George White's Scandals


1h 19m 1934
George White's Scandals

Brief Synopsis

Opening with a credit line that reads "Entire production conceived, created and directed by George White," a film evolves where the only plot line is a thin backstage romance between Jimmy Martin (Rudy Vallee) and Kitty Donnelly (Alice Faye)in and around a dozen or more sketches, revues, black-outs and singing and dancing turns. Made before the birth of the production code, reviewers of the day found much to object about in the implications of Alice Faye's "Nasty Man" song with the Meglin Kiddies, and the dog action in the "Your Dog Loves My Dog" number by Vallee, Faye, Jimmy Durante and Dixie Dunbar. The geometric dance arrangements used in the Vallee, Durante and Cliff Edwards "Every Day Is Father's Day" was not cause for Busby Berkeley to lose any sleep.

Film Details

Also Known As
Scandals
Genre
Musical
Romance
Release Date
Mar 16, 1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 19m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,200ft (9 reels)

Synopsis

While George White sells tickets to his musical revue, George White's Scandals , which is being held at the Apollo Theatre in New York City, Miss Lee, a visiting reporter, points out tobacco tycoon John R. Loraine and his spoiled daughter Barbara. Barbara is notorious for hiring male singers for her father's radio show in order to romance them. She has successfully hooked George's star attraction, Jimmy Martin, who will be making his first appearance on the Loraine Tobacco Hour in a broadcast from the stage that night. Jimmy's longtime partner, Kitty Donnelly, who is in love with Jimmy, is very unhappy with the situation, and she is comforted by her friend and fellow performer, Happy McGillicuddy, who is in love with her. To further complicate the romantic tangles, Happy is pursued by Patsy Dey, who is the beloved of Stew Hart, and in between their numbers, the foursome sigh and squabble over one another. After Kitty confronts Barbara, who is trying to persuade Jimmy to leave the show, she confides to Happy that she herself will leave the show if Jimmy does, which makes Happy threaten to do the same. This starts a chain reaction, and, with all of his stars determined to quit, George tries to find a solution. The show continues while George plots to demonstrate to Jimmy what kind of woman Barbara really is. George asks Stew to pretend to be a former intimate friend of Barbara's, but their ruse does not work and Jimmy decides to quit the show. He is discussing this with George when they see Barbara hugging a former boyfriend, wrestler Pete Pandos. Convinced now that Barbara is not the woman for him, Jimmy asks George to help square the situation with Kitty, whom Jimmy now realizes he loves. While George is orchestrating a grand finale for the show and the lovers, Happy finally agrees to marry Patsy. Jimmy and Kitty then begin their number "Sweet and Simple," which includes a pretend wedding ceremony. George has tricked Jimmy and Kitty into signing a marriage license, and, much to everyone's delight, the wedding ceremony is real and the couple is married on stage.

