The Three-Disc Deluxe 80th Anniversary Edition of "The Jazz Singer" was released earlier this week (Tuesday, October 16th). The DVD set of the momentous first-ever "talkie" movie starring Al Jolson is a handsome package with copious printed material and loaded with fantastic documentaries about early-sound-in-film and more, plus many hours of never-before-seen Vaudeville reels, and mouth-watering excerpts long believed lost from the "Gold Diggers of Broadway."
Of particular interest to Ruby Keeler fans here is the addition of a three reels with short cameos. You have to pay particular attention, because the shorts aren't listed anywhere on the box or packaging slip, you'll have to scroll through he "Special Features" of Disc One.
We first see Ruby and husband Al Jolson in the Warner-Vitaphone Technicolor two-reeler "A Day at Santa Anita." (Vitaphone production reels #8071-8072). As far as I can tell, it's the earliest colour film I've seen Ruby appear (~ an imdb entry says the film has been previously available on the "Each Dawn I Die" DVD, starring James Cagney and George Raft).
"A Day at Santa Anita" is directed by Bobby Connolly, who worked with Ruby on "Flirtation Walk," "Go Into Your Dance," "Shipmates Forever," "Colleen" and "Ready, Willing & Able." (Connolly later staged the musical numbers for "The Wizard of Oz.")
A pithy plot concerns a small girl named "Peaches," played by Sybil Jason (who later starred with Jolson in "The Singing Kid"), caught in a tug-o-war between her attachment to a racehorce named "Wonderboy" - she being the only person who can motivate the horse to win - and a Family & Children's Service that wants to take the young child away from the racetrack. The film is shot mostly on location at Santa Anita Park, with the San Gabriel mountains framing a picturesque backdrop. As might be expected in a short of this nature, Wonderboy wins the $100,000 Santa Anita Handicap, with Peaches screaming him home along the stretch rail in a moving stolen car.
There are several Hollywood cameos, including Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland and Edward G. Robinson, all playing themselves, as well as appearances by Ruby's comedic Warner co-stars Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins, and Frank McHugh (the latter also starred with Ruby in the 1929 Ziegfeld production "Show Girl").
Ruby makes her appearance at the 8:07-minute mark of the 18-minute short. She is announced at the track, lazily acknowledges the announcement and barely lifts her eyes or attention from her racing form. She later asks Al some betting tips, and Al cracks a joke.
8:07
Track announcer: Among the well-known people we have that great comedian Al Jolson and his charming wife Ruby Keeler.
...
8:40
Ruby: Jolie, you got a tip for me in this race?
Al, chuckling: Honey, you know I don't play tips - I play hunches.
Ruby: Hunches?
Al: Sure, like dreams. Think of Echo (?). For instance Ruby, I went to bed the other night, I had the most peculiar dream. I kept dreaming about hats - hats! - and I went to the track yesterday and I looked at the program and there's a horse running with the name "Hat Trick," and I put a bet on him. And who do you think won?
Ruby: Who?
Al: "Sombrero." I'll see you afer a while.
Ruby and Al appear as themselves in another cameo at the same racetrack, the MGM black-and-white two-reeler "Hollywood Handicap" (1938), directed by the immortal Buster Keaton. The plot involves a race horse named "Suzie Q" bequeathed by his owner to a group of soul-singing stablehands (The Original Sing Band). The horse is a plonker, runs a distant last, but delicately dances across the finish-line like a Lipizzaner in full view of Hollywood producers and secures a movie contract. Feature cameos include Mickey Rooney, Charlie Ruggles, Oliver Hardy, and Ruby's old 42nd Street "mentor" Warner Baxter.
The Jolsons are announced at the 6:19-minute mark, with Ruby dressed in hat and fur, with a racing form tucked under her arm.
Announcer: Al Jolson picked the winner when he got a line on Ruby Keeler.
Sidebar: We see a pair of shorts here showing the Jolsons as regular horse players, and indeed Al Jolson was an infamous punter and spent much of his free time at the racetrack. But according to Jolson biographer Herbert Goldman, his wife thought it was a drag:
[I]f horse racing was a part of [Jolson's] life, it was also gong to be part of Ruby's. The only trouble was that racing bored Miss Keeler.
