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Street Girl

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Street Girl
Magazine advertisement for Street Girl
Directed byWesley Ruggles
Written byJane Murfin
Based on the story: The Viennese Charmer by W. Carey Wonderly
Produced byWilliam LeBaron
Wesley Ruggles
StarringBetty Compson
John Harron
Ivan Lebedeff
CinematographyLeo Tover
Edited byWilliam Hamilton
Ann McKnight
Music byOscar Levant
Sidney Clare
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • July 30, 1929 (1929-07-30) (Premiere-New York City)[1]
  • August 21, 1929 (1929-08-21) (US)[1]
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$211,000[2]
Box office$1,004,000[2]

Street Girl is a 1929 musical comedy-drama film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. While it was the first film made by the studio, its release was delayed until after Syncopation (released March 1929), becoming RKO's second release. Adapted by Jane Murfin from "The Viennese Charmer", a short story by William Carey Wonderly, it stars Betty Compson, John Harron and Ivan Lebedeff. It was very successful at the box office, amounting to almost half of RKO's profits for the entire year.[3]

Plot summary

The Four Seasons are a jazz quartet who are very good at making music, but not so good at making money, forcing them to share a small rundown apartment. The quartet consists of Happy Winter on violin, Joe Spring on clarinet, Pete Summer on accordion and guitar, and Mike Fall on piano and trumpet. On his way home one night, Freddie saves a homeless waif from the mythical land of Aregon, Freddie, from an attack by a drunken man. He invites her in for dinner, and famished, she accepts. She tells them that back in her homeland, she was a very well known violinist, even having given a command performance for her country's ruler, Prince Nicholaus. Inside the apartment, Mike convinces his bandmates to allow Freddie to room with them, after they discover she has no place to go. In exchange, Freddie offers to manage the band. Freddie talks the band into asking for a raise where they currently work, but when they do, instead of getting a raise, they are fired.

Freddie convinces the owner of a local Aregonese restaurant, Keppel, to hire the quartet, and joins the band as their violinist. As time goes on, a romance develops between Freddie and Mike, with them planning to marry. After Prince Nicholaus of Aregon goes to the cafe to see the band, he recognizes Freddie and kisses her on the forehead. The photograph of the kiss causes the restaurant to jump in popularity overnight. However, it also causes Mike to become jealous to the point of quitting the band. The popularity of Keppel's restaurant allows him to move into a larger establishment. With the help of Prince Nicholaus, Freddie and Mike are reunited in time for the grand opening of Keppel's new restaurant. In an ironic twist, Happy, who is anything but, finally smiles in the last scene of the film.

Cast

Reception

The film opened at New York City's Globe Theatre (now named the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre)[4] and earned over a million dollars for RKO.[5] It made $806,000 domestically and $198,000 overseas, resulting in a profit of $500,000.[2]

Songs

  • "My Dream Memory" - Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare — Performed by Doris Eaton and the Radio Pictures Beauty Chorus[6]
  • "Lovable and Sweet" - Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare — Performed by John Harron, Ned Sparks, Jack Oakie, and Guy Buccola[6]
  • "Broken Up Tune" - Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare — Performed by Betty Compson on violin with Arnheim band[6]

Remakes

Due to its initial success, Street Girl was remade by RKO twice. The first film, That Girl From Paris (1936), starred Lily Pons and Lucille Ball. The second, Four Jacks and a Jill (1942), starred Ray Bolger, Anne Shirley, and Desi Arnaz.[5][7] This is one of those weird coincidences in Hollywood, where you had a husband and wife appearing in two different versions of the same film.

Notes

The short story upon which this film is based originally appeared in Young's Magazine, and its title, The Viennese Charmer, would indicate that Freddie's original homeland might have been Austria, but was fictionalized to Aregon for the film version.[7]

The film's profit of just under $800,000 accounted for almost half of RKO's total profit for the year of $1,670,000.[3]

In Italy, the film is known as Jozelle Jazz Club[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Street Girl: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p55
  3. ^ a b Jewell, Richard B.; Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House. p. 20. ISBN 0-517-546566.
  4. ^ Crafton, Donald (1999). The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926-1931. University of California Press. p. 160. ISBN 0-520-22128-1.
  5. ^ a b Bradley, Edwin M. (2004). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. McFarland. p. 51. ISBN 0-7864-2029-4.
  6. ^ a b c d "Street Girl: Technical Details". theiapolis.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Street Girl: Articles". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
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