Drawing on meticulous research, sharp wit, and insightful analysis, Richard Barrios illuminates the origins of the movie musical in this extensively revised and updated edition of his highly acclaimed A Song in the Dark. From Warner Bros. and Jolson, to the Oscar-winning Broadway Melody and beyond, here is the whole funny and peculiar history of these films, their creators, and their audiences. Ranging from the smash hits of The Singing Fool and Sunny Side Up to bizarre flops like Golden Dawn and Cecil B. DeMille's Madam Satan, they form a body of work unlike anything else in the history of popular entertainment. Here too are legendary performers, directors, and composers: from Fannie Brice, James Cagney, and Mae West, to Busby Berkeley, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, and countless others. With many new rare photographs, some not published in nearly 80 years, this new edition traces the rise and fall, and rise again, of this quintessential piece of the American experience.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION 1. VITAPHONE PRELUDE 2. THE SOUND BARRIER 3. "YOU WERE MEANT FOR ME" 4. ON WITH THE SHOW! 5. FINDING A VOICE 6. DUELING MAMMIES 7. HOLLYWOOD, REVUED 8. BROADWAY BABIES 9. "WITH ALL ITS ORIGINAL STAGE ENCHANTMENT" 10. JUST IMAGINE 11. THE CUCKOOS 12. OF VIENNESE NIGHTS AND GOLDEN DAWNS 13. IS IT A MUSICAL? 14. THE MARCH OF TIME 15. VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS 16. "WE'RE IN THE MONEY" 17. THE PAST AS PROLOGUE FINALE Appendix One: NOTES ON LOST FILMS Appendix Two: A SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY: EARLY MUSICALS ON RECORD SOURCE NOTES SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX