Friday, August 2, 2019

Movies with Alabama Connections: Murder at the Vanities


Dear readers, in this post we're going to look at a film that has it all. Two murders by two different killers, for one thing. Lots of high concept musical production numbers, including one at the end featuring Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Lots of nearly naked cuties in those production numbers. The introduction of a classic big band tune, "Cocktails for Two." The introduction of another song that may not be a classic in the same way, but still--"Sweet Marijuana". All from a film made in 1934 and featuring not one but TWO Alabama connections. Let's investigate.

On September 12 1933, a musical revue/murder mystery opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City. "Murder at the Vanities" was just one of many "Vanities" mounted by producer Earl Carroll over the years. One secret of his success was the fact his shows featured the most scantily-clad singers and dancers on Broadway. This particular show ran until early November before moving to the Majestic Theatre and finally closing on March 10, 1934. I scanned the lengthy cast list for this production; the only name I recognized was Bela Lugosi

On May 18, 1934, Paramount Pictures released a film version. The movie barely  beat the July 1 final implementation of the Hays Code, which severely restricted subject matter in Hollywood films. Murder was thus one of the last Pre-Code films, those made from 1930 when the code was first accepted by the studios until that final deadline. Many of these films are still striking today in their depictions of drug abuse, crime of all sorts, abortion, prostitution, infidelity, promiscuity, homosexuality and the display of copious amounts of bare female flesh. 

Murder at the Vanities takes place during a performance of a musical review of that title. Danish actor and singer Carl Brisson plays Eric Lander and actress/singer/future game show panelist Kitty Carlisle is Ann Ware; the two are the stars of the show. Ware has replaced Rita Ross (Gertrude Michael) as both the female lead of the show and in Lander's heart. The pair are getting married the next day. Naturally Rita is not too happy about this situation, since she loves Lander, too. 

The film has an interesting structure, alternating between the production numbers and the police investigation going on backstage. Thus the entire film happens in real time except for a few flashbacks near the end. Other stars include Jack Oakie as producer Jack Ellery and Victor McLaglen as police lieutenant Bill Murdock. 

I'm sure by now, dear readers, you're thinking, "This is all very nice, but what are those Alabama connections?"

Those connections are Gertrude Michael and Gail Patrick, both natives of the state. Michael was born in Talladega and graduated from Talladega High School. She started at the University of Alabama, but soon left and spent several years studying music in South Carolina, Cincinnati and Italy. By 1929 she was on stage back in Cincinnati, and Broadway soon followed. She made her first film in 1932. Other films and then television shows followed until her death on Christmas Eve in 1964. 

Patrick's first film was also in 1932. Born in Birmingham, she graduated from Howard College. On a lark she entered a Paramount Studios beauty contest and did not win, but was awarded train fare to Hollywood. She appeared in numerous films, including such well known ones as Brewster's Millions and My Man Godfrey. She retired in 1948, but keep busy with other projects. For instance, she served as executive producer for the entire television run of Perry Mason from 1957 until 1966. She died in 1980. 

I've done a blog post on Patrick in my series on film actresses from Alabama before 1960. I'm planning one on Michael in the future. 

As you might imagine, this film has been discussed by various film bloggers over the years. Some like it for its sheer inventive craziness, others can't seem to wrap their heads around it. You can read some of those takes at The Mystery File, Pre-Code.com, and Random Pictures Blog. The film is 89 minutes long. 

I really enjoyed Murder at the Vanities. The costumes and sets are jaw dropping and the dialog is often snappy and funny. Of course, you have to overlook the silliness of the whole thing in order to enjoy it. Something I did notice is that we hear their applause but never see the audience in the theater.

Murder at the Vanities sort of strikes me as what might have resulted if Samuel Beckett and Busby Berkeley collaborated on a murder mystery musical. Or something.

The full length video of the film is available on YouTube but for some reason is  awkwardly cropped. However, if you watch it you can follow the action pretty well. Murder is also available on the 2009 six disc set "Pre-Code Hollywood Collection." 

More comments are below some of the images. 








A number of posters seem to have been created for this film. 









The film's title card



The film is full of elaborate production numbers featuring numerous young women. This scene appears in the long opening number, "Where Do They Come From and Where Do They Go?" which is sung by Kitty Carlisle wearing a floor-length dress. 




