New Faces of 1937 | |
---|---|
Lobby card to New Faces of 1937
|
|
Directed by |
Leigh Jason James Anderson (assistant) |
Produced by | Edward Small |
Written by |
Story: George Bradshaw ("Shoestring") Sketch: David Freedman ("A Day at the Brokers") Adaptation: Harold Kussell Harry Clork Howard J. Green Screenplay: Nat Perrin Philip G. Epstein Irv S. Brecher |
Starring |
Joe Penner Milton Berle Parkyakarkus Harriet Hilliard William Brady Jerome Cowan Thelma Leeds |
Music by | Roy Webb |
Cinematography | J. Roy Hunt |
Edited by | George Crone |
Production
company |
|
Distributed by |
RKO Radio Pictures (1937) (USA) (theatrical) C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV) RKO Home Video (USA) (video) (laserdisc) |
Release date
|
|
Running time
|
100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $728,000 |
Box office | $775,000 |
New Faces of 1937 is a black and white 1937 American musical film. Its plot is similar to The Producers (1968).
A crooked theatrical producer deliberately sets about creating an unsuccessful show after selling more than 100% of it to investors.
An alternate title for this film, which was in production from late March to mid-May 1937, had been listed as Young People. Singer Rene Stone, who appears in the film, was discovered by Edward Small singing while cleaning dishes in a Manhattan restaurant.
The film recorded a loss of $258,000. Reviews were mixed.
The film was meant to be the first in a series of musical revues designed to introduce new RKO talent, but this did not eventuate. Film writers Richard B. Jewell and Vernon Harbin wrote that:
Containing not a single memorable musical number or inspired comedy routine, this tedious mish-mash caused the studio embarrassment a-plenty. Theatre owners and audiences displayed such hostility towards the Edward Small production in general, and Penner and Parkyakaras in particular, that RKO cancelled plans to make a New Faces of 1938.