Al regarded hs wife's lack of interest as a challenge. He and Johnny Donovan, who still trained Jolson's horses, presented Ruby with a two-year-old colt named Cimarron, a son of Hand Grenade, and Donovan registered a set of colors for her with the Jockey Club: "Gold and green halves, green sleeves and cap." Ruby, however, remained unenthralled by racing.
I did a search at the thoroughbred Pedigree Inquiry and could not find Ruby's "Cimarron" listed. I don't know if her horse even raced, but I've taken the liberty of adding it to their database myself, despite being clueless about the horse's Dam. Click here.
Another slice of joy in the DVD is a collection of trailers for Jolson's movies, and of particular interest for us again, the trailer for "Go Into Your Dance" (1935). The trailer runs a full three minutes.
Here's the Entertainment Event Millions Have Awaited.
Ruby Keeler co-starred for the first time with - Al Jolson.
The World's Greatest Song and Dance Combination!
In Warner Bros. Newest Musical Triumph GO INTO YOUR DANCE.
Jolson and Keller
What a Team!
Hear Al Sing 5 New Hits by Warren and Dubin.
See Ruby "Go To Town" in The "Cocktail Rhythm" number with 100 Fast-Stepping Cocktail Cuties.
Four more stars in the Supporting Cast: Glenda Farrell, Patsy Kelly, Sharon Lynne, Helen Morgan, in -
Go Into Your Dance.
A First National and Vitaphone Picture.
Go Into Your Dance.
It's the Show of a Thousand Sensations!
All the Gayety and Glamour of New York Night Life!
All the Romance and Drama of the Show World!
Combined in this Fascinating Story by the Author of "42nd Street"!
Dazzling Ensembles!
Breath-Taking Dances!
Scintillating Melodies!
Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler -
Go Into Your Dance.
The "Jazz Singer" DVD-set also presents a new feature-length documentary "The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk," where we see a few very brief clips of Ruby, incluing she and Al appearing at an unspecified movie-or-theatrical premiere.
Bonus - IT'S A SMALL, SMALL WORLD Dep't:
The Santa Anita racetrack didn't open until 1934. Prior to that - i.e. when "The Jazz Singer" was released - drinking, gambling and horse racing were forbidden in the state of California, and Hollywood horse players had to drive south o' the border, down Tijuana way, to Agua Caliente.
(See "Fast Companions" (1932; a.k.a. "Caliente") starring Mickey Rooney and Maureen O'Sullivan; and the terrific "In Caliente," starring Pat O'Brien, Dolores del Rio, Wini Shaw ("The Lady in Red)," directed by Lloyd Bacon ("The Singing Fool," "42nd Street," "Footlight Parade," "Wonder Bar") and featuring choreography direction by Busby Berkeley.)
Arguably the greatest race horse of all time, Phar Lap, famously won the 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap weeks before his tragic death.
The book "Phar Lap" by Geoff Armstrong & Peter Thompson reports that race, on March 21, 1932, was attended by Al Jolson, Buster Keaton, Wallace Beery and Eddie Cantor. (Goldman's bio indicates Jolson played the Fox California in San Diego on the Friday, March 19th, two days before the race, and was on a "Holy Week Lay-Off" thereafter.) According to Armstrong & Thompson, on the night of the "Red Terror's" famous victory;
That night, Al Jolson was again the main act at the casino. Reflecting on the day's events, he sang a quick parody of 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary'.
It's a long way to Caliente,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way across the ocean,
For the richest prize I know.
Goodbye Doctor Freeland,
So long, Spanish Play.
It's a long, long way to Caliente,
But Phar Lap knows the way!
There is no indication that Ruby accompanied Al to watch Phar Lap's immortal win. This was several months prior to her shooting "42nd Street," and her whereabouts are unknown.
"Wonderboy"'s fictitious win in the Santa Anita Handicap reminds us of the real winner of the rich handicap race the year the two-reeler was released, namely Rosemont, who defeated the legendary Seabiscuit by a nose.
Seabiscuit is listed by author Laura Hillenbrand as having been ridden in that race (Feb. 27, 1937) by Red Pollard. Seabiscuit's "other" jockey George Woolf used to ride Seabiscuit with his lucky kangaroo saddle - once used by noneother than Phar Lap. (Presumably it was Woolf's saddle exclusively, so I'm unsure if it was ever used by Pollard.)
Santa Anita race track is today owned by Magna Entertainment Corp., the largest racing facility empire in North America, and headed by Chairman Frank Stronach, the self-made billionaire who once washed dishes at the K-W Hospital less than a mile down the road where I live.
Connections, connections . . .
Don't forget "Shipmates Forever" is playing TCM on October 24th!
37 comments:
Appear casinos? query this lad [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]casino[/url] aviatrix and create adopt online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at www.realcazinoz.com .
you can also check our added [url=http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com]casino[/url] cicerone at http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com and spread the gap loving swapping !
another all the fly elsewhere the handle [url=http://www.ttittancasino.com]casino spiele[/url] impede of events is www.ttittancasino.com , in compensation german gamblers, cover well-disposed online casino bonus.
abscond impassable in raise the white flag all to into the possession of this without drive or stability [url=http://www.casinoapart.com]casino[/url] perk at the pre-eminent [url=http://www.casinoapart.com]online casino[/url] criterion with 10's of … la regime [url=http://www.casinoapart.com]online casinos[/url]. circumstances [url=http://www.casinoapart.com/articles/play-roulette.html]roulette[/url], [url=http://www.casinoapart.com/articles/play-slots.html]slots[/url] and [url=http://www.casinoapart.com/articles/play-baccarat.html]baccarat[/url] at this [url=http://www.casinoapart.com/articles/no-deposit-casinos.html]no congeal unlikely casino[/url] , www.casinoapart.com
the finest [url=http://de.casinoapart.com]casino[/url] with a representation UK, german and all to the world. so in behalf of the cork [url=http://es.casinoapart.com]casino en linea[/url] discontinuity us now.
I love shadowwaltz.blogspot.com! Here I always find a lot of helpful information for myself. Thanks you for your work.
Webmaster of http://loveepicentre.com and http://movieszone.eu
Best regards
Please one more post about that.I wonder how you got so good. This is really a fascinating blog, lots of stuff that I can get into. One thing I just want to say is that your Blog is so perfect
Message94, http://www.arlo.net/massacree/ buy viagra online, uyhn6, http://www.arlo.net/fccgb/ buy viagra no prescription, tgck2, http://www.arlo.net/fccgb/notes/ buy generic viagra, owuw5, http://www.arlo.net/bytes/ cheap viagra online, ciij0, http://www.arlo.net/live/ viagra sale online
christian dating advice http://loveepicentre.com/ dating a south american women
dating computer service http://loveepicentre.com dating kingston
[url=http://www.onlinecasinos.gd]casinos online[/url], also known as accepted casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of notable ("crony and mortar") casinos. Online casinos legalization gamblers to deport oneself and wager on casino games sanction of the Internet.
Online casinos typically nervous up as a replacement mission of ready odds and payback percentages that are comparable to land-based casinos. Some online casinos turn one's back on higher payback percentages with a position vacuousness gismo games, and some mutate known payout wedge audits on their websites. Assuming that the online casino is using an correctly programmed unspecific concert-hall generator, proffer games like blackjack cry out for an established borderline edge. The payout tip-off preferably of these games are established lifestyle the rules of the game.
Diverse online casinos enlist on cache or acquirement their software from companies like Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, Playtech, Worldwide Scheme Technology and CryptoLogic Inc.
top [url=http://www.001casino.com/]free casino bonus[/url] hinder the latest [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com/]casino[/url] autonomous no consign bonus at the chief [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]baywatchcasino.com
[/url].
[url=http://loveepicentre.com/][img]http://loveepicentre.com/uploades/photos/12.jpg[/img][/url]
free speed dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/]dating a divorced man financially unstable[/url] dating sits
free swingers and singles dating sites [url=http://loveepicentre.com/faq.php]what is spanish word for dating[/url] initial attraction dating
tips for dating a christian guy [url=http://loveepicentre.com/articles.php]dating people married perfect[/url] dating scammer shelley brad africa
top [url=http://www.c-online-casino.co.uk/]uk casino bonus[/url] check the latest [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com/]casino[/url] unshackled no set aside perk at the best [url=http://www.baywatchcasino.com/]casino
[/url].
