This is one of the later Vitaphone shorts--known as a "Melody Master". These later musical shorts generally were more straight forward and had simpler sets and no real story to tie it all together--just a famous band of the day doing their stuff.
This is the second such short I've seen starring Larry Clinton and his orchestra. The first I saw was yesterday on disc 4 from this same set ("Warner Bros. Big Band, Jazz & Swing Short Subject Collection"). This short is a bit different because it features the singer Bea Wain as their singer--and as she sings about 'Old Folks' you see the song acted out by actors using a country homestead set. This style is a bit unusual for the "Melody Master" films. A band member also sings a song about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--the three from the Book of Daniel who were thrown into the furnace and survived unscathed. This was a very unusual topic for a big band song but it was very catchy and was by far the best song in the film. Following this, the two vocalists sing a song together ('Corn Pickin''. All in all, pleasant entertainment with a nice style compared to the average short in the series.
This is the second such short I've seen starring Larry Clinton and his orchestra. The first I saw was yesterday on disc 4 from this same set ("Warner Bros. Big Band, Jazz & Swing Short Subject Collection"). This short is a bit different because it features the singer Bea Wain as their singer--and as she sings about 'Old Folks' you see the song acted out by actors using a country homestead set. This style is a bit unusual for the "Melody Master" films. A band member also sings a song about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--the three from the Book of Daniel who were thrown into the furnace and survived unscathed. This was a very unusual topic for a big band song but it was very catchy and was by far the best song in the film. Following this, the two vocalists sing a song together ('Corn Pickin''. All in all, pleasant entertainment with a nice style compared to the average short in the series.
