Hello Pop!
Encyclopedia
Hello Pop! was the third of five short subjects starring Ted Healy
and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. A musical-comedy film, the short also featured the Albertina Rasch Dancers
and Bonnie Bonnell
. The film is now considered a lost film
. The last known copy was at MGM's vault no.7 during a fire.
), a less-than-cooperative girl friend (Bonnie Bonnell
), and a trio of raucous friends (The Three Stooges). Ted is able to get the show ready for presentation, but during the main number the Three Stooges slip beneath the enormous hoopskirt costume worn by the leading vocalist. They emerge on stage during the performance, ruining the show.
act billed as “Ted Healy and His Stooges.” The act focused primarily on Healy’s wit and caustic commentary, with the Stooges receiving the brunt of the physical slapstick. For the MGM short films, actress Bonnie Bonnell was incorporated into the configuration as Healy’s love interest.
Hello Pop! was the second of two MGM Stooge shorts filmed utilized the
two-color Technicolor process. (Nertsery Rhymes
, the act’s first film for MGM, was also shot in color.) The use of color was predicated by the decision to recycle two musical numbers from earlier Technicolor-lensed MGM films into the Hello Pop! musical sequences, the Irving Berlin
song "I'm Sitting on a Sunbeam", from the film It’s a Great Life (1930), and the "Moon Ballet" sequence from the unreleased MGM feature The March of Time
(1930).
Warner Bros.
, the current copyright holder, does not possess a copy of this title, and no prints or negatives of Hello Pop! are known to exist in any private collection or film archive.
Ted Healy
Ted Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. He is chiefly remembered today as the original creator of the Three Stooges, but had a successful stage and film career of his own.- Early life :...
and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. A musical-comedy film, the short also featured the Albertina Rasch Dancers
Albertina Rasch
Albertina Rasch was a naturalized American dancer and choreographer.-Early life:Born in Vienna in 1891 to a family of Polish Jewish descent, Rasch studied at the Vienna State Opera Ballet school and became leading ballerina at the New York Hippodrome in...
and Bonnie Bonnell
Bonnie Bonnell
Bonnie Bonnell was an actress who played "straight woman" in seven early short comedies, most of which featured The Three Stooges when they worked with Ted Healy between 1933 and 1934.-Career:...
. The film is now considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
. The last known copy was at MGM's vault no.7 during a fire.
Plot
Ted Healy is a producer trying to stage an elaborate musical revue. His efforts are constantly interrupted by demanding back stage personalities: a flaky musician (Henry ArmettaHenry Armetta
Henry Armetta was an Italian movie character actor who appeared in at least 150 films, starting in silents as early as 1915 to a movie released in 1946, after his death.-Biography:...
), a less-than-cooperative girl friend (Bonnie Bonnell
Bonnie Bonnell
Bonnie Bonnell was an actress who played "straight woman" in seven early short comedies, most of which featured The Three Stooges when they worked with Ted Healy between 1933 and 1934.-Career:...
), and a trio of raucous friends (The Three Stooges). Ted is able to get the show ready for presentation, but during the main number the Three Stooges slip beneath the enormous hoopskirt costume worn by the leading vocalist. They emerge on stage during the performance, ruining the show.
Production
Originally planned under the title Back Stage, Hello Pop! was the third of five short films made by MGM featuring the vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
act billed as “Ted Healy and His Stooges.” The act focused primarily on Healy’s wit and caustic commentary, with the Stooges receiving the brunt of the physical slapstick. For the MGM short films, actress Bonnie Bonnell was incorporated into the configuration as Healy’s love interest.
Hello Pop! was the second of two MGM Stooge shorts filmed utilized the
two-color Technicolor process. (Nertsery Rhymes
Nertsery Rhymes
Nertsery Rhymes is the first short film starring "Ted Healy and His Stooges", a musical comedy released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Some footage was from the unfinished MGM musical The March of Time , which was originally to feature Healy and the Three Stooges.-Synopsis:The Stooges are children and...
, the act’s first film for MGM, was also shot in color.) The use of color was predicated by the decision to recycle two musical numbers from earlier Technicolor-lensed MGM films into the Hello Pop! musical sequences, the Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
song "I'm Sitting on a Sunbeam", from the film It’s a Great Life (1930), and the "Moon Ballet" sequence from the unreleased MGM feature The March of Time
The March of Time (MGM musical)
The March of Time was the title of a planned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film originally scheduled to be released in September 1930. Production of this early film, which would have been one of the first musicals filmed in two-color Technicolor, was abandoned, although a number of musical numbers...
(1930).
Lost film status
In the 1930s, studios were offered their two-color negatives by Technicolor, who was at that time storing them. Most studios declined the offer, and the camera negatives were junked. Most original release prints were usually disposed of shortly after a theatrical run. A print was in existence at MGM's Vault# 7, but like other films, this short perished at the infamous 1967 vault fire.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, the current copyright holder, does not possess a copy of this title, and no prints or negatives of Hello Pop! are known to exist in any private collection or film archive.