Film Snail

6.2

King of Jazz

NR·1930·98m

Animation

Comedy

Music

Animation

Comedy

Music

Summary

Made during the early years of the movie musical, this exuberant revue was one of the most extravagant, eclectic, and technically ambitious Hollywood productions of its day. Starring the bandleader Paul Whiteman, then widely celebrated as the King of Jazz, the film drew from Broadway variety shows to present a spectacular array of sketches, performances by such acts as the Rhythm Boys (featuring a young Bing Crosby), and orchestral numbers—all lavishly staged by veteran theater director John Murray Anderson.

Cast

Paul Whiteman

John Boles

Vocalist ('Song of the Dawn' / 'It Happened in Monterey')

Laura La Plante

Editor ('Ladies of the Press') / Stenographer ('In Conference') / Quartet Member, 'Nellie'

Jeanette Loff

Vocalist ('It Happened in Monterey' / 'Bridal Veil' / 'A Bench in the Park')

Glenn Tryon

Executive ('In Conference') / Unmarried Husband

William Kent

General ('All Noisy on the Eastern Front') / Goldfish Owner ('Oh! Forevermore!') / Unmarried Couple's Offspring / Vocal ('Do Things For You')

Slim Summerville

Automobile Owner ('Springtime') / Rear End of Horse / Charles

Kathryn Crawford

Fourth Reporter ('Ladies of the Press')

Carla Laemmle

Chorine (as Beth Laemmle)

Stanley Smith

Bridegroom ('Bridal Veil' / 'A Bench in the Park')

Charles Irwin

Himself, Announcer / Soldier ('All Noisy on the Eastern Front')

George Chiles

Dancer ('It Happened in Monterey' / Vocalist 'A Bench in the Park' / 'Ragamuffin Romeo')

Jack White

Frank Leslie

Quartet Lead Singer ('Nellie')

Walter Brennan

Desk Sergeant ('Springtime') / Soldier ('All Noisy on the Eastern Front') / Waiter ('Oh! Forevermore!') / Front End of Horse / Quartet Member ('Nellie')

Churchill Ross

Quartet Member ('Nellie')

John Arledge

First Pianist at Giant Piano ('Rhapsody in Blue') / Quartet Member ('Nellie') (as Johnson Arledge)

Al Norman

Rubber Legs Dancer ('Happy Feet')

Jacques Cartier

Voodoo Dancer ("Rhapsody in Blue")

Nell O'Day

Dancer

Marion Stattler

Specialty Dancer 'Ragamuffin Romeo' / 'Melting Pot'

Don Rose

Specialty Dancer 'Ragamuffin Romeo'

Bobbe Brox

Bobbe (as The Brox Sisters)

Patricia Brox

Kathlyn (as The Brox Sisters)

Lorayne Brox

Lorraine (as The Brox Sisters)

Bing Crosby

Trio Singer (as The Rhythm Boys)

Yola d'Avril

Automobile Owner's Wife ("Springtime") / Marie ("All Noisy on the Eastern Front") (uncredited)

Marcia Mae Jones

Child ('Bridal Veil') (uncredited)

Bela Lugosi

Emcee - Hungarian Version

Joan Marsh

Blonde ("A Bench in the Park") (uncredited)

Crew

Director

John Murray Anderson

Scenario Writer

Edward T. Lowe Jr.

Writer

Harry Ruskin

Reviews

Geronimo1967

February 12, 2024

The title of this film is a touch misleading. I was expecting much more of a jazz-based musical revue but instead got pretty much a whole gamut of colourful and precisely staged repertoire. Paul Whiteman and his accomplished orchestra provide the conduit, as it were, as a variety of performers sing, dance and make us laugh (or cringe) for the next hundred minutes. There's a bit of Bing Crosby's first screen appearance with the "Rhythm Boys" doing a lively version of "Happy Feet" and probably my favourite staging of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" - featuring an orchestra within the belly of the grandest of pianos. What this illustrates really effectively is the huge variety of musical skills that audiences in 1930 could expect to see, and at just how versatile the orchestra was when it came to playing themes from just about every genre. Whoever thought about playing some patriotic Souza on a bicycle pump? It looks great and it sounds good but for me, not being an American, too many of the acts - especially the comedy - didn't really travel. The production itself, though probably impractical to deliver, needed a live audience to breathe some life into it. The skills there are superb, but the whole thing is just a bit sterile and lifeless. As an history of what engaged the American people in the 1920s, this in still an interesting piece of entertainment nostalgia, though - and it is worth a watch.