DISCOGRAPHY
Original London cast recordings:
- “The Girl with a Brogue” – Phyllis Dare & (studio) Chorus – catalogue number: 03191 (reissued on C 524)
- “Bring Me a Rose” – Phyllis Dare – catalogue number: 03190
The above numbers were recorded on 11 June 1910 and issued on two 12” single-sided records by The Gramophone Company, Ltd. (HMV)
- “The Pipes of Pan” – Florence Smithson – cat. no.: 542
- “Arcady is Ever Young” – Florence Smithson – cat. no.: 542
- “Come Back to Arcady” – Florence Smithson – cat. no.: 543
- “Light is My Heart” – Florence Smithson – cat. no.: 543
- “My Motter” – Alfred Lester = cat. no.: 544
The above five numbers were issued on three 12” double-sided records by the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1915 at the time of the London revival of The Arcadians in which Lester reprised his original role of 'Doody' (Lester’s sole song from the score was backed by a number not from the show).
All of the above recordings were included as “Bonus Tracks” on the 1993 EMI CD reissue of the 1968 Columbia studio recording noted below. They were also included on The Arcadians CD compilation issued on the Palaeophonics label by Dominic Combe in April 2015 (cat. no.: 120), which also included contemporaneous orchestral and vocal numbers from the score in cover versions by various artists, including H.M. Coldstream Guards Band, Peter Dawson, Violet Essex and Harry Thornton.
Phyllis Dare’s records were also included on the Palaeophonics CD compilation PHYLLIS DARE: a Selection of Her Published Recordings (cat. no.: 083) issued in October 2004.
The original musical director of The Arcadians at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, Arthur Wood also recorded his arrangement of the Overture with his recording orchestra in 1933, which was issued by Columbia – cat. no.: DX 573 (in the U.K.) & DOX-426 in Australia
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Gladys Moncrieff (1930)
photo by Russell Roberts - National Library of Australia, Canberra
Gladys Moncrieff Columbia recordings
Australian soprano Gladys Moncrieff appeared as ‘Sombra’ in a South African tour of The Arcadians for J.C. Williamson, Ltd. in 1914; a role that she later reprised in Australia for JCW's Royal Comic Opera Company touring repertory season revival in 1917 and for the ABC in a radio production of the musical, which was broadcast over the National Network from the 3LO Melbourne studios on Tuesday, 1 September 1936 at 9.05 p.m., with Edwin Brett as ‘James Smith/Simplicitas’, Minnie Love as ‘Eileen Cavanaugh’, Dick Bentley as ‘Jack Meadows’, Emmeline Orford as 'Mrs. Smith' and Field Fisher as ‘Peter Doody’.
Gladys recorded the following two songs from the score at the Columbia studios at Homebush, New South Wales on 21 April 1931 issued on a single 10” double-sided record.
- “The Pipes of Pan” accompanied by Gil Dech (aka Gilbert Dechellette) on piano and Robert Irvine on flute
- “Arcady is Ever Young” acc. by Gil Dech on piano – cat. no.: Columbia DO-468
These have been reissued on numerous vinyl Lp record compilations by EMI Australia, including the 1987 double Lp Gladys Moncrieff sings Musical Comedy and Operetta (cat. no.: EME 430062) and its subsequent single 1992 CD highlights reissue – cat. no.: Axis (EMI) 701712-2
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Julia Sanderson
Julie Sanderson Decca recordings
American soprano, Julia Sanderson played the role of ‘Eileen Cavanaugh’ in the original 1910 Broadway production of The Arcadians, but didn’t record any songs from its score until 1941 when the following recordings were issued by U.S. Decca Records.
- “Bring Me a Rose” & “The Girl with a Brogue” – Orchestra conducted by Harry Sosnick – included in Decca Album No. 245
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1959 Orchestral Selections
Played by Michael Collins and His Orchestra (backed by selections from Lionel Monckton’s The Quaker Girl)
U.K. issue: Columbia 7” EP (Extended Play) 45 rpm single: cat. no.: SEG 7885 (mono) & ESG 7761 (stereo)
New Zealand issue: cat. no.: SEGM 7885 (stereo)
1962 WRC Lp
1962 Australian World Record Club selections
Four songs from the score of The Arcadians are included on this album sung by Valda Bagnall and Neil Williams, together with other selections from the Lionel Monckton musicals The Quaker Girl and The Country Girl, plus Franz Lehar's Gypsy Love.
