The Melody Man

The Melody Man
The Melody Man
Directed by	Roy William Neill
Written by	Howard J. Green
Based on	play The Melody Man; by Herbert Fields
Produced by	Harry Cohn
Starring	John St. Polis; Alice Day; William Collier, Jr.
Cinematography	Ted Tetzlaff
Edited by	Leonard Wheeler
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	January 15, 1930;
Running time	68 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Melody Man is a 1930 American Pre-Code drama musical film produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Roy William Neill and starred John St. Polis, Alice Day and William Collier, Jr.. The story is based on a Broadway play by Herbert Fields.^[1]

The film is preserved in the Library of Congress.^[2]

Plot

Earl von Kemper is a famous Austrian composer who fled to the United States: in Vienna, during his concert in the presence of the emperor, Kemper surprised his beloved woman locked in a boudoir with Frederick, the crown prince. Mad with jealousy, the musician killed the prince, then fleeing with his daughter.

Fifteen years have passed. Kemper earns his living playing the violin in a New York club with two other musicians. His daughter Elsa meets Al Tyler, a jazz musician. The latter overhears Kemper's rhapsody, the one that had been played at the concert for the emperor; he likes music, arranges it, making it a very successful jazz piece. But the music is recognized by Baden, the Austrian police minister, who then prepares to arrest Kemper. The musician then pretends with his daughter that he has obtained an engagement in Europe, leaving the two young lovers in America.

Cast

Alice Day - Elsa
William Collier, Jr. - Al Tyler (*billed as Buster Collier)
Johnnie Walker - Joe Yates
John St. Polis - Von Kemper
Mildred Harris - Martha
Albert Conti - Prince Friedrich
Anton Vaverka - Franz Josef
Tenen Holtz - Gustav (uncredited)
Lee Kohlmar - Adolph (uncredited)

References

^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Melody Man
^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p.114, c. 1978, American Film Institute.

External links

The Melody Man at IMDb
The Melody Man, Allmovie.com

This article about a musical drama film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Melody Man

[2] Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p.114, c. 1978, American Film Institute.

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[2]

v t e Films directed by Roy William Neill
1910s	The Mother Instinct (1917) The Price Mark (1917) Vive la France! (1918) The Bandbox (1919)
1920s	The Woman Gives (1920) Yes or No? (1920) Dangerous Business (1920) Something Different (1920) The Idol of the North (1921) The Conquest of Canaan (1921) The Iron Trail (1921) What's Wrong with the Women? (1922) The Man from M.A.R.S (1922) Toilers of the Sea (1923) By Divine Right (1924) Vanity's Price (1924) Broken Laws (1924) Percy (1925) Marriage in Transit (1925) The Kiss Barrier (1925) Greater Than a Crown (1925) The Cowboy and the Countess (1926) The Fighting Buckaroo (1926) A Man Four-Square (1926) Black Paradise (1926) The City (1926) Marriage (1927) The Arizona Wildcat (1927) The Olympic Hero (1928) Lady Raffles (1928) The Viking (1928) San Francisco Nights (1928) Wall Street (1929)
1930s	Just Like Heaven (1930) The Melody Man (1930) Fifty Fathoms Deep (1931) The Menace (1932) That's My Boy (1932) Above the Clouds (1933) The Circus Queen Murder (1933) Fury of the Jungle (1933) The Ninth Guest (1934) Black Moon (1934) I'll Fix It (1934) Jealousy (1934) Eight Bells (1935) The Black Room (1935) Gypsy (1937) Doctor Syn (1937) The Viper (1938) Simply Terrific (1938) Thank Evans (1938) Many Tanks Mr. Atkins (1938) Everything Happens to Me (1938) A Gentleman's Gentleman (1939) Murder Will Out (1939)
1940s	His Brother's Keeper (1940) Hoots Mon! (1940) The Good Old Days (1940) Eyes of the Underworld (1942) Madame Spy (1942) Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943) Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) Rhythm of the Islands (1943) Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) The Spider Woman (1944) The Scarlet Claw (1944) The Pearl of Death (1944) Gypsy Wildcat (1944) Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (1945) The Woman in Green (1945) Pursuit to Algiers (1945) Terror by Night (1946) Dressed to Kill (1946) Black Angel (1946)