George White's Scandals (1934) DVD-R

Starring Rudy Vallee, Jimmy Durante, Alice Faye, Adrienne Ames, Cliff
Edwards, Gregory Ratoff, Dixie Dunbar, George Irving
Directed by Thorton Freeland, Harry Lachman, George White

Print: black/white
Runtime: 80 min.
Genre: musical
Print Quality: B

Legendary Broadway impresario George White made his Hollywood debut
with this musical, which he wrote, co-directed, and starred in as himself.
Reporter Miss Lee (Gertrude Michael) is looking for a story and
approaches White as he's assembling the latest edition of his famous
revue. As it turns out, she has lots of backstage gossip to choose from;
Mona Vale (Alice Faye), White's latest discovery, is making her Broadway
debut in the show, and she's fallen in love with the star, Jimmy Martin
(Rudy Vallee). Jimmy, however, only has eyes for Barbara Lorainne
(Adrienne Ames), a snooty high society type also in the cast. A quarrel
between Mona and Barbara leads to a fight, with Jimmy coming to
Barbara's rescue; a despondent Mona decides to leave the show if she
can't have the man she loves. Meanwhile, comedian Happy Donnelly
(Jimmy Durante) finds himself torn between his feelings for Mona and
another young dancer in the show, Patsy Day (Dixie Dunbar), who is also
thinking about quitting in disappointment. Amidst the romantic turmoil, a
wacky salesman (Gregory Ratoff) keeps trying to make a sale with White,
and the cast periodically breaks into song, belting out ten numbers,
including "Oh You Nasty Man," "My Dog Loves Your Dog," "Every Day Is
Father's Day with Baby," "Sweet and Simple," and "The Man on the Flying
Trapeze."

George White’s Scandals is a musical that uses the Broadway revue as a framework for a fabricated plot. The main story is the romance between stage comedienne Joan Mason and Bostonite Jack Williams. This romance is opposed by Jack’s spinster sister Clarabelle. This is because Joan is in show business and Clarabelle reminds her brother that he promised their mother that he cannot marry until she does. Then, Joan and Jack plan to get his sister married, but Clarabelle finds out the man was hired through an escort service. A second romance also is the hot and cold relationship between British socialite Jill Martin and Tony McGrath. Tony is the assistant to Broadway impresario George White. Jill is smitten by Tony and she keeps her real identity a secret from him and also asks Joan to keep quiet about her identity. However, Tom gets to know the truth and she runs away. However, there is a happy ending for Joan and Hill. Jack’s sister agrees to their marriage. Jill’s parents agree to her taking part in the show as well. The movie runs for an hour and 35 minutes. The movie, George White’s Scandals was directed by George White. The movie is a backstage musical on George White’s Scandals extravaganza on Broadway. It is an unrated movie and has the same storyline as that of the previous versions in 1934 and 1935. This particular movie George White’s Scandals was released in 1945. The highlights of the movie are a drum performance by Gene Krupa and his band and duet by Joan and Jack of “Who Killed Vaudeville?”

George White was a talented person who produced, directed, acted, wrote as well as danced. The first taste of show business came in his teens when he formed a burlesque dancing team with Ben Ryan. Later, he had modest solo roles in shows such as “The Echo”, “Ziegfield Follies”, “The Whirl of Society”, “The Pleasure Seekers”, “The Midnight Girl”, and “Miss 1917” where music was composed mainly by Jerome Kern. In 1919, he produced and directed the first of a series of revues, George White’s Scandals which was a blend of America’s rising popular music with rapid moving sketches and glamorous women. The scandals appeared annually until 1926. The Scandals again resumed in 1928 and also in 1929 and 1931. There were two more stage presentations of George White’s Scandals in 1936 and 1939. This was also filmed in the years 1934, 1935 and 1945. The first two launched Alice Faye on a glittering movie career. Over the years, the stage shows and movies have been excellent platforms for America’s most talented artists such as Bert Lahr, Gracie Barrie, Cliff Edwards, Willie and Eugene Howard, Ann Miller, Ray Middleton, Ella Logan, Ann Pennington, Lou Holtz, W.C. Fields, Dolores Costello, Ray Bolger, and Ethel Barrymore. The songwriters involved included Irving Caesar, George Gershwin (five scores), Jack Yellen, Harold Arlen, Sammy Stept, and Herb Magidson.

George White’s Scandals is also the name of several movies set within the “Scandals”, all of which focus mainly on the show’s acts with a thin plot connecting them together. The best known of all these was the 1935 version which featured the debut of dancer Eleanor Powell.