| The Big Broadcast of 1936 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Norman Taurog |
| Screenplay by | Walter DeLeon Francis Martin Ralph Spence Jack Mintz |
| Produced by | Benjamin Glazer |
| Starring | Jack Oakie Bing Crosby George Burns Gracie Allen Ethel Merman The Nicholas Brothers Lyda Roberti Wendy Barrie Mary Boland Charlie Ruggles Akim Tamiroff |
| Cinematography | Leo Tover |
| Edited by | Ellsworth Hoagland |
| Music by | John Leipold |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Big Broadcast of 1936 is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, and is the second in the series of Big Broadcast movies.[1] The musical comedy starred Jack Oakie, Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman, The Nicholas Brothers, Lyda Roberti, Wendy Barrie, Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, Akim Tamiroff, Amos 'n' Andy (Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll), Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Argentinian tango singer Carlos Gardel.
Glenn Miller appears as part of the Ray Noble Orchestra. Their performance was filmed at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York. In Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (1974), George Thomas Simon noted that Glenn Miller was paid extra by Ray Noble "for working on The Big Broadcast of 1936, so that Glenn's total weekly pay" was $356.[2] The screen appearance of the Ray Noble orchestra was edited down to a very brief scene on the "televisor". The screenplay was by Walter DeLeon, Francis Martin, Ralph Spence, and Julius J. Epstein, who was uncredited. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Dance Direction by LeRoy Prinz for "It's the Animal in Me".[3] Although the film has not been released on DVD or VHS, it is available on various video sharing websites.
- ^ Hark, Ina Rae. American Cinema of the 1930s: Themes and Variations. Rutgers University Press, 2007, p. 10.
- ^ Simon, George Thomas. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. Da Capo paperback reprint, 2000. On page 72, Simon noted that Glenn Miller was paid extra by Ray Noble for his appearance in the movie The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935) with the Ray Noble Orchestra.
- ^ IMDb entry for the film.