Australian issue: World Record Club 12” Lp record – cat. no.: WRC 7050 (mono) & S-7050 (stereo)
New Zealand issue: Light Music Club – cat. no.: LZ 7057
Audio from the above recording my be heard on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/07-gypsy-love
Original Columbia Lp
CD reissue
1968 Columbia studio cast highlights
Columbia 12” Lp record – cat. no.: Columbia TWO-233
1993 CD reissue – West End Angel (EMI) cat. no. EMI 0777 7 89057 2 1
Notes: The CD also includes 2 tracks from the 1969 MfP studio recording noted below (“I Like London” and “All Down Piccadilly” Reprise) and the original London cast recordings noted above.
Audio from the above recording my be heard on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/01-the-arcadians
1969 Music for Pleasure studio cast highlights
Music for Pleasure 12” Lp record – cat. no.: MfP 1323
2005 CD reissue – Classics for Pleasure (EMI) cat. no.: 3359822
Notes: The CD also includes eight bonus tracks from the 1968 Columbia studio cast recording; plus six tracks recorded by soprano Gwen Catley for Pye Records in 1957 of songs from Edwardian musicals excerpted from Memories of the Musicals.
Audio from the above recording my be heard on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/03-the-arcadians_202201
1999 Ohio Light Opera CD
1998 Ohio Light Opera complete recording
2 CD set issued in 1999 by Newport Classic – cat. no.: NPD 85665/2
Notes: Ostensibly recorded during a performance of the musical staged as the sixth production during the OLO’s 1998 summer season at the Freedlander Theatre at the College of Wooster in Ohio, USA, although the usual audience ‘noises’ (laughter and applause) are notably absent. Includes full stage dialogue (albeit “judiciously pruned”), from Ambient and Thompson’s original libretto.
Audio from the above recording my be heard on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DU3v8nICmM
The Monckton Album CD
2004 Theatre Bel-Etage selections
CD issued by The Divine Art Record Company (England) on its Diversions label – cat. no.: 24110
Notes: Recorded in Tallin, Estonia, at the State Philharmonic Society’s Concert Hall in Spring 2002 and Autumn 2003
Audio from the above recording my be heard on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kIfizISTK58c6j7CIY-FYrf-1IIOLIW3o
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FILMOGRAPHY
A silent film version of The Arcadians was made by British Gaumont in 1927 with a updated scenario set in the then present day by the picture’s lead comedian, the Canadian-born acrobatic dancer and cabaret entertainer, Ben Blue (who commenced his film career as a gag writer for silent film comedies in Hollywood and would later play supporting roles in Hollywood film musicals of the late 1930s and ‘40s.) Somewhat oddly (for a silent film), guest appearances were made by many prominent British Vaudeville artistes, as well as Teddy Brown’s band, although the rights to Monckton and Talbot’s stage musical score were obtained, from which the melodies were arranged by Louis Levy to provide a live orchestral accompaniment at screenings of the film.
The film marked the directorial debut of Victor Saville, who would later achieve fame as the director of such British and Hollywood films as the 1930s comedies A Warm Corner, The Sport of Kings, Me and Malborough, The Good Companions; musicals Evergreen, Evensong, First a Girl, It’s Love Again; and dramas Friday the Thirteenth, The Iron Duke, Green Dolphin Street, The Miniver Story and Kim, amongst others, but the reviews that were published in the British trade journals Kinematograph Weekly and The Bioscope and the U.S. Variety at the time of the film's trade screening indicate that The Arcadians wasn’t Saville’s finest hour (and 24 minutes).
An incomplete nitrate film print of The Arcadians in a state of deterioration (and missing around 15 minutes of footage), was known to survive when reviewed by a contributor to the Internet Movie Data-base in 2008 (see https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017636/reviews/?ref_=tt_ov_ururv)
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"THE ARCADIANS" Musical Rights Secured
WE understand that after protracted negotiations, the Gaumont Co., Ltd., has now been able to secure the right to use the music of "The Arcadians" for the special score which it is issuing with the film to be Trade shown on Monday. November 21, at the Hippodrome, at 3 o'clock. The score is being arranged by Louis Levy, who will also direct at the Trade show. Teddy Brown and his band will also appear at the Trade show, present a short musical prologue, and will accompany their own appearances in the film. The demand for the tickets for the show is already enormous, so that any exhibitors who have not yet asked for their tickets should do so without delay. All the seating will be strictly reserved and the tickets are obtainable only from the Gaumont Co., Ltd.
Kinematograph Weekly – Thursday, 17 November 1927, p.54
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"The Arcadians"
Offered by: Gaumont. Directed by: Victor Saville. Length: 7,000 feet. Release Date: May 7, 1928. Certificate: U. Type: Fantasy, based on the successful musical comedy. Cast: Ben Blue, Humberston Wright, Gibb McLaughlin, Cyril McLaglen, Jeanne de Casalis, Vesta Sylva.
