Crying for the Carolines

Crying for the Carolines is a 1930 short film made by Leon Schlesinger.[1] The theme for this short film is played on the Wurlitzer organ formerly installed at Warner Brothers studios by Milton Charles,[1][2] a theatre organist during the silent era of film.[3] He is dubbed the 'Singing Organist' in the film.[2]

Title card of the short.

The film, which was recorded on Western Electric apparatus,[1] was the only one made in a planned series called Spooney Melodies. The film is a music video to advertise the song sung by Charles. The organ music was written by Frank Marsales, who would go on to write the musical arrangements for the Merrie Melodies series, including the cartoon Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

Plot

The films open, with art deco style animation, set to organ music. After, some animation. It cuts to Charles playing the organ and singing Cryin' for the Carolines, a song written by Harry Warren, Sam Lewis, and Joe Young the same year. The film's animation which is shown throughout the film includes, a forest, a city and a sun shining over a country plain. Milton Charles is portrayed in voice and live action footage throughout the short, as he sings the song.[1]

Background

The song, Cryin' for the Carolines, is originally featured in the 1930 Warner Bros. film Spring is Here, which was issued on the sound system Vitaphone,[1] which was accomplished with a record player which played a disk in time with the projector,[4] which would be higher quality than sound-on-film. In the film, the song was sung by The Brox Sisters.[5]

Availability

The planned series was short-lived, with Warner Brothers instead going for the Merrie Melodies series, beginning with 1931's Lady, Play Your Mandolin!. This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6's 3rd disc.[6]

Reception

Crying for the Carolines was reviewed by the magazine Photoplay in its 1930 December issue.[2][7] The magazine spoke positively about the film, citing that the film is a "distinct relief from the monotony of many sound shorts".[7] The magazine also said that the short is notable for the "beauty of the results obtained", from the painting and the drawings featured in the film, "as well as the novelty of the film."[7]

References
  1. silverhalfcrown (August 22, 2009), SM001 Crying for the Carolines (Dec., 1930), retrieved May 25, 2018
  2. Bradley, Edwin M. (April 27, 2009). The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926–1931. McFarland. ISBN 9781476606842.
  3. FOLKART, BURT A. (November 7, 1991). "Milton Charles; Organist for Silent Movies, Radio Shows". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  4. "Vitaphone Vaudeville, 1926–1930". Silent Film. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  5. rrgomes (May 4, 2010), The Brox Sisters: Crying for the Carolines (1930), retrieved May 25, 2018
  6. "Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Vol. 6". DVD Talk. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  7. Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company (1930). Photoplay (Jul–Dec 1930). PFA Library and Film Study Center UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Chicago, Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company.
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