''Dance Band'' is a 1935 British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Marcel Varnel Marcel Varnel (16 October 1892 – 13 July 1947) was a French film director, notable for his career in the United States and England as a director of plays and films. Biography He was born Marcel Hyacinthe le Bozec in Paris, France. Varnel st ...

and starring

Charles "Buddy" Rogers Charles Edward "Buddy" Rogers (August 13, 1904 – April 21, 1999) was an American film actor and musician. During the peak of his popularity in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was publicized as "America's Boyfriend". Life and career Earl ...

June Clyde June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as '' A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Cly ...

and

Steven Geray Steven Geray (born István Gyergyai, 10 November 190426 December 1973) was a Hungarian-born American film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs. Geray appeared in numerous famed A-pictures, including Alfred H ...

. It was shot at

Welwyn Studios Welwyn Studios was a British film studio located at Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. The facility operated between 1928 and 1950. The studios were first constructed by British Instructional Films, and converted to make so ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

David Rawnsley David Rawnsley (1909–1977) was a British art director. For his last four films, Rawnsley oversaw a scheme to streamline production operations for the Rank Organisation. His innovations were widely ridiculed by the Rank film crews. Despite thi ...

Plot

When dance band leader Buddy Milton competes in a contest with a female orchestra, he falls in love with its leader, Pat Shelley. Intense rivalry between the two bands and the machinations of a crooked business manager, serve as romantic obstacles along the way.

Cast

as Buddy Milton *

as Pat Shelley *

as Steve Sarel *

Magda Kun Magda Kun (17 February 1912 – 7 November 1945) was a Hungarian stage and film actress. She was born in Szászrégen and made her stage debut in Budapest. She married actor Steven Geray in 1934, appearing alongside him in the 1935 film '' Dance ...

as Anna *

Fred Duprez Fred Duprez (September 6, 1884 – October 27, 1938) was an American actor, comedian and singer who performed in vaudeville, phonograph record and film. He made phonograph recordings in the US and the UK in the 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s. Most of t ...

as Lewis *

Albert Whelan Albert Whelan (born Albert Waxman; 5 May 1875 – 19 February 1961) was an Australian popular singer and entertainer, who was prominent in English music halls during the first half of the 20th century. Biography The son of an immigrant Polish Je ...

as Tommy Bourne *

Sybil Jason Sybil Jason (born Sybil Jacobson; 23 November 1927 – 23 August 2011) was an American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple. Career Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 November 1927, Sybi ...

as Little Girl On Train *

Hal Gordon Hal Gordon (1894–1946) was a British film actor. A character actor, he appeared in over 90 films in both comic and straight roles. He started off as a lawyer's clerk but finding it dull he decided on the stage, making his music hall debut in ...

as Spike * Fred Groves as Pantomime Act * Leon Sherkot as Jim *

Richard Hearne Richard Lewis Hearne (30 January 1908 – 23 August 1979) was an English actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best remembered for his stage and television character Mr Pastry. Career Hearne was born in Norwich, Norfolk, in 1908, the s ...

as Acrobatic Drunk * Jack Holland as Dancer at Club * June Hart as Dancer at Club

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "In "''Dance Band''," the new film at the Fox Theatre in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Charles (Buddy) Rogers resumes the boyish smile and mannerisms that he employed so successfully a few years ago. Rather more successful as a musician than as a romantic actor, he displays his versatility by playing almost every instrument in his jazz orchestra with skill. The story concerns two rival band leaders, Mr. Rogers and June Clyde, who meet under amusing if rather shopworn circumstances...The music, except for an excellent number called the Valparaiso, is commonplace."

References

External links

* 1935 films British musical comedy films 1935 musical comedy films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Marcel Varnel British black-and-white films Films shot at Welwyn Studios 1930s British films English-language musical comedy films {{musical-comedy-film-stub