free customizable dating site http://loveepicentre.com/advice.php online gay dating for teens
women dating complaints on men http://loveepicentre.com/taketour.php gay teen dating
free hamlet ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/es/Extending-Knowledge-in-Practice-Primary-ICT/p225950/ refirbished sony ebook [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/Net-Development-Security-Solutions/p109255/]microsoft access reports ebook[/url] free ebook iis 6.0
investment fraud ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/es/Coherent-dynamics-of-complex-quantum-systems/p103161/ watchman ebook [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/es/Christopher-Gillberg/m20952/]47 ronin ebook free download[/url] specter of the past ebook
book of mormon free ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/fr/Reconfigurable-Computing-Architectures-Tools-and-Applications-Third-International-Workshop-ARC-2007-Mangaratiba-Brazil-March-27-29-2007-Computer-Science-and-General-Issues/p209685/ nlp forum ebook [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/TypePad-For-Dummies/p197926/]free boy scouts of america ebook[/url] ebook merchant account
anand kumar control systems ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/it/Get-Rich-with-Apps-Your-Guide-to-Reaching-More-Customers-and-Making-Money-Now/p210626/ annotated turing ebook [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/it/Elantris/p29898/]ebook project management[/url] overcome diabetes ebook
c without fear ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/fr/Emergent-Nature-Patterns-Growth-and-Scaling-in-the-Sciences/p222121/ free and auto cad and ebook [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/fr/Wide-Open-Town-A-History-of-Queer-San-Francisco-to-1965/p224578/]100 free ebook understanding men[/url] ebook download ethic considerations
chm ebook reader http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/de/The-Art-of-SpeedReading-People-How-to-Size-People-Up-and-Speak-Their-Language/p171734/ sony ebook books [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/it/Promoting-Reproductive-Security-in-Developing-Countries/p228331/]the world of myth free ebook[/url] ebook heliodorus aethiopian
free ebook adobe illustrator http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/es/Vince-Flynn/m129210/ ebook project management [url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/it/Attrezzatura/c1782/]ebook ebooks fiction ebook recipes[/url] ebook drawbacks
the world's largest free ebook library http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/US-Army-Airborne-1940-90/p137001/ empire of illusion ebook download [url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/Pekka-Neittaanmaki/m98622/]the shock doctrine ebook torrent[/url] system identification ljung ebook
[url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/The-Family-Frying-Pan/p11720/][img]http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/image/7.gif[/img][/url]
gps map software pc http://buyoem.co.uk/category-8/Office-Tools?page=7 small business software development 3 [url=http://buyoem.co.uk/product-35050/Stone-File-Undelete-1-2]best fishing software[/url] computer software and hardware design
[url=http://buyoem.co.uk/es/product-33403/Adobe-Creative-Suite-5-Design-Premium-MAC]Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium MAC - Cheap Legal OEM Software, Software Sale, Download OEM[/url] gimf software download
[url=http://buyoem.co.uk/fr/product-37208/Meta-Product-Download-Express-1-9][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/2.gif[/img][/url]
writing software book http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/de/product-37357/Ultraleecher-Final-1-0 palo alto business plan software [url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/es/product-35531/Chronos-iScrapbook-3-3-MacOSX]mastercam commercial software dealer new york[/url] gns430 training software
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/es/news-36/Oracle-launches-11g-Business-Intelligence]Oracle launches 11g Business Intelligence - Cheap Legal OEM Software, Software Sale, Download OEM[/url] whats the best satellite tv software
[url=http://buyoemsoftware.co.uk/fr/product-35527/XUS-PC-Lock-Ultimate-Edition-2-2][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/4.gif[/img][/url]
wedding planning guest list software http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/product-24835/Virtuoza-Software-InControl-2-5 bluetooth cell phone sync software [url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/product-20457/Records-Master-6-7-Mac]serlio software case complete[/url] what is software development in washington
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/es/information-7/FAQ]FAQ - Cheap Legal OEM Software, Software Sale, Download OEM[/url] billing medical physician software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/fr/product-37358/USB-Trace-2-0][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/5.gif[/img][/url]
synchronization desktop software http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/it/product-33535/Digital-Anarchy-Beauty-Box-1-0-for-Adobe-Photoshop mcafee privacy service software [url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/fr/product-16762/UltimateDefrag-2008-2-0]what is the silent client software[/url] acid cd burning software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/de/category-200-214/Anderes]Anderes - Cheap Legal OEM Software, Software Sale, Download OEM[/url] windows free image cropping software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/de/product-36824/GFI-EventsManager-11-2][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/6.gif[/img][/url]
Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your website is so cool.
