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Big Time Vaudeville

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Big Time Vaudeville was a series of black-and-white 9- to 10-minute short films resembling the Vitaphone Varieties and also produced by Warner Brothers and Vitaphone (at the Brooklyn studios in New York). These consisted of four to six vaudeville acts and are historically interesting with many performers rarely seen on film.

Overview

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In 1934, Warner Bros. released four Pepper Pots titled “Vaudeville Reel” that featured several acrobatic acts, dancers, singers and comedians appearing on a stage, much like a vaudeville show. Their success prompted the studio to fashion a new series using the same set-up.

Since few of the performers appearing in these became household names, they were seldom reissued after their initial run and were rarely seen on television. The more familiar performers also appeared in other Vitaphone-Warner shorts, including the eccentric Chaz Chase, Eddie Peabody and a pre-radio Edgar Bergen. The latter starred in the most frequently shown today title, Bring on the Girls, with both he and “dummy” Charlie McCarthy commenting on the different acts.

List of titles

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A listing of titles, with Joseph Henabery handling several as director, and Samuel Sax producing:

Title Release,[1] or copyright date [2] Performers
Vitaphone Casino (All Star Vaudeville / Vaudeville Reel #5) © June 22, 1935 features Paul Duke, Babs Ryan & Brothers, Buster West, the Radio Rubes; (filmed October 1934)
Vitaphone Varieties November 16, 1935 Six Symphonettes, Al Loyal's Stallions, Louis Prima & Hal Sherman
Vitaphone Headliners December 4, 1935 Nick Lucas, 4 Mullen Sisters, Eddie Stuart, O'Donnell & Blair
Vitaphone Troupers January 4, 1936 [3] Four Trojans, Aunt Jemima (Tess Gardella), Benny Ross & Maxine Stone, the Buccaneers
Vitaphone Billboard February 15, 1936 Liazeed Arabs, Jane Lee & Katherine Lee, the Keller Sisters & Lynch, Joe Peanuts
Vitaphone Celebrities © March 2, 1936 James Evans, the Remington Singers, Clifford & Marion, Florence Mayo & Pansy
Vitaphone Spotlight March 7, 1936 the Five Elgins, the Balabanow Accordion Revue, Frank Conville, Helen Reynolds & her Skating Champions
Vitaphone Highlights April 4, 1936 Ferry Conway, Kingsley & Case, Eddie Peabody, Monroe & Grant
Vitaphone Hippodrome © May 11, 1936 the Kluting's Entertainers (animal act), Johnny Lee & 3 Sees, Molly Picon, the Michon Brothers
Vitaphone Entertainers © July 28, 1936 Sylvia Foos, Gautier's Toy Shop, Hunter & Percival, Mangan's Internationals
Vitaphone Topnotchers © August 8, 1936 Ben Bayer, the Three Marshalls, the Six Danvilles, Charles Kemper & Company
Vitaphone Gayeties September 15, 1936 Jack Pepper, the DeLong Sisters, Allen & Kent, Will Morris & Bobby
Vitaphone Internationals October 27, 1936 Pallenberg's Doberman Pinschers (dog act), Holtz & Lee, Ming & Toy, Berke's Country Boys, The Three Rayes
Vaudeville Is Back November 14, 1936 John Perkins, 4 Creeden Girls, Jane & Joe McKenna, the Maxelos
Vitaphone Stage Show © December 7, 1936 Pallenberg's bicycle riding bears, Four Comets (skaters), Landt Trio & White, Nash & Fately
Vaud-Villains December 23, 1936 Marty May, the Three Wiles, the Kitaros, Rose King
Reel Vaudeville January 23, 1937 Harry Rose, Three Queens, Carroll & Howe, Bee Hee Rubyatee Troupe
Bedtime Vaudeville January 30, 1937 Eddie Grady, Joyce Haber & Budy Matthews, Wesley Catri, Dickie Monahan, Muriel Weber; (filmed January 1936, held over a year)
Bring on the Girls March 6, 1937 Edgar Bergen (& Charlie McCarthy), Jerry Goff, Jack Kerr, Torelli's Circus animals & Alice Murphy's Quintuplets
Vitaphone Diversions April 3, 1937 Five Juggling Jewels, Dave Monahan, Brown, Rich & Hall, Smith & Dale
Nickel Low-Down May 1, 1937 Charles Kemper & Stooges, Paul Robinson & the Horton Boys, Dunn Brothers & Dotty, Le Paul
Vitaphone Funsters May 29, 1937 the Three Swifts, Andy & Louise Carr, Johnny Burke, the Three Reddingtons
Vaude-Festival June 26, 1937 Je Biviano, Bob Dupont, Ross & Bennett, Fritz & Jean Hubert
Vaudeville Hits July 10, 1937 Lee Manning & Mitzi, the Byrne Sisters, Jules & Clifton, Elaine Arden & Company
Vitaphone Broadwayites August 21, 1937 La Varre & Brother, Chester Fredericks & LaNelle Avery, Medley & Duprey, the Muriel Abbott Dancers

See also

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References

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  • Liebman, Roy (2003). Vitaphone Films – A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786412792.
  • Motion Pictures 1912-1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1951 Library of Congress [1]
  • BoxOffice back issue scans available (release date information in multiple issue “Shorts Charts”)

Notes

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  1. ^ BoxOffice magazine. February 29, 1936 (p. 42), May 23, 1936, August 15, 1936 (p. 46), December 5, 1936 (p. 38), April 17, 1937 (p. 42), October 2, 1937 (p. 33)
  2. ^ Motion Pictures 1912-1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1951 Library of Congress
  3. ^ 1936 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures. 1936. Film Daily, p. 447 lists 4 titles for 1935, possibly including this one