The Great American Songbook
Musicals have been a staple of American cinema since the advent of sound in 1927. The ability to synchronize movement with audio brought a new breed of performers to the silver screen. When we look back, it is these performers—and perhaps the directors—we focus on as the reason for the films’ enduring quality. The composers and lyricists, while not entirely forgotten, are less often credited with the success of a film. But it is the songs we hum on the way out of the theater, and this summer, we are focusing on their creators.
“The Great American Songbook” is a term for American popular music and jazz standards from the first half of the twentieth century. Starting with the music popularized by the composers from Tin Pan Alley to the new musical plays being produced in the 1920s and 1930s to music composed directly for films, this series highlights composers and lyricists in the first few decades of cinematic musicals. From the well-known names of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and George and Ira Gershwin, to the lesser known Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed, Al Dubin, Harry Warren, and Gus Kahn, this series offers an overview of musical talent that will keep you humming through the fall.
Special guest Michael Lasser will be introducing many of these films. Michael Lasser is a lecturer, writer, broadcaster, and critic. His latest book, City Songs and American Life, 1900–1950, was published in June 2019. He is also the co-author, with Philip Furia, of America’s Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley (2006), and the author of America’s Songs II: From the 1890s to the Post-War Years (2013). His nationally syndicated public radio show, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, has been on the air since 1980 and won a 1994 Peabody Award. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he is the former theatre critic for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and speaks often at museums and universities around the country. In 2010, he was named a Thomas P. Johnson Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Rollins College.
Events in this Series
Three Little Words
The Great American Songbook. Special introduction by critic Michael Lasser. The music of songwriting team Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby is highlighted in this biography of their life and work starring Fred Astaire and Red Skelton. Featuring Kalmar and Ruby hits such as “My Sunny Tennessee” and “Who’s Sorry Now?,” the film also includes the debut of seventeen-year-old Debbie Reynolds performing “I Wanna Be Loved By You.”
The Harvey Girls
The Great American Song Book. Judy Garland is in top form in this western musical, with songs by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer. Traveling on a train westbound for Sand Rock, New Mexico, Susan Bradley (Garland) is intending to marry the man she has been corresponding with but has never met.
42nd Street
The Great American Songbook. Special introduction by critic Michael Lasser. Ruby Keeler is the young ingenue in this backstage musical. She plays Peggy Sawyer, just in from Pennsylvania, trying to get her big break on Broadway.
Delicious
The Great American Songbook. Special introduction by critic Michael Lasser. This ninth pairing of romantic leads Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell is the first film fully scored by George and Ira Gerswhin. In addition to the six songs the brothers wrote for the film, ....