Rainbow on the River

Rainbow on the River


(aka It Happened in New Orleans)

Principal Productions / RKO, 1936, B/W, 83 minutes, ***

Released December, 1936



Bobby Breen and May Robson star in a song-filled tale of a young orphan boy and the ex-slave caring for him in the post-Civil War South, until the child goes to live with a wealthy grandmother in New York. With Louise Beavers, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.



The film opens with the statement: "In the years following the Civil War, the South lies vanquished. The clank of sword and cannon's roar have faded into the silence of time, yet in the hearts of the people bitter memories of the conflict are still alive..." Old New Orleans in 1873



Producer: Sol Lesser

Associate Producer: Edward Gross

Director: Kurt Neumann

Assistant Director: George Sherman

Writers: Harry Chandlee, Earle Snell and William Hurlbut

Adapted from the Novel "Toinette's Philip" by Mrs. C.V. Jamison

Additional dialogue by Clarence Marks

Musical Setting Conceived and Directed by Hugo Riesenfeld

Associate: Abe Meyer

Songs: "Rainbow on the River" by Louis Alter and Paul F. Webster

"Flower Song" by Hugo Riesenfeld and Selma Hautzik

"Waitin' for the Sun to Rise" by Karl Hajos and Arthur Swanstrom

Art Director: Harry Oliver

Associate Art Directors: Lewis J. Rachmil and Earl Wooden

Costume Supervisor: Albert Diano

Sound Engineer: Hal Burbaugh

Cinematography: Charles Schoenbaum

Film Editor: Robert Crandall



Cast: Bobby Breen [Philip], May Robson [Mrs. Ainsworth], Charles Butterworth [Barrett], Alan Mowbray [Ralph Layton], Benita Hume [Julia Layton], Henry O'Neill [Father Josef], Louise Beavers [Toinette], Marilyn Knowlden [Lucille Layton], Lillian Yarbo [Seline], Stymie Beard [Lilybell Jones], Edward Anderson [Doctor], Hall Johnson Singers, Additional Cast (not included in end credits): Betty Blythe [Flower Buyer], Theresa Maxwell Conover [Mrs. Logan], Lew Kelly [Cabman], Lillian Harmer [Superintendent]



Musical Program: [0:01] Flower Song (sung by Bobby Breen); [0:08] unidentified hymn: Mother of Mothers, Thy Children beseech thee... (sung by Bobby Breen accompanied by Henry O'Neill on the organ onscreen); [0:11] Ring de Banjo (sung by Louise Beavers and Bobby Breen, banjo played onscreen by Louise Beavers); [0:16] Waitin' for the Sun to Rise (sung by Bobby Breen with the Hall Johnson Singers); [0:33] Holy, Holy, Holy (Lord God Almighty) (sung by Bobby Breen and Choir in church processional); [0:34] Ave Maria (Schubert version, sung by Bobby Breen with Choir); [0:48] Flower Song (reprised by Bobby Breen); [0:51] De Camptown Races (excerpt sung by Bobby Breen with a little help from Charles Butterworth); [0:54] Dixie (a few bars picked out on piano by Bobby Breen onscreen); [0:57] Old Folks at Home (sung by Bobby Breen with the Hall Johnson Singers); [1:00] Flower Song (reprised by Bobby Breen); [1:03] Rainbow on the River (sung by Bobby Breen); [1:16] Rainbow on the River (reprised by Bobby Breen and the Hall Johnson Singers)