A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film

Chronicling the early musical film years from 1926 to 1934, "A Song in the Dark" offers a fascinating look at a uniquely American form of entertainment. Silent film had given way to "talkies" and the musical suddenly dominated the public's attention. Illuminating the entire evolution of the sound medium, Richard Barrios shows how Hollywood, in seeking to outdo Broadway and vaudeville, recruited both the famous and the unknown, the newest stars and the has-beens, the geniuses and the hustlers. The results were unlike anything the world had seen or heard: backstage yarns, all-star revues, grandiose operettas, outlandish hybrids—some wonderful, many innovative, a few ghastly. Barrios recalls, for example, such monumental films as the 1927 hit "The Jazz Singer", the first feature film to include both talk and song, and the Academy Award-winning "The Broadway Melody" (1929). There are in-depth discussions of such major films as "Applause", the all-color "On With the Show!" and "King of Jazz", and the bizzare "Madam Satan". Barrios also highlights the new musical wave that cheered the country out of Depression, starting with "42nd Street" (1933) and later including the famed collaborations of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Along with spectacular dances and unforgettable songs, these films spotlighted the great musical stars — Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, and Maurice Chevalier — as well as movie newcomers Jeanette MacDonald, Bing Crosby, and director Busby Berkeley, and such unlikely musical performers as Joan Crawford and Gloria Swanson. The triumphs, disasters, and offscreen intrigue are all here in this remarkable story, told with a blend of engaging writing and cogent criticism. With more than fifty photos, extensive annotations, and a discography, "A Song in the Dark" memorably recovers this vital and unique film heritage.