Cast

Rudy Vallee

Jimmy Martin

Jimmy Durante

Happy McGillicuddy

Alice Faye

Kitty Donnelly

Adrienne Ames

Barbara Loraine

Gregory Ratoff

Nicholas Mitwoch

Cliff Edwards

Stew Hart

Dixie Dunbar

Patsy Dey

George White

Himself

Gertrude Michael

Miss Lee

Warren Hymer

Pete Pandos

Tom Jackson

Al Burke

Armand Kaliz

Count Dekker

Roger Gray

"Sailor" Brown

William Bailey

Harold Bestry

George Irving

John R. Loraine

Ed Le Saint

Judge O'Neill

Eunice Coleman

Specialty beauty

Martha Merrill

Specialty beauty

Lois Eckhart

Specialty beauty

Hilda Knight

Specialty beauty

Peggy Moseley

Specialty beauty

Lucille Walker

Specialty beauty

Edna May Jones

Eleanor Sawyer

The Meglin Kiddies

Shirley Temple

Daughter of Scandal Girl

Lois Miller

Member of Varden trio

Dorothy Varden

Member of Varden trio

Ruby Berry

Member of Varden trio

Madalyn Green

Member of Three Shades of Blue

Jean Schock

Member of Three Shades of Blue

Carlita Hall

Member of Three Shades of Blue

Meredith Gregor

Bluette

Marian Peck

Bluette

Theresa Aezer

Bluette

Alma Mott

Sally, Irene and Mary trio member

Lee Lawrence

Sally, Irene and Mary trio member

Ethlyn Churchill

Sally, Irene and Mary trio member

Gertrude Howard

Black woman

Phil Tead

Publicity man

Boothe Howard

Man in ticket office

Irving Bacon

Hick

Dewey Robinson

Garbage king

Creighton Hale

Theater treasurer

Jessie Perry

Person at box office

Ernie Alexander

Assistant stage manager

Catherine Courtney

Wife

Edwin J. Brady

Stage hand

Doris Whitney

Singer

J. L. Lindsey

Secretary

Althea Henley

Showgirl

Frances Raymond

Landlady

Dick Alexander

Iceman

Jack Richardson

Thin man

Clarence Geldert

Landlord

Howard Hickman

Doctor

Bunny Bronson

Dancer

Betty Bowen

Dancer

Frances Deets

Dancer

Grace Davies

Dancer

Patsy Daly

Dancer

Loie Tilton

Dancer

Raymonda Shirley

Dancer

Marcia Sweet

Dancer

Virginia Mcadoo

Dancer

Inez Mortensen

Dancer

Alice Jans

Dancer

Eileen Gorlet

Dancer

Dorothy Kent

Dancer

Mary Anne Todd

Dancer

Irene Thompson

Dancer

Dorothy Thompson

Dancer

Ellen Vancy

Dancer

Dorothy Ward

Dancer

Betty Wood

Dancer

Von Adair

Dancer

Delores Andrese

Dancer

Louise Allen

Dancer

Jean Ashton

Dancer

Dorothy Andree

Dancer

Alice Arnold

Dancer

Iris Blue

Dancer

Zita Baca

Dancer

Angela Blue

Dancer

Irene Barry

Dancer

Sue Brighton

Dancer

Ethel Bryant

Dancer

Peggy Carroll

Dancer

Mary Jane Carey

Dancer

Mary Carroll

Dancer

Nadine Conlin

Dancer

Marion Dowling

Dancer

Theo De Voe

Dancer

Alice Dahl

Dancer

Dorothy Dayton

Dancer

Carol Dee

Dancer

Midgie Dare

Dancer

Eleanor Edwards

Dancer

Evelyn Eager

Dancer

Jill Evans

Dancer

Charlotte Hunter

Dancer

Wilma Holly

Dancer

Earlene Heath

Dancer

Margaret Harding

Dancer

Lynne Kelly

Dancer

Crystal Keate

Dancer

Ruth Jennings

Dancer

Vina Gale

Dancer

Virginia George

Dancer

Vivian Faulkner

Dancer

Juanita Field

Dancer

Ann Foy

Dancer

Helene Louise

Dancer

Lillian Lorray

Dancer

Georgia Lee

Dancer

Margaret Lewis

Dancer

La Verne Leonard

Dancer

Peggy La Rue

Dancer

Nora Lane

Dancer

Lucille Mcnames

Dancer

Carroll Miller

Dancer

Mildred Morris

Dancer

Laura Morse

Dancer

Lu Ann Meredith

Dancer

Maxine Nash

Dancer

Patsy Perrin

Dancer

Lucille Porcett

Dancer

Eleanor Peterson

Dancer

Blanche Poston

Dancer

Sheila Rae

Dancer

Cornelia Rogers

Dancer

Marjean Roach

Dancer

Mildred Reagan

Dancer

Belle Richard

Dancer

Gwen Ray

Dancer

Lillian Ross

Dancer

Denise Sawyer

Dancer

Mary Stewart

Dancer

Jean Stoddard

Dancer

Chic Jordan

Ketti Gallian

Film Details

Also Known As
Scandals
Genre
Musical
Romance
Release Date
Mar 16, 1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 19m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,200ft (9 reels)

Articles

George White's Scandals (1934)


Alice Faye made her film debut with George White's Scandals (1934), and, as these things often work in Hollywood, it happened because she was in the right place at the right time. Faye had been working as a chorus girl and dancer on the east coast for a couple of years and had recently changed her name from Alice Jeanne Leppert to Alice Faye. She chose "Faye," she later said, simply because she "liked the name, and it went well with Alice."

She soon got a job in New York with "George White's Scandals," one of the city's premier revue shows, headed by burlesque producer George White. In short time, Rudy Vallee heard her sing and offered her a spot on his popular radio show; the audience loved her and a singer was born.