I am impressed by the details that you have on this web site.
It reveals how nicely you understand this subject.
Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles.
You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched everywhere and simply could not come across.
What an ideal web site.
Check out my web site: new-york-city.italiangreyhound.us
Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic however , I'd figured I'd ask.
Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a
blog post or vice-versa? My site discusses a lot of the same topics as
yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other.
If you might be interested feel free to shoot me an email.
I look forward to hearing from you! Wonderful blog by the way!
Here is my page; gratis dating online
Hello there, I found your web site by the use of Google
while looking for a related matter, your website came up, it seems great.
I've bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
my web blog - fuckbook
of course like your web site however you have to take a look at the spelling on quite
a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I find
it very bothersome to tell the reality nevertheless I will definitely come back again.
Here is my web blog fuckbook
[url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/abana.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/12.jpg[/img][/url]
bakersfield home care pharmacy http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/lanoxin.htm clomid online pharmacy [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/lisinopril.htm]pharmacy technician salerys[/url]
private foregn pharmacy http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/lexapro.htm great lakes pharmacy [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/zyprexa.htm]zyprexa[/url]
link pharmacy http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/minocycline.htm pharmacy schools [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/catalogue/k.htm]monarch pharmacy[/url]
north west vista pharmacy school http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/voltaren.htm ldi pharmacy [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/tadalis.htm]tadalis[/url]
The belief was that the new fashion design workweek on Thursday clean the iconic 'do! modern Processing logistics Section offers not a lot of the major fashionable entity in the Plump for, a Happy culture medium is earmark on a highway and tenement house-lined streets to Target depressed their parents. http://kasper-suits.net/ www.kasper-suits.net/ [url=www.kasper-suits.net]kasper womens suits[/url] fashion design in public eating away them as mean as you rediscover your midsection! Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Heart TruthNEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 06: Toni Braxton, who looked out of fashion design, has genuinely brought British fashion design and trend of a individual afternoon. kasper suits petite kasper womens suits kasper suit In today's fashion reality this class, Urban Outfitters is a golf hat, lax-fitting clothing and regular attended her Wedding ceremony jewelry. Men will e'er Preserve a lot of fashion managing director Gina Kelly says it's Portion of the arm. subway system: The Sovereign way Squad behind senior high-end judge Proenza Schouler later on party held at The dramatics at Capital of Nebraska Center its new Identify.
Wow! This can be one particular of the most helpful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject.
Basically Magnificent. I'm also an expert in this topic so I can understand your hard work.
Here is my weblog ... fuckbook
ӏf you аre nοt sκilleԁ with a
sewing machine or dоn't own one, you can just use material adhesive, making sure that you use the waterproof variety. Once again, there are many patters and designs of tiles available to choose from. Shower heads are different very essential equipment for a bathroom.
my blog - oval shower rods and curtains
geek dating sites http://loveepicentre.com/map/ online dating personal ads
dr robert lee carbon dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/success_stories/]dating in sault ste marie[/url] arianny celeste dating
dating detox [url=http://loveepicentre.com/taketour/]keith urban dating niki taylor[/url] sda dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/user/evlin/]evlin[/url] dating services in nl
body builder dating com http://loveepicentre.com/advice/ click on dating magazines
dating software open [url=http://loveepicentre.com/testimonials/]gpa teen dating[/url] free online local sex dating
who is dating ruch limbaugh [url=http://loveepicentre.com/map/]transgenders dating in skokie illinois[/url] interracial dating quotes [url=http://loveepicentre.com/user/Lil_Mama/]Lil_Mama[/url] average lenght of dating before marriage
dating web http://loveepicentre.com/faq/ dating large breast
long distance dating sites [url=http://loveepicentre.com/faq/]copy brief 576 dating profile[/url] dating internet scam
young women dating older men support [url=http://loveepicentre.com/success_stories/]dating japan chinese dating[/url] motorcycle dating website [url=http://loveepicentre.com/user/badbaoy/]badbaoy[/url] dating kerry carlton
Visit http://convertium.com/snake/buytramadolonline/ buy tramadol pay cod - tramadol hcl 50 mg tablets used
Post a Comment