George Baxter (1905-76) made a steady living for over thirty years, often uncredited, in films, television and radio. Marianne was his first film role, as the noble André. He appeared without credit in Lubitsch’s The Merry Widow, and reappeared in the Golden Age with a part in Lili.
The man who contributed greatly to the 20s’ ukelele craze. The performer who introduced ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ to the world. The voice of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio (1940). Just three of the reasons why Clifton Avon Edwards (1895-1971), or ‘Ukelele Ike,’ ought not to be quite as forgotten as he is.
Edwards was a successful vaudeville and café performer, allegedly dubbed ‘Ukelele Ike’ by a waiter who could never remember his name. He became a ubiquitous figure in the early Metro musicals, appearing in over a third of the studio’s productions in 1929-31.
Edwards’s rendition of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ in The Hollywood Revue of 1929, though lacking Gene Kelly’s familiar phrasing, was good enough to earn the song a reprise in the hastily-devised finale, in which also appeared.
His first acting role was as Soapy, one of the doughboys in Marianne. He then added musical support in So This is College and performed a speciality number in They Learned About Women. Lord Byron of Broadway saw him in the, not really challenging, role of a vaudeville singer, after which he was way out west as one of the hero’s buddies in Montana Moon.
Edwards made an uncredited appearance as himself in Children of Pleasure and has a featured role as the Coach’s assistant, Pooch Kearney, in the 1930 version of Good News. He was then one of Lawrence Tibbett’s hobo pals in The Prodigal.
The film musical hiatus of 1932 soon followed, and Edwards only appeared in one further musical for Metro, as Minstrel Joe in The Girl of the Golden West.
At his height, in the late 1920s, Cliff Edwards was earning $4000 a week. By the time of his death, he was an indigent charity patient in a Hollywood hospital; his body was unclaimed for several days because no one knew who he was.
Lawrence Gray (1898-1970) was a jobbing actor who began in silent pictures and whose good looks made him an amenable leading man for, amongst others, Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore and Norma Shearer. His singing voice was also good enough to win him parts in four early MGM musicals: Marianne, It’s a Great Life, Children of Pleasure and, opposite Marian Davies for the second time, in The Florodora Girl.
The parts on offer started to decline and Gray retired in 1936. He and his wife moved to her native Mexico, where he worked in the distribution side of the film industry.
It is a regrettable side effect of Citizen Kane’s success that the name of Marion Davies (1897-1961) has become linked with that of Susan Alexander, the second-rate singer and mistress of the newspaper magnate. The second of these is undeniably a similarity: Davies was the long-term companion of William Randolph Hearst, the main inspiration for the character of Kane, and Hearst certainly made some inappropriate decisions about her career. But Marion Davies was far from being a second-rate performer. In David Thomson’s words, she was “a genuinely funny actress who did good work”. Davies’s most successful period was in silent films, but she made a successful transition to sound, overcoming the obstacle of a stammer.
Davies’s appearance in The Hollywood Revue of 1929 was a less than triumphant start to her musical career, singing and dancing furiously to two songs, dressed in the military uniform Hearst loved to see her in.
She is seen to better effect as the eponymous Marianne (which she co-produced), though the musical demands made on her are admittedly far less than in the earlier appearance. Davies’s strengths are seen in the light comedy aspects of her role. Davies was an equally-fetching protagonist in The Florodora Girl (which she produced) and, in particular, opposite Bing Crosby in Going Hollywood.
Some commentators list Blondie of the Follies (1932) as a musical, but is actually a romantic comedy featuring an attractive performance by Davies.