IN BRIEF: The diverting adventures of a mortal in an enchanted land of truth and beauty.
Suitability: Light entertainment for popular halls, with brilliant dance spectacles.
Selling Angles: The fame of the stage play and the light-hearted gaiety of the film version.
Plot: Smith, proprietor of a smart club, having trouble with the licensing authorities and upbraided by his jealous wife, decides to abscond. Descending from a 'plane by parachute, he finds himself in a Utopian fairyland, with crowds of beautiful and diaphanously clothed damsels, willing to be initiated in to the mysteries of kissing and dancing. But he also introduces the lie, hitherto unknown, and is plunged in the Pool of Truth. Emerging a new man, known as Simplicitas, he is sent back to London on a truth crusade. Here he reopens his old club and finds his wife and niece deeply interested in the Corinthian Stakes. He takes the place of a scoundrel jockey, wins the race, enabling the girl to wed the man of her choice.
Comment: The dominant note of this picture is gay humour, and as it is well supplied with incidents pictorially striking and acted by a very clever company, its entertainment value is considerable. But though it charms the imagination of the spectator with all the action and scenery of a fairy tale, the sudden transitions from the real to the unreal and vice versa are frequently irritating. Interest in the tribulations of the club proprietor are no sooner aroused than he is rushed off to Arcady, and the affairs of the deserted wife, his fascinating niece and her horsey friends arouse no enthusiasm. Again, the sudden reappearance of Simplicitas at his old club causes regret that he has not remained in the Utopian paradise, joking with Father Time and receiving caresses from the houris. The difficulties of utilising operas for film presentation appear to be accentuated in the case of musical comedies, and it is doubtful if "The Arcadians" was a happy selection. The picture suffers from prolongation, interest waning towards the close. Nevertheless, if accepted as a burlesque of the pastoral region favoured by poets, its sparkling nonsense is certain of a wide appeal.
Acting: The fun is kept afoot with unflagging spirit by Ben Blue, his antics being the mainstay of the story. Vesta Sylva as the sport-loving niece is pretty and vivacious. Undoubtedly the extraordinary number of beautiful girls included in the cast is one of the picture's chief assets.
Production: Many enchanting scenes are introduced, the luxurious night club and the happy glades of Arcady, with care-free crowds, being the chief. In the latter the tinsel glories of the stage are suggested rather than the beauties of Nature. It is almost unnecessary to say that adequate orchestral accompaniment is a sine qua non. At the trade show a feast was provided for music lovers.
The Bioscope – Thursday, 24 November 1927, pp.57-59
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The Arcadians
Gaumont. British (U). Featuring Ben Blue, Gibb McLaughlin, Jeanne de Casalis, and Vesta Slyva. 7,000 feet. Released May 17, 1928.
THERE is not much left of the original "Arcadians" in this potpourri of farcical situations, which are very loosely connected and rather drawn out. Humour is of a broadly popular variety, and the picture relies more on the introduction of such "turns" as Teddy Brown, the Tiller girls, and various others, who are a box-office attraction in themselves, rather than on plot construction.
Story. —Smith, dominated by his wife, runs a dance club. One day, thinking the police are raiding him when they are really Iooking for a crook, he gets into an aeroplane and drops down in Arcady, when everyone speaks the truth. He is sent from there to lead a truth mission to the world. Aided by two Arcadian girls, he is able to stop Peter Doody, a jockey, from pulling Jack Meadows' horse in a race which will win him (Jack Meadows) a bride (Eileen Smith) if he wins. After riding instead of Peter, his wife recognises him, but the Arcadians make everyone happy all round.
Acting. —The picture allows very little chance for acting. Ben Blue dances well, but is otherwise unremarkable as Simplicitas, while Gibb McLaughlin looks sufficiently gloomy in the thin part of Peter Doody. Jeanne de Casalis, Humberstone Wright, Teddy Brown, Vesta Sylva, Eileen Smith, and John Longden complete the cast.
Production.—Victor Saville has made a hotch-potch singularly weak in continuity and rather too drawn out in sequences, the majority of which are of a broad and obvious type of knockabout humour. A lot of footage, both in the cabaret and in Arcadia, could very well be dispensed with, as could some of the excellent topical shots of Ascot which account for a lot of the final reel.
The picture lacks sparkle, although some of the dissolving shots and cabaret scenes are very ingenious and well directed in themselves. Cutting would do a lot to tighten up the farce.
