Something to Sing About (1937 film)
Encyclopedia
Something to Sing About, (1937
), re-released in 1947 as Battling Hoofer, is the second and final film James Cagney
made for Grand National Pictures – the first being Great Guy
– before mending relations with and returning to Warner Bros.
It is one of the few films besides Footlight Parade
and Yankee Doodle Dandy
to showcase Cagney's singing and dancing talents. It was directed by Victor Schertzinger
, who also wrote the music and lyrics of the original songs, as well as the story that Austin Parker's screenplay is based on. Cagney's co-stars are Evelyn Daw and William Frawley
, and the film features performances by Gene Lockhart
and Mona Barrie
.
The film, which is a satire on the movie industry's foibles, flopped in theaters, causing the just recently started "Poverty Row
" independent Grand National, which had gone significantly overbudget making the film, to close its doors in 1940.
When, at 80 years of age, Cagney was asked which of his films – outside of Yankee Doodle Dandy – that he'd like to see again, this was the film he chose. Since the copyright on the film was not renewed in 1965, the film is now in the public domain
.
) is the stage name of Thaddeus McGillicuddy, a popular New York band leader and hoofer with a radio show, who gets an offer to go to Hollywood to make movies. He leaves behind his fiancee, the band's singer, Rita Wyatt (Evelyn Daw), and finds himself in the hands of studio boss B.O. Regan (Gene Lockhart
), who sets a team of studio professionals to mold Rooney into a star. Regan, after struggling with another new talent who quickly developed an uncontrollable ego, also secretly insists that no one praise Rooney's work, on pain of being fired.
While shooting a bar fight for his first film, a stunt man who is supposed to throw a fake punch at Rooney hits him deliberately instead. Rooney retaliates, and a full-out fistfight breaks out. Disgusted with Hollywood, Rooney leaves to marry Wyatt, and for a honeymoon takes her on a tramp steamer for a cruise to the South Seas, ending up in San Francisco.
While they are away, the film is completed and premiered, and becomes a huge hit – but, to Regan's dismay, nobody in the studio knows where Rooney is. When he is finally spotted in San Francisco, Regan flies out immediately with a contract, a clause of which requires Rooney to remain single for its seven-year duration. Rooney and Wyatt agree to keep their relationship quiet, with Wyatt posing as Rooney's secretary.
Another film is begun, with Rooney acting alongside Stephanie Hajos (Mona Barrie
), and to promote it, studio publicist Hank Meyers (William Frawley
) plants news stories saying that Rooney and Hajos are love interests off-screen. The combined stress of having their marriage remain a secret, while Rooney has less and less time for her, eventually drives Wyatt back to New York. Hajos finds out that Rooney is not only not interested in her but is married; the story breaks to the papers, and Rooney returns to Wyatt and their band in New York with a front-page article declaring his relationship with Hojas a hoax.
Cast notes
would play the part.
Because of the expense of making this film, and its poor box office, Grand National went bankrupt in 1940. Ironically, the next film they had planned for Cagney was Angels With Dirty Faces
, which ended up being bought by Warners and filmed with Cagney in the lead.
In one scene on the tramp steamer, Cagney dances with his long-time friends from vaudeville
Johnny Boyle
and Harland Dixon – two of the major sources of inspiration for his dancing style – which Cagney called one of the great moments of his life and a "privilege". Boyle was the person who taught Cagney George M. Cohan
's dancing style, which he later used to good effect in Yankee Doodle Dandy
, and Dixon, who staged the dances for Something to Sing About, was Cagney's dance instructor in New York before Cagney's Broadway breakthrough in Penny Arcade in 1930.
The dancing is in Cagney's inimitable style, which mixes vaudeville, tap, jig
s, and semi-ballet
. According to an article in the New York Times, Cagney would occasionally go over his steps with Fred Astaire
before the dances were filmed.
The songs – "Something to Sing About", "Right or Wrong", "Any Old Love", "Out of the Blue" and "Loving You" – were all written, music and lyrics, by the film's director and scenarist, Victor Schertzinger.
Something to Sing About was re-released in 1947 by Screencraft Pictures under the title Battling Hoofer.
were nominated for a 1937 Academy Award for "Best Music (Scoring)", along with 13 other films. The award was won by One Hundred Men and a Girl
.
