Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)

President Franklin Roosevelt appoints a theatrical producer as the new Secretary of Amusement in order to cheer up an American public still suffering through the Depression. The new ... See full summary »

Director:

Hamilton MacFadden

Writers:

Lew Brown (story), Will Rogers (story),

Stars:

Warner Baxter, Madge Evans, James Dunn

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Warner Baxter	...	Lawrence Cromwell
Madge Evans	...	Mary Adams
James Dunn	...	Jimmy Dugan
Sylvia Froos	...	Sylvia Froos
John Boles	...	John Boles
Arthur Byron	...	John Harly
Shirley Temple	...	Shirley Dugan
Ralph Morgan	...	Secretary to President
Tess Gardella	...	Aunt Jemima (as 'Aunt Jemima')
Frank Mitchell	...	Senator Danforth (as Mitchell)
Jack Durant	...	Senator Short (as Durant)
Dick Foran	...	Nick Foran (as Nick Foran)
Nigel Bruce	...	Dinwiddle
John 'Skins' Miller	...	Hill-Billy (as Skins Miller)
Stepin Fetchit	...	George Bernard Shaw

Storyline

President Franklin Roosevelt appoints a theatrical producer as the new Secretary of Amusement in order to cheer up an American public still suffering through the Depression. The new secretary soon runs afoul of political lobbyists out to destroy his department.

---

Plot Keywords:

lobbyist | great depression | government | imperative in title | u.s. president | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fox Movietone Follies of 1934

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min 81 min (original release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debut of Lurene Tuttle.

---

Connections

Referenced in 20 to 1: Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (2008)

---

Soundtracks

"Broadway's Gone Hill-Billy"
(1934) (uncredited)
Lyrics by Lew Brown
Music by Lew Brown and Jay Gorney
Performed by Sylvia Froos and Ensemble
c. 1934 Movietone Music Corportation

User Reviews

stay seated but cheer

The portrayals of African American characters in this movie are, as has been pointed out, stereotypical, but I would like to suggest that where the actors themselves are allowed to show their talents, they transcend the stereotypes in ways even the filmmakers themselves recognized.

Take, for example, the show-stopping finale to "I'm Laughing," performed by Tess Gardella. There are a series of tableaux in this number, of various individuals all representing different marginalized groups: Immigrants, sweatshop workers, laborers of all kinds, all leading up to Tess Gardella herself busting out with the biggest, cheeriest performance of all, surrounded by a rousing, dancing chorus. It was clearly meant to recap the song's theme--if I can laugh, as downtrodden as I am, so can you--and to embody those who persevere and triumph over circumstance. With a swish of her ample hips and a gleam in her eye, Ms. Gardella triumphs.

The standard Stepin Fetchit routine has been analyzed everywhere, but let me just add that in this picture, the actor personifies African American resistance. In 1934 Black men were still not free from the vicious system of racial etiquette known as Jim Crow, and were therefore limited in the number of personae they were allowed to display. The genius of Stepin Fetchit is that he acts out the prescribed social role while frustrating those who prescribe it by withholding his intelligence and personality from the social interaction altogether. He slyly gives white people exactly what they demand,nothing more, forcing them to realize that perhaps that's not what they want after all. The resistance is his and the joke is on them.