Syncopation

An interesting film, shown on turner classics. Watch it for the great music and the fun movie stars. Beginning with the slavery days, and the mournful blues, up through the big jazz bands during world war two, we watch various stories unfold. At the center is the life and loves of kit latimer (bonita granville). Surrounded by the huge stars of the day. The summary tells us that rko and the evening post took a survey to see who readers wanted included in the cast. There's a story here, but it's just a good excuse to hear some fun, jumping music. Some of the songs are listed in soundtracks. If you have a minute, check it out, as well as the cast list. Good stuff. It was released in 1942, a couple months after the united states got pulled into the war. Probably a good chance to sell some war bonds too! Wikipedia dot org has a great history of the defense bonds, later called war bonds.

This movie definitely gets points for: 1) its general love for the music and mood of New Orleans 2) the great jazz/blues score 3) and most particularly its view of African/Americans as musicians and maids which sounds bad until you consider that, in 1942 in Hollywood, it was pretty much maids period. With an occasional train porter thrown in for variety. The movie gets points taken away for: 1) The flat, corny, pseudo poetic dialogue (expected more from Phil Yordan who penned the noir classic ,"The Big Combo" and the fine, dark western, "Day Of The Outlaw") 2) The general saccharininity (how's that for a new word?) of Bonita Granville 3) most especially that horrible final montage of jazz/blues immortals all of whom are white (what? Satchmo didn't make the cut? In a film about friggin New Orleans? Shameful) When the dust settles, give it a C plus.

source: Syncopation

I expect to post my 3,000th review here in a matter of days and I can't believe I've never heard of this valentine to Jazz let alone seen it. As far as I can ascertain it's unavailable commercially - I caught it at the Regent Street Cinema in London where they have a policy of screening musicals every Wednesday at 2 p.m. For jazz fans this is a must-see as it traces the growth of the art form from its roots in New Orleans through all the styles up to the swing that was current when it was released in 1942. Although there is a story of sorts involving Bonita Granville a New Orleans stride pianist and Jackie Cooper a Chicago-style trumpeter this isn't allowed to get in the way of the music and overall this film has arguably more music than anything outside of an out-and-out biopic like Night and Day or Words and Music. It concludes with a jam session featuring Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Alvino Rey, Harry James, Jack Jenny, Gene Krupa, and Connee Boswell is thrown in for good measure. Unmissable.

I only comment on films when I either really like them, or rarely when I really don't like them. This one really caught me by surprise. Bonita Granville as her usual likable self, but playing a character unlike anything I have seen her do. Befriending at a young age, the black housekeeper, and her cornet playing prodigy of a son in New Orleans, she falls in love with the music. This is the key for every character in the film. Their passion for the roots of jazz and its variations. Moving to Chicago, at an early age (what luck for a jazz lover) it goes from Bourbon to Basin Street, and it is quickly exposed that New Orleans Jazz is different from Chicago. She has just befriended a homeless person, Jackie Cooper, who instead of robbing her or worse, takes her to a jazz party, as he is a jazz loving cornet player. (only in the movies). She sits down and shows everyone New Orleans style jazz, by playing some boogie-woogie on the piano! All the emotions of trying to make a go of it as a musician, bring the movie full circle. Even at the end, Jackie Cooper is wondering if there is really ever going to be a future in it. The performances alone are worth watching for a true jazz lover, but I liked the story! Of course, I'm a pushover for someone passionate about jazz.

The 1942 Syncopation is somewhat outdated, but, aaaah, the incredible music makes this film watching and wanting for more.

A girl (Bonita Granville) brought up with a love for jazz music thanks to her New Orleans upbringing moves to Chicago with her loving father (Adolphe Menjou) at the turn of the century. There she meets a boy (Jackie Cooper) and together they share their love of jazz music. A paen to jazz music with the characters second place to this, much to the films detriment. If director William Dieterle had paid the same attention to the drama as he had to the music, this would have been a much better film. However, where it does stand up is in the music and some great cameo musical moments with contributions from the likes of Benny Goodman, Harry James , Gene Krupa, Joe Venuti and Charlie Barnet among others.

