Song of the Flame (film)
1930 American musical film
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Song of the Flame is a 1930 American pre-Code musical film photographed entirely in Technicolor. Based on the 1925 operetta of the same name, the film features a screenplay by Gordon Rigby adapted from the musical book written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach for the operetta. The movie also features many of the songs from the operetta which used lyrics by Hammerstein and Orbach and music by George Gershwin and Herbert Stothart. The film was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. It was the first color film to feature a widescreen sequence, using a process called Vitascope, the trademark name for Warner Bros. Pictures' widescreen process. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording (George Groves).[2] It is part of the tradition of operetta films, popular at the time.
(1925 operetta)
by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach
Bernice Claire
| Song of the Flame | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Alan Crosland |
| Written by | Gordon Rigby (screen version & dialogue) |
| Based on | Song of the Flame (1925 operetta) by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto A. Harbach |
| Starring | Alexander Gray Bernice Claire |
| Cinematography | Lee Garmes (Technicolor) |
| Edited by | Al Hall |
| Music by | (see article) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 70 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
Aniuta, known as The Flame, is a peasant girl who incites the people against the Czarist regime and the aristocracy through singing her song. Prince Volodya is the leader of a group of Cossack troops who falls in love with the girl, even though she is part of a revolution that is opposed to his social class. Konstantin is a revolutionary who also falls in love with Aniuta, much to the anger of his lover, Natasha.
The revolutionaries succeed in overthrowing the regime, leaving the Prince and his aristocratic class in peril for their lives and fortunes. Konstantin becomes the new leader and his brutal treatment of the people make many regret having supported the revolution in the first place. After he attempts to seduce her, Aniuta flees to a village in her native Poland. The Prince, fleeing from the new regime, happens to arrive at the same village. When he meets the girl again, he decides to stay. They put their political differences aside and become romantically involved.
Hearing from his spies that the Prince is at a Polish village, Konstantin immediately goes there and arrests him, announcing that he intends to execute him. Aniuta desperately attempts to free the Prince by agreeing to have sex with Konstantin. The Prince is released from prison through this ruse, but when it is discovered that she had no intention of keeping her side of the bargain, she is thrown into jail. The Prince disguises himself and attempts to free the girl, but he is discovered and imprisoned again. Before they can be executed, Natasha, revealing the real reason behind Konstantin's execution order, tells the troops to release both the Prince and Aniuta. Konstantin is arrested by the troops soon after as a traitor to the revolution, and is executed, leaving the Prince and the girl free to pursue their romance.
Cast
- Alexander Gray as Prince Volodya
- Bernice Claire as Aniuta, The Flame
- Noah Beery as Konstantin
- Alice Gentle as Natasha
- Bert Roach as Count Boris
- Inez Courtney as Grusha
- Shep Camp as Officer
- Ivan Linow as Konstanin's Pal
- Janina Smolinska as Dancer (uncredited)
Cast notes:
- Noah Beery was widely praised for his deep bass voice, which he first exhibited in this film in the song "One Little Drink." Based on the success of this song, Warner Bros. subsequently cast Beery in a number of musical films, most notably in Golden Dawn (1930). The public was so enthralled by his singing abilities that Brunswick Records hired Beery to record songs from both of these films which were issued in their popular series.
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Songs
- "Song of the Flame" – words by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, music by George Gershwin
- "Cossack Love Song" – words by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Herbert Stothart and George Gershwin
- "One Little Drink" – words by Grant Clarke, music by Harry Akst
- "When Love Calls" – words by Grant Clarke, music by Eddie Ward
- "The Goose Hangs High" – words by Grant Clarke, music by Harry Akst and Edward Ward. This song is notably parodied in the 1930 Looney Tunes short "The Booze Hangs High"
- "Liberty Song" words by Grant Clarke, music by Harry Akst and Edward Ward. Sung thrice by Alice Gentle as Natasha.
- "Passing Fancy" – words by Grant Clarke, music by Harry Akst and Edward Ward. Sung by Alice Gentle as Natasha.
- "Petrograd" – words by Grant Clarke, music by Harry Akst and Edward Ward. This song is used as the national anthem for the Czarist regime which rules over the first part of the movie. It is sung by Alexander Gray as Prince Volodya along with a choir of other loyalists.
- "Wander Away" – words by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II, music by George Gershwin, sung by Alice Gentle as Natasha.
Along with the songs created for the film, there were also 4 Russian folk songs utilized. These are "Prayer" and "Beriozka", both by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Grechanivi, and Schtchedryck, known as "Carol of the Bells" in English.
Preservation
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The film is believed to be lost. Of its original 9 reels (or 6,501 feet) of film, no part of the film is known to be extant today.[4] The soundtrack was recorded separately on Vitaphone disks. Of the 9 original disks, 5 exist today, holding the audio of 52 minutes of the 70 minute film.[5] All nine songs are preserved in the sound disc performances. There were four choruses as well, three of traditional Russian folk tunes and one drawn from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker,
The screenplay of this film is not publicly available online, though still exists privately in archives. One of the surviving copies is being held privately in the archives of Princeton University.[6]
Looney Tunes connection
Song of the Flame is notable as the film that was accompanied in its initial release by Warner Bros.' first Looney Tunes cartoon short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub. Along with The Booze Hangs High, the fourth Looney Tunes cartoon short, parodying a different song from the film, "The Goose Hangs High".
