Primavera de Amor

This early sound preservation (sort of) of one of Rodgers & Hart's minor Broadway successes (104 performances at the Alvin Theatre at the end of the roaring 20's - March 11-June 8, 1929) was released July 20, 1930, just as the country started its slide into the Great Depression, but bears no actual responsibility therefore.

In truth, the film isn't exciting structurally, despite retaining several R&H standards from the stage - the title song, "Yours Sincerely" and "With A Song In My heart". Hollywood at the time was shameless in gutting successful stage properties of the very things which had made them successful in the first place and, in pre-Crash 1929, 100+ performances put SPRING IS HERE in the "hit" column, but it remains a pleasant entertainment and solid reminder of good light 1920's entertainment.

Possibly the most interesting aspect of the film however, is the one Broadway cast holdover - Inez Courtney as Mary Jane. Ms. Courtnay repeats a couple of her songs from Broadway and began a decade long career in Hollywood that would culminate as the unforgettable "Ilona' in Lubitsch's LITTLE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER which in turn helped inspire the later Broadway musical SHE LOVES ME.

While not a great musical or movie, the remains of Rodgers and Hart's score is a fine one - so fine in fact, that three years later the Vitaphone Corp. would give it (and the show) another outing with a two reel "Broadway Brevities" short called YOURS SINCERELY. Still minor, but still very entertaining.

Worth seeking out. Not a lost treasure perhaps, but very nice costume jewelery.

Actually, the songs for this film; Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder (For Somebody Else), Bad Baby, Cryin' For The Carolines, Have A Little Faith In Me, How Shall I Tell?, What's The Big Idea? were not written by R&H but by Harry Warren.

This was Harry's big break into Hollywood songwriting for the silver screen. Due to the success of his music in this film, Harry Warren was brought out to Hollywood for a second film, "42nd Street", which is by and large considered to be the "grand daddy of all musicals".

Harry then left Tin Pan Alley, and signed on to write the music for another 32 Warner Brothers films. Many of these were co-written with Al Dubin, and then later on with Johnny Mercer.

In the end, this was the first film that Harry wrote music for. He went on to be the most successful songwriter in Hollywood, and that success propelled him to the top of the pop charts as well, writing 81 top ten hits, along with eleven Oscar nominations for best song.

SPRING IS HERE is a breezy, yet undistinguished early sound musical. A hit on Broadway, it suffers from the overproduction of musicals at the time (meaning it received no special consideration during its making) and from a director who brings no visual flair to the medium. What we're left with are pleasant performers and pleasant, if not memorable, tunes. The standout performance here is given by Louise Fazenda, a ubiquitous figure in these early sound musicals made at Warners. Her portrayal of a character who is simultaneously embarrassed and titillated at the innuendo surrounding her is delightful and captures the necessarily frivolous tone needed in such a piece. Incidentally, Fazenda was the first in the sound era to portray the dumb blonde, an archetype that still pleases to this day.

Early musical about fickle Betty of the Long Island "fashionable set", the kind who seem to mostly go around with tennis rackets and ukuleles gripped in their hands. She stays out 'til five in the morning "riding" with a new fellow (leaving her regular beau high and dry at the dance) - so her grump of a dad decides he needs to put a stop to that kind of stuff and "get her a good husband". Well, when the regular fellow, Terry, shows up next morning, dad practically proposes himself - but Betty won't marry Terry. Terry IS in love, so - given the push by Betty's little 16-year-old sister (who looked to me about 35), he decides to spark Betty's jealousy by flirting with other women. And boy does he - including giving a passionate kiss to Betty's mom!

This film is pretty silly, though has moments - such as the dad spouts a number of pretty good one-liners and there is a little bit of pre-code naughtiness too. The whole film comes across as a little stiff and stage play like - it includes characters bursting into song here and there, most of which are fairly mediocre, though I thought a few of the numbers were kind of catchy. The lead actors in this are not very memorable (though, at least, they sing well) - the most interesting characters are actually the girl's parents, quite amusingly portrayed by Ford Sterling and Louise Fazenda - the mom is depicted as very dizzy (reminded me of Gracie Allen). Betty turns into a "yes dear" baby talker kind of gal in the end, oh well. Fun, light entertainment.

...-and short!-adaptation of Rodgers & Hart's Broadway success (the movie adds some songs by Harry Warren and lyricists Sam Lewis and Joe Young). And I admit my affinity for such a movie probably springs from my curiosity regarding early sound musicals, so your mileage -and appreciation - may vary.

Alexander Gray is well cast as the hero, coming across rather more relaxed here than he did in the previous year's Sally; the engaging Bernice Claire also stars as one of the era's stock characters, the young woman yearning for excitement. Lawrence Gray plays-much as he did in The Patsy-the good-natured bad boy enticing our heroine from her too-meek suitor, and gets to bestow his pleasant light tenor on the score's most enduring hit, "With a Song in My Heart."

I'm having difficulty tracking down a detailed description of the story of the original Broadway show; but it appears to me that there must have been a subplot in the Broadway show involving the younger sister (in the movie, played by Inez Courtney) and her beau (the movie's Frank Albertson) which was subsequently cut for the movie, as Albertson's role serves no purpose plot-wise in the movie (but he contributes some sprightly song and dance, notably-with Courtney-the title song). All of this is cheerfully entertaining and well-done, if somewhat standard fare; elevating the movie into must-see status, however, are Mack Sennett veterans Ford Sterling and Louise Fazenda as the much-tried comic parents. Sterling, who always completely inhabits whatever role he plays-OK, he hams it up (but all to the good)!-has been underappreciated for about three-quarters of a century or more, and is long overdue for a renaissance of interest, for his early work as well as his late work.

The Brox Sisters give a wonderful rendition of "Cryin' for the Carolines." Direction and camera-work are workmanlike-skillful if uninspired; but the writing is clever and blithe, and sometimes refreshingly suggestive. Recommended. I'm surprised that the stage show Spring Is Here has not been a regular on the community theater and civic light opera circuit; cheerful, undemanding, modest in its production needs, uncontroversial, with familiar theatrical "types," it seems to be tailor-made for semi-professional offerings.