Play it again, Butch, Cricket, Chick, Smoke, Happy... the performances of Hoagy Carmichael as a Hollywood bar-room pianist

Garwood, I. (2013) Play it again, Butch, Cricket, Chick, Smoke, Happy... the performances of Hoagy Carmichael as a Hollywood bar-room pianist. Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism, 4, pp. 29-39.

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Abstract

This article discusses the performances of Hoagy Carmichael as a bar-room pianist figure in a number of 40s and 50s Hollywood films. Supporting musical characters in film often fulfil the role of the 'knowing servant', a character type that exists in many shapes, in cinema and other art forms. The close analysis of Carmichael's characters focuses attention on precisely how this broad type has been represented cinematically in a recurrent guise. It also attests to Carmichael's special status as an actor of this kind of role. His musical persona meant he was particularly suited to being cast in these types of parts. Furthermore, his characters exhibit signs of privilege within their supporting positions when compared to similar figures played by other performers.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Hoagy Carmichael, bar-room pianist, supporting character, to have and have not, the best years of our lives
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Garwood, Professor Ian
Authors: Garwood, I.
Subjects:M Music and Books on Music > M Music
N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
Journal Name:Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism
Publisher:University of Warwick
ISSN:2047-1661
ISSN (Online):2047-1661
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2013 The Authors
First Published:First published in Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism 4:29-39
Publisher Policy:Reproduced with the permission of the editor

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