1933

Retro Music 95

~ beetleypete ~ 27 Comments

Here is Ruby Keeler singing and tap-dancing her way through the song ’42nd Street’ from the musical film of the same name.
Later joined by the rest of the cast for a grand finale.

This film was released in 1933, and was a huge hit. I probably saw it 30 years after that, and loved the songs. I still do.

In the heart of little old New York,
You’ll find a thoroughfare.
It’s the part of little old New York
That runs into Times Square.
A crazy quilt that “Wall Street Jack” built,
If you’ve got a little time to spare,
I want to take you there.

Come and meet those dancing feet,
On the avenue I’m taking you to…

Come and meet those dancing feet,
On the avenue I’m taking you to,
Forty-Second Street.
Hear the beat of dancing feet,
It’s the song I love the melody of,
Forty-Second Street.

Little “nifties” from the Fifties,
Innocent and sweet;
Sexy ladies from the Eighties,
Who are indiscreet.

They’re side by side, they’re glorified
Where the underworld can meet the elite,
Forty-Second Street.

Retro Music 90

~ beetleypete ~ 40 Comments

When I was young, I saw a film called ‘Gold Diggers of 1933’. It was a classic Hollywood musical, with amazing dance numbers and a great cast. Many years later, it was featured in the film ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, when the gang members are in a cinema after a robbery. I have loved the film, and this song, for over 60 years.

The wonderful Ginger Rogers leads the chorus in the song, and it was choreographed by the incomparable Busby Berkeley. She even sings the second part in ‘backslang’ a popular way of talking at the time.

Song: We’re In the Money
Lyrics: Al Dubin

Music: Harry Warren
Year: 1933
Genre: Movie – Musical Theatre
Country: USA

We’re in the money.
We’re in the money.
We’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along.
We’re in the money.
The skies are sunny.
Old man Depression, you are through.
You’ve done us wrong.

We never see a headline about a breadline today.
And when we see the landlord, we can look that guy right in the eye.
We’re in the money.
Come on, my honey,
Let’s spend it, lend it, send it rolling along.

Gone are my blues and gone are my tears.
I’ve got good news to shout in your ears.
The silver dollar has returned to the fold.
With silver you can turn your dreams to gold.

We’re in the money.
We’re in the money.
We’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along.
We’re in the money.
The skies are sunny.
Old man Depression, you are through.
You’ve done us wrong.

We never see a headline about a breadline today.
And when we see the landlord, we can look that guy right in the eye.
We’re in the money.
Come on, my honey,
Let’s spend it, lend it, send it rolling along.

We’re in the money.
We’re in the money.
We’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along.
We’re in the money.
The skies are sunny.
Old man Depression, you are through
You’ve done us wrong.

We never see a headline about a breadline today.
And when we see the landlord, we can look that guy right in the eye.
We’re in the money.
Come on, my honey,
Let’s spend it, lend it, send it rolling along.

One Film, Four Versions: Mutiny On The Bounty

~ beetleypete ~ 40 Comments

In 1962, I was taken by my parents to see a lavish epic at the cinema. Starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, and Richard Harris, this was a glorious tecnicolour film , with exotic south seas locations, and a real sense of history. As it is a true story, there would be no surprises of course, but that didn’t matter. All we had to do was to sit back and let the lavish spectacle wash over us. And we did, and we loved it. My Dad had told me that it was a remake, and he had seen a version made in 1935, starring Clark Gable, with Charles Laughton as the stern Captain Bligh. But I hadn’t seen that one, so was content with the wonderful film I got to see when I was just 10 years old.

Just over five years later, I got the chance to see that earlier film, and thought that Laughton was superb in the role of Bligh. Despite Gable being Gable, I wondered for a long time whether or not I actually preferred the 1935 black and white film.

Much later, I found out that both were remakes. The first version of this story had been made into a film in 1933, called ‘In The Wake Of The Bounty’. Made in Australia, it gave Errol Flynn his first starring role, and is more or less forgotten now. It concerned itself more with the aftermath of the famous mutiny, and the lives of the mutineers. I have never seen it, so will have to exclude it from this comparison.

When I was 32 years old, in 1984, the story got the remake treatment once again, this time called ‘The Bounty’. Anthony Hopkins starred as Bligh, with Mel Gibson as Christian, as well as roles for Laurence Olivier, and Edward Fox. The excellent cast is further enhanced by the presence of Bernard Hill, Phil Davis, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Liam Neeson. I saw a trailer, and liked the look of it, so went off to the cinema to see it. And I was glad I did. Life at sea was convincing, and the relationship between Bligh and Christian better developed. It felt authentic too, especially in the sequences where the ship is having trouble sailing in terrible weather. On this occasion, the casting won through, and I thought the film was excellent, the best version I had seen

Not only was a remake better than the original version I had seen, it was better than no less than three earlier versions. Something very unusual, as far as I am concerned.

One film, three versions: King Kong

~ beetleypete ~ 56 Comments

When I was around eight years old, one of our neighbours owned a home projector. He would fix a white sheet to the wall of his living room, and invite us in to watch films that he projected onto his ‘screen’. One of those was the original 1933 film, ‘King Kong’, starring Fay Wray. I thought it was just amazing. It was scary, (for a youngster) exciting, and the huge gorilla was so well done, even though we of course knew it was a model. The cast took it all very seriously, from the scenes in ‘Africa’, to the Ape rampaging around New York City, and the effects and performances were enthralling to me as a youngster.
When the poor beast is shot down from the top of the Empire State Building, we cried. Then asked if we could watch the whole film again.

In 1976, it was remade. Starring Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges, the story is much the same, but Kong meets his end atop the World Trade Centre instead. By this time, special effects had moved on, and the film won an Oscar for them. But even though I had also moved on, I still yearned for the simpler original, and that feeling from 1960, when I first watched it.

That wasn’t the end of it of course. Once again, in 2005, someone came up with the idea of a third remake, this time starring Naomi Watts and Jack Black. They now had all the new bells and whistles to throw at the film, including CGI, and the benefit of the two earlier versions to work from. This time it won three Oscars, but it had no heart, and felt silly to watch, as far as I was concerned. I sought out a TV showing of the 1933 film instead, and settled down to watch the only one worth my time.

In 2017, there was a film made called ‘Kong: Skull Island’, but that’s not really the same film.
I have no doubt they will eventually make another version. I’m sticking with the first one.