Rambling 'Round Radio Row #3

Certainly a sign of the times is how music (especially vocals) have changed since the '30s. The style of singing here isn't about to endear anyone who is more in tune to today's bands and vocalists.

Nevertheless, it's a curio from 1932 with a very young J.C. FLIPPEN acting as master of ceremonies, poolside, and encouraging heavy-set singer TESS GARDELLA (Aunt Jemima) to sing "I Ain't Got Nobody" while he makes a weak joke about the over-sized body she has.

It's a very primitive musical short, with a tenor who is barely bearable to listen to, singing to little BABY ROSE MARIE who is equally obnoxious. It's hard to tell what she's singing about, the sound is that bad.

Finally, there's some nonsense about the four Lombardo brothers and a yacht and then, mercifully, the short is over.

Summing up: Not worth a peek.

I recently got a hold of the multi-disk set "Warner Brothers Big Band, Jazz & Swing Short Subject Collection". It's made up of over 11 hours of Vitaphone musical shorts. Disk 1 is a bit different in style, as it consists mostly of the "Ramblin' Round Radio Row" shorts. These mostly star Jerry Wald. Wald apparently was famous for a newspaper column on radio programs and this was parlayed into him getting the chance to produce these shorts.

In this third film, Jay C. Flippen acts as master of ceremonies down by the sea. Sometimes Flippen is pretty obnoxious (such as with his fat jokes) and I can see why he's not a household name. Of the acts shown in this film, two are of some interest today. You get to see Guy Lombardo and his brothers--but they don't perform. A bit later, some older guy sings a creepy song to a very young Baby Rose Marie--the same Rose Marie who later appeared as a regular on "The Dick Van Dyke Show". Here, she sings with a lot of gusto. I wouldn't say she was good--but she sure put her heart into it. Because a couple of the acts are of minor interest, it might be worth seeing today. Just don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.

Interesting curio from the early thirties. I got a kick out of seeing the young Guy Lombardo, Rose Marie (really young! :-) and Jay C. Flippen in this plot-less, but fun, short.

Flippen was surprising to see in this type of setting since I'm more used to seeing him in his more tougher persona from countless TV and movie roles. He also sports a hairstyle reminiscent of Cab Calloway from the latter's heyday! His Vaudeville chops are evident here, too.

Lombardo gets to show off his championship yachting skills (with his brothers) in one segment.

Is it great art? No, but it is important historically, while still being able to entertain seventy-plus years later.

By the way, this was one of the first productions for the famous Warner Brothers producer Jerry Wald.

Jay C. Flippen way before he became a respected character actor served as emcee for this Vitagraph short featuring several radio personalities of the day, including the brothers Lombardo and Baby Rose Marie.

The setting was a pool party where all these people were on an alleged vacation. It was interesting to see Guy Lombardo and his brothers on a yacht, Guy in his off hours was known as quite the yachtsman. And the voice of who later became Sally Rogers is unmistakable even as a child. Johnny Marvin who was the vocalist for the Guy Lombardo Orchestra got into the act with a number.

Flippen looked quite a bit different, not a speck of gray on his head, unlike how I remember him from later films. Still his voice and jovial manner are also unmistakable.

This was a pleasant look back to some performers not often seen any more.

Rambling 'Round Radio Row #3 (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Future character actor J.C. Flippen hosts this Vitaphone short, which takes place at a pool party where several music guests get up and do a song. This here leads to various water sports and more and more acts get up. This here is a minor step up from the previous two films in the series mainly due to this getting off to a great start thanks to Tess Gardella doing a blistering version of "I Have Nobody". We also have William Hall doing a nice version of "Deep In Your Eyes" and even Baby Rose Marie stops by for a quick number. Fans of Flippen aren't going to believe their eyes when they see him here but he does a nice job getting this off to a good start as he's certainly got enough energy for two films. The musical acts here are a lot better than in previous films and I'm sure Baby Rose will have several people tuning in. The Lombardo Brothers are also on hand as is Johnny Marvin.