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Is Everybody Happy? (1929 film)

Is Everybody Happy? (1929) is an American pre-Code musical film starring Ted Lewis, Alice Day, Lawrence Grant, Ann Pennington, and Julia Swayne Gordon, directed by Archie Mayo, and released by Warner Bros. The music for the film was written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke, except for "St. Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy and "Tiger Rag". The film's title comes from Lewis's catchphrase "Is everybody happy?"

Is Everybody Happy?
Directed byArchie Mayo
Written byJoseph Jackson
James A. Starr
De Leon Anthong [titles]
StarringTed Lewis
Ted Todd
Alice Day
Gail Wilson
Ann Pennington
CinematographyBen Reynolds
Edited byDesmond O'Brien
Music byThe Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Harry Akst
W. C. Handy
Ted Lewis
Grant Clarke
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • October 19, 1929 (1929-10-19)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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"...some nonsense about an old Hungarian violinist who played symphonies for royal families and his son who played jazz. Elements of mother love, fatherly pride, wealth that can buy finery but not happiness, fail to depress Jazz King Lewis. He excitedly and excitingly blows his clarinet and saxophone, juggles his high hat, croons odd songs in a hoarse voice. Best song: I'm the Medicine Man for the Blues"[1]

Cast

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Soundtrack

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  • "Wouldn't It Be Wonderful?" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
  • "I'm the Medicine Man For the Blues" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
  • "Samoa" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
  • "New Orleans" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
  • "In the Land of Jazz" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
  • "Start the Band" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
  • "St. Louis Blues" – written by W. C. Handy
  • "Tiger Rag" – music by Henry Ragas (as H. W. Ragas), Nick LaRocca (as D. J. La Rocca), Larry Shields (as L. Shields), Tony Sbarbaro (as A. Sbarbaro) and Edwin B. Edwards (as E. B. Edwards); lyrics by Harry DeCosta (as Harry Da Costa)

The film's soundtrack exists on Vitaphone discs preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The Is Everybody Happy ? (1929) Complete Vitaphone Soundtrack, in two parts, can be found on YouTube.[2][3]

Lost American musical film

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The film itself is considered a lost film, according to the Vitaphone Project website.[4] A five-minute clip from the film can be found on YouTube.[5]

Is Everybody Happy?, 1941 and 1943

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Lewis and his orchestra also appeared in a short subject called Is Everybody Happy? (1941), consisting of musical numbers cut from the Abbott and Costello feature film Hold That Ghost (1941) released by Universal Studios. Columbia Pictures released a feature-length biopic of Lewis also titled Is Everybody Happy? (1943).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Newsreel Theatre November 18, 1929 time.com
  2. ^ The Vitaphone Sound-On-Disc Channel (August 19, 2016). "Is Everybody Happy 1929 (Complete Vitaphone Soundtrack) Part 1". youtube. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  3. ^ The Vitaphone Sound-On-Disc Channel (August 19, 2016). "Is Everybody Happy 1929 (Complete Vitaphone Soundtrack) Part 2". YouTube. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  4. ^ "Volume 3 Number 4; Summer/Fall 1997". The Vitaphone Project!. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Is Everybody Happy?: Ted Lewis 1929 YouTube
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