Harry Warren: America's Foremost Composer (1933)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

In an intimate but swank looking room, Harry Warren plays the piano and sings a bit with his rather thin voice. Most of the time, he's joined by singers like Gladys Britten, The Leaders (a male quartet) and Margie Hines. Hines is easy to pick out because she was one of several women who provided the voice for Betty Boop. She also was one of three women who voiced Olive Oyl in the Fleischer Brothers' "Popeye" cartoons. She sings pretty much like Betty Boop (poor lady). The dance team of Marguerite and Le Roy also dance about the piano. In addition, several vignettes are featured, such as Warren's famous tunes "42nd Street". While I might not consider Warren the greatest composer...nor would many others (such as Irving Berlin), his tunes are very nicely presented in this short. And, he certainly was VERY prolific--with over 1700 entries on IMDb!!! Enjoyable.

. . . but I assume that Warner Bros. is making every effort to insure that such a thing is as unpleasant as it sounds. The "pepper pot" in question is formally titled HARRY WARREN: AMERICA'S FOREMOST COMPOSER. Hopefully, this is meant to be as tongue-in-cheek as it sounds, as the slicked-back greaser geezer presented here as Warren can scarcely be taken seriously. Ditto for the mixed company warbling his ditties. I can picture this dinner party as occupying the Fifth or Sixth Circle of Warren's Personal Hell, as a sad-sack crew of mealy-mouthed losers mangle, mumble, and otherwise masticate the lyrics to Warren's tunes. The infantile-voiced blonde is particularly grating, guaranteed to jangle a composer's last nerve. But this just HAS to be some sort of Warner's Roast (perhaps taken ten steps too far), as the camera pans in on a Mixologist loudly shaking a drink in the middle of a soft and now unintelligible love ode. As another soloist delivers one of Harry's hallmark hymns slumped over in her easy chair, cigarette smoke and booze fumes wafting everywhere, it's pretty clear that Mr. Warren's goose is pretty thoroughly cooked.

Just watched this promotional short on the 42nd Street DVD. It showcases Harry Warren, composer of several songs featured in this short like 42nd Street from the movie of the same name of which parts of that number is shown in a clip. Before all that though, Warren starts singing some of his songs before segueing to a couple of female singers of which one of them was Margie Hines, the original voice of Betty Boop who would come back to her when Mae Questel refused to move to Miami, Florida, with the rest of the Max Fleischer employees. Ms. Hines would take over Ms. Questel's Olive Oyl there as well. Anyway, the songs are well showcased and there are some interesting angles from Ray McCarey (Leo McCarey's brother) when he cuts to some silhouettes part of the time. So on that note, Harray Warren: America's Formost Composer is worth a look.

This was one of the weapons in WB's promotional arsenal for their big budget production of "Forty Second Street." Harry Warren was undoubtedly ONE of America's foremost composers--- demonstrated by the fact that many of the 75+ year old songs in his catalog are still known (and used in modern soundtracks) today. That said, I have to grumble when this implies he reigned supreme over the likes of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin or even Cole Porter in 1933--- Warner's puffery to be sure. This Vitaphone 'Pepper pot' short (weren't these shot in NYC?) is essentially Harry at the piano playing a menage of his well known songs, culminating with a short cut to the finale of Lloyd Bacon's 42nd Street. Somewhere in that shot are Ginger Rogers, Toby Wing and Una Merkel tapping away like mad. Interesting curio!