THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938

The Big Broadcast of 1938
Paramount, 1938, B/W, 94 minutes, **½
Released February, 1938

The final installment of the hit series stars W.C. Fields as an ocean liner owner who pits his ship (S.S. Gigantic) against another vessel (S.S. Colossal) in a high-speed, trans-Atlantic race. While on the journey, a host of musical and comedy stars do their acts, including Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Kirsten Flagstad, and Bob Hope (his first feature film), who sings his signature tune, the Oscar-winning "Thanks for the Memory."

Produced by: Harlan Thompson
Directed by: Mitchell Leisen
Screen Play by: Walter DeLeon, Francis Martin and Ken Englund
Based on an adaptation by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse
Of a story by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan
Music and Lyrics by: Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin
Musical Direction: Boris Morros
Musical Adviser: Arthur Franklin
Dances Staged by: LeRoy Prinz
Art Direction by: Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegté
Interior Decoration: A. E. Freudeman
Costumes: Edith Head
Sound Recording: Gene Merritt, Don Johnson and Charles Althouse
Photographed by: Harry Fischbeck
Special Photographic Effects by: Gordon Jennings
Cartoon Sequence: Leon Schlesinger
Edited by: Eda Warren and Chandler House

Awards: Won Best Song Academy Award for 1938 ("Thanks for the Memory")

Cast: W. C. Fields [T. Frothingill Bellows / S. B. Bellows], Martha Raye [Martha Bellows], Dorothy Lamour [Dorothy Wyndham], Shirley Ross [Cleo Fielding], Lynne Overman [Scoop McPhail], Bob Hope [Buzz Fielding], Ben Blue [Mike], Leif Erickson [Bob Hayes], Patricia Wilder [Honey Chile], Grace Bradley [Grace Fielding], Rufe Davis [Turnkey], Lionel Pape [Lord Droopy], Dorothy Howe (aka Virginia Vale) [Joan Fielding], Russell Hicks [Captain Stafford], Kirsten Flagstad of the Metropolitan Opera Company, Wilfred Pelletier Conductor, Tito Guizar, Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra [Specialties]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:19] This Little Ripple Had Rhythm (instrumental played by Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra, includes animated sequence with vocal by unidentified male singer); [0:30] Don't Tell a Secret to a Rose (sung by Tito Guizar accompanied by his band); [0:33] Zuni Zuni (sung in Spanish by Tito Guizar accompanied by his band); [0:38] You Took the Words Right Out of My Heart (sung by Dorothy Lamour and Leif Erickson); [0:41] Brunnhilde's Battle Cry (from the opera THE VALKYRIE, sung by Kirsten Flagstad); [0:55] You Took the Words Right out of My Heart (reprised by Dorothy Lamour); [1:01] Thanks for the Memory (sung by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross); [1:12] Mama, That Moon Is Here Again (sung by Martha Raye while being tossed around by sailors); [1:20] The Waltz Lives On (production number sung and danced by Shirley Ross, Bob Hope and Chorus, includes segments of Waltzes, Polka, Can-Can, African Native dance, "At a Georgia Camp Meeting [Cakewalk by Chorus], "Charleston" [danced by Ben Blue and Chorus], "Truckin' (They're Going Hollywood in Harlem)" [sung by Martha Raye dancing with Chorus] .