, CATCOM Home Video, Critic's Choice, Dollar Entertainment, Image Entertainment
, Ovation Home Video, Reel Enterprises, ROAN, Syngery Enterprises, Unforgettable and Vina Distributors. It is also widely available for download on the Internet.
1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
), re-released in 1947 as Battling Hoofer, is the second and final film James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
made for Grand National Pictures – the first being Great Guy
Great Guy
Great Guy is a crime film starring James Cagney and Mae Clarke. An honest inspector for the New York Department of Weights and Measures takes on corrupt merchants and politicians.-Cast:*James Cagney as Johnny Cave*Mae Clarke as Janet Henry...
– before mending relations with and returning to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
It is one of the few films besides Footlight Parade
Footlight Parade
-Cast:*James Cagney as Chester Kent, creator of musical prologues*Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott, his secretary*Ruby Keeler as Bea Thorn, dancer turned secretary turned dancer*Dick Powell as Scott 'Scotty' Blair, juvenile lead, former protege of Mrs...
and Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
to showcase Cagney's singing and dancing talents. It was directed by Victor Schertzinger
Victor Schertzinger
Victor L. Schertzinger was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include Paramount on Parade , Something to Sing About with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures Road to Singapore and Road to Zanzibar...
, who also wrote the music and lyrics of the original songs, as well as the story that Austin Parker's screenplay is based on. Cagney's co-stars are Evelyn Daw and William Frawley
William Frawley
William Clement "Bill" Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he achieved his greatest fame playing landlord Fred Mertz for the situation comedy I Love Lucy.-Early life:William was born to Michael A. Frawley and Mary E....
, and the film features performances by Gene Lockhart
Gene Lockhart
Eugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
and Mona Barrie
Mona Barrie
Mona Barrie was an English born actress in American theatre and motion pictures.-Career:Born Mona Barlee Smith in London, she was educated in Australia and made her professional debut as a ballet dancer in Sydney at the age of sixteen. This led to a solo act in musical comedies...
.
The film, which is a satire on the movie industry's foibles, flopped in theaters, causing the just recently started "Poverty Row
Poverty Row
Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios...
" independent Grand National, which had gone significantly overbudget making the film, to close its doors in 1940.
When, at 80 years of age, Cagney was asked which of his films – outside of Yankee Doodle Dandy – that he'd like to see again, this was the film he chose. Since the copyright on the film was not renewed in 1965, the film is now in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
Plot
"Terry Rooney" (James CagneyJames Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
) is the stage name of Thaddeus McGillicuddy, a popular New York band leader and hoofer with a radio show, who gets an offer to go to Hollywood to make movies. He leaves behind his fiancee, the band's singer, Rita Wyatt (Evelyn Daw), and finds himself in the hands of studio boss B.O. Regan (Gene Lockhart
Gene Lockhart
Eugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
), who sets a team of studio professionals to mold Rooney into a star. Regan, after struggling with another new talent who quickly developed an uncontrollable ego, also secretly insists that no one praise Rooney's work, on pain of being fired.
While shooting a bar fight for his first film, a stunt man who is supposed to throw a fake punch at Rooney hits him deliberately instead. Rooney retaliates, and a full-out fistfight breaks out. Disgusted with Hollywood, Rooney leaves to marry Wyatt, and for a honeymoon takes her on a tramp steamer for a cruise to the South Seas, ending up in San Francisco.
While they are away, the film is completed and premiered, and becomes a huge hit – but, to Regan's dismay, nobody in the studio knows where Rooney is. When he is finally spotted in San Francisco, Regan flies out immediately with a contract, a clause of which requires Rooney to remain single for its seven-year duration. Rooney and Wyatt agree to keep their relationship quiet, with Wyatt posing as Rooney's secretary.
Another film is begun, with Rooney acting alongside Stephanie Hajos (Mona Barrie
Mona Barrie
Mona Barrie was an English born actress in American theatre and motion pictures.-Career:Born Mona Barlee Smith in London, she was educated in Australia and made her professional debut as a ballet dancer in Sydney at the age of sixteen. This led to a solo act in musical comedies...
), and to promote it, studio publicist Hank Meyers (William Frawley
William Frawley
William Clement "Bill" Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he achieved his greatest fame playing landlord Fred Mertz for the situation comedy I Love Lucy.-Early life:William was born to Michael A. Frawley and Mary E....
