Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Music Examples
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Historical Context
- Part II Profiles of the Music
- 5 Blue Monday and New York Theatrical Aesthetics
- 6 Broadway in Blue: Gershwin’s Musical Theater Scores and Songs
- 7 The Works for Piano and Orchestra
- 8 Harmonizing Music and Money: Gershwin’s Economic Strategies from “Swanee” to An American in Paris
- 9 Exploring New Worlds: An American in Paris, Cuban Overture, and Porgy and Bess
- 10 Complexities in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess: Historical and Performing Contexts
- 11 Writing for the Big Screen: Shall We Dance and A Damsel in Distress
- Part III Influence and Reception
- Guide to Further Reading
- Index
11 - Writing for the Big Screen: Shall We Dance and A Damsel in Distress
from Part II - Profiles of the Music
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 August 2019
- The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Music Examples
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Historical Context
- Part II Profiles of the Music
- 5 Blue Monday and New York Theatrical Aesthetics
- 6 Broadway in Blue: Gershwin’s Musical Theater Scores and Songs
- 7 The Works for Piano and Orchestra
- 8 Harmonizing Music and Money: Gershwin’s Economic Strategies from “Swanee” to An American in Paris
- 9 Exploring New Worlds: An American in Paris, Cuban Overture, and Porgy and Bess
- 10 Complexities in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess: Historical and Performing Contexts
- 11 Writing for the Big Screen: Shall We Dance and A Damsel in Distress
- Part III Influence and Reception
- Guide to Further Reading
- Index
Summary
When George and Ira Gershwin returned to Hollywood in 1936, the town had changed. New songwriters, stars, and sound technologies had made the Hollywood musical a much more appealing medium for the Gershwins; their first effort, Delicious (1931), had fallen short of George’s hopes for the form. Among those in the vanguard of the film musical were Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, both of whom had worked with the Gershwins on Broadway and now enjoyed star duo status at RKO. Gershwin’s reputation had changed too. His most ambitious composition, the “folk opera” Porgy and Bess, had opened in 1935. Some in Hollywood wondered whether the new opera composer would deign to write catchy tunes. “They are afraid you will only do highbrow songs,” explained a California-based associate. Gershwin’s wired response was unequivocal: “Rumors about highbrow music ridiculous. Stop. Am out to write hits.”
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin , pp. 197 - 218Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019