Song Service (1930). At about five minutes into this Paramount short subject, Lee Morse sings the very rare "Just Another Dream Gone Wrong" by Yip and Peter DeRose. It is not commercially available, but viewable on You Tube.

Song Shopping (probably shot in either late 1930 or early 1931; released 1933). A Fleischer Brothers short subject combining animation with live action, the latter consisting of Ethel Merman warbling the Yip Harburg-Johnny Green hit "I'm Yours" as well as Coslow-Harling's "Sing You Sinners." She is accompanied by Green himself on piano. This rarity is not … Continue Reading ››

Office Blues (1930). One of seven Paramount musical shorts in Kino Video's DVD collection The Best of Big Bands and Swing. Contains "Can't Get Along," an early Yip Harburg-Johnny Green composition, sung by Ginger Rogers.

The 20th Amendment (1930). A forgotten Paramount-Astoria short subject starring Jack Haley (several years before he played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz) as a man who benefits from the passage of an amendment allowing polygamy. His favorite female is Evelyn Hoey, with whom he sings the Gorney-Harburg song "You're the Cure for What Ails … Continue Reading ››

Devil Sea (1931). Paramount-Astoria Studios short subject starring Ethel Merman, who sings two early Harburg songs: "Old Devil Sea" (music by Vernon Duke) and "Glory, Glory" (music by Johnny Green). Not commercially available.

"What Wouldn't I Do for That Man?" (Harburg-Gorney, 1929) is featured in Any Little Girl That's a Nice Little Girl, a 1931 Fleischer Brothers "Talkartoon" starring "Lulu Belle," a precursor of brothers' famous Betty Boop. It is one of many classic Fleischer Brothers cartoons in Betty Boop: The Definitive Collection (Volume 4: Musical Madness).

Stolen Heaven (1931), a dramatic film from Paramount-Astoria Studios, includes the Harburg-Gorney song "You Gotta Live Today," sung by Nancy Carroll and ensemble.

They Call It Sin (1932). Yip and Jay Gorney had just made Broadway history with their classic "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" when this Warner Bros. drama was released in the fall of 1932. Their uncredited contribution to this feature is "Where Are You?" sung in a rehearsal scene by Clarence Nordstrom (best … Continue Reading ››

Moonlight and Pretzels (Universal, 1933) was the first motion picture musical to which Yip made a substantial contribution. Coming on the heels of the success earlier the same year of 42nd Street, it’s a backstage story about a struggling songwriter (Roger Pryor). Includes “There’s a Little Bit of You in Every Love Song” (Fain), and … Continue Reading ››

Take a Chance (Paramount, 1933) introduced the Harburg-Arlen classic "It's Only a Paper Moon" to a national audience (it had been sung previously in a short-lived 1932 Broadway play). Here it is performed by Buddy Rogers, June Knight and a large ensemble, starting as a simple duet but building to an operatic extravaganza. The song was … Continue Reading ››