Land Without Music
Land Without Music is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Richard Tauber, Diana Napier and Jimmy Durante. It was made at Denham Studios.[1] The film was one of a number of operetta films made in Britain during the decade.
Land Without Music | |
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Directed by | Walter Forde |
Produced by | Max Schach |
Written by | Armin Robinson (story) & Fritz Koselka (story) Rudolf Bernauer (adaptation) Ernest Betts (additional dialogue) and Eric Maschwitz (additional dialogue) Marion Dix (writer) L. du Garde Peach (writer) |
Starring | Jimmy Durante |
Music by | Oscar Straus Van Phillips |
Cinematography | John W. Boyle |
Edited by | Lynn Harrison |
Production company | Capitol Film Corporation |
Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date | 8 October 1936 |
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The film is also known by the alternative title Forbidden Music in the United States.
Plot summary
After discovering that her state is penniless because its citizens spend their time making music instead of money, a European Grand Duchess bans music in her domains.[2] A New York journalist conspires with rogues to stage a concert.
Cast
- Richard Tauber as Mario Carlini
- Diana Napier as Princess-Regent Maria Renata
- Jimmy Durante as Jonah J. Whistler
- June Clyde as Sadie Whistler
- Derrick De Marney as Rudolpho Strozzi
- George Hayes as Police Colonel Strozzi
- Esme Percy as Austrian Ambassador
- John Hepworth as Pedro
- Edward Rigby as The Maestro
- George Carney as Prison Warder
- Ivan Wilmot as Chief Bandit
- Robert Nainby as Minister for War
- Joe Monkhouse as Finance Minister
- Quentin McPhearson as Customs Officer
- Evelyn Ankers as a Lady of the Court (uncredited; "Who's Carlini?" sequence)
Soundtrack
The musical score for this film was composed by Oscar Straus. The main songs are 'Simple Little Melody', 'Smile for Me', 'Heaven in a Song' and 'You must have Music', all of which were recorded by Tauber for Parlophone.
References
- Wood p.91
- LAND WITHOUT MUSIC (1936) Because Films Inspire
Bibliography
- Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
- Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927–1939. British Film Institute, 1986.