The Stein Song (1930) User Reviews

Rudy Valee, Ugh

[Hitchcoc · 5/10 · 7 December 2018]

This is a college fight song (Maine) put in one of those bouncing ball things. There is some ordinary animation produced by the Fleischer studios. This has a football theme and some of that works OK. Still, I can't imagine sitting in the audience singing these songs. I remember the sourpuss Rudy Valee criticizing the Beatles in the Sixties. Of course, after his original rise to fame, he didn't manage to do much of anything.

This Fleischer Screen Songs cartoon, The Stein Song, was the first to feature a star in Rudy Vallee

[tavm · 7/10 · 29 July 2011]

Just watched this Max and Dave Fleischer Screen Songs cartoon on YouTube. According to the summary on it, this was the first one to feature a celebrity, in this case Rudy Vallee, singing the song. It may also be the first time a couple of animators were credited as opposed to just the director which, as always, would be Dave. One of those animators credited was Jimmie Culhane who'd later be better known as Shamus. Anyway, the cartoon centers on a college football game. One gag I especially liked was when a hot dog would just jump into the bun with the person holding it automatically spreading it with mustard with one of those dogs having a pillow especially on that bread prepared for him! Also as always, the "bouncing ball"-which began as the football-jumps on the lyrics of the title song before being replaced by the characters with the last ending gag being a bit bizarre. So on that note, The Stein Song is well worth a look for anyone interested in these vintage cartoons.

Drink to Dear Old Maine

[boblipton · 7/10 · 18 November 2009]

The Fleischer brothers had been producing their Screen Songs since 1924. By 1930, when the majority of theaters were wired for sound -- the others would, with few exceptions, be out of business by the end of the year -- they had turned into their biggest money-maker. So they started spending money on their productions. This meant that they started hiring name singers and musicians to front this shorts. This one, starring Rudy Vallee, was their first.

I am not going to tell you that this college drinking song is a very good song or that Vallee is a great singer, but that 'first' makes this worth looking at and some of the jokes are better than usual for these Screen Songs that year. Take a look at the college pennants that the fellows carry at the conclusion.

The Stein Song

[Michael_Elliott · 28 September 2017]

The Stein Song (1930)

*** (out of 4)

The Fleischer Studio produced a number of these animated short films where the "bouncing ball" would have audience members singing together. The big news with this short is that Rudy Vallee is on the title card and singing the song. The animation starts off at a football game and then we cut to the bouncing ball and Vallee doing his thing. The narrator tells us that the song is famous but it was Vallee who made it popular and we even get the singer introducing it. Obviously this here has quite a bit going for it. The animation itself was quite good but of course it's Vallee that makes this worth watching. I'm not sure what Flesicher had to pay to get him to appear here but it added a nice touch to what normally would have just been anyone doing the singing.