"Abe Lyman's Barn Dance" (1930) Hot Jazz!

"Abe Lyman's Barn Dance" (1930)
I thought it would be fun to extract the "hot" Abe Lyman footage from the Path'e film "Pardon My Gun" (1930) & turn it into a short!
The reveiws are somewhat awful for the actual film, but I think people expecting a Western are a bit put off by the hot dance music & people expecting a musical are just left wondering... Well, it is a bit uneven. To be fair to it, I would remind viewers that Western backgrounds had been used in stage shows like "Whoopee!" & "Girl Crazy"---Both made into sound films.
It would seem Pathé would try this approach with "Pardon My Gun".....
The actual stars of "Pardon My Gun" were George Duryea (later known as Tom Keene) & Sally Starr. You see them here too. However, most of the performers in these scenes were uncredited.
We open with Abe Lyman's band performing "The Man from the South" (with a Big Cigar in His Mouth) a new song (then) by Rube Bloom & Harry Woods.
Albert Lehman Celestan as "Stompie" the cook-- he was a nightclub comic & had performed at the Cotton Club.
Dorothy Vernon (as Mrs. Weatherby) asks "Lem" if he won't coax his daughter Jenny (Ida May Chadwick), into doing a dance.
I do not know who is playing "Lem", but he acts as the master of ceremonies & Jenny certainly proves to be a hot-stepper.
(Tune: "Moanin' For You" composed by Harvey Brooks)
Ida May Chadwick was part of the orginal stage cast of "Paradise Alley" in 1924.
Mona Ray (as Little Peggy) sings "Deep Down South"--not a bad number.
It was composed by George Green with lyrics by film comic Monty Collins.
(Incidentally, Mona Ray would later turn up in the 1940 RKO Radio Picture, "Lil' Abner" as "Mammy Yokum".)
According to the film's IMDB entry: The song "Deep Down South" was also recorded by legendary jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke on September 09, 1930, in his last session as a bandleader.
The record featured Benny Goodman on clarinet, Gene Krupa on drums & a high-voiced vocal by guitarist, Weston Vaughan.
Appearently, Bix's record & the performance in this film were the only versions of "Deep Down South" recorded when it was new. Do you know of another version?
"The Twelfth Street Rag" (Composed by Euday L. Bowman) is a showcase for Abe Lyman & His Orchestra.
I can only identify a couple of the guys:
"Zip" Keyes performs with two clarinets in his mouth...
Frank Papile on the accordion... & Orlando “Slim” Martin & his famous gobbling trombone! (The same one you heard in those Merrie Melodies cartoons released in the early 1930's!)
Lyman is seen twirling & tossing his drum sticks during the number.
1930 must have been a busy year for Al "Rubber Legs" Norman, who dances to "The Milenberg Joys". (Composed by Jelly Roll Morton, Paul Mares & Leon Roppolo.)
Next, Abe Lyman's guitarist sings "A Cottage for Sale" (Music & lyrics by Willard Robison)
Who was he? Was he part of the band or a singer the studio added..?
American Pathé was acquired by Joseph P. Kennedy, & in just a few years (as a result of various mergers), would become RKO Radio Pictures.
Posted for fun and not for profit - no money is made from this posting as these videos are not monetized. (This video/film is in the public domain) The material herein is of a strictly non-commercial intent, and is presented for the sole purpose of nonprofit education, research & comment.