Hal Kemp 1936

A nice little Adolph Zukor short from 1936 featuring the Hal Kemp Orchestra. Performances include Maxine Gray ( a real cutie!) singing "I'm Building Up To An Awful Letdown," Skinnay Ennis singing "The Bride Comes Home," the dance team of Charlie Baron and Joan Blair performing to a snappy version of "Stop, Look, and Listen," and comic vocalist Saxey Dowell slurring his way through "Ten Little Bottles." Ah, the end of Prohibition! Guitar nuts will note that the guitarist plays a vintage Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" electric Hawaiian guitar behind Maxine Gray's vocal. The Frying Pan was the first commercially successful guitar designed and manufactured by Adolph Rickenbacker. This short was originally released on video in 1984 by Swing Time Video.

[@CPorter]

Legend has it, that electric fan is still running 74 years later.

[@ladybearbaiter]

what a beautiful sound............vintage music is where it's at

[@paullindemeyer3913]

The Kemp band's showmanship is really accentuated by seeing them in action. From Hal right on down, these folks clearly enjoyed their work. Skinnay's appeal in particular is a lot easier to "get" when seen as part singing, part acting.

[@hoss73ford]

Neat little film short. Got this song on 78.

[@hoss73ford]

Too bad we didn't have as good of modern medicine & techniques back in 1940 as we do today. Hal's accident would have been quite survivable today (a broken rib punctured a lung and he developed pneumonia) This could have likely been prevented much easier today.

[@dholm5058]

HAL KEMP WAS GREAT WITH SKINNAY ENNIS and MAXINE GRAY!! The Class from UNC at Chapel Hill as KAY KYSER was died tragically in 1940 in auto accident.

[@paullindemeyer3913]

...to clarify, it was Hal who died in 1940. Incidentally, Hal's widow Martha married a young actor, Victor Mature, who helped raise her 2 children.

[@fromthesidelines]

Kemp and his band also appeared in a Paramount/Max Fleischer "Screen Song" during this period, "No Other One" {"And now, everybody sing, if ya' like.."}.

[@adzy31]

at 3:35 you can see the "frying pan" guitar in use

[@Wolverine1925]

It's called "How I'll Miss You When Summer is Gone." His theme.

[@BfromPA]

Liked Skinnay's vocal version of the bride comes home on this better than the record.

[@fabrizzzio48]

genial

[@WillAdamsmusic]

saxie dowell was on this

[@kafenwar]

Saxie Dowell: XD

[@johnnycchops]

do you know the title of the 1st instrumental?

[@CPorter]

the first one that they play is I Wish I Were Aladdin