Jazz Heaven

Jazz Heaven is a 1929 American romantic comedy directed by Melville Brown, and written by Myles Connolly and J. Walter Ruben, based on a story by Pauline Forney and Dudley Murphy. It was moderately successful for RKO Pictures, and was released in both sound and silent versions.

Jazz Heaven
Lobby card
Directed byMelville Brown[1]
Produced byMyles Connolly[1]
Screenplay byMyles Connolly
J. Walter Ruben[1]
Story byPauline Forney
Dudley Murphy[1]
StarringJohn Mack Brown
Sally O'Neil
Clyde Cook[1]
Music bySidney Clare
Oscar Levant[1]
CinematographyJack MacKenzie[1]
Edited byAnn McKnight
George Marsh[1]
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Pictures[2]
Release date
  • October 30, 1929 (1929-10-30) (Premiere-New York City)[3]
  • November 3, 1929 (1929-11-03) (US)[3]
Running time
68 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A poor songwriter from the south, Barry Holmes, travels to New York City to be a success, bringing with him his prize possession: his piano. While he is trying to break into Tin Pan Alley, he stays at a boardinghouse run by Mrs. Langley, who insists that her house always be run with the highest propriety. A young woman, Ruth Morgan, lives in the room next to Holmes. One night, he annoys the entire boarding house as he is trying to complete a song he has been working on, "Someone". He is stuck on the ending, until he hears Ruth humming how she thinks it should go. Stunned, he goes to her room, and invites her back to his to finish the song. Unfortunately, Mrs. Langley discovers the two unmarried people in his room, and summarily kicks him out, intending to keep his piano as payment for back rent.

Ruth works for a music publisher, Kemple and Klucke, and plots to get them to publish Holmes' song. Both of her bosses are interested in Ruth, although Kemple is quite a bit older than her. The two partners make a bet that the younger Klucke cannot take Ruth out to dinner. Ruth makes a deal with Kemple not to agree to the dinner, but changes her mind when Klucke agrees to listen to Holmes' song if she accompanies him.

Mrs. Langley's husband, Max, has a soft spot for the young couple, and attempts to sneak Holmes' piano out of the rooming house. Unfortunately, in the attempt, the piano is dropped down a flight of stairs, and broken into pieces. Distraught, Ruth and Barry, don't know how they are going to finish the song in order to pitch it to Kemple and Klucke. To make up for the loss of the piano, Max sneaks them into a piano factory during the night, where they finalize the song. Unknown to them, the factory also has an open microphone to a radio station, and the song is actually broadcast over the air.

The song is an instant hit, and a bidding war starts between Kemple and Klucke and Parker Pianos for the rights to the song. Holmes is a success, and, of course, ends up getting the girl.

Cast

Reception

Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times gave the film a mixed review, giving the film an overall good rating, while criticizing some of the individual plot points.[5]

References
  1. "Jazz Heaven Full Credits". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  2. "Jazz Heaven Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  3. "Jazz Heaven: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  4. "Jazz Heaven". imdb.com. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  5. Hall, Mordaunt (October 30, 1929). "A Slice of Tin Pan Alley". New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
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