Hazel Green & Company (1927) [N/A]
Featuring:
Hazel Green, Joe Lacurta, The Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra
Directed by:
Bryan Foy
Release Date:
September 15, 1927
Original Title:
Hazel Green & Company
Genres:
Music
Production Companies:
The Vitaphone Corporation
Warner Bros. Pictures
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 8
Hazel Green & Company play a few songs.
An early Vitaphone film, this Warner Brothers short apparently was one created using a very complicated system through which an accompanying record was synchronized with a movie camera. There were several serious setbacks for such a system (such as if a film skipped--it became out of sync for the rest of the film plus the records quickly wore out--and 20 showings was the normal life-span of the records) and even though it produced excellent sound, it was eventually replaced. The last of the Vitaphone films were made in 1930, then the studio switched to the standard sound-on-film system.Hazel belts out a variation on the song "Ain't She Sweet" and murders it by singing it so quickly it really made my head spin. This was NOT a shining moment in the history of sound films! Fortunately, in her subsequent numbers, she slows down a bit and the songs are a bit easier to take (this isn't saying much)--though, of course, taste is a very individual thing and you may like them more or less than I did. The bottom line is that this lady and her band sound too frenetic to be all that enjoyable. But, it is still a good showcase for early sound and is important historically speaking--even if its aesthetics are less than stellar.Like a film for kids with ADHD!
