Jack Benny, a violin-playing vaudeville performer, had just finished co-emceeing the "Hollywood Revue of 1929" for MGM. With a five-year studio contract under his belt, his next role for the studio was playing a stage manager, Eddie Rock, for a road show group. The February 1930's "Chasing Rainbows" contained Benny's first cinematic dramatic/comedy role. He looks very comfortable mixing with the film's stars by giving funny quips about their situations back stage.
As a loose sequel to the Academy Awards 1929 Outstanding Picture "Broadway Melody," Carlie Seymour (Bessie Love) and Terry Fay (Charles King) continue their cat-and-mouse relationship, but amped up ten-fold from the original. The roadshow premise gave MGM producers an excuse to expand the cast of characters to broaden its entertainment value. Veteran actress Marie Dressler teamed up with fellow-Mack Sennett alumni Polly Moran, their second of nine movies together, to deliver a sideshow of laughs. The main plot, however, involves Carlie's secret passion for Terry, only to be jilted a number of times by his habit of falling in love with the show's leading ladies.
Set in America in the waning days of World War One, "Chasing Rainbows," similar to the then-trending early film musicals, wrapped its dramatics with several song-and-dance numbers. The most familiar tune for modern viewers is "Happy Days Are Here Again," written in 1929. The song appears for the first time here on film, where it's sung just as the war's Armistice is announced. Presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt played the peppy song during his 1932 Democratic National Convention, and it was his adopted theme song throughout his campaign. A year later, 'Happy Days' was linked with the Repeal of Prohibition in December 1933, sometimes rephrased as "Happy days are beer again." In "Chasing Rainbows," the song was designed to conclude the movie in an elaborate Technicolor ending. However, the final reel has disappeared and only stills serve as a wrap-up to the feature.
The film didn't quite perk up its box office returns. Benny relabeled the movie "Chasing Customers." He appeared in two additional MGM features before the studio decided to buy out his contract. He played one other serious role in 1930's 'The Medicine Man' for Tiffany Pictures, before discovering radio in 1932. His personality was perfect for the broadcast medium when he was hired for NBC's 'The Canadian Dry Program.' Benny remained in radio as a popular comic until the mid-1950s while juggling a number of movie and television appearances throughout his life.
As a loose sequel to the Academy Awards 1929 Outstanding Picture "Broadway Melody," Carlie Seymour (Bessie Love) and Terry Fay (Charles King) continue their cat-and-mouse relationship, but amped up ten-fold from the original. The roadshow premise gave MGM producers an excuse to expand the cast of characters to broaden its entertainment value. Veteran actress Marie Dressler teamed up with fellow-Mack Sennett alumni Polly Moran, their second of nine movies together, to deliver a sideshow of laughs. The main plot, however, involves Carlie's secret passion for Terry, only to be jilted a number of times by his habit of falling in love with the show's leading ladies.
Set in America in the waning days of World War One, "Chasing Rainbows," similar to the then-trending early film musicals, wrapped its dramatics with several song-and-dance numbers. The most familiar tune for modern viewers is "Happy Days Are Here Again," written in 1929. The song appears for the first time here on film, where it's sung just as the war's Armistice is announced. Presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt played the peppy song during his 1932 Democratic National Convention, and it was his adopted theme song throughout his campaign. A year later, 'Happy Days' was linked with the Repeal of Prohibition in December 1933, sometimes rephrased as "Happy days are beer again." In "Chasing Rainbows," the song was designed to conclude the movie in an elaborate Technicolor ending. However, the final reel has disappeared and only stills serve as a wrap-up to the feature.
The film didn't quite perk up its box office returns. Benny relabeled the movie "Chasing Customers." He appeared in two additional MGM features before the studio decided to buy out his contract. He played one other serious role in 1930's 'The Medicine Man' for Tiffany Pictures, before discovering radio in 1932. His personality was perfect for the broadcast medium when he was hired for NBC's 'The Canadian Dry Program.' Benny remained in radio as a popular comic until the mid-1950s while juggling a number of movie and television appearances throughout his life.