Ben Bernie and His Orchestra

This is a pretty ordinary short from Vitaphone is some ways...yet in others it's also very remarkable. First, the ordinary. Ben Bernie and his orchestra play a couple numbers and none of them were good or bad...just pretty average for the day. There also is a song from Frances McCoy and she seems to be trying to imitate Helen Kane (the inspiration for Betty Boop)....interesting but unremarkable. But what really sets this one apart is the look of the short. Most of Vitaphone's shorts consisted of simply having the orchestra perform in front of a static camera. However, here the cinematography was incredibly nice...with some nice close-ups which were filmed separately and inserted into the first number. Additionally, the silhouette scene was very nice...and together they make this film look lovely. A mixed bag...but overall a nice looking mixed bag.