I came away with a different slant on this film than the other reviews I've seen here, so let me just say that for 1942 this terrific little love note to jazz is remarkably progressive for its day. While it's true that the plot ultimately leads to the white jazz stars of the early '40s, it is true to the roots of jazz and even includes a scene where an adult black musician calls an adult white musician "boy" and it's clear who's teaching who. This movie is as passionate about hot jazz music as were the people who created it, and it shows. Also, the plot is not as thin as many such films. It has the production values of an "A" picture, and its three stars were not exactly "B" list talent. It sometimes stretches credulity, but no more so than any other musical, and in fact even less so, considering that the music is an inherent part of the story. Here's hoping TCM shows this again soon; I'd love to record and keep it, as I doubt an official DVD release is in the offing.

Syncopation (1942) ** (out of 4) Well-meaning but ultimately flat tale trying to teach Americans why "black music" is so important. Our film follows three people throughout a twenty-plus year period as George Latimer (Adolphe Menjou) sees his daughter (Bonita Granville) want to play music herself and she gets her chance when she meets a young man (Jackie Cooper) who wants to put a band together. This film starts off on a very weird note with the strangest credits I've ever seen. We get a quick glimpse of slaves being taken from Africa to America and then we get the credits, which simply introduce the "people in front of the camera" and then we see another group of names followed by "people behind the camera." Why they decided to do this I'm not certain but it was quite strange. SYNCOPATION offers up quite a bit of good including the music, which features Jack Jenney, Joe Venuti, Harry James, Benny Goodman and Charlie Barnet among others. The soundtrack to the film features some popular tunes and these here certainly help keep the viewer interested in everything that is going on. Another plus are the three lead performances, which are all pretty good. I thought Granville and Cooper had some nice chemistry together and even though it's obviously not them playing the instruments, I thought both of them sold it quite well. The biggest problem with this film is that it tries to hard to tell people that Jazz isn't evil. I thought the film was a bit too preachy about it at times and at other times it's almost like the filmmakers are trying to beat the viewer over the head. Another problem is that the story of this couple going through various eras of music just never really works as it just feels forced and there's not much holding it together. The film certainly means well and it's portrait of blacks is certainly a lot more positive than the majority of films from this period.

From the opening scene of African drums and images of the Atlantic slave trade, you know this is not going to be a conventional Hollywood production. The scene switches to New Orleans in 1906, and the movie becomes a paean to the city's black residents, their religiosity and creativity, clearly credited with the origins of jazz. Covering the evolution of ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, and boogie woogie through prohibition, the stock-market crash, the Great Depression, and the outbreak of World War II the story is told through a romance in which the characters, played by Bonita Granville and Jackie Cooper argue over the need to stay true to their musical roots and the need to make money and popularize the new musical styles. Meanwhile, she bangs out tunes on the piano and he toots his heart out on the trumpet. The credits don't seem to indicate who is dubbing whom, but the final scene showcases some of the finest musicians of the 1940s. Prior to the making of the film, RKO studio held a contest for the readers of the Saturday Evening Post to vote on the musicians they would choose to make up an All-American Dance Band. The result is a pseudo jam session with Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Jack Jenney, Gene Krupa, Alvino Rey, and Joe Venuti. Singer Connee Boswell also makes an appearance in the film with her rendition of "Under a Falling Star." "Syncopation" is not a musical where people burst into song for no apparent reason; the music is carefully integrated into the story. Some of its content was daring for the time-friendships between white and black musicians, for example. In one scene, an admiring Jackie Cooper says to Todd Duncan, "You fellas are terrific," to which Duncan replies, "Thanks, boy." You can bet that in apartheid America that line kept the movie out of a lot of theaters. Among the other surprises in this film: an astounding apache dance, quotes from Walt Whitman's poetry, and a stunning performance by Jessica Grayson as the long suffering nanny. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013