Melody in Spring
Cast & Crew
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Norman Mcleod
Director
Lanny Ross
John Craddock
Charles Ruggles
Warren Blodgett
Mary Boland
Mrs. Mary Blodgett
Ann Sothern
Jane Blodgett
George Meeker
Wesley Prebble
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Apr
20,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Paramount Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company
Paramount Productions, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the story "The Bells of Waldenbruck" by Frank Leon Smith in Liberty (18 Mar 1933).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 15m
Film Length
8 reels
Synopsis
While staying at the George Washington Inn, singer John Craddock falls in love at first sight with Jane Blodgett, and serenades her from his balcony while she awaits her fiancé Wesley Prebble in her car. Late one night, Jane's father Warren, the "dog biscuit king" and a souvenir collector, sneaks into a room to steal the bedknob from a bed in which George Washington once slept. Unfortunately, he awakens its blonde occupant, who screams for help. Her cries bring John to her rescue, and he calls the house detective. Eventually, everything is cleared up, but John has engendered Warren's permanent hostility. Some time later, John appears at the Blodgett mansion hoping to get an interview with the biscuit king, who sponsors a music hour on the radio station on which John would like to sing. John is delighted to find Jane there, and vows to woo her, but is distressed to discover that the man he wants to impress is the same man on whom he called the cops. On Jane's advice, John attempts to get on Warren's good side by telling him that his hobby is carving his initials, as Warren believes in hobbies, but Warren is unimpressed and vows he will never let John sing on his radio hour unless Jane agrees to marry him. Because John is already in love with Jane, this provides an added impetus to woo her, and she does not resist. Attempting to use reverse psychology to get rid of John, Jane's mother Mary invites John to sail with them to Paris, but her plan backfires. Finally, the family tries to elude John in Switzerland, but he follows them there, where he bests Warren at climbing Mt. Ildenhorn and carves his initials in the pinnacle. When Jane tells her father that she is breaking her engagement to Wesley to marry John, he tells her of his deal with John. She decides to remain with Wesley, who arrives at the hotel. John gives Warren a cowbell for his collection, but Warren is caught with it and despite John's confession, Warren is arrested for theft. John attempts to get him out of jail by distracting the guards with a song, but in the meantime, Wesley has Warren released legally and John is imprisoned for trying to start a riot. Still in love with John, Jane gets herself incarcerated in the same prison and, from the prison yard, tells her parents and the astonished Wesley that she will meet them in Paris after she and John are released and married.
Director
Norman Mcleod
Director
Cast
Lanny Ross
John Craddock
Charles Ruggles
Warren Blodgett
Mary Boland
Mrs. Mary Blodgett
Ann Sothern
Jane Blodgett
George Meeker
Wesley Prebble
Herman Bing
Wirt, Propr. Swiss hotel
Norma Mitchell
Mrs. Shorter
Joan Gale
Suzan
Jane Gale
Suzanna
June Gale
Suzette
Wade Boteler
Anton, first guide
Helen Lynd
The blonde
Thomas Jackson
House detective
Wilfred Hari
Suzuki
William J. Irving
Second guide
Harry Schultz
Joe, bartender
Martha Bamattre
Fat milkmaid
Hans Joby
Jailer
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Apr
20,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Paramount Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company
Paramount Productions, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the story "The Bells of Waldenbruck" by Frank Leon Smith in Liberty (18 Mar 1933).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 15m
Film Length
8 reels
Articles
TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern
Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.
TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern
Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film marks popular singer Lanny Ross's feature film debut.
