Don't Get Nervous

Georgie Price is one of those forgotten entertainers. A performer in the tradition of Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor, Price is in that second rung of singers. Contemporaries and of the same magnitude would be people like Harry Richman and Irving Kaufman. He never did make any feature films, but this one Don't Get Nervous is one of a few shorts that have preserved his performance art for posterity.

In this one you see him talking to Bryan Foy of another show business family who had gone into the production end of the business and was in charge of short subjects at Warner Brothers. Like Jolson who much preferred the energy he got off a live audience, Price is nervous singing just to a camera.

Foy solves the problem and brings some of the crew on the sound stage and Price gives us a couple of songs.

Nothing special, but a fine performer is preserved for the ages.

Nervous about appearing in a talking "short" one-reel film, entertainer Georgie Price tells director Bryan Foy he doesn't want to go on with the shoot. When provided with an audience like he is accustomed to in the theater, Mr. Price is convinced to proceed. He performs "Hello Sunshine, Hello" and "Sweetheart's Holiday" along with some "stand-up" comedy. Neither song was a big hit for Price, although he had several as a radio and recording star during the 1920s. Also a vaudeville star, Price was a natural pick for potential movie stardom in the wake of the mania revving up with Al Jolson and "The Jazz Singer" (1927). He was not as successful in the new medium, but there were a few better appearances in Price's future.

**** Don't Get Nervous (7/29) Bryan Foy ~ Georgie Price, Bryan Foy, Frank McNellis, Harold Levey

George Jessel is a mostly forgotten man today. However, he was huge on Broadway in the 1920s and actually originated the role that later became "The Jazz Singer". In fact, Warner Brothers offered him the lead in "The Jazz Singer" but Georgie unwisely declined the offer...and lost a place in the history books. This short from Vitaphone is a chance to see Jessel and try to imagine what the movie might have been like with him in the lead.

This sort is different from other Vitaphone shorts because it breaks through the usual wall separating the actor from the film crew. Jessel talks to the director and tells him he's nervous about performing with no audience...so the film crew stand about and applaud him--becoming his audience. Then Jessel performs for them with LOTS of energy--perhaps too much. He sings frenetically, moving non-stop to the tunes. And then, in Jessel style, he resorts to comedy--as he was not just a song and dance man but comedian.

So is it any good? Well, not particularly when seen today without understanding the context as well as who Jessel was. To film buffs and historians, it's a great chance to see the man perform, as he only made a few sound films during his glory years on Broadway.

Normally I would have changed channels after seeing a movie on TCM, but glad I didn't. Let me add here that I love old movies and have seen some great classics recently that I had heard about but never took the time to seek them out. I regularly check the programming on TCM so that I can see these great old films. Anyway,I have actually never seen shorts and was pleasantly surprised. All the ones they showed were good, but Georgie Price caught my eye..his look, his voice...everything about him. I truly enjoyed this short and wish TCM would broadcast more. Too bad there aren't more stations such as TCM...this is great stuff! Thanks for introducing me to Georgie!!!

Diminutive Georgie Price gives it his all before a static sound-enclosed camera (the shot of which is one of the interesting parts of this Warner's short) after nervous bantering with director Bryan "Brynie" Foy, who was, at the time, one of the handful of directors Warners--- specifically Darryl F. Zanuck, had confidence in grinding out talkies. Price is an interesting figure in Broadway history (read his IMDb bio) and his ability to imitate Al Jolson is clearly evident here, right down to the trademark whistle. Shot in New York, probably not long after his flop, "The Song Writer" closed at The 48th Street Theatre (his last Broadway effort). Tip of the hat to good ol' TCM for showing this as part of their Festival of Shorts! TCM is why AMC has become unwatchable by comparison... (had to get that anti-commercial shot in!).