) plants news stories saying that Rooney and Hajos are love interests off-screen. The combined stress of having their marriage remain a secret, while Rooney has less and less time for her, eventually drives Wyatt back to New York. Hajos finds out that Rooney is not only not interested in her but is married; the story breaks to the papers, and Rooney returns to Wyatt and their band in New York with a front-page article declaring his relationship with Hojas a hoax.
Cast
- James CagneyJames CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
as Thadeus McGillicuddy, aka Terrence "Terry" Rooney - Evelyn Daw as Rita Wyatt
- William FrawleyWilliam FrawleyWilliam Clement "Bill" Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he achieved his greatest fame playing landlord Fred Mertz for the situation comedy I Love Lucy.-Early life:William was born to Michael A. Frawley and Mary E....
as Hank Meyers - Mona BarrieMona BarrieMona Barrie was an English born actress in American theatre and motion pictures.-Career:Born Mona Barlee Smith in London, she was educated in Australia and made her professional debut as a ballet dancer in Sydney at the age of sixteen. This led to a solo act in musical comedies...
as Stephanie "Steffie" Hajos - Gene LockhartGene LockhartEugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
as Bennett O. "B.O." Regan - Philip Ahn as Ito, Terry's man-servant
- Marek Windheim as Mr. Farney, dialogue director
- Dwight FryeDwight FryeDwight Iliff Frye was an American stage and screen actor, noted for his appearances in the classic horror films Dracula , Frankenstein , The Invisible Man , and Bride of Frankenstein .-Early life and career:Frye was born in Salina, Kansas...
as Mr. Easton, makeup supervisor - Johnny ArthurJohnny ArthurJohnny Arthur was an American stage and motion picture actor.-Early years:Born John Lennox Arthur Williams in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made his screen debut in 1923's The Unknown Purple...
as Mr. Daviani, wardrobe supervisor - William B. DavidsonWilliam B. DavidsonWilliam B. Davidson was an American film actor. He attended Columbia University where he played football. He became a popular football star. This fame eventually led to his foray into motion pictures after he had spent some time as a lawyer...
as Mr. Richards, nightclub owner - Richard TuckerRichard Tucker (actor)Richard Tucker was an American actor. He appeared in 266 films between 1911 and 1940.He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was the first official member of the Screen Actors Guild and a founding member of SAG's Board of Directors...
as Mr. Blaine, the director - Kathleen LockhartKathleen LockhartKathleen Lockhart was an English-born stage actress.She was born Kathleen Arthur in Southsea, Hampshire in England. An actress and musician, Kathleen got her start on the stage in England and then immigrated to the United States in 1924, upon her marriage to Canadian-born actor Gene Lockhart...
as Miss Amy Robbins, newspaper columnist - James Newill as Jimmy, band member
- Harry BarrisHarry BarrisHarry Barris was an American popular singer and songwriter.Born in New York City, he was a member of the Rhythm Boys, a late 1920s singing trio which included Al Rinker and Bing Crosby, and was Crosby's entry into show business...
as Pinky, pianist in the band - Cully Richards as Cully, band member
Cast notes
- Evelyn Daw, a 20-year old legit soprano from Geddes, South DakotaGeddes, South DakotaGeddes is a city in Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 208 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Geddes is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, was singing with the Los Angeles PhilharmonicLos Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
when she was "discovered" by director Schertzinger. This was her first film, and she would go on to make one more the next year, Panamint's Bad Man, a singing cowboySinging cowboyA singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films, popularized by many of the B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s...
film. Afterwards, she continued to work in theater and opera. - Philip Ahn, a Korean-American actor who had nearly been rejected by director Lewis MilestoneLewis MilestoneLewis Milestone was a Russian-American motion picture director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights and All Quiet on the Western Front , both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director...
from Anything Goes the prior year because his English was too good, plays Ito, a Japanese man who wants to be an actor and has instead been relegated to being a man-servant, assigned by the studio to Rooney. Ito has been forced by previous masters to speak with a thick Japanese accent and a minimum of English words. He reveals to Rooney that this is a pretense. Ito keeps the pretense up around others for most of the film, until he gets tired of being ordered around by Meyers and announces in impeccable English – amidst a cast full of accents and casual pronunciations – that he came to Hollywood to be an actor and not a servant, and that he is quitting. - Kathleen Lockhart, who plays a newspaper columnist, was the wife of Gene Lockhart, who played the studio boss, "B.O." Regan. Their daughter, June LockhartJune LockhartJune Lockhart is an American actress, primarily in 1950s and 1960s television, but with memorable performances on stage and in film too. She is remembered as the mother in two TV series, Lassie and Lost in Space. She also portrayed Dr...
also became an actress., as did her daughter, Anne Lockhart.
