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Three Cheers For The Girls (updated review)

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  • Three Cheers For The Girls (updated review)

    Three Cheers for the Girls - Derann B/W 1 X 400 ft
    This 1 x 400 footer from Derann is a pleasant reel of excerpts from the great Warner Brothers 1930's black and white musicals.
    Many of the numbers are choreographed by the legendary Busby Berkeley, and others by Warner's dance director Bobby Connolly.
    I recently projected this film for the first time in many years and found it to be quite enjoyable. It would have been an outstanding reel if the print quality had been better. Despite this, the content is excellent and will surely be enjoyed by Berkeley and 30's musical fans.
    I have not seen any reference to this film, except for the original review on the old forum, so I am wondering how rare it is.






    Warner Brothers dug into their film archive to produce this 1943 featurette, which ends on a patriotic tone fitting of the times. The film was no doubt intended to entertain overseas troops and to also provide a little moral boosting with Busby Berkeley's gorgeous chorines.
    The film starts out in the Warner studio dressing room of the chorus girls, singing 'The Floradora Chorus of the Screen - "We're the girls they undress to dress a scene'! The girls sing and pop back into the film to introduce all the different segments, which include:

    The Floradora Chorus of the Screen
    Music by M.K. Jerome. Lyrics by Jack Scholl
    Played during the opening credits, and sung by the chorus girls at the beginning and toward the end.

    All's Fair in love and War from Gold Diggers of 1937
    Joan Blondell leads a couple of hundred chorus girls in military formations.

    Shadow Waltz from Cain and Mabel (1936)
    NOT the one from Gold Diggers of 1933, but a later version with an early period setting.

    Spin a Little Web of Dreams from Fashions of 1934
    Here the girls become human harps!

    I''ll Sing You a Thousand Love Songs from Cain and Mabel

    The Words are in My Heart from Gold Diggers of 1935
    The legendary miniature piano sequence

    Aloha Oe from Flirtation Waltz (1934)

    The Song of the Marines from The Singing Marine
    Sung by a marine chorus headed by Dick Powell, accompanied by battle training shots.

    Print quality is fair, some scenes a lot better than others, but definitely a 'dupey' looking print.
    Altogether a nice bit of musical film history, with some really rare musical clips in amongst the better known ones.
    Also nice to see Berkeley's chorines getting a chance to have their moment to talk and sing before the camera.

    Please note that the S8 box art is my own effort - Derann supplied this reel in the ubiquitous white box. I wanted my film to be packaged like the other Derann Berkeley films, and somehow, packaging it in a decent box seemed to improve the print quality!

    A rare entertaining 400 footer on black and white film stock, and recommended mainly for 30's musical buffs

    CONTENT A
    PRINT B-
    SOUND B (MONO)

  • #2
    ...Fantastic review Paul! Always nice to re-visit these hidden gems! Great cover art too! I will be looking for this one now for sure! Sounds like a great reel!

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    • #3
      Thank's Burton. Here is a promo for Cain and Mabel (1936), the big song of which I'll Give You a Thousand Love Songs is featured in the Derann print of Three Cheers for the Girls. Good luck in your search for a print.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKAC6sojr7I

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      • #4
        Never seen that Paul and thought I had all the clam shell releases as well. Still.learning!

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