This scene appears in another number in which Carlisle is barely covered by a few strategically placed leaves. That's Kitty lounging at the top of this photo with Carl Brisson. During the number they discuss the need to delay their wedding in the wake of the first murder. 




The sets on this film are something else. Somewhere in the large chorus of young ladies in these production numbers danced future stars Lucille Ball and Ann Sheridan.  


Gail Patrick plays Sadie Evans, private detective, the first of two murder victims. 



Gertrude Michael as Rita Ross in a non-singing moment



And here's Gertrude Michael in the big set and production for "Sweet Marijuana".





Gertrude really gets to make her feelings known in this number. I was pleasantly surprised by her voice, which I like much better than that of Kitty Carlisle. 

"Sweet Marijuana"

Music: Arthur Johnston / Lyrics: Sam Coslow

Soothe me with your caress Sweet marijuana, marijuana Help me in my distress Sweet marijuana, please do You alone can bring my lover back to me Even though I know it's all a fantasy And then you put me to sleep Sweet marijuana, marijuana (Instrumental Break) You alone can bring my lover back to me Even though I know it's all a fantasy And then you put me to sleep Sweet marijuana, marijuana




The song titled "Marahuana" was recorded in 1976 by Bette Midler for her Songs for the New Depression album.







Oh, wait, in the midst of all this musical excitement, a murder mystery is going on behind the scenes. At the end of "Sweet Marijuana" blood from the first victim Sadie Evans drips from the rafters onto one of the ladies atop a cactus. 







Here's Duke Ellington in the midst of his number near the end of film.

This number, "The Rhapsody, the Rape and the Revenge" is shall we say very strange. Eric Lander, in a white suit sitting at a white piano, sings while dancers in vaguely 18th century wigs and costumes cavort. Before long Rita Ross is singing and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra are playing as a chorus and black and white women sing and cavort wildly. The original classical sounding music is transformed into a very uptempo big band number. 


Eric Lander singing and playing "The Rhapsody"

This spectacle must have jarred movie audiences since blacks and whites were performing together on the same stage. Alas, Lander soon reappears with a machine gun and mows down the offending dancers and musicians, including Rita Ross. As things turned out, Ross has really been killed with a revolver shot. 



These dancers in the Ellington number seem to be wearing someone's idea of erotic maid outfits.




Reality intrudes in a few places in the film. There is Helene Smith, the wardrobe woman working at her sewing machine. Norma, who is dressed like a maid, helps the lovelies get ready for their numbers, and is treated terribly by Rita Ross. And then we see this cleaning lady working under a sign that reads, "Through These Portals Pass the Most Beautiful Girls in the World."  



Gertrude Michael with an accessory in a scene from another film



Gail Patrick a bit later in her film career







Thursday, August 1, 2019

Alabama History & Culture News: August 1 edition





For a number of years I've been posting links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles in the "alabamahistory" group at Yahoo!Groups. Most of the articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio websites. You can subscribe to the emails there if you wish; I send out two or three a week along with relevant meeting announcements and so forth. 

Here's the latest batch:




Local historian passes at age 93
Leila Nell Brown was born in Birmingham, Alabama to Buren J. Brown and Leila Williams Brown on Sept. 23, 1925. She was the second of four ...

Travel to Muscle Shoals for Some Smooth Southern Soul
The Shoals is a collective name for four Alabama towns that have their own rich ... For a deeper dive into Handy's history, you can visit his birthplace in ...

On this day in Alabama history: Charles Owens was born
Charles Owens, also known as “Charlie,” was a professional tennis player born on this day in Tuscaloosa. He won the Orange Bowl Tennis ...


'A Hard Rain' book talk
Gaillard, writer in residence at the University of South Alabama, has written extensively on Southern race relations, politics, and culture. He is former ...


Selma native releases non-fiction religious book
Selma native Desmicia Calhoun announced the release of her first book, “Not ... serves as an Army National Guard Guidance Counselor in Alabama.

Foley's Spangrud will sign copies “Miss Ella and the Turtle People” Aug. 3 at Groovy Goat in OWA
A portion of the sales from profit of this book will be donated to the Alabama Coastal Foundation (joinACF.org) to support Alabama's Sea Turtle ...



