In 1928, the popular songwriting team of DeSylva-Brown-Henderson (who had written the score for Good News the previous year) had another smash hit on their hands: Follow Thru.
Like Good News, Follow Thru was loaded with superb songs. In 1929, production was started on a film version of the show. The film was to be an all-Technicolor adaptation of the stage show, and was one of the first all-Technicolor films produced by a major Hollywood studio. Unfortunately, the film was not released until 1930 and, with the double-whammy of a faltering economy and poor reviews from critics, it was a box office flop. Fortunetely, a complete Technicolor print and all the sound elements of the film were preserved, and the UCLA film library has completely restored the film.
Many hit records were derived from the score to Follow Thru. Here are two of them:
Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra scored a hit with Zelma O'Neal singing "I Want To Be Bad. (MP3)"
Ruth Etting had a hit with "Button Up Your Overcoat (MP3)."
Two fantastic production numbers from the film are available. The first features Jack Haley (who would later play the "Tin Man" in The Wizard of Oz) and Zelma O'Neal singing "Button Up Your Overcoat."
The second is Zelma O'Neal's feature number in the film, a spirited song and dance routine built around "I Want To Be Bad." George Olsen and his Orchestra provide the music.
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