Ben Bernie and All the Lads
Encyclopedia
Ben Bernie and All the Lads is a short film made in 1923 by Lee De Forest
in the DeForest Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process. The film features Ben Bernie
conducting his band All The Lads, and features pianist Oscar Levant
.
The band and Levant perform songs—or medleys of songs—such as "Tea for Two
", "Rose Marie
", "Lady Be Good
", "Tell Her in the Springtime", "Craving", "Tintina", "Sweet Georgia Brown
", and "Indian Love Call
" by composers such as Bernie, George Gershwin
, Vincent Youmans
, Irving Berlin
, and Oscar Hammerstein
.
The film was filmed in New York City
by DeForest in late 1924 or early 1925, since some of the songs featured were not published until 1924.
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
in the DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process. The film features Ben Bernie
Ben Bernie
Ben Bernie , born Bernard Anzelevitz, was an American jazz violinist and radio personality, often introduced as The Old Maestro. He was noted for his showmanship and memorable bits of snappy dialogue....
conducting his band All The Lads, and features pianist Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor. He was more famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than for his music.-Life and career:...
.
The band and Levant perform songs—or medleys of songs—such as "Tea for Two
Tea for Two
Tea for Two can refer to:*Tea for Two , a 1925 popular song by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar, introduced in the musical, No, No, Nanette*Tea for Two , a movie starring Doris Day which reintroduced the song...
", "Rose Marie
Rose Marie (song)
"Rose Marie" is a popular song from the musical or operetta of the same name. In the original Broadway production in 1924 it was performed by Dennis King and Arthur Deagon as the characters Jim Kenyon and Sergeant Malone....
", "Lady Be Good
Oh, Lady be Good!
"Oh, Lady be Good!" is a 1924 song by George and Ira Gershwin.The song was introduced by Walter Catlett in the Broadway show, Lady, Be Good!, written by Guy Bolton, Fred Thompson, and the Gershwin brothers, starring Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire. It ran for 330 performances in its original...
", "Tell Her in the Springtime", "Craving", "Tintina", "Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Georgia Brown
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...
", and "Indian Love Call
Indian Love Call
"Indian Love Call" is a song from Rose-Marie, a 1924 operetta-style Broadway musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II...
" by composers such as Bernie, George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
, Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, and Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
.
The film was filmed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by DeForest in late 1924 or early 1925, since some of the songs featured were not published until 1924.