Movies 'Til Dawn Blog

‘BROADWAY HIGHLIGHTS’ PT. DEUX

Yesterday I posted a short film from 1935 called ‘Broadway Highlights’. The film was part of a series of short subjects produced by Paramount Pictures in 1935 and 1936. They purported to tell the viewer, newsreel-style, what was happening on the so-called Gay White Way. In this installment, we first

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‘BROADWAY HIGHLIGHTS’

‘Broadway Highlights’–subtitled ‘Intimate News Of The Gay White Way’–was a series of several short subjects produced by Paramount Pictures in 1935 and 1936. They purported to tell the viewer, newsreel-style, what was happening on the Gay White Way (as the street was dubbed in the lyric of ‘Broadway Melody’). Much

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ASTAIRE + POWELL + PORTER

Let’s close the week with the spectacular Fred Astaire & Eleanor Powell ‘Begin The Beguine’ dance routine from ‘Broadway Melody of 1940’. You need to sit through a minute of silly singing until the dancing begins (or you can fast-forward through it) but it’s well worth the wait. The whole

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GEORGE RAFT; THE DANCING GANGSTER PT. DEUX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTkl_Nyzh90https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXPr32BHmNAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTY6GpGdDF8 Above are three rare clips of George Raft dancing–one from the 1944 wartime propoganda musical ‘Follow The Boys’ (1944), another from one of his earliest films ‘Quick Millions’ (1931) and finally a duet with Alice Faye from ‘Every Night At Eight’ (1935).  The quality of the second two clips

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GEORGE RAFT–THE DANCING GANGSTER (PT.1)

George Raft was a perfectly good actor but a great dancer as witness in the above clip from ‘Bolero’ (1934) where he dances with Carole Lombard. Raft began his career in New York in the so-called roaring twenties, first as the driver of prohibition kingpin gangster Owney Madden, then as

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MARVIN GAYE DOES ‘THE HITCH-HIKE’

Yesterday I posted Marvin doing his hit tune ‘Hitch Hike’ on ‘Hollywood A Go Go’ but sans the dance known by the songs title, which had previously created a sensation on ‘American Bandstand’. Well, here’s that clip of that dance that created that sensation. The ‘Hitch Hike’ dance is pretty

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MARVIN GAYE-A-GO-GO

Here’s Marvin on a 1965 episode of ‘Hollywood A Go-Go’ singing ‘Hitch Hike’, with some of the most bodacious go-go dancers ever invented backing him up. The single of’ Hitch Hike’ was successful enough to land Gaye his first top forty pop single in 1963 with the song reaching number

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NICHOLAS BROTHERS PT. DEUX

Here’s a terrific clip of the Nicholas Brothers from ‘Orchestra Wives’ (1942) performing ‘I’ve Got A Gal From Kalamazoo’. Unfortunately the first minute and a half of this precious routine is wasted by having the brothers sing (or should I say lip-sync) the entire song. Hiring the Nicholas Brothers to

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A LITTLE NICHOLAS BROTHERS

Given the hugeness of their talent, the above title is ludicrous and reductive to say the least. Lets kick off this early 2024 week with the terrific ‘Jumpin’ Jive’ number from ‘Stormy Weather’. You have to sit through a minute and a half of Cab Calloway (not an easy task)

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GLENN GOULD ON 57th STREET

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15BAagfdZ8c In our final Glenn Gould post of the week (see previous three if you dare) we find the young piano whiz taking a walk down 57th street in his trademark garb, carry his funny little folded up piano chair that his father made for him and heading for the

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