Forty Boys and a Song

Forty Boys and a Song (1941)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oscar-nominated short takes a look at The Robert Mitchell Boys Choir school, which was a non-profit school that would teach boys not only their school work but also music. The documentary short talks about what goes on at the school in terms of what is being taught but for the majority of the running time we get the boys singing. "Home on the Range" is probably the highlight of the music, which is pretty much all there is. There's really no sense of direction or style as the film is pretty laid back and straight forward. These boys would eventually be seen in Bing Crosby's GOING MY WAY, which is where most will remember them.

Here's a short subject from the Warner Brothers 'Melody Masters' series about the Robert Mitchell Choir. We get to watch them sing scales, "Home on the Range", "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and other well known songs, straight and in swingtime.

Mitchell was an organist and choir master, who performed for the movies from the middle of the 1920s. He organized his boys choir in the 1930s, and they sang in an estimated hundred movies and numerous TV shows from 1936 through 1981. From the 1960s he returned to playing the organ, most notably at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles until shortly before his death in 2009 at the age of 96.

A Warner Bros. Short Subject.

The Robert Mitchell Choir School of Hollywood, California, provides a solid education for talented boys from ages 8 to 14, giving them the chance to perform and excel academically & musically.

Nominated for an Academy Award, FORTY BOYS AND A SONG is an informative & highly entertaining little film which spotlights a premiere American musical institution from years past. We watch the young fellows in the classroom, at play and at church. Always, music is being taught, performed & enjoyed and we get to hear the boys' renditions of "Home On The Range," "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean" & "Shortenin' Bread."

Born October 12, 1912, Bob Mitchell showed an acute aptitude & appreciation of music at a very early age. In 1924, when still only 12, Bob started playing organ accompaniment to silent films, beginning a passion for silent cinema music that would last a lifetime. In the 1930's he started his Boys Choir, which gained much success; the Mitchell Singing Boys would appear in scores of films, most notably GOING MY WAY (1944) with Bing Crosby. On his 90th birthday in 2002, Bob Mitchell was still keeping very busy playing the organ for church and weddings, personal appearances and silent films - delighting new audiences with his gift of music.

Bob Mitchell died on July 4, 2009, in Los Angeles, at the age of 96.

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Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.

Until the day he died Robert Mitchell was an active member of the American Theater Organ Society and he did live to one ripe old age of 96. This short subject which came out in 1941 shows the school/training ground he founded in Los Angeles which received no public monies of any kind. Today it might be categorized as a charter school.

This short subject about the school and the boys came out in 1941 and Mitchell due to connections with the movie colony more than likely put the school on a paying basis because of the choir's performing in several film. Most notably of course is Going My Way and several Roy Rogers films.

Afterward Mitchell played the organ at Dodger Stadium for decades when Major League baseball came to the Pacific coast.

All in all a remarkable life and the short subject is a moment in time of said life.

The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir is given the spotlight during this short subject which shows him working with them on various songs. They later appeared in Bing Crosby's GOING MY WAY.

Mitchell is seated at the piano in a classroom setting where the boys attend regular classes during the morning but are then turned over to Mitchell for hours of practice while he rehearses them.

Reminds me of the many hours I spent with choirs as a youth and as an adult. Some of the songs covered: "If You Would Like To Lose Your Blues," "Home on the Range," "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," and "Shortnin' Bread." A pleasant short subject showing America during a more innocent era.