CALL OF THE FLESH Release Date August 16, 1930 History After two successful musicals with MGM, Devil-May-Care and In Gay Madrid , Ramon Novarro took on a much more ambitious project-- a musical that would not only be shot in three different languages, but also feature him singing opera. The result was Call of the Flesh , a musical directed by Charles Brabin. Brabin had directed one full length sound film prior to this as well as a part-talkie, but this would be his first musical as well as his third project for MGM. He was fortunate enough to be paired with cinematographer Merritt B. Gerstad who had worked with him a year earlier on one of these projects, The Bridge of San Luis Ray. Brabin would only direct the English language version of the film, however. Novarro would direct the French and Spanish language versions, filmed simultaneously with a different cast and crew minus him appearing as protagonist Juan de Dios in all three versions. This film was not only an ambitio...
THE FLORODORA GIRL Release Date May 31, 1930 History Florodora opened on the stage in London in 1899 and moved to New York in 1900, becoming one of the first successful musical comedies of the 20th Century, having a run of 552 performances. Its popularity spawned three Broadway revivals and a West End revival before 1920, but no film adaptations. This isn't surprising as many musicals from this time would not get film adaptations and when they did were heavily revised to a plot and score unrecognizable from the original. The closest that Florodora ever came to a film version was the 1930 film Florodora Girl . Directed by Harry Beaument and starring Marion Davies and Lawrence Gray, the film is about a chorus girl in the Broadway production of Florodora during its original run, and the adventures she ensues. Davies also produced the film without credit, as she had with seven films prior (including the sound version of Marianne, previously reviewed on this blog). To crea...
FREE AND EASY Release Date March 22, 1930 History Known for being the studio that had "more stars than there are in Heaven", MGM was not only always looking for new talent, but also established talent that it could acquire. Some of these new contracts pushed an established star further in an amicable relationship between them and the studio, and sometimes it was a decision both would later regret. The latter was the case between MGM and Buster Keaton. While Keaton had worked for other production companies and directors early in his career, the 1920s had been spent producing, co-writing, and co-directing his films. Being a part of the creative process was part of his craft as a performer. Now, under contract for MGM, Keaton was forced to kowtow to a larger machine, and perform on command. Input would be discouraged and he'd be forced to star in films he didn't want to. On top of this, the studio would make him recreate his routines for other actors as they were mimic...
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