Production
Something to Sing About was in production at Grand National's studios on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood from late June to late July 1937, under the working title "When I'm with You". Evelyn Daw was not the studio's first choice for the part of Cagney's love interest: they initially announced that Helen JepsonHelen Jepson
Helen Jepson was an American lyric soprano noted for being a "stunning blond beauty" as well as for her voice....
would play the part.
Because of the expense of making this film, and its poor box office, Grand National went bankrupt in 1940. Ironically, the next film they had planned for Cagney was Angels With Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 American gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart, along with Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft...
, which ended up being bought by Warners and filmed with Cagney in the lead.
Musical numbers
The film includes five songs and three dances. Cagney's dancing and singing open and close the film, and the opening number also incorporates singing from Rooney and Wyatt's bandmates as well as from Daw.In one scene on the tramp steamer, Cagney dances with his long-time friends from vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
Johnny Boyle
Johnny Boyle
Johnny Boyle is the former drummer of Irish band The Frames. He first came to the attention of the Irish music scene when he joined Picture House before the release of their second album, Karmarama. He left the band shortly after the third studio album, Madness, Sadness, Gladness to join Marianne...
and Harland Dixon – two of the major sources of inspiration for his dancing style – which Cagney called one of the great moments of his life and a "privilege". Boyle was the person who taught Cagney George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
's dancing style, which he later used to good effect in Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
, and Dixon, who staged the dances for Something to Sing About, was Cagney's dance instructor in New York before Cagney's Broadway breakthrough in Penny Arcade in 1930.
The dancing is in Cagney's inimitable style, which mixes vaudeville, tap, jig
Jig
The Jig is a form of lively folk dance, as well as the accompanying dance tune, originating in England in the 16th century and today most associated with Irish dance music and Scottish country dance music...
s, and semi-ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. According to an article in the New York Times, Cagney would occasionally go over his steps with Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
before the dances were filmed.
The songs – "Something to Sing About", "Right or Wrong", "Any Old Love", "Out of the Blue" and "Loving You" – were all written, music and lyrics, by the film's director and scenarist, Victor Schertzinger.
Response
Although the critical response was generally favorable, the film could not overcome the disadvantages of its small budget and the lack of wide distribution caused by its release by a newly-formed independent company bucking a system dominated by the major studios. With no breakout songs in the not very memorable score, there was little chance of the film succeeding.Something to Sing About was re-released in 1947 by Screencraft Pictures under the title Battling Hoofer.
Awards and honors
Victor Schertzinger and the film's music director, Constantin BakaleinikoffConstantin Bakaleinikoff
Constantin Romanovich Bakaleinikov, or Bakaleinikoff was a Russian-born composer.Bakaleinikoff was from a large musical family. His brothers were Nikolai Bakaleinikov , Vladimir Bakaleinikov , and Mikhail Bakaleinikoff . He studied at the Moscow Conservatory...
were nominated for a 1937 Academy Award for "Best Music (Scoring)", along with 13 other films. The award was won by One Hundred Men and a Girl
One Hundred Men and a Girl
One Hundred Men and a Girl is a 1937 musical comedy film, written by Charles Kenyon, Bruce Manning and James Mulhauser from a story by Hanns Kräly and directed by Henry Koster...
.
Home video
Because the film is in the public domain, DVD releases of it are available from a number of companies, including Alpha VideoAlpha Video
Alpha Video is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD...
, CATCOM Home Video, Critic's Choice, Dollar Entertainment, Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
, Ovation Home Video, Reel Enterprises, ROAN, Syngery Enterprises, Unforgettable and Vina Distributors. It is also widely available for download on the Internet.
See also
- List of films in the public domain in the United States
- Poverty RowPoverty RowPoverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios...
- appellation for small, independent American film studios, many located on Gower GulchGower GulchGower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christie Studios during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the... - Studio systemStudio systemThe studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...