He will be buried at Evergreen Cemetery, where his wife Margaret was buried in 2010. DuPont remained active well into his 90s, frequently visiting ...

'Looking For Alaska': 4 Things to Know About the Hulu Series Based on the Bestselling Book
One of his most celebrated books beyond his The Fault in Our Stars is Looking ... Latter was his debut novel, despite the former book being adapted into a ... teenage romance, based loosely on the author's own life living in Alabama.

On this day in Alabama history: Willie McCovey made Major League debut
Willie Lee McCovey, born in Mobile, was a Major League Baseball player with phenomenal hitting power. The San Francisco Giants mainstay was ...

Two West Alabama houses make 'Places in Peril' list
The two West Alabama sites, one in Hale County and one in Sumter County, are on this year's “Places in Peril” list released by the Alabama Historical ...

On this day in Alabama history: Decatur branch of Alabama State Bank opened
The Old State Bank is a historic landmark in Decatur. It is believed to be Alabama's oldest surviving bank building. The bank opened for business on ...

On this day in Alabama history: NFL star DeMeco Ryans was born
Former NFL linebacker DeMeco Ryans was born in Bessemer on this day in 1984. He was a standout high school football player at Jess Lanier High ...

Professors, student activists encourage rethinking of University history
Capstone Men and Women (CMW) are the official ambassadors of the University of Alabama, and they spend hours each year memorizing information ...

Preservationists in Alabama trying to save Jazz Age home
The Alabama Historical Commission has added the 1921 home to its "Places in Peril" list for 2019. The structure is known by many as the "Pink ...
["Pink House" in Homewood]


Alabama Historical Commission announces grant program
The Alabama Historical Commission recently opened its 2020 Grant Program with funds appropriated by the Alabama Legislature. Historic sites ...

New Orleans chef returns to Alabama's oldest restaurant
Robey's history with the Bright Star and the Koikos brothers, though, goes back to his early days at New Orleans' historic Commander's Palace ...

Alabama seeks to preserve 'last slave ship' wreckage
The Alabama Historical Commission filed the claim in federal court in Mobile for the Clotilda, which was discovered earlier this year. The commission ...


On this day in Alabama history: NFL star DeMeco Ryans was born
He was a standout high school football player at Jess Lanier High and an All-American at the University of Alabama. Ryans was chosen with the first ...

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Alabama Photos of the Day: Sibyl Pool


Sibyl Pool was born October 7, 1901, in Birmingham but grew up in Linden in Marengo County. She attended what is now the University of Montevallo in 1920 and 1921, then taught at Linden High School for two years. 

Around 1923 her father Benjamin Pool became tax assessor in Marengo County, and by the 1930's she had followed him into public service. Pool  managed the Marengo County Farm Bureau and served as secretary at the Linden Chamber of Commerce. In 1936 she became clerk for Clint Harrison, a state representative from Marengo County. When he resigned to take another post, the county Democratic Executive Committee appointed Pool to fill out his term; she was the second woman to serve in the state house of representatives. 

She was elected to the post in 1938 and re-elected in 1942 but left in 1944 when Governor Chauncey Sparks appointed her to fill the remaining two years of Howell Turner's term as Secretary of State. He had resigned for another position. Pool had been a member of several committees during her time in the state house, but otherwise kept a low profile. She introduced no legislation and did not debate other members. Another woman was not elected to the state house until 1962.

In 1946 Pool ran for a full term in the office of Secretary of State, won 63 of the state's 67 counties and thus became the first woman in Alabama history to win statewide political office. In 1950 she ran a successful campaign for State Treasurer. Although she considered running for higher office, she decided on a Public Service Commission post. Elected in 1955, she served 16 years as an associate member. 

Upon retirement Pool settled on her cattle ranch in Linden; she died of a stroke on Halloween, 1973. Because of her ground-breaking 34-year career in state politics, she was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 2001. She never married. 

You can watch a brief film about Poole from the Alabama Department of Archives here


The article by Joanne Varner Hawks, "A Select Few: Alabama's Women Legislators, 1922-1983" in the Alabama Review July 1985 38(3): 175-201 includes discussion of Pool's life and career. 






