A Lady's Morals
Encyclopedia
A Lady's Morals is a 1930 film
offering a highly fictionalized account of singer Jenny Lind
. The movie features Grace Moore
as Lind, Reginald Denny
as a lover, and Wallace Beery
as P. T. Barnum
; Beery would play Barnum again four years later in The Mighty Barnum
. The film contains some fine opera arias by Moore and was directed by Sidney Franklin
.
According to the Internet Movie Database, the film Jenny Lind is an alternate French language version of A Lady's Morals; only two actors are listed in both versions (Grace Moore and Paul Porcasi), and different actors are listed for PT Barnum (Wallace Beery, André Berley), as well as different directors and other crew.
Wallace Beery would play Barnum again in The Mighty Barnum
four years later, with Virginia Bruce
as Jenny Lind.
1930 in film
-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
offering a highly fictionalized account of singer Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind
Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...
. The movie features Grace Moore
Grace Moore
Grace Moore was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.-Early life:...
as Lind, Reginald Denny
Reginald Denny (actor)
Reginald Denny was an English stage, film, and television actor. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain.-Acting career:...
as a lover, and Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus....
; Beery would play Barnum again four years later in The Mighty Barnum
The Mighty Barnum
The Mighty Barnum is a 1934 film starring Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum. The movie was written by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, and directed by Walter Lang. Beery had played Barnum four years earlier in A Lady's Morals, a highly fictionalized biography of singer Jenny Lind.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as...
. The film contains some fine opera arias by Moore and was directed by Sidney Franklin
Sidney Franklin (director)
Sidney Franklin was an American film director and producer. His brother Chester Franklin also became a director during the silent film era best known for helming the early Technicolor film Toll of the Sea....
.
According to the Internet Movie Database, the film Jenny Lind is an alternate French language version of A Lady's Morals; only two actors are listed in both versions (Grace Moore and Paul Porcasi), and different actors are listed for PT Barnum (Wallace Beery, André Berley), as well as different directors and other crew.
Wallace Beery would play Barnum again in The Mighty Barnum
The Mighty Barnum
The Mighty Barnum is a 1934 film starring Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum. The movie was written by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, and directed by Walter Lang. Beery had played Barnum four years earlier in A Lady's Morals, a highly fictionalized biography of singer Jenny Lind.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as...
four years later, with Virginia Bruce
Virginia Bruce
Virginia Bruce was an American actress and singer.-Career:Born Helen Virginia Briggs in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she went with her family to Los Angeles intending to enroll in the University of California when a friendly wager sent her seeking film work. She got it as an extra in Why Bring That...
as Jenny Lind.
Cast
- Grace MooreGrace MooreGrace Moore was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.-Early life:...
as Jenny LindJenny LindJohanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily... - Reginald DennyReginald Denny (actor)Reginald Denny was an English stage, film, and television actor. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain.-Acting career:...
as Paul Brandt - Wallace BeeryWallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as P. T. BarnumP. T. BarnumPhineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, businessman, scam artist and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.... - Jobyna HowlandJobyna HowlandJobyna Howland was an American stage and screen actress. Tall, regal and beautiful Howland was another model for Charles Dana Gibson's famous sketching The Gibson Girl. Howland made her first appearance on the New York Stage in 1899 managed by Daniel Frohman...
as Josephine - Gus Shy as Olaf
- Gilbert EmeryGilbert EmeryGilbert Emery was the stage name of Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle, an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945.- Early years :...
as Broughm - George F. MarionGeorge F. MarionGeorge F. Marion Sr. was an American stage actor and director, a film actor and director of two silent films. George F. Marion, who was born in San Francisco, California was father of writer George Marion Jr. and he died of a heart attack at the age of 85 years in Carmel, California, USA. Marion...
as Innkeeper - Paul PorcasiPaul PorcasiPaul Porcasi was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 142 films between 1917 and 1945.He was born in Palermo, Sicily and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Broadway...
as Innkeeper
Soundtrack
- "It Is Destiny"
- Lyrics by Clifford GreyClifford GreyClifford Grey was an English songwriter, actor, librettist and Olympic medalist. His birth name was Percival Davis, and he was also known as Clifford Gray, Tippi Gray, Tippi Grey, Tippy Gray and Tippy Grey.As a writer, Grey contributed prolifically to West End and Broadway shows, as librettist and...
- Music by Oscar StrausOscar StrausOscar Straus may refer to:*Oscar Straus , Viennese composer of operettas*Oscar Straus , United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 to 1909...
- Copyright 1930 by Harms Inc.
- Played by Reginald Denny on piano and sung by Grace Moore
- Reprised by Grace Moore singing and on piano
- "Rataplan"
- from "La fille du régimentLa fille du régimentLa fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
" - Music by Gaetano DonizettiGaetano DonizettiDomenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
- Played at an opera house with Grace Moore singing as Marie
- "Student's Song"
- Music by Oscar Straus
- Lyrics by Clifford Grey
- Sung by students escorting Grace Moore home
- "Oh Why"
- Lyrics by Arthur FreedArthur FreedArthur Freed was born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a Jewish American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer.- Biography :Freed began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago...
- Music by Herbert StothartHerbert StothartHerbert Stothart was a song writer, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for nine Oscars, winning Best Original Score for The Wizard of Oz.-Biography:...
and Harry M. WoodsHarry M. WoodsHenry MacGregor Woods was a Tin Pan Alley songwriter and pianist. Woods is sometimes credited as Harry Woods.-Early life:... - Copyright 1930 Harms Inc.
- Played by Grace Moore singing and on piano
- "Casta Diva"
- from "NormaNorma (opera)Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
" - Music by Vincenzo BelliniVincenzo BelliniVincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
- Played at an opera house and sung by Grace Moore as Norma
- "Swedish Pastorale"
- Written by Howard JohnsonHoward Johnson (lyricist)Howard Johnson was a song lyricist. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.Songwriter , author and lyricist, Johnson was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, and died in New York, New York. He was educated in high school and in private music study...
and Herbert Stothart - Sung by a group in Sweden
- "Lovely Hour"
- Words and Music by Carrie Jacobs Bond
- Copyright 1929 by Carrie Jacobs-BondCarrie Jacobs-BondCarrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter who composed some 175 pieces of popular sheet music from the 1890s through the early 1940s....
& Son - Sung first by Grace Moore offscreen
- Reprised by her at P.T.Barnum's show in New York City
- "I Hear Your Voice"
- Music by Oscar Straus
- Lyrics by Clifford Grey
External links
- A Lady's Morals plot by Sanderson Beck (1999)