Drawing on meticulous research, sharp wit, and insightful analysis, Richard Barrios illuminates the origins of the movie musical in this extensively revised and updated edition of his highly acclaimed A Song in the Dark . From Warner Bros. and Jolson, to the Oscar-winning Broadway Melody and beyond, here is the whole funny and peculiar history of these films, their creators, and their audiences. Ranging from smash hits to bizarre flops, this book illuminates a body of work unlike anything else in the history of popular ...
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Drawing on meticulous research, sharp wit, and insightful analysis, Richard Barrios illuminates the origins of the movie musical in this extensively revised and updated edition of his highly acclaimed A Song in the Dark . From Warner Bros. and Jolson, to the Oscar-winning Broadway Melody and beyond, here is the whole funny and peculiar history of these films, their creators, and their audiences. Ranging from smash hits to bizarre flops, this book illuminates a body of work unlike anything else in the history of popular entertainment.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 504 p. Contains: Unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 504 p. Contains: Unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Richard Barrios is a film historian and musician, a perfect combination to write the history of American film musicals.
In A SONG IN THE DARK, he delves into the history of American musicals as Hollywood was changing over from silent films to talkies. Musicals of course played a major part of that transition. Barrios looks as the famous successes and the infamous flops of the time as well as the stars who appeared in these famous films.
In meticulous detail culled from obscure Hollywood records, Barrios examines how Hollywood went from silence to "all singing, all dancing" movies (some in color) in a matter of months. He talks about famous filmmakers like Louis B. Mayer, William Fox, Busby Berkeley, Irving Thalberg, Harry Beaumont, Flo Ziegfeld, and Irving Berlin as well as the stars.
We get an inside look at Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Joan Crawford, John Boles, Carlotta King, Bessie Love, Nancy Carroll, Buddy Rogers, Anita Page, William Haines, Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Marion Davies, the Duncan Sisters, George Jessel, Charles King, Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon, Laura LaPlante, Betty Compson, Alice White, Lawrence Gray, Ramon Novarro, and Richard Barthelmess.
We find out who really sang and who was dubbed. We also learned how the stars were coached in dancing and movement as well as how to project their voices for the new talkies. Barrios gives a lot of detail about the various recording devices and systems of the 1920s and how these systems probably scuttled talkie careers for people whose voices didn't record well (a fault of the systems) like John Gilbert, Dolores Costello, May McAvoy, Marilyn Miller, and Frank Fay.
Barrios also talks about the newcomers to films whose careers took off because of their musical abilities. Aside from Jolson and Cantor , we see the rise of Jeanette MacDonald, Irene Dunne, Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Dick Powell, Lawrence Tibbett, and even Bing Crosby. Barrios pulls no punches in calling a clunker a clunker and the book is filled with his wit and humorous asides as he looks back on these films from 80 years ago., many of which are still available to the public.
He gives us a fascinating new way to look at films like THE BROADWAY MELODY, ON WITH THE SHOW, THE KING OF JAZZ, WHOOPEE, MARIANNE, HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929, PARAMOUNT ON PARADE, TENDERLOIN, APPLAUSE, THE DANCE OF LIFE, IT'S A GREAT LIFE, and the first filmed version of SHOW BOAT.