The Great American Broadcast (1941)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Edwin Blum (writer)
Robert Ellis (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

9 May 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | Sport

Plot:

After WWI two men go into radio. Failure leads the wife of one to borrow money from another; she goes on...

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Money | Microphone | Black Maid | Singer

Cast

Alice Faye	...	Vicki Adams
John Payne	...	Rix Martin
Jack Oakie	...	Chuck Hadley
Cesar Romero	...	Bruce Chadwick
James Newill	...	Great American Broadcast Lead Singer
Charles Fuqua	...	Himself / Song Specialty (as The Ink Spots)
Hoppy Jones	...	Himself / Song Specialty (as The Ink Spots)
Bill Kenny	...	Himself / Song Specialty (as The Ink Spots)
Deek Watson	...	Himself / Song Specialty (as The Ink Spots)
Fayard Nicholas	...	Railroad Station Dance Specialty (as The Nicholas Brothers)
Harold Nicholas	...	Railroad Station Dance Specialty (as The Nicholas Brothers)
Harry Wiere	...	Chapman's Cheerful Chappies / The Stradivarians (as The Wiere Brothers)
Herbert Wiere	...	Chapman's Cheerful Chappies / The Stradivarians (as The Wiere Brothers)
Sylvester Wiere	...	Chapman's Cheerful Chappies / The Stradivarians (as The Wiere Brothers)
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Chuck's Secretary
Eula Morgan	...	Madame Rinaldi
William Pawley	...	Telephone Line Foreman
Lucien Littlefield	...	Justice of the Peace
Eddie Conrad	...	Musical Conductor
Gary Breckner	...	Radio Announcer
M.J. Frankovich	...	Radio Announcer (as Mike Frankovich)
Frank Orth	...	Counterman
Eddie Acuff	...	Jimmy
Mildred Gover	...	Jennie - Vicki's Maid
Syd Saylor	...	Railroad Brakeman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Milton Berle	...	Radio Announcer (scenes deleted)
Kenneth Alexander	...	Radio Ham (uncredited)
Fred Allen	...	Himself - Opening Montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Bettye Avery	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jack Benny	...	Himself - Opening Montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Tex Brodus	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Bob Brossard	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Eddie Cantor	...	Himself - Opening Montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Dick Cherney	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Les Clark	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Bud Cokes	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
John Collins	...	Telephone Lineman (uncredited)
Henry Cordy	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Robert Cornell	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Andre Cuyas	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Dorothy Dearing	...	Bruce's girlfriend (uncredited)
Jack Dempsey	...	Himself - Prizefighter (uncredited) (archive footage)
George Dobbs	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Bruce Edwards	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lillian Eggers	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Frank Erickson	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Arno Frey	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Nora Gale	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jimmy Grant	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jesse Graves	...	Porter (uncredited)
Herbert Gunn	...	Radio Ham (uncredited)
Otto Han	...	Meadows (uncredited)
Bunny Hartley	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Herbert Heywood	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Eddie Kane	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Lee Kass	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Patsy Mace	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel	...	Railroad Station Porter (uncredited)
Roseanne Murray	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Speakeasy Waiter (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Roland Rego	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Marion Rosamond	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
John Sinclair	...	Telephone Lineman (uncredited)
Kate Smith	...	Herself - Opening Montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Charles Tannen	...	Usher (uncredited)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Railroad Porter (uncredited)
Rudy Vallee	...	Himself - Opening Montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Dorothy Vernon	...	Mrs. Willoughby (uncredited)
Fred Walburn	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Basil Walker	...	Radio Broadcast Attendant (uncredited)
Joyce Walsh	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Cecil Weston	...	Wife (uncredited)
Paul Whiteman	...	Himself - Opening Montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Poppy Wilde	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Bill Wilkus	...	Telephone Lineman (uncredited)
Jess Willard	...	Himself - Prizefighter (uncredited) (archive footage)
Walter Winchell	...	Himself - Opening Montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Al Winters	...	Waiter (uncredited)

Directed by
Archie Mayo

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Edwin Blum		writer
Robert Ellis		writer
Don Ettlinger		writer
Helen Logan		writer

Produced by
Kenneth Macgowan	....	associate producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Cyril J. Mockridge		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
J. Peverell Marley
Leon Shamroy

Film Editing by
Robert L. Simpson

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Albert Hogsett

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Travis Banton

Sound Department
Joseph E. Aiken	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Alfred Newman	....	musical director
Alfred Newman	....	composer: theme music (uncredited)
Conrad Salinger	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Nick Castle	....	dance director

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1941) (USA) (theatrical)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

"Run Little Raindrop Run" (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon) had been intended for this movie. Rather, in Springtime in the Rockies (1942), Betty Grable, John Payne and a chorus would sing the song. Later, Miss Grable and Cesar Romero would dance to the melody, played by Harry James and His Music Makers.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although the story takes place in 1919, and the years immediately following, all of Alice Faye's clothes and hairstyles are strictly in the 1941 mode, as are also those of Mary Beth Hughes and the other female members of the cast; the musical arrangements of Faye's featured songs are also in the contemporary 1941 style.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Take It or Leave It (1944)

Soundtrack:

The Great American Broadcast

Origin of the Internet ?

While it is almost impossible to bypass the beauty of Alice Faye, I wish to mention that the plot of this cute fluff pic contains an interesting idea: hook up radio stations in a coast-to-coast network via the telephone. One hears so many arguments (political and otherwise) about "Who Invented the Internet?" It's easy to forget our honorable ancestors in the early days of Radio (when that name drew enough awe to have SciFi and even strange Westerns use it as a buzzword). The idea of telephone hookups apparently gave audiences a thrill.