User Reviews

In one of the earliest experiments with sound on film Ben Bernie and his Orchestra do several selections of popular music of the time. I recognized two Rudolf Friml songs Rose Marie and Indian Love Call and two Gershwin brothers numbers Fascinating Rhythm and Lady Be Good. Also two of Bernie's own compositions Craving and Sweet Georgia Brown.

Bernie and the band had a semi-permanent gig at the old Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan which in fact is shutting down shortly. Too bad no one thought to capture Bernie's personality and his trademark expression Yowzah.

Bernie was known as the Old Maestro on radio and later on had one of those pretend radio feuds with Walter Winchell. You want to see the Bernie that the radio public knew check out the Alice Faye film Wake Up And Dream.

For this one sit back and enjoy the music.

I have watched hundreds of early jazz recordings and found this very, very early one from Lee DeForest to be among the most enjoyable-- though it's from a band that is practically forgotten.

Ben Bernie and All the Lads perform three songs as well as a medley. According to IMDb, this film is about 7 minutes long, but that's without the medley. Perhaps this wasn't part of the original film--though I strongly suspect that the running time is just incorrect. All the songs they do masterfully and it's the sort of thing you just cannot help listening to without tapping your feet or bobbing your head--very peppy and fun. I particularly liked their rendition of "Sweet Georgia Brown" as well as "Craving"--but ALL of it is excellent.

So why, if this is so amazingly good did I only score it an 8? Well the band simply performs in front of a draped curtain. Also, while the wonderful humorist is there playing the piano, it's a bit hard to see him and he's often obstructed by his bandmates. Still, all in all it's a lot of fun. A wonderful time capsule thanks to DeForest's experiment with sound films.

Where to begin? Viewing clips of this time capsule gives me goose bumps every time I watch them. Here is a young, energetic band leader in his prime, obviously enjoying his role. He dances in place, he alternates from playing his violin to conducting with his bow; he is suave; he is charming. His band is so polished that they use no sheet music. The steady beat of the bass drum is hypnotic. The rhythm is so infectious that I defy you to listen without tapping your foot. Here is an audio quality unheard of on phonograph records until the introduction of electrical recording later in 1925. An added bonus is the occasional glimpse of the teen-aged Oscar Levant at the piano!

Furthermore, the clips show that De Forest knew what he was doing with sound-on-film, and his process was at least as good as the later Vitaphone shorts. Yes, there is some audio distortion, but other electronic devices, such as radio and loud-speaking systems, were still in their infancy.

Four complete musical selections from this Phonofilm session exist, totaling 13 minutes. This suggests that either the runtime shown here is incorrect, or that there were two short films made from this one session.

It has also been suggested that the 1923 date is wrong, and I concur. One of the tunes ("Craving") was a Bernie composition. Although he had been recording for the Vocalion label for well over two years, he did not make a record of the song until January, 1925. Other companies did not record the title until the spring of 1925. Therefore, it seems more probably that this film was made in either late 1924 or early 1925.

The four clips from this Phonofilm may be viewed at http://www.redhotjazz.com/berniephonofilm.html -- if you're an impatient sort and don't want to wait for them all to download, the best of the lot is the aforementioned "Craving." As I said, it's Bernie's own composition, and he gives it his all, including a Charleston rhythm for the last chorus. He ends this piece (as he does most) with a last-second ingratiating twirl towards the camera, a flourish with his bow, and a broad smile. Dare I say it? The man has sex appeal!