Cast
| Marion Davies | Marianne |
| George Baxter | André |
| Lawrence Gray | Stagg |
| Cliff Edwards | Soapy |
| Benny Rubin | Sam |
| Scott Kolk | Lieut. Frane |
| Robert Edeson | The General |
| Emile Chautard | Père Joseph |
| Ernie Alexander | One of the Doughboys (uncredited) |
| Oscar Apfel | Maj. Russart (uncredited) |
| John Carroll | Doughboy (uncredited) |
| Drew Demorest | Doughboy (uncredited) |
| Sherry Hall | Soldier in Russart’s Office (uncredited) |
| Seymour Kupper | Teen-Age Boy (uncredited) |
| George Magrill | Military Policeman (uncredited) |
| Douglas Scott | Sylvestre (uncredited) |
| Harry Tenbrook | Doughboy (uncredited) |
| Dick Winslow | Teen-age boy playing accordion for soldiers’ marching song (uncredited) |
3 August 1914 in the French village of Beinville: war has been declared and Marianne says goodbye to her sweetheart, André, promising to wait for him [Marianne].
Four years later, the war is over and a company of American soldiers marches into the now-devastated village, amongst them Stagg, Soapy and Sammy. They are hungry and steal a pig that belongs to Marianne, who now runs an inn. She rescues the pig, whose name is Anatole. Lieutenant Frane, an MP, asks what is happening and Marianne lies to protect the three soldiers. All of them are attracted to Marianne [When I See My Sugar].
Marianne prepares food for the whole company and they cram into the inn [Blondy]. Marianne resists all Stagg’s advances. Stagg, Soapy and Sammy find out that Marianne is caring for four war orphans.
The next morning, Stagg approaches Marianne again. She is attracted to Stagg, but continues to reject him [Just You, Just Me], especially after he pretends his girl back home is Mary Pickford.
Frane pays Marianne to cook Anatole for the General’s dinner. Stagg misinterprets the reason Frane is giving her money [Just You, Just Me]. Later on, Marianne cooks Anatole while the General and his party wait in the backroom. Stagg thinks Marianne has cooked the pig for Frane and steals it, giving it to Soapy and Sammy to take to their comrades. When Stagg discovers his mistake, he rushes to bring back the stolen pig. Marianne tries to cover for him, but Frane realizes what has happened and has Stagg arrested.
Soapy and Sammy find Marianne very upset about what has happened to Stagg and try to cheer her up [Hang On to Me]. She wants to go and intercede with the General, but Soapy and Sammy explain that he will only see other officers.
Marianne disguises herself as a French officer and forces her way into the General’s office. Revealing who she is, she says that she accidentally gave the pig to Stagg, and the General orders that Stagg be returned to his command. Stagg is released and sent back in the General’s car with Marianne, who is still in disguise. Stagg recognizes her and tells ‘the lieutenant’ how sorry he is for getting Marianne in trouble and that he loves her. Then he kisses her.
Later, Stagg looks for Marianne, who is washing clothes at the river. The company is about to pull out, and Stagg tries to persuade Marianne that he really loves her and wants her to go back to America with him. She tells him about her promise to André, who is a prisoner but will be home soon [Marianne]. Stagg says he will not give her up, but Marianne says she must do her duty and they part.
The company throws a leaving party at the inn [Oo-La-La-La-La; The Girl From Noochateau; Louise]. Stagg comes in and makes another appeal to Marianne in front of the company [Just You, Just Me]. Stagg says he will wait and fight André and, at that moment, André enters the room. He is blind.
The next morning, as the soldiers are preparing to leave, Stagg sees André go into the inn and he goes across to bid farewell to Marianne. André asks Stagg to help him persuade Marianne not to waste her life on a man who can only be a burden. Marianne takes André’s hand and says “I love you. I love you with all my heart,” looking at Stagg while she says it. Stagg rejoins his comrades and they march away. While André and Marianne are waving them off, he realises the truth.
Months later, Stagg, Soapy and Sammy are in business together in New York. A letter arrives from Marianne. André has decided to become a priest and Marianne is coming to New York. Stagg rushes to meet her off the boat.
Nacio Herb Brown (1896-1964) was hired by MGM in 1928 to write scores for sound pictures; it was at a point when synchronized music was still perceived by many as the most promising feature of the new system.