The introduction of well known cabaret turns is all very well, but it is not a substitute for plot.
Settings and Photography.—Cabaret scenes are well set, and the shots of the racecourse are very good indeed. Arcady is staged in a theatrical manner, but the chorus is well handled, and there are some amusing scenes and pretty sequences. Photography is generally good, with some effective lighting.
Points Of Appeal.—The title has an obvious pull, as have the names of featured players and turns. The picture will pay for good orchestration, such as was offered by Louis Levy at the Trade show.
Kinematograph Weekly – Thursday, 24 November 1927, p.71
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THE ARCADIANS
(BRITISH MADE)
London. Nov. 14.
Presented by A. C. & R. C, Bromhead.
Produced by the Gaumont-British Co.
Directed by Victor Saville. From the musical comedy by Mark Ambient & Alex M. Thompson.
Scenario by Ben Blue. Preview at the London Hippodrome, Nov. 21
Running time, 84 minutes.
Smith, alias “Simplicitas"..…......Ben Blue
Mrs. Smith..........……....Jeanne de Casalis
Eileen Smith........……............Vesta Sylva
Jack Meadows.………….....John Longden
Sir George Paddock…...Huberston Wright
Peter Doody......…….….Gibb McLaughlin
Sombra.......………….....Doris Bransgrove
Chrysea...........……………….Nancy Rigg
Twenty-odd years ago "The Arcadians" was a successful musical comedy. The late Alfred Lester helped to make it, and it made him. A committee helped to make the screen version. They are not likely to go down to fame for it. And whoever wrote the captions should never be allowed to handle a type-writer or a pen again—at least for the purpose of title-writing.
Included in the cast, for no apparent reason but to make the film cost money, are Tracer and Haye, Balliol and Merton, Teddy Brown and Band, Lola and Luis, Ivor Vintor, Donovan Sisters and Tiller Girls. Most of these vaudeville top-liners are seen only for a flash, and Vintor plays a page in about three flashes and a close-up! A good new title for the film might be "The Vaudevillians’ Holiday."
The story has been brought up to date, with airplanes, cuts from a news reel of the Derby, and Jazz bands. In fact, the director has gotten everything into it but motion picture.
Exteriors in the Arcadian scenes look rather like Coney Island grottoes, and the robes of the girls, what there is of them (robes, not girls) tone so much with the sets the players often get near to vanishing altogether from the screen.
There are some good opening shots, especially gag dramatic shadows on the glass door of an office, and for a while the film moves fairly fast. But when Smith gets to Arcady, from then on the rest of the picture doesn't matter. Where it is not a news reel it's a nuisance. And when it is considered in the light of what America did with "The Merry Widow." and what Germany did with "The Waltz Dream," it's a tragedy.
The cast has done their best, which is saying a lot. And the director has done his best, which is not saying so much. But the title-writer ought to write wisecracks for a delicatessen-store wrappers.
Smith owns the Green Mill Club, and Mrs. Smith owns him. He is refused a drink extension on "Borstal Boatrace Night" (sample of the humor of the captions), and when the police enter the club in search of a crook. Smith thinks they are after him for exceeding the time limit. He bolts.
Escaping in an airplane, he drops out when he finds the crook (whom he thinks is the chief of police) is the pilot, and lands in Arcady. Here he teaches the Arcadians the Charleston and the "Dark Base" [i.e. Black Bottom] (another sample of the wit), and with two of the coryphees is sent back to earth by the High Priest (ringer for Theodore Roberts' Moses) to convert the world to truth.
He reopens the club with an Arcadian atmosphere, and finds his wife flirting with a jockey who has framed to lose a big race so Sir George Paddock can beat Jack Meadows to it for the girl. With the aid of the two Arcadians he puts the jockey away, rides the horse himself and wins. His wife recognizes him, and is persuaded by the Arcadians to take him back.
In the club scenes quite effective use is made of swinging the Sun-arcs and tinting the shot differently, a method first used here by Harley Knoles when he made "Carnival." Camera-traveling is indulged in a lot, sometimes usefully, and at others with no apparent reason except the director thought it was a good idea.
Cut to six reels, it should go quite well here in the provinces, but hardly the lowest-browed audience will fall for the existing titles. One priceless piece of "humor" is a newspaper insert of racing news, telling that "Gluepot will stick; Cabbage is a bit green, but may get ahead; Watertap is sure to run; Oscar has been scratched, which made Oscar 'wild.'"
If producers here think that is "what the public wants," then heaven help the public—and the producers. Frat.
Variety – Wednesday, 14 December 1927, p.23
