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Is Everybody Happy? (1929) is an American pre-Code musical film starring Ted Lewis, Alice Day, Lawrence Grant, Ann Pennington, and Julia Swayne Gordon, directed by Archie Mayo, and released by Warner Bros. The music for the film was written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke, except for "St. Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy and "Tiger Rag". The film's title comes from Lewis's catchphrase "Is everybody happy?"
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| Is Everybody Happy? | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Archie Mayo |
| Written by | Joseph Jackson James A. Starr De Leon Anthong [titles] |
| Starring | Ted Lewis Ted Todd Alice Day Gail Wilson Ann Pennington |
| Cinematography | Ben Reynolds |
| Edited by | Desmond O'Brien |
| Music by | The Original Dixieland Jazz Band Harry Akst W. C. Handy Ted Lewis Grant Clarke |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
"...some nonsense about an old Hungarian violinist who played symphonies for royal families and his son who played jazz. Elements of mother love, fatherly pride, wealth that can buy finery but not happiness, fail to depress Jazz King Lewis. He excitedly and excitingly blows his clarinet and saxophone, juggles his high hat, croons odd songs in a hoarse voice. Best song: I'm the Medicine Man for the Blues"[1]
- Ted Lewis as Ted Todd
- Alice Day as Gail Wilson
- Ann Pennington as Lena Schmitt
- Lawrence Grant as Victor Molnár
- Julia Swayne Gordon as Mrs. Molnár
- Otto Hoffman as Landlord
- Purnell Pratt as Stage Manager
- Muggsy Spanier as himself
- "Wouldn't It Be Wonderful?" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
- "I'm the Medicine Man For the Blues" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
- "Samoa" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
- "New Orleans" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
- "In the Land of Jazz" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
- "Start the Band" – written by Harry Akst, Grant Clarke
- "St. Louis Blues" – written by W. C. Handy
- "Tiger Rag" – music by Henry Ragas (as H. W. Ragas), Nick LaRocca (as D. J. La Rocca), Larry Shields (as L. Shields), Tony Sbarbaro (as A. Sbarbaro) and Edwin B. Edwards (as E. B. Edwards); lyrics by Harry DeCosta (as Harry Da Costa)
The film's soundtrack exists on Vitaphone discs preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The Is Everybody Happy ? (1929) Complete Vitaphone Soundtrack, in two parts, can be found on YouTube.[2][3]
The film itself is considered a lost film, according to the Vitaphone Project website.[4] A five-minute clip from the film can be found on YouTube.[5]
Lewis and his orchestra also appeared in a short subject called Is Everybody Happy? (1941), consisting of musical numbers cut from the Abbott and Costello feature film Hold That Ghost (1941) released by Universal Studios. Columbia Pictures released a feature-length biopic of Lewis also titled Is Everybody Happy? (1943).
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