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Roberta (1935 Film)
''Roberta'' is a 1935 American musical film released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by William A. Seiter. It stars Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and features Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Victor Varconi and Claire Dodd. The film was an adaptation of the 1933 Broadway musical ''Roberta'', which in turn was based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by Alice Duer Miller. It was a solid hit, showing a net profit of more than three-quarters of a million dollars. The film kept the famous songs " Yesterdays", " Let's Begin" (with altered lyrics), and " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" from the play, along with a fourth song, " I'll Be Hard to Handle". Three songs from the play were dropped—"The Touch of Your Hand", "Something Had to Happen" and "You're Devastating". Two songs were added to this film, " I Won't Dance" (resurrected from the flop Kern show '' Three Sisters'') and "Lovely to Look At", which both became #1 hits in 1935. The latter addition was nominated for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William A
William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will or Wil, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, Billie, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie). Female forms include Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the German given name ''Wilhelm''. Both ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic ''*Wiljahelmaz'', with a direct cognate also in the Old Norse name ''Vilhjalmr'' and a West Germanic borrowing into Medieval Latin ''Willelmus''. The Proto-Germanic name is a compound of *''wiljô'' "will, wish, desire" and *''helmaz'' "helm, helmet".Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Classical Hollywood cinema#1927–1960: Sound era and the Golden Age of Hollywood, Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain and Joseph P. Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America studio were studio system, brought together under the control of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in October 1928. RCA executive David Sarnoff engineered the merger to create a market for the company's sound-on-film technology, RCA Photophone, and in early 1929 production began under the RKO name (an initialism of Radio-Keith-Orpheum). Two years later, another Kennedy concern, the Pathé Exchange, Pathé studio, was folded into the operation. By the mid-1940s, RKO was controlled by investor Floyd Odlum. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Sisters (musical)
''Three Sisters'' is a musical written by Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and book) and Jerome Kern (music). It concerns the romantic lives of three sisters. The musical was originally produced in London at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1934 and was not a success. It introduced the song " I Won't Dance", and also includes "Lonely Feet", "Hand in Hand", "Now I Have Springtime", and "My Beautiful Circus Girl". Plot At the beginning of World War I, in 1914, three sisters travel the English countryside with their widowed father Will Barbour, a traveling photographer who works at local fairs. The eldest daughter, Tiny, is engaged to Eustace, an earnest if slightly dull constable, although she is attracted to George, an adventurous carnival performer. Dorrie, the middle daughter, is ashamed of her itinerant upbringing and seeks to marry into the aristocracy and enter high society. The youngest daughter, Mary, falls for a gypsy performer. The men are sent to the Western Front in Fran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Won't Dance
"I Won't Dance" is a song with music by Jerome Kern that has become a jazz standard. The song has two different sets of lyrics: the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, and second written by Dorothy Fields (though Jimmy McHugh was also credited) in 1935. Kern, Hammerstein and Harbach originally wrote "I Won't Dance" for the 1934 London musical '' Three Sisters''. However, ''Three Sisters'' flopped and was quickly forgotten. The next year, Fields was hired to help with the music for a film version of the 1933 Kern-Harbach musical ''Roberta''. The writing team decided to make use of "I Won't Dance" for the film, also named ''Roberta''. However, Fields rewrote nearly all of the lyrics, making the song more playful and suggestive by having the narrator refuse to dance because "I know that music leads the way to romance". The song became such a hit, largely because it was performed by Fred Astaire, that it is now included in all stage revivals and recording ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'll Be Hard To Handle
"I'll Be Hard to Handle" is a 1932 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Bernard Dougall. It was written for the musical ''Roberta'', where it was introduced by Lyda Roberti. ''Roberta'' opened on Broadway in November 1933. In the 1935 film version of ''Roberta,'' the song was sung by Ginger Rogers, who did an imitation of Roberti. In the 1952 Technicolor version, ''Lovely to Look At'', directed by Mervyn LeRoy, it was sung and danced by Ann Miller. Notable recordings * Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ... - '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook'' (1963) Rogers and Astaire References Songs with music by Jerome Kern Ella Fitzgerald songs 1932 songs {{Pop-standard-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical comedy ''Roberta (musical), Roberta''. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. It was first recorded by Gertrude Niesen, with orchestral direction from Ray Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's second cousin, on October 13, 1933. Niesen's recording of the song was released by RCA Victor, with in the A-side and B-side, B-side "Jealousy", a song featuring Isham Jones and his Orchestra. The line "When your heart's on fire, smoke gets in your eyes" apparently comes from a Russian proverb. By the time of ''Roberta'' in 1933, the tune had been composed for a tap dance in the 1927 musical ''Show Boat'', but was not adopted; in 1932 it was retried as a march for a radio series theme tune. The song was also included in the 1952 remake of ''Roberta'', ''Lovely to Look At'', in which it was performed by Kathryn Grayson. It also was a no. 1 chart hit in 1959 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Let's Begin