Brown was paired with lyricist Arthur Freed to produce songs for the studio’s first all-talking picture, The Broadway Melody. Their partnership continued for many years as the contributed numbers to The Hollywood Revue of 1929, Marianne, Lord Byron of Broadway, Montana Moon, Dancing Lady, Going Hollywood, Student Tour, Broadway Melody of 1936, A Night at the Opera, San Francisco, Broadway Melody of 1938, Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry, Ice Follies of 1939, Babes in Arms, Two Girls on Broadway, Hullabaloo, Little Nellie Kelly, Lady Be Good, Born to Sing, Presenting Lily Mars, Meet Me in St Louis, Three Little Words, Pagan Love Song, Singin’ in the Rain and The Affairs of Dobie Gillies.
Brown also worked with other lyricists on It’s a Great Life, Ziegfeld Girl, The Big Store, Swing Fever, Holiday in Mexico, On an Island With You, The Kissing Bandit and Seven Hills of Rome.
No one had a longer connection with MGM musicals than Arthur Freed (1894-1974), starting at the very beginning with The Broadway Melody in 1929 and ending in 1960 with Bells Are Ringing. Of course, his role changed significantly during that period.
Freed had not been working long as a lyricist at MGM when he and composer Nacio Herb Brown were assigned the task of producing the first bespoke score for a film musical. Following the success of The Broadway Melody, Freed’s songs were a mainstay of the studio’s musical output for a quarter of a century. He and Brown contributed numbers to The Hollywood Revue of 1929, Marianne, Lord Byron of Broadway, Montana Moon, Dancing Lady, Going Hollywood, Student Tour, Broadway Melody of 1936, San Francisco, Broadway Melody of 1938, Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry, Ice Follies of 1939, Babes in Arms, Two Girls on Broadway, Hullabaloo, Little Nellie Kelly, Lady Be Good, Born to Sing, Presenting Lily Mars, Meet Me in St Louis, Three Little Words, Pagan Love Song, Singin’ in the Rain and The Affairs of Dobie Gillies
He also worked without Brown on the 1930 Good News and on A Lady’s Morals, The Prodigal, Hollywood Party, A Night at the Opera, Strike Up the Band, Babes on Broadway, Bathing Beauty, Anchors Aweigh, Ziegfeld Follies, Yolanda and the Thief and Love Me or Leave Me.
During the 1930s Freed spent time on Metro’s sound stages, watching the staging of his songs and learning about the craft of creating film musicals. He also devoted time to ingratiating himself with studio head Louis B Mayer, making known his ambition to become involved in the production side of the process. Finally, in 1938, Mayer decided to give Freed his chance.
Arthur Freed initiated the filming of The Wizard of Oz and was its de facto producer, although only credited as associate producer; Mayer safeguarded the project by appointing the more experienced Mervyn LeRoy as producer.
Having shown what he could do, Freed was made a full producer and worked on 39 musicals and a handful of non-musicals during the next thirty years. The musicals were Babes in Arms, Little Nellie Kelly, Strike Up the Band, Lady Be Good, Babes on Broadway, For Me and My Gal, Panama Hattie, Cabin in the Sky, Du Barry Was a Lady, Girl Crazy, Best Foot Forward, Meet Me in St Louis, Yolanda and the Thief, The Harvey Girls, Ziegfeld Follies, Till the Clouds Roll By, Good News, Easter Parade, The Pirate, Summer Holiday, Words and Music, The Barkleys of Broadway, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, On the Town, Annie Get Your Gun, Pagan Love Song, An American in Paris, Royal Wedding, Show Boat, The Belle of New York, Singin’ in the Rain, The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, It’s Always Fair Weather, Kismet, Invitation to the Dance, Silk Stockings, Gigi and Bells Are Ringing.
The Freed Unit became MGM royalty and made most of the musicals upon which the studio’s current reputation rests. Opinions vary as to the extent to which Freed can take credit for this achievement, and the unit did produce a few duds. But, at the very least, Arthur Freed was the catalyst for a body of work of unrivalled sophistication and artistry.