Sibyl Pool in 1938

Photo by Cranshaw of the Birmingham News






Sibyl Pool ca. 1963
At this time she was serving on the Alabama Public Service Commission.






Saturday, July 27, 2019

Alabama History & Culture News: July 27 edition






For a number of years I've been posting links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles in the "alabamahistory" group at Yahoo!Groups. Most of the articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio websites. You can subscribe to the emails there if you wish; I send out two or three a week along with relevant meeting announcements and so forth. 

Here's the latest batch:




Tallulah! Talking About One of Alabama's Most Celebrated Performers!
Her book, “Shot in Alabama: A History of Photography in a Deep South State, 1839-1941” was published in 2014 by the University of Alabama Press.



Alabama files legal action to help protect the Clotilda
The Alabama Historical Commission filed a legal action in Mobile federal court Friday that it said would help the state preserve the Clotilda – the last ...

Alabama moves to protect the Clotilda, believed to be the last ship to bring slaves to the US
The Alabama Historical Commission filed a claim under admiralty, or maritime law, in US District Court in Mobile. The claim will ensure that the ...

Alabama files claim to protect the last known ship to bring slaves to the US
The Alabama Historical Commission (AHC) and the State Historic Preservation Office filed an admiralty claim — part of maritime law — in the U.S. ...

On this day in Alabama history: Architect William Poole was born
Architect William Poole was born on this day in Leeds. Poole studied engineering at the University of Alabama for two years, then transferred to ...


On this day in Alabama history: Camp McClellan was established in east Alabama
Shortly after the United States entered World War I, the War Department established Camp McClellan as a rapid mobilization base and permanent ...


Pleasant Hill Baptist Church celebrates 200 years of ministry
Jerrol Hare presented the Washington Baptist Association church with a commemorative plaque on behalf of the Alabama Baptist Historical ...


Historical society to meet Sunday
She will be transporting her audience to the legacy of Julius Rosenwald and the schools he helped build on the back roads of Alabama 100 years ago ...

Mobile jazz festival rocks museum with lively opener
The building housing the History Museum of Mobile has seen a lot -- it was built as a city hall in the 1850s -- but it's probably safe to say it has never ...


On this day in Alabama history: Sparkman named Adlai Stevenson's running mate
On this day, U.S. Sen. John Sparkman of Alabama was named the Democratic vice presidential running mate of Adlai Stevenson. The Democratic ...

Alabama Shakespeare Festival Announces 2019-2020 Schedule
In 1950s Montgomery, Alabama, a fight over a controversial children's book – in which a black rabbit marries a white rabbit – pits one courageous ...


I recently visited Alabama and took a Cook's tour of some of the major ... My Hank Williams' homage ended at his gravesite in Oakwood Cemetery.



(WSFA) - The Cemetery Preservation Group has launched its efforts in Selma. The non-profit, with ... They were told she had no family left in Alabama.


Jackson County Historical Association to meet Sunday
Jackson County Historical Association to meet Sunday ... He was for ten years a history faculty member at the University of Alabama Huntsville, ...

Homewood's 'Pink House' closer to demolition?
Those trying to protect and preserve Homewood's iconic “Pink House,” which was put on the Alabama Historical Commission's Places in Peril in May, ...

Jazz festival's Evening of Poetry Thursday in Mobile
Billed as an Evening of Poetry and Jazz, the event starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at the HistoryMuseum of Mobile. Featured speakers include ...


Documentary about Richard Arrington Jr. to premiere at the Sidewalk Film Festival
So now, in turn, the largest Alabama film festival is giving back to these historic leaders of the largest city in Alabama.” Now in its 21st year, ...


Vulcan to be 2021 Birmingham World Games mascot
Officials also announced Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama as a ... games and education about the history and culture of some of the countries ...

BCRI Youth Tour Alabama African American Heritage Sites
While recent history focuses on the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, these institutions have been dedicated to improving the quality of ...

On this day in Alabama history: New York Yankees honored Mel Allen
The New York Yankees dedicated a plaque on this day in memory of Birmingham-born sports announcer Mel Allen for Monument Park at Yankee ...


A special bicentennial exhibition of Alabama's history is on display
A special exhibit of Alabama's history is part of the bicentennial celebration. The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) has published a ...