In 1928 Paul Whiteman signed a contract with Universal Pictures to star in a musical extravaganza built around his orchestra. Filming was scheduled to commence in the summer of 1929, and the Whiteman Orchestra boarded a train for Hollywood in May of that year.
Universal planned to capitalize on the two biggest developments in motion picture technology -- synchronized sound-on-film technology and the newly improved Technicolor Process 2 -- to create the greatest musical motion picture of the era. When the Whiteman Orchestra arrived in Hollywood, Universal built an extravagant lodge for the band members on its back lot and allowed the boys in the band full access to the studio, a priviledge soon ended after one too many pranks from the band's two prominent jokers, Bing Crosby and Joe Venuti.
Unfortunately, Universal's creative department could not come up with a script that Whiteman liked. A series of ideas (including a romantic comedy starring the 300 lb. Whiteman) was sent to the stage and props departments, and lavish sets and costumes were manufactured for each of them. Universal finally had to curtail the creative development of the film, since hundreds of thousands of dollars were being spent without any film being shot. An unhappy Whiteman boarded the train with his musicians again in August and headed back to New York with the understanding that his band would not make the trip again until a final script had been approved.
The final approval came in October 1929. The film would be titled "The King of Jazz" and would be a musical revue showcasing the band along with comedy routines, dancing, and romantic vignettes featuring some of Universal's biggest stars. Filming ran from Nov. 1929 through Feb. 1930. At Whiteman's insistence, the music for the film was recorded in a soundproof studio, and the recordings were synced to live-action footage of the band and live sound from the various performers. This pioneering effort became the standard practice for films, since it allowed the subtleties of music to be recorded without interfering noise from lights, cameras, or other equipment. (It also explains why period films of jazz musicians are often slightly out of sync with the music; it is nearly impossible for an improvising musician to exactly pantomime a previously recorded solo!)
The film premiered in New York in April 1930 to generally good reviews, but even with the star power of Jeannie Lang and John Boles, it underperformed during its entire initial run, bringing in only $900,000 nationwide. Unfortunately for Universal, the lavish sets and first-class accommodations given to the band the previous year had pushed the cost of the film to nearly $2 million. Rival studios nicknamed the film "Rhapsody in Red."
"The King of Jazz" opened in here Oklahoma City at the end of August 1930 and played a two week engagement at the Liberty theater. Searching through the online archives of the Daily Oklahoman, I could find no large newspaper ads for the film, only a brief write-up in the entertainment section of the August 31, 1930 paper. Perhaps there was little money for advertising the film, considering its already inflated budget and the toll that the Great Depression was already taking on the Hollywood boxoffice.
One of the better numbers from the film is the Milt Ager-Jack Yellen song "Happy Feet," which is the subject of an extravagant 6 minute long segment featuring The Rhythm Boys (Harry Barris, Al Rinker, and Bing Crosby), The Sisters G (Eleanor and Karla Gutchrlein), rubber-legged dancer Al Norman and the Russell Markert Girls,
all accompanied by the Whiteman Orchestra. There is even a surprise dance number at the end by Paul himself; actually Paul Whiteman's dance double was
Paul Small (his real name!), an acrobatic dancer and long-time Whiteman
imitator, not to be confused with the singer of the same name. This YouTube excerpt also includes a short comedy skit with Slim Summerville and Otis Harlan.
The Paul Whiteman Orchestra also recorded all the major songs from the film. "Happy Feet" was recorded on Feb. 10, 1930 and was released by Columbia on the classic Paul Whiteman "Potato Head" personalized label. The Rhythm Boys sing the vocal chorus and soloists include Chet Hazlett on alto saxophone, Andy Secrest on cornet and Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang in a violin-guitar duo.
Download Paul Whiteman and his Orch - Happy Feet.mp3
"Happy Feet" was also recorded by The Revelers, a popular vocal quartet that had appeared together on records since 1925. The members of The Revelers on this October 1930 recording are Lewis James, James Melton, Elliott Shaw, and Wilfred Glenn. The pianist is Frank Black. Upon hearing this record, a friend of mine remarked, "That sounds like the old cartoons I used to watch as a kid." And indeed, the style is similar to the musical numbers that linger on the sountracks of work by the Fleischer Brothers and other pioneer cartoon producers.
Download The Revelers - Happy Feet.mp3
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