Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder

I have to admit, Rose Marie had a great voice for a child of her age. She looked like a little woman with her Louise Brooks hairstyle. She really had a great voice, a great stage presence. Boy, she would of been big rival for Shirley Temple in the 1930s. I got to see this and record it in full, I have a habit now of recording TCM shorts when I see One Reel Wonders, because they always show good musical shorts. I enjoyed this. Young kids need to see this today, to learn how to perform, Rose Marie and other children of that time knew how to perform, Rose Marie singed like an adult and performed like one. We don't see them like this anymore.

For those of you who only know Rose Marie as the eager comedy writer for the Dick Van Dyke Show in the Sixties, this film will be a revelation. Way back in the day of your parents and grandparents, little Baby Rose Marie had another career as a child performer. This Warner Brothers Vitagraph short is a tribute to that other career.

The young lady does three songs, Who Wouldn't Be Jealous Of You, Don't Be Like That and Heigh Ho Everybody Heigh Ho. The last one was Rudy Vallee's theme song with his Connecticut Yankees and Vallee at this time was the most popular male singer in America. I looked for an imitation of his nasal style in Rose Marie, but she did in her own style. Just as well.

Another treasure from the past preserved by Vitagraph.

Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Baby Rose Marie isn't a name that many are going to know today but back in the day she was certainly one of the most loved people in the business. This 9-minute short has her singing three songs and even though the technical quality of the film isn't very high you can at least see why so many people loved her. She sings Who Wouldn't Be Jealous Of You, Don't Be Like That and Heigh Ho Everybody Heigh Ho. All three songs are sung incredibly well and she really has a terrific delivery that makes you want to hear more from her. She does a little dancing too but most of the shots are close or medium shots so you really can't see too much. The technical side of things aren't that impressive as it seems like the footage was shot in just one take and there's really nothing overly special in terms of cinematography or direction. With that said, the main reason to check this out is for Marie and she certainly comes off incredibly charming.

An early Vitaphone film, this Warner Brothers short apparently was one created using a very complicated system through which an accompanying record was synchronized with a movie camera. There were several serious setbacks for such a system (such as if a film skipped--it became out of sync for the rest of the film plus the records quickly wore out--and 20 showings was the normal life-span of the records) and even though it produced excellent sound, it was eventually replaced. The last of the Vitaphone films were made in 1930, then the studio switched to the standard sound-on-film system.

Rose Marie (of "Dick Van Dyke Show" fame) is given the spotlight in this short. Watching her, it's hard to imagine that this poised professional was only 6 years-old at the time! Her parents must have kept her in a cage, beaten her and fed her mind-altering drugs to make her perform like this!! I am kidding of course, but she was a truly amazing child singer--as amazing as Shirley Temple but perhaps too early to catch on with the same intensity with the American public. With only a couple childhood screen credits to her name, she made a bigger splash on stage as well as her memorable TV roles as an adult.

Now I would NOT want a steady diet of Baby Rose Marie's singing, she was wonderful in this short. Great singing and charming from start to finish--and better than just about all the adult acts I've seen in the Vitaphone shorts! Watch this one!

Beautiful baby singing. Worth the check for all with style.