Words and Music (1929 film)

Words and Music
Directed by	James Tinling
Written by	Frederick Hazlitt Brennan (story) Jack McEdwards (story) Andrew Bennison
Produced by	William Fox
Starring	Lois Moran David Percy Helen Twelvetrees Frank Albertson Duke Morrison
Cinematography	Don Anderson Charles G. Clarke Charles Van Enger
Edited by	Ralph Dixon
Music by	Con Conrad Archie Gottler Sidney D. Mitchell Dave Stamper
Distributed by	Fox Film Corporation
Release date	August 18, 1929 (1929-08-18)
Running time	72 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Words and Music is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by James Tinling and starring Lois Moran, Helen Twelvetrees and Frank Albertson. It was written by Andrew Bennison, with the story by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan and Jack Edwards.

Released by Fox Film Corporation, the film is notable as the first in which John Wayne is credited as "Duke Morrison". Wayne was also credited as "Duke Morrison" as a property assistant in the Art Department. Ward Bond, Wayne's lifelong good friend, also had a bit part in the movie. Words and Music, which was also released as a silent film, is now considered lost.^[1]

Plot

Two young college students, Phil and Pete, compete for the love of a pretty girl named Mary, and also to win the $1500 prize in a song-writing contest to write the best show tune for the annual college revue. The two men each ask Mary to sing for them, but eventually, she chooses Phil as her beau, and it is he who also has the winning song.

Cast

• Lois Moran as Mary Brown
• David Percy as Phil
• Helen Twelvetrees as Dorothy Blake
• William Orlamond as Pop Evans
• Elizabeth Patterson as Dean Crockett
• John Wayne (credited as Duke Morrison) as Pete Donahue
• Frank Albertson as Skeet Mulroy
• Tom Patricola as Hannibal

Production

Although the film was largely devoid of much of a plot line, as was typical of musical revue pictures of the period, there is a great deal of singing and dancing. Many of Lois Moran's numbers were footage that was cut from the film, Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, to make that film shorter. This film was created to make use of the deleted scenes, so it was fashioned around Moran's singing talent. Songs include, "Too Wonderful for Words" (William Kernell, Dave Stamper, Paul Gerard Smith, Edmund Joseph), "Stepping Along" (Kernell), "Shadows" (Con Conrad, Sidney D. Mitchell, Archie Gottler).

See also

• John Wayne filmography
• List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)

References

1. Bradley, Edwin M. (1996). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927-1932. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Press. pp. 151–153. ISBN 978-0899509457.

External links

• Words and Music at IMDb
• Words and Music at the TCM Movie Database
• Words and Music at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Words and Music details, tvguide.com
• Film review, The New York Times ^{[dead link‍]}