :shock: :)

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BettyLouSpence
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by BettyLouSpence »

Here's a cute musical skit from 1929 titled Rarin' To Go, starring Jack Kraft and Elsie Lamont:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l6zkOMfQ6BE

Lamont sports a fashionable miniskirt some forty years early. Kraft's voice somehow does not really match up with his face...
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
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donnie
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by donnie »

BettyLouSpence wrote:
Tue Sep 15, 2020 8:20 pm
Here's a cute musical skit from 1929 titled Rarin' To Go, starring Jack Kraft and Elsie Lamont
I enjoyed that one. :D Yes, Jack's is an odd and unique character. The setup is a odd, too; she certainly doesn't look like a ranch owner. :lol: According to the poster, there is little information to be found on these. That's surprising, as they're obviously experienced vaudeville performers.

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donnie
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

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Here's one I've watched several times and developed an affection for (though I'll admit it may be an acquired taste. :lol:) It's an odd one and manages to blend music and violence in equal parts. :D
Kitty, I think we discussed this one awhile back.
Colin & Glass in Sharps and Flats (1928)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfhgjsSjXl4

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BettyLouSpence
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by BettyLouSpence »

Thanks for sharing! Yeah, this one was pretty odd :lol: I guess that's the camera crew providing the "oohs" in the background?
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
~ Cicero, Letters to Friends, Book IX Letter IV

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donnie
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by donnie »

BettyLouSpence wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 8:43 pm
Thanks for sharing! Yeah, this one was pretty odd :lol: I guess that's the camera crew providing the "oohs" in the background?
I guess. Or the stage crew. I haven't figured out that element of the act, yet. :)

Here's one I just watched. Nothing that memorable, but kind of a charming act.
Harry Fox and Beatrice Curtis in The Bee & The Fox, 1929
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GPFqqE7GR4

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BettyLouSpence
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by BettyLouSpence »

I've never heard of Bea Curtis, but she is soooo cute! :he: I love her dress here, especially with that mini-cape of sorts. Such a style icon! Her hair looks like a cross between a low bun and the waved bob that was the fashion in the late 20s/early 30s.

She and her husband have such an adorable rapport :D This was such a sweet little short! Sorry, it's not often I see something that brings out the hopeless romantic in me :lol:
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
~ Cicero, Letters to Friends, Book IX Letter IV

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donnie
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by donnie »

Glad you liked it! :D They do have a special rapport.

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BettyLouSpence
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Re: Vitaphone Vaudevilles

Post by BettyLouSpence »

Here's a Vitaphone short from 1928/29 called Ship Ahoy, starring Arthur Pat West.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5CxvOelOnKQ

Okay, what is that tune called that starts at 0:20? It's ubiquitous to any navy/sea-faring themed film...
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
~ Cicero, Letters to Friends, Book IX Letter IV

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