When Vallee and George White signed a deal with Fox for a film version of the "Scandals" with Vallee playing the lead, Faye ended up getting an even bigger break. Originally she was to go along with the company to Hollywood and sing one song in the picture; little did she dream she would get the role of the leading lady! The role was supposed to have been played by Lilian Harvey, a half-English, half-German actress who had been a significant star in Germany and whom Fox was now trying to build into a star in America. She had appeared in four movies for the studio, including the bizarre oddity I Am Suzanne (1933), but she was so unhappy about being cast in George White's Scandals - finding it unworthy of her talents - that she dissolved her contract and walked out. In an interview years later, Faye sympathized with Harvey's decision, saying "the truth was that she was simply not right for the role as it had been written. [It was] a light bit of froth." (Harvey eventually returned to Germany. After more films there, she was forced to escape the Nazi regime and returned to the U.S., though she was unable to revitalize her Hollywood film career due to the stigma of being German.)

When 28-year-old Harvey left, the Fox brass momentarily scratched their heads for a replacement. Faye, all of 18 years old, had already recorded her number for the film, "Nasty Man," and had done a superb job. Giving her a shot at the lead would be a gamble, but the girl had something. They took the gamble, paying Faye $500 per week and even launching a big publicity campaign for her. It paid off in spades. Faye was a hit, Fox signed her to a contract, and just like that, they had a new, rising star who in the years ahead would become one of the public's favorite screen personalities. Ironically, Faye hadn't even gone on this trip to Hollywood with the intention of starting a movie career. Even more ironically, George White's Scandals was really designed as a vehicle for Rudy Vallee, and as Faye's career afterward quickly shot up, Rudy Vallee's started a steady decline.

The movie itself doesn't have much plot, functioning instead as a sketchy framework to enable lots of musical numbers to be delivered in the style of a revue. Faye biographer W. Franklyn Moshier has written, "Scandals holds up remarkably well due to impressive work on the part of a capable cast, some excellent music, and cleverly staged musical numbers... The film shows expensive mounting, superb costume design in the gowns worn by the principals and the chorines alike, and clever, if not always original, production numbers... Alice's main number is a show stopper complete with miniature trick photography requiring a chorus girl to dive from the edge of a hand-held champagne glass into the bubbly."

The New York Times called Faye's "Nasty Man" number a "hot tune which comes closest to the cinematic patterns evolved during the current cycle by Busby Berkeley," and also praised "'Hold My Hand,' which is the most melodious of the songs and virtually the only one with grace. Alice Faye, a flashy blond newcomer, puts over the 'Nasty Man' lyrics in great style, while Rudy Vallee, returning after many months to croon sonorously in her ear, pleads to have his hand held."

Despite all the success, not everything was peaches and cream for Alice Faye at this time. Vallee was going through a divorce, and his bitter wife publicly accused Faye of being one of three women with whom Vallee had been having affairs. There was a storm of negative publicity, but the charges were baseless and never proven, and luckily for Faye, the publicity died down before George White's Scandals was released. If it had continued, the studio might easily have decided not to sign her.

Faye biographer Jane Lenz Elder has written of Faye's early, platinum-blonde years at Fox that the actress found the otherworldly costumes and makeup made her "feel like another, more glamorous person. 'I never thought I was really beautiful when I was young,' [Faye] recalled. 'When the people at the studio were through putting me together, by ten o'clock in the morning I thought I was pretty beautiful.'" Generally, however, Faye was happier when, in the years ahead, the studio did away with her platinum-blonde image and allowed her to look more like a natural "girl next door."

One year (and four films) after her debut, Faye starred in a new movie version of the "Scandals" entitled George White's 1935 Scandals. For that film, she was top-billed for the first time. A third "Scandals" picture, released in 1945 by RKO, was made without Faye's involvement.

Look for Shirley Temple in the number "Following in Mother's Footsteps."

Producer: George White
Director: Thornton Freeland, Harry Lachman, George White
Screenplay: George White, Jack Yellen
Cinematography: Lee Garmes, George Schneiderman
Film Editing: Paul Weatherwax
Cast: Rudy Vallee (Jimmy Martin), Jimmy Durante (Happy Donnelly), Alice Faye (Mona Vale), Adrienne Ames (Barbara Loraine), Cliff Edwards (Stew Hart), Gregory Ratoff (Nicholas Mitwoch), Dixie Dunbar (Patsy Day), William Bailey (Harold Bestry).
BW-80m.

by Jeremy Arnold

Sources:
W. Franklyn Moshier, The Alice Faye Movie Book
Jane Lenz Elder, Alice Faye: A Life Beyond the Silver Screen

George White's Scandals (1934)

George White's Scandals (1934)

Alice Faye made her film debut with George White's Scandals (1934), and, as these things often work in Hollywood, it happened because she was in the right place at the right time. Faye had been working as a chorus girl and dancer on the east coast for a couple of years and had recently changed her name from Alice Jeanne Leppert to Alice Faye. She chose "Faye," she later said, simply because she "liked the name, and it went well with Alice." She soon got a job in New York with "George White's Scandals," one of the city's premier revue shows, headed by burlesque producer George White. In short time, Rudy Vallee heard her sing and offered her a spot on his popular radio show; the audience loved her and a singer was born. When Vallee and George White signed a deal with Fox for a film version of the "Scandals" with Vallee playing the lead, Faye ended up getting an even bigger break. Originally she was to go along with the company to Hollywood and sing one song in the picture; little did she dream she would get the role of the leading lady! The role was supposed to have been played by Lilian Harvey, a half-English, half-German actress who had been a significant star in Germany and whom Fox was now trying to build into a star in America. She had appeared in four movies for the studio, including the bizarre oddity I Am Suzanne (1933), but she was so unhappy about being cast in George White's Scandals - finding it unworthy of her talents - that she dissolved her contract and walked out. In an interview years later, Faye sympathized with Harvey's decision, saying "the truth was that she was simply not right for the role as it had been written. [It was] a light bit of froth." (Harvey eventually returned to Germany. After more films there, she was forced to escape the Nazi regime and returned to the U.S., though she was unable to revitalize her Hollywood film career due to the stigma of being German.) When 28-year-old Harvey left, the Fox brass momentarily scratched their heads for a replacement. Faye, all of 18 years old, had already recorded her number for the film, "Nasty Man," and had done a superb job. Giving her a shot at the lead would be a gamble, but the girl had something. They took the gamble, paying Faye $500 per week and even launching a big publicity campaign for her. It paid off in spades. Faye was a hit, Fox signed her to a contract, and just like that, they had a new, rising star who in the years ahead would become one of the public's favorite screen personalities. Ironically, Faye hadn't even gone on this trip to Hollywood with the intention of starting a movie career. Even more ironically, George White's Scandals was really designed as a vehicle for Rudy Vallee, and as Faye's career afterward quickly shot up, Rudy Vallee's started a steady decline. The movie itself doesn't have much plot, functioning instead as a sketchy framework to enable lots of musical numbers to be delivered in the style of a revue. Faye biographer W. Franklyn Moshier has written, "Scandals holds up remarkably well due to impressive work on the part of a capable cast, some excellent music, and cleverly staged musical numbers... The film shows expensive mounting, superb costume design in the gowns worn by the principals and the chorines alike, and clever, if not always original, production numbers... Alice's main number is a show stopper complete with miniature trick photography requiring a chorus girl to dive from the edge of a hand-held champagne glass into the bubbly." The New York Times called Faye's "Nasty Man" number a "hot tune which comes closest to the cinematic patterns evolved during the current cycle by Busby Berkeley," and also praised "'Hold My Hand,' which is the most melodious of the songs and virtually the only one with grace. Alice Faye, a flashy blond newcomer, puts over the 'Nasty Man' lyrics in great style, while Rudy Vallee, returning after many months to croon sonorously in her ear, pleads to have his hand held." Despite all the success, not everything was peaches and cream for Alice Faye at this time. Vallee was going through a divorce, and his bitter wife publicly accused Faye of being one of three women with whom Vallee had been having affairs. There was a storm of negative publicity, but the charges were baseless and never proven, and luckily for Faye, the publicity died down before George White's Scandals was released. If it had continued, the studio might easily have decided not to sign her. Faye biographer Jane Lenz Elder has written of Faye's early, platinum-blonde years at Fox that the actress found the otherworldly costumes and makeup made her "feel like another, more glamorous person. 'I never thought I was really beautiful when I was young,' [Faye] recalled. 'When the people at the studio were through putting me together, by ten o'clock in the morning I thought I was pretty beautiful.'" Generally, however, Faye was happier when, in the years ahead, the studio did away with her platinum-blonde image and allowed her to look more like a natural "girl next door." One year (and four films) after her debut, Faye starred in a new movie version of the "Scandals" entitled George White's 1935 Scandals. For that film, she was top-billed for the first time. A third "Scandals" picture, released in 1945 by RKO, was made without Faye's involvement. Look for Shirley Temple in the number "Following in Mother's Footsteps." Producer: George White Director: Thornton Freeland, Harry Lachman, George White Screenplay: George White, Jack Yellen Cinematography: Lee Garmes, George Schneiderman Film Editing: Paul Weatherwax Cast: Rudy Vallee (Jimmy Martin), Jimmy Durante (Happy Donnelly), Alice Faye (Mona Vale), Adrienne Ames (Barbara Loraine), Cliff Edwards (Stew Hart), Gregory Ratoff (Nicholas Mitwoch), Dixie Dunbar (Patsy Day), William Bailey (Harold Bestry). BW-80m. by Jeremy Arnold Sources: W. Franklyn Moshier, The Alice Faye Movie Book Jane Lenz Elder, Alice Faye: A Life Beyond the Silver Screen

