A Song in the Dark The Birth of the Musical Film [Paperback]

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 acclaimedA Song in the Dark. From Warner Bros. and Jolson, to the Oscar-winningBroadway Melodyand beyond, here is the whole funny and peculiar history of these films, their creators, and their audiences. Ranging from the smash hits ofThe Singing FoolandSunny Side Upto bizarre flops likeGolden Dawnand Cecil B. DeMille'sMadam Satan, they form a body of work unlike anything else in the history of popular entertainment. Here too are legendary performers, directors, and composers: from Fannie Brice, James Cagney, and Mae West, to Busby Berkeley, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, and countless others. With many new rare photographs, some not published in nearly 80 years, this new edition traces the rise and fall, and rise again, of this quintessential piece of the American experience.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
1. VITAPHONE PRELUDE
2. THE SOUND BARRIER
3. YOU WERE MEANT FOR ME
4. ON WITH THE SHOW!
5. FINDING A VOICE
6. DUELING MAMMIES
7. HOLLYWOOD, REVUED
8. BROADWAY BABIES
9. WITH ALL ITS ORIGINAL STAGE ENCHANTMENT
10. JUST IMAGINE
11. THE CUCKOOS
12. OF VIENNESE NIGHTS AND GOLDEN DAWNS
13. IS IT A MUSICAL?
14. THE MARCH OF TIME
15. VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS
16. WE'RE IN THE MONEY
17. THE PAST AS PROLOGUE
FINALE
Appendix One:
NOTES ON LOST FILMS
Appendix Two:
A SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY: EARLY MUSICALS ON RECORD
SOURCE NOTES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

This lively, intelligent and well-researched survey tells the tumultuous and often delightflãÈ