Let's Sing a Song About the Moonlight (1948)

Director:

Jack Scholl

Writer:

Jack Scholl (written by)

Release Date:

24 January 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Music

Plot:

Four popular songs about moonlight are presented, including their origins and as sing-a-longs. In 1909...

Plot Keywords:

Sing Along | Memories From Melody Lane | Narration

Cast

The Melody Makers	...	Themselves (voice)
Art Gilmore	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pat McKee	...	Saloon Extra (uncredited)
Dennis Morgan	...	Jack Norworth in Film Clip from 'Shine On, Harvest Moon' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ann Sheridan	...	Nora Bayes in Film Clip from 'Shine On, Harvest Moon' (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Scholl

Writing credits
Jack Scholl		(written by)

Produced by
Gordon Hollingshead	....	producer

Film Editing by
Harold McLernon

Art Direction by
Roland Hill

Sound Department
Charles David Forrest	....	sound (as David Forrest)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

10 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12310) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Quotes:

Nora Bayes in Film Clip from 'Shine On, Harvest Moon':[sings] Shine on, shine on, Harvest Moon, up in the sky / I ain't had no loving since January, February, March, April, May, June or July / Snow time, ain't no time to stay outdoors and spoon / So, shine on, shine on, Harvest Moon, for me and my pal.

Movie Connections:

Features Shine on Harvest Moon (1944)

Soundtrack:

Shine On, Harvest Moon

Proto-karaoke fun.

In the history of cinema, exhibitors have tried many ways to warm up an audience before a film. Nowadays we just get endless ads and trailers, but in the golden days, there were short films, cartoons, information films, short documentaries, news bulletins etc. They usually served the same function as an overture to an opera, but many now are of immense kitsch or nostalgic value.

This short is a fascinating example. I don't know what date it is form (it mentions a 1943 film as past), so I am unable to conjecture as to what its use value was. It's part of a series called Melodies from Memory Lane. Four songs with the word 'moonlight' are sung by barbershop quartets, with hagiographic reconstructions of their genesis. These can be, as one might expect, typically reactionary - one songwriter, an undercover FBI man, lingering in what seems to be an ordinary bar, is said to be seething with discontenet at the seedy environment in which he has to work. The reconstructions are amateurish but sweet.

For me the film's great appeal lies in the gimmick whereby, after the quartet have sung the song, the words appear on the screen, and the audience is encouraged to sing along. If, as I suspect, these are wartime shorts, then the attempt to engender a sense of community is rather crass. But I don't care. I've always found the popular music of the 1940s rather schmaltzy and tacky, especially when compared to the classics of the 20s and 30s, but I had great pleasure belting these songs out, scaring my dogs, and annoying my neighbours. I bet it was as much fun then, and I'd much rather do that today, than suffer another 'wacky' ad for some soft drink.