Oscar Levant
Biography: Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906 – August 14, 1972) was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor. He was more famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than for his music.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: December 27, 1906
Deathday: August 14, 1972
Popularity:
Known For
An American in Paris
1951-09-26
An American in Paris
Overview: Jerry Mulligan is an exuberant American expatriate in Paris trying to make a reputation as a painter. His friend Adam is a struggling concert pianist who's a long time associate of a famous French singer, Henri Baurel. A lonely society woman, Milo Roberts, takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, but is interested in more than his art.
Genres: Music Romance Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-09-26
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Information Please: Series 2, No. 12
1941-07-11
Information Please: Series 2, No. 12
Overview: We have writer Fadiman, regulars Franklin P. Adams, Oscar Levant, and John Kieran, with Boris Karloff as the guest panelist for this edition of Information Please.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-07-11
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O. Henry's Full House
1952-08-07
O. Henry's Full House
Overview: Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1952-08-07
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Humoresque
1947-01-25
Humoresque
Overview: A classical musician from a working class background is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-01-25
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Information Please Series 2, No. 2
1940-10-04
Information Please Series 2, No. 2
Overview: This issue of RKO's Information Please series, based on the radio program featuring most of the same people, has Howard Lindsay, co-author and co-star of the then-current Broadway play, "Life With Father", as a visiting guest expert. Questions involved football plays, license plates and plays that dealt with family relationships.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-10-04
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The Band Wagon
1953-08-07
The Band Wagon
Overview: A Broadway artiste turns a faded film star's comeback vehicle into an artsy flop.
Genres: Music Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-08-07
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The Barkleys of Broadway
1949-05-04
The Barkleys of Broadway
Overview: Josh and Dinah Barkley are a successful musical-comedy team, known for their stormy but passionate relationship. Dinah feels overshadowed by Josh and limited by the lighthearted musical roles he directs her in. So she decides to stretch her skills by taking a role in a serious drama, directed by another man.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-05-04
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Romance on the High Seas
1948-06-25
Romance on the High Seas
Overview: Georgia Garrett is sent by jealous wife Elvira Kent on an ocean cruise to masquerade as herself while she secretly stays home to catch her husband cheating. Meanwhile equally suspicious husband Michael Kent has sent a private eye on the same cruise to catch his wife cheating. Love and confusion ensues along with plenty of musical numbers.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-06-25
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Rhapsody in Blue
1945-06-27
Rhapsody in Blue
Overview: Fictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Genres: Music Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-06-27
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The Cobweb
1955-06-07
The Cobweb
Overview: Patients and staff at a posh psychiatric clinic clash over who chooses the clinic’s new drapes - but drapes are the least of their problems.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-06-07
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Rhythm on the River
1940-08-28
Rhythm on the River
Overview: Popular songwriter Oliver Courtney has been getting by for years using one ghost writer for his music and another for his lyrics. When both writers meet at an inn, they fall in love and then try to sell their songs under their own name. The problem is every song publisher thinks they're copying Courtney's style.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-08-28
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You Were Meant for Me
1948-01-28
You Were Meant for Me
Overview: A bandleader falls in love and marries a small town girl.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-01-28
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Kiss the Boys Goodbye
1941-08-01
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
Overview: New York chorus girl Cindy Lou Bethany becomes frustrated when she prepares for an audition for a Broadway musical, but the auditions close and her roommate, Gwen Abbott, is hired to be secretary to Top Rumson, the show's financial backer. Gwen tells Cindy that the director, Lloyd Lloyd, and composer, Dick Rayburn, have been sent to the South on a talent search for a classic Southern belle type to star in the show, although their shows usually feature Myra Stanhope, an actress whose style is hopelessly inappropriate for this show. Desperate for work, Cindy returns to her aunt Lily Lou and uncle Jefferson Davis Bethany's home in the South and schemes to get Lloyd and Rayburn to audition her.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-08-01
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The I Don't Care Girl
1953-01-14
The I Don't Care Girl
Overview: This semi-film within a film opens in the office of producer George Jessel, who never saw a camera he couldn't get in front of, who is holding a story conference to determine the screen treatment for the life of Eva Tanguay, and Jessel is unhappy with what the writers present him.He tells them to look up Eddie McCoy, Eva's one-time partner, for the real inside story on the lusty and vital Eva. Eddie's version is that he discovered her working as a waitress in an Indianapolis restaurant in 1912, wherein singer Larry Woods and his partner Charles Bennett get into a fight over her and both land in the hospital, and McCoy convinces the manager to put Eva on as a single to fill their spot. She flopped, but McCoy arranges for Bennett to be her accompanist, and she went out of his life. The writers look up Bennett, now head of a music publishing company, who says McCoy's story is phony, and it was Flo Zigfeld who discovered Eva for his Follies.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-01-14
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Night Parade
1929-10-27
Night Parade
Overview: Bobby Martin, a young middleweight champion boxer, is an honest and decent fighter. However, a dishonest but beautiful woman uses every trick to ensnare him.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1929-10-27
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The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
1973-01-01
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-01-01
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Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
2005-03-15
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
Overview: Documentary on the 1953 musical "The Band Wagon."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-03-15
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The Dance of Life
1929-08-16
The Dance of Life
Overview: A vaudeville comic and a pretty young dancer aren't having much luck in their separate careers, so they decide to combine their acts. In order to save money on the road, they get married. Soon their act begins to catch on, and they find themselves booked onto Broadway. They also realize that they actually are in love with each other, but just when things are starting to look up, the comic starts to let success go to his head.
Genres: Romance Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1929-08-16
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Public Speaking
2010-11-22
Public Speaking
Overview: A feature-length documentary starring Fran Lebowitz, a writer known for her unique take on modern life. The film weaves together extemporaneous monologues with archival footage and the effect is a portrait of Fran's worldview and experiences.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-11-22
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Information Please: Series 1, No. 10
1940-05-17
Information Please: Series 1, No. 10
Overview: Deems Taylor joins Clifton Fadiman and the Information Please regular panel members, Oscar Levant, Franklin P. Adams and John Kieran, for this entry in the series based on the radio program.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-05-17
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That's Entertainment! III
1994-07-01
That's Entertainment! III
Overview: Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-07-01
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That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16
That's Entertainment, Part II
Overview: Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-05-16
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Information Please: Series 1, No. 1
1939-09-08
Information Please: Series 1, No. 1
Overview: Information Please: Series 1, No. 1 is a 1939 short film of the famous show from RKO Radio. The segment stars Clifton Fadiman, Rex Stout, and John Kieran.It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-Reel, a rare instance of a game show being nominated for an Academy Award.
Genres: Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-09-08
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Jack Paar: Smart Television
2003-11-29
Jack Paar: Smart Television
Overview: PBS documentary examining the work of Jack Paar.
Genres: Documentary Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-11-29
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Ben Bernie and All the Lads
1923-04-15
Ben Bernie and All the Lads
Overview: Early music video.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1923-04-15
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The Fred Astaire Songbook
1991-03-08
The Fred Astaire Songbook
Overview: A loving tribute to Astaire the singer, hosted by Audrey Hepburn.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-03-08
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