Big Time Vaudeville
Big Time Vaudeville was a series of black-and-white 9- to 10-minute short films resembling the Vitaphone Varieties and also produced by Warner Brothers and Vitaphone (at the Brooklyn studios in New York). These consisted of four to six vaudeville acts and are historically interesting with many performers rarely seen on film.
Overview
In 1934, Warner Bros. released four Pepper Pots titled “Vaudeville Reel” that featured several acrobatic acts, dancers, singers and comedians appearing on a stage, much like a vaudeville show. Their success prompted the studio to fashion a new series using the same set-up.
Since few of the performers appearing in these became household names, they were seldom reissued after their initial run and were rarely seen on television. The more familiar performers also appeared in other Vitaphone-Warner shorts, including the eccentric Chaz Chase, Eddie Peabody and a pre-radio Edgar Bergen. The latter starred in the most frequently shown today title, Bring on the Girls, with both he and “dummy” Charlie McCarthy commenting on the different acts.
List of titles
A listing of titles, with Joseph Henabery handling several as director, and Samuel Sax producing:
| Title | Release,[1] or copyright date [2] | Performers |
|---|---|---|
| Vitaphone Casino (All Star Vaudeville / Vaudeville Reel #5) | © June 22, 1935 | features Paul Duke, Babs Ryan & Brothers, Buster West, the Radio Rubes; (filmed October 1934) |
| Vitaphone Varieties | November 16, 1935 | Six Symphonettes, Al Loyal's Stallions, Louis Prima & Hal Sherman |
| Vitaphone Headliners | December 4, 1935 | Nick Lucas, 4 Mullen Sisters, Eddie Stuart, O'Donnell & Blair |
| Vitaphone Troupers | January 4, 1936 [3] | Four Trojans, Aunt Jemima (Tess Gardella), Benny Ross & Maxine Stone, the Buccaneers |
| Vitaphone Billboard | February 15, 1936 | Liazeed Arabs, Jane Lee & Katherine Lee, the Keller Sisters & Lynch, Joe Peanuts |
| Vitaphone Celebrities | © March 2, 1936 | James Evans, the Remington Singers, Clifford & Marion, Florence Mayo & Pansy |
| Vitaphone Spotlight | March 7, 1936 | the Five Elgins, the Balabanow Accordion Revue, Frank Conville, Helen Reynolds & her Skating Champions |
| Vitaphone Highlights | April 4, 1936 | Ferry Conway, Kingsley & Case, Eddie Peabody, Monroe & Grant |
| Vitaphone Hippodrome | © May 11, 1936 | the Kluting's Entertainers (animal act), Johnny Lee & 3 Sees, Molly Picon, the Michon Brothers |
| Vitaphone Entertainers | © July 28, 1936 | Sylvia Foos, Gautier's Toy Shop, Hunter & Percival, Mangan's Internationals |
| Vitaphone Topnotchers | © August 8, 1936 | Ben Bayer, the Three Marshalls, the Six Danvilles, Charles Kemper & Company |
| Vitaphone Gayeties | September 15, 1936 | Jack Pepper, the DeLong Sisters, Allen & Kent, Will Morris & Bobby |
| Vitaphone Internationals | October 27, 1936 | Pallenberg's Doberman Pinschers (dog act), Holtz & Lee, Ming & Toy, Berke's Country Boys, The Three Rayes |
| Vaudeville Is Back | November 14, 1936 | John Perkins, 4 Creeden Girls, Jane & Joe McKenna, the Maxelos |
| Vitaphone Stage Show | © December 7, 1936 | Pallenberg's bicycle riding bears, Four Comets (skaters), Landt Trio & White, Nash & Fately |
| Vaud-Villains | December 23, 1936 | Marty May, the Three Wiles, the Kitaros, Rose King |
| Reel Vaudeville | January 23, 1937 | Harry Rose, Three Queens, Carroll & Howe, Bee Hee Rubyatee Troupe |
| Bedtime Vaudeville | January 30, 1937 | Eddie Grady, Joyce Haber & Budy Matthews, Wesley Catri, Dickie Monahan, Muriel Weber; (filmed January 1936, held over a year) |
| Bring on the Girls | March 6, 1937 | Edgar Bergen (& Charlie McCarthy), Jerry Goff, Jack Kerr, Torelli's Circus animals & Alice Murphy's Quintuplets |
| Vitaphone Diversions | April 3, 1937 | Five Juggling Jewels, Dave Monahan, Brown, Rich & Hall, Smith & Dale |
| Nickel Low-Down | May 1, 1937 | Charles Kemper & Stooges, Paul Robinson & the Horton Boys, Dunn Brothers & Dotty, Le Paul |
| Vitaphone Funsters | May 29, 1937 | the Three Swifts, Andy & Louise Carr, Johnny Burke, the Three Reddingtons |
| Vaude-Festival | June 26, 1937 | Je Biviano, Bob Dupont, Ross & Bennett, Fritz & Jean Hubert |
| Vaudeville Hits | July 10, 1937 | Lee Manning & Mitzi, the Byrne Sisters, Jules & Clifton, Elaine Arden & Company |
| Vitaphone Broadwayites | August 21, 1937 | La Varre & Brother, Chester Fredericks & LaNelle Avery, Medley & Duprey, the Muriel Abbott Dancers |
References
- Liebman, Roy (2003). Vitaphone Films – A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786412792.
- Motion Pictures 1912-1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1951 Library of Congress
- BoxOffice back issue scans available (release date information in multiple issue “Shorts Charts”)
Notes
- BoxOffice magazine. February 29, 1936 (p. 42), May 23, 1936, August 15, 1936 (p. 46), December 5, 1936 (p. 38), April 17, 1937 (p. 42), October 2, 1937 (p. 33)
- Motion Pictures 1912-1939 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1951 Library of Congress
- 1936 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures. 1936. Film Daily, p. 447 lists 4 titles for 1935, possibly including this one