"Let's Begin" is a popular song composed in 1933 by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Otto Harbach. It was written for the musical ''Roberta'' (1933) where it was introduced by George Murphy. In the 1935 film version, the song was performed by Fred Astaire, Candy Candido and Gene Sheldon, with the band. Notable recordings *Anita O'Day - '' Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day'' (1957) *Tony Bennett - '' The Beat of My Heart''. *Ella Fitzgerald - '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook'' (1963) *Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American singer of popular music who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard'', January 12, ... - '' Margaret Whiting Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook'' (1960) References Songs with music by Jerome Kern Songs with lyrics by Otto Harbach 1933 songs {{Show-tune-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yesterdays (1933 Song)
"Yesterdays" is a 1933 song about nostalgia composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Otto Harbach. They wrote the song for ''Roberta'', a musical based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by Alice Duer Miller. "Yesterdays" was overshadowed by the musical's more popular song, " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", which was a number one hit for the Paul Whiteman orchestra. Other recordings * Gato Barbieri -- ''The Third World Revisited'' (1988) *Billie Holiday - 1939 recording , and 1952 recording *Larry Coryell – '' Shining Hour'' (1989) * Miles Davis 1951 recording, and 1965 recording. * Dorothy Donegan * Clifford Brown -- '' Clifford Brown with Strings'' (1955) *Booker Ervin -- '' The Song Book (1964) * Marianne Faithfull -- '' Strange Weather'' (1987) * Tal Farlow -- '' Tal'' (1956) * Ella Fitzgerald -- '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book'' (1963) * Nnenna Freelon --''Nnenna Freelon'' (1992) * Four Freshmen -- ''Voices in Latin'' (1958) * Erroll Garner – ''Magician'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway Theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of Broadway theaters, extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatre'' as the proper noun in their names. Many performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations also use the spelling ''theatre''. or Broadway, is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional Theater (structure), theaters, each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End theatre, West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world. While the Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claire Dodd
Claire Dodd (born Dorothy Arlene Dodd; December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973 ) was an American film actress. Early life Dorothy Arlene Dodd was born on December 29, 1911, in Baxter, Iowa, to Walter Willard Dodd, a farmer whose family were early Jasper County, Iowa, Jasper County pioneers, and his wife, Ethel Viola (née Cool) Dodd, daughter of Baxter postmaster Peter J. Cool. Her parents married on June 28, 1911. The family moved frequently while she was growing up, living in Denver, Kansas City, Phoenix, St. Louis, and Missoula, Montana, among other places. Her parents separated in Montana. Young Dorothy went to California around 1927 where she worked as a model in Los Angeles and auditioned for minor film roles. Career While working as a model in Los Angeles, she was cast in a small part in Eddie Cantor's movie ''Whoopee!'', which was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld. Ziegfeld offered Dodd a part in his next Broadway musical, ''Smiles''. She moved to New York City, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Varconi
Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where he continued to appear in films throughout the sound era. He also appeared in British and Italian films. Biography Born in Kisvárda, Austria-Hungary, Varconi was the first known Hungarian actor to make a film in the United States. He was educated at a commercial school in Hungary, after which he worked for an insurance company as a solicitor. After he developed an interest in acting, he attended the Actor Art High School in Budapest, from which he progressed to acting with the National Theatre in Budapest. While there, he performed in works that included Shakespearean plays and Molnar's ''Liliom'' and ''The Wolf''. He went on to act with a Hungarian film company and in U.F.A. films in Berlin. He worked under contract to Cecil B. DeMille, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Westley
Helen Westley (born Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney; March 28, 1875 – December 12, 1942) was an American character actress of stage and screen. Early years Westley was born Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney in Brooklyn, New York on March 28, 1875. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Career Westley's early career activities included performing in stock theater and in vaudeville around the United States. Her New York stage debut came on September 13, 1897, when she portrayed Angelina McKeagey in ''The Captain of the Nonesuch''. Westley was an organizer of the Washington Square Players, debuting with that group on February 19, 1915, as the Oyster in ''Another Interior''. She was a founding member of the original board of the Theatre Guild, and appeared in many of its productions, among them ''Peer Gynt'', and some of their productions of plays by George Bernard Shaw— '' Caesar and Cleopatra'', '' Pygmalion'', ''Heartbreak House'', ''Major Barbara'', '' T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
