The First Hollywood Musicals

As Hollywood entered the sound era, it was rightly determined that the same public fascinated by the novelty of the talkie would be dazzled by the spectacle of a song and dance film. In 1929 and 1930, film musicals became the industry’s most lucrative genre—until the greedy studios almost killed the genre by glutting the market with too many films that looked and sounded like clones of each other.
From the classy movies such as Sunnyside Up and Hallelujah! to failures such as The Lottery Bride and Howdy Broadway, this filmography details 171 early Hollywood musicals. Arranged by subgenre (backstagers, operettas, college films, and stage-derived musical comedies), the entries include studio, release date, cast and credits, running time, a complete song list, any recordings spawned by the film, Academy Award nominations and winners, and availability on video or laserdisc. These data are followed by a plot synopsis, including analysis of the film’s place in the genre’s history. Includes over 90 photographs.

The late Edwin M. Bradley was the associate curator of film at the Flint (Michigan) Institute of Arts. He published four books on early Hollywood film.

Edwin M. Bradley
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 400
Bibliographic Info: 92 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2004 [1996]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2029-2
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction     ix

1927–1928: “Who the Hell Wants to Hear Actors Talk?”     1
1928–1929: Fanny, Bessie and The Broadway Melody      13
1929: No Business Like Show Business     25
1929–1930: “Some Laughs, Some Songs, and Even a Little Acting”     77
1929–1930: If I Had a Talking Picture of You …     123
1929–1930: Hail to the Victors     150
1929–1930: You Will Remember Vienna     165
1930: There’s a Tear for Every Smile in Hollywood     210
1929–1930: A King and Two Aces     243
1929–1930: More Stars Than There Are in Heaven     260
1931: Without a Song     277
1932: On the Way to 42nd Street     297

Appendix I: 1914–1928: Silent Feature Films Inspired by Broadway Musicals     321
Appendix II: 1928–1932: Selected Short Subjects     325
Notes     345
Bibliography     361
Index     365

• “Bradley’s thoroughness is commendable…. Recommended”—Choice
• “Bradley is the author of another good musical book…. It’s nice to see someone take movie musical seriously, especially since many of these films are rare and even lost”—Classic Images
• “a splendid resource, and it makes for good reading…. A thorough work which will likely remain the standard for years to come”—ARBA
• “insightful commentary…. Unlikely that one could find in any other book more detailed information about obscure films”—Show Music
• “informative…the amount of documentation is impressive…. Recommended”—Classic Images
• “an excellent job of researching…. The book’s strength is its reevaluation of underrated gems”—Big Reel
• “fascinating”—In the Groove Magazine.