Street Girl

This bit of fun shows that silent film director Wesley Ruggles was one of the handful of directors who had no problem whatsoever adapting to sound. For 1929 this is remarkably well made - it's hardly one of the greats but considering its age, it's more enjoyable than you'd expect.

This, the first official RKO Radio Picture, stared their silent superstar Betty Compson who despite making nine pictures that year, unlike director Ruggles never quite made a successful transition to talkies. This particular role however is perfect for her because she's doing a made-up foreign accent. That's a marvellous get out of jail card for an actress who can't deliver her lines with any conviction using her own voice. Pretending not to be able to speak English properly makes her sound sweet and naïve.

1929 looked such a happy place - there are so few decently made talkies around from the pre-Depression era that this gives you a rare opportunity to savour the authentic flavour of the roaring twenties jazz age in a sound film. But this IS NOT just a historical artefact, it still works as a piece of entertainment. The reason it still entertains is not because of the story (that's pretty inane although you've got to admit it's quite amusing), it's the production quality and direction.

Although it fizzled out before its contemporaries, RKO was one of the biggest film factories in the world so they had massive budgets to play with. What really stands out here however is Wesley Ruggles directorial skill. The close-ups, the framing, the very fluid camerawork and the imaginative imagery is not something you see in many 1929 productions. You forget that you're watching someone's first go at making a talkie.

Actually, this isn't much of a musical. Instead it is more of a movie about musicians. Four friends are trying to make it as a musical band when, one night, one member finds a girl being accosted by a fellow in the doorway of his apartment house. He gets rid of the masher and invites her in when he discovers she is hungry and homeless, and she quickly wins the other bandmembers/roommates over. First she takes to keeping house for them, then she graduates to promoting their careers, and does a pretty handy job of both. Of course, romance arises and complicates matters.

Unlike most backstagers of this era, this one is refreshingly different. These five people are looking for happiness, not just fame and fortune. Their bond of friendship seems to have depth, and success doesn't really change them. The only bad things I can really say is - like another reviewer - Betty Compson really is saddled with a ridiculous accent in this one. Also, the movie is just too long. At 90 minutes some scenes could have been tightened up or even deleted, and it would have been a better paced film had it been about 15 minutes shorter.

This 1929 original musical was a big hit (grossing more than $1M) for Betty Compson. She plays a "street girl," a homeless immigrant alone in a big American city. One rainy night she is saved from a lecher by a young man (John Harron) and invited upstairs for hot coffee. Harron is a musician and shares an apartment with three other musicians. They play for a local club.

Compson asks them to play for her and they do a swingy version of "Lovable and Sweet" (which was written by Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare). She tells them it's a nice tune but they need a violin. They produce a violin and she plays a soft and beautiful version of "My Dream Memory" (the talented Compson was also a concert violinist). It's a terrific moment.

She takes charge of the guys and gets them a gig for big bucks at a swanky restaurant where they become local stars. A dethroned prince from her home country drops by and almost steals her away but she has fallen for Harron. The film ends with a rousing dance number, "Broken Up Tune" as played by the group.

Despite the iffy accent, Compson is once again just wonderful. She has just the right touch of "old world" gentleness about her as she runs around managing the group) in a very aggressive American manner). Harron is also very good. He was the younger brother of DW Griffith star, Robert Harron, who died at age 27 from a mysterious gunshot accident in 1920. Kinetic Jack Oakie sings and dances (and fakes some clarinet playing). Acerbic Ned Sparks plays a few instruments as well and grouches at people. Guy Buccola is the fourth band member. Joseph Cawthorn (an expert at accents) is the club owner. Ivan Lebedeff is the prince. Among the big-band musicians is Russ Columbo, a major singing star of the 30s. Eddie Kane and June Clyde have small roles.

What this film is not, is a frenzied backstage musical, which was the rage for a time after the success of THE Broadway MELODY. After an initial craze, the public quickly tired of backstage musicals and all-star revues. STREET GIRL went in another direction, tying together a love story with music.

This film is worth watching for the great music and unjustly forgotten Betty Compson.

This musical comedy near the dawn of the sound era follows the routine formula (boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl) but sports a nice jazz combo, with John Harron playing piano and trumpet (sometimes at the same time), Ned Sparks playing violin, Jack Oakie with a mean clarinet and Guy Buccola on the accordion. I never tired of the one bouncy show-stopper by Oscar Levant and Sidney Claire called "Lovable and Sweet," despite it being played and sung several times. In fact, I was humming it for a day or so. What surprised me was seeing Jack Oakie looking so thin I almost didn't recognize him, and John Harron as the romantic lead, since I was used to seeing him only in bit parts in 30's movies. I'm not sure if the music the boys played was dubbed or not, but the female lead, silent star Betty Compson, was an accomplished violinist and surely did her own playing. I rather enjoyed watching this film despite its triteness.

I watched this on TCM and found it interesting, though in many ways just a showcase for the music. Very '20s, very period-piece stuff, with the usual strange choreography. I thought the title Street Girl was a bit of a tease however, as the "girl" turned out to be a homeless violinist who gets involved with a down-at-heels dance band. What stood out for me however was the noisiness of the sound track, the worst I have ever heard. I realize this is an early talkie and they were probably still struggling with ways to muffle the sound of the camera. But every shot seemed to have its own peculiar frequency, from whirring to humming to grinding to something like a garburator. I wonder now if early-talkie audiences noticed or cared about this, but it seems to me that many must have longed for the sophisticated accompaniment that had evolved by late in the silent era. What also amazes me is the leap in sophistication that took place in only a couple of years: by 1931, people had forgotten all about silent movies and screenwriters/actors had hit their stride. This is great to watch if you're a sound technician/film historian or both.