Song of the West (film)

Infobox Film
name = Song of the West (1930)

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producer =
director = Ray Enright
writer = Harvey F. Thew
based on the Broadway Operetta by Oscar Hammerstein II and Laurence Stallings
starring = John Boles
Vivienne Segal
Joe E. Brown
music = Harry Akst
Grant Clarke
Oscar Hammerstein II and Vincent Youmans
cinematography = Devereaux Jennings
"(Technicolor)"
editing = George Marks
distributor = Warner Bros.
released = March 15, 1930
runtime = 82 min.
language = English
country = USA
imdb_id = 0021405|

"Song of the West" is a 1930 musical operetta film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was based on the musical play "Rainbow" (from 1928) which was written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Laurence Stallings. It was the first all-color all-talking feature to be filmed entirely outdoors. The film starred John Boles, Joe E. Brown and Vivienne Segal.

Plot

The story takes place in 1849. John Boles plays the part of a young Army scout who kills an officer in self-defense and escapes. He goes out West to California for the Gold Rush and opens a gambling hall in San Francisco. Eventually, he falls in love with the daughter (played by Vivienne Segal) of his former commander. Some members of the military eventually find him leading John Boles to make a hard decision. Joe E. Brown, who played the part of Boles' doomed sidekick, provided the comedy for the film.

Production

This was John Boles's follow-up to his successful role in "The Desert Song" (1929). The film was finished in June 1929. Following a number of dismal previews, however, Warner Bros. shortened the film by two reels, removing some of the musical content in the process. In spite of being delayed for almost a year before release, the film had a worldwide gross of $920,000 and the featured songs were quite popular, leading RCA Victor to hire John Boles, who was then at the height of his popularity, to record two songs from the movie.

ongs

* "West Wind" (Sung by John Boles)
* "The One Girl" (Sung by John Boles)
* "I Like You As You Are" (Sung by John Boles)
* "Come Back to Me" (Sung by John Boles and Vivienne Segal)
* "The Bride Was Dressed in White" (Sung by Joe E. Brown)
* "Kingdom Coming" (Sung by Chorus)

Preservation

No copies of the film are known to exist. The complete soundtrack survives on Vitaphone disks.

Cast (in credits order)

*John Boles as Captain Stanton
*Vivienne Segal as Virginia
*Joe E. Brown as Hasty
*Marie Wells as Lotta
*Sam Hardy as Davolo
*Marion Byron as Penny
*Eddie Gribbon as Sergeant Major
*Edward Martindel as Colonel
*Rudolph Cameron as Lt. Singleton