Crooner (film)
| Crooner | |
|---|---|
Ted Taylor (David Manners) conducts his band
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| Directed by | Lloyd Bacon |
| Produced by | Lucien Hubbard |
| Written by |
Charles Kenyon (screenplay) Rian James (story) |
| Starring |
David Manners Ann Dvorak |
| Music by | Ray Heindorf |
| Cinematography | Robert Kurrle |
| Edited by | Howard Bretherton |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | First National Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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67 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Crooner is a 1932 American pre-Code musical drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring David Manners along with Ann Dvorak and Ken Murray. It concerns the abrupt rise and fall of a popular crooner, Ted Taylor.
Ted Taylor is the leader of Ted Taylor's Collegians. One night, his usual singer can't sing. He decides to try out singing. However, his voice can't be heard over the band. A dancer stops and jokes with him by handing him a megaphone. Taylor sings through it, and he is heard. The ladies are enamored with his soft voice while the men are disgusted. Taylor becomes a big star over night, but his ego becomes inflated. Things come to a head when Taylor loses his temper and punches a heckler in the audience, who he didn't realize was a cripple. Shunned, he loses his girlfriend, his band, his fame, and his dignity.
Donald Novis provided Ted Taylor's singing voice. Rudy Vallée was originally considered for the role of Taylor, but contracts prevented this.
"It hands a loud but quite amusing razz to all such radio performers," wrote a critic for Photoplay. "Ken Murray and Ann Dvorak help to make this bright and entertaining."
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