Little Esther
Baby Esther
Little Esther is a 1928 M-G-M Loew “talking short” featuring Baby Esther Jones. Esther Jones recorded this short on the 6th of December, 1928. In the short Esther Jones sings, flanked by a 26-piece orchestra from the Capitol Theatre, New York City. It is said that Jones does a “Boop-Boop-a-Doop” girl routine, and is scat-singing. It is also possible that Jones is doing an impersonation of Florence Mills, a person she often emulated and imitated on the stage as of 1928.
This short was later used as of 1934, during the $250,000 Infringement Lawsuit, but during the trial it went out of sync during the “scat-singing” sequence.
Paramount Pictures kept a taxi cