Down Memory Lane
Cast & Crew
Phil Karlson
Bing Crosby
W. C. Fields
Donald Novis
Gloria Swanson
Mabel Normand
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After television host and disk jockey Steve Allen is threatened with dismissal by his producer, Mr. Jeffers, he tries to boost his show's popularity by switching the musical format to one in which motion pictures will be shown. In a hurry to impress Jeffers, who has finally lined up the show's first sponsor, Steve cues up one of the short films that he intends to show, only to discover that it is a silent film. Chaos ensues at the studio as Steve works frantically to add his own sound effects to the silent comedy clips being broadcast live on television. While scenes from Mack Sennett's shorts featuring Phyllis Haver, Ben Turpin, Gloria Swanson, Sennett and others, are being telecast, Steve adds his own impromptu soundtrack to the clips by commenting on the action, playing a piano and making various noises. The first part of one silent comedy is accidentally followed by sound footage of Bing Crosby singing. With the help of Franklin Pangborn, a representative from the Sennett Studios, Steve makes a number of unsuccessful attempts to correct the mixed-up reels of film and add sound effects where they are needed. After a succession of film clips, including ones in which Pangborn appears, Donald Novis sings in a boxing ring, and Ben Turpin, James Finlayson, Mabel Normand, the Keystone Cops and Charlie Murray, tied to a boiler that is about to explode, are featured. Steve then pauses to demonstrate his sponsor's product, Glisten shampoo, after which the clips resume with a Bing Crosby short, in which Pangborn also appears. Instead of the announced reel showing what happened to Murray and the boiler, a reel of W. C. Fields playing golf and practicing dentistry then pops up. Mack Sennett arrives to appear on Steve's show, but before he can be introduced, another Crosby short runs, followed by more footage of Murray's dilemma with the ever-expanding boiler. After the program ends, Jeffers is surprised to receive a phone call from the sponsor saying that he liked the show, but wants to know what happened to Murray and the boiler. Just then an explosion in the studio answers the question.
Director
Phil Karlson
Cast
Bing Crosby
W. C. Fields
Donald Novis
Gloria Swanson
Mabel Normand
Ben Turpin
Phyllis Haver
Franklin Pangborn
Charlie Murray
James Finlayson
Mack Swain
Irving Bacon
Frank Nelson
Yvonne Peattie
Mack Sennett
The Keystone Cops
Steve Allen
Renny Mcevoy
Jo Ann Joyce
Rowland Mccracken
Babe Kane
Crew
Milton Ager
Fred E. Ahlert
Fred Allen
Steve Allen
Harold Arlen
Bing Crosby
Benny Davis
Irving Friedman
Al Goodhart
Bud Green
Al Hoffman
Gus Kahn
Sol Kaplan
Ted Koehler
Carmen Lombardo
Gerald Marks
Ed Nelson
Leslie Pearce
Herman Ruby
Aubrey Schenck
Mack Sennett
Babe Stafford
Sam H. Stept
Walter Strenge
Roy Turk
Harry Woods
Joe Young
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Onscreen credits indicate that footage from the following Mack Sennett shorts, among others, was used in the film: Sing, Bing, Sing (1933), starring Bing Crosby and directed by Babe Stafford; Blue of the Night (1933), starring Bing Crosby and directed by Leslie Pearce; The Singing Boxer (1933), starring Donald Novis and directed by Leslie Pearce; and The Dentist (1932), starring W. C. Fields and directed by Leslie Pearce. A September 27, 1949 Hollywood Reporter news item notes that all surviving members of the Keystone Cops-Andy Clyde, Chester Conklin, James Finlayson, Hank Mann, Vernon Dent, and one of their directors, Del Lord-rode a paddy wagon to the film's opening. Down Memory Lane marked Steve Allen's motion picture debut.
Modern sources identify the following actors from still photographs of the film: Andre Bailey, Anita Barnes, Lois Boyd, Betty Bird, Margaret Cloud, Julie Duncan, Ceille Evans, Dot Farley, Eugenia Gilbert, Eddie Gribbon, Ruth Hiatt, Thelma Hill, Madeline Hurlock, Bud Jamison, Mildred June, Natalie Kingston, Carole Lombard, Delores Mendex, Reggie Morris, Thelma Parr, Kalla Pasha, Della Peterson, Elsie Tarron, Gladys Tennyson, Eva Thatcher, Mary Thurman, Bobby Vernon and Toby Wing.