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

This film was reviewed by Variety and a pre-release Motion Picture Herald article as Scandals. Although the onscreen credits list only George White as the storywriter and credit only Jack Yellen with additional dialogue, the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department at the UCLA Theater Arts Library confirm that Siegfried M. Herzig and Samuel Shipman wrote the original screen story, William Conselman wrote the screenplay, Joseph Cunningham wrote the dialogue, and Henry Johnson, Ray Henderson and Irving Caesar contributed to the dialogue. This was Broadway producer White's first film, and it was based on his highly successful series of theatrical musical revues, which began in 1919. The legal records reveal that White was contracted to direct and produce five "Scandals" pictures for Fox over a five-year period, although he only made this film and George White's 1935 Scandals for the studio (see below). A letter in the legal records states that either Fox or White could cancel their contract if, after each film had been in release for four months, it did not appear that the film would accumulate a gross of $1,400,000. White produced George White's Scandals for RKO in 1945. It was directed by Felix E. Feist and starred Joan Davis and Jack Haley.
       A November 29, 1933 Hollywood Reporter news item reported that Fox was trying to get Raoul Walsh to direct the picture, and the legal records note that White replaced dance director Russell Markert with Georgie Hale before production began. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, M-G-M initially refused to loan Jimmy Durante to Fox, although he does appear in the completed film, and songwriter Irving Caesar was considered for a "comedy role," although his participation as an actor in the finished picture has not been confirmed. A Los Angeles Times news item notes that the Loomis Sisters were scheduled to be in the cast, but their participation in the final film has also not been confirmed. According to contemporary sources, Jack Haley and Lilian Harvey were set for leading roles, and Marie Ormiston, who was a member of the Broadway George White's Scandals cast, was also to be in the picture. None of them appear in the finished film. Lilian Harvey was replaced by Alice Faye, who made her screen-acting debut in this picture. Faye had appeared in the eleventh edition of White's Broadway show, which opened in 1931, and soon after became a regular on Rudy Vallee's radio show. Modern sources note that Faye was originally scheduled to sing just one number in the picture, but was given Harvey's part when she left the production before filming began. Several contemporary reviews noted that public curiousity over Faye would bring in audiences. The Variety review pointed out: "For box office, Scandals must rest its case on the title, Rudy Vallee's personal draw and probable romantic speculation over, and public interest in, the joint presence of Vallee and Alice Faye." Modern sources note that in January 1934, Vallee's wife named Faye as a co-respondent in her divorce suit against Vallee. Shirley Temple, who was a member of The Meglin Kiddies, is included in the number "Following in Mother's Footsteps," which chronicles the future careers of former "Scandal Girls'" daughters.
       According to information in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the Hays Office objected to three "gags" contained in the picture: a scene during the "So Nice" song in which "Stew Hart" picks up a toilet seat and tells "Patsy Dey" that she can use it as a frame for a picture of her mother; another scene from "So Nice" in which "Stew" picks up a catalog and states that he is leaving the room; and a sequence in which "Patsy," who is bending over to peer through a keyhole, rejects "Stew's" proposal and tells him to "put that in your pipe and smoke it." In response, "Stew" states: "Well, I guess I'll have to get a bigger pipe." Although the other scenes were left in, the catalog gag was apparently shortened, and the picture received a seal of approval from the Hays Office. After the film was released, however, many state and city censor boards and civic organizations lodged protests against it with the Hays Office and Fox. The three scenes mentioned above were objected to, as were the song "Nasty Man," sung by Faye, and the Meglin Kiddies sequence in which one of the children does a fan dance and sings "Nasty Man." The film was banned by the Legion of Decency and was withdrawn from release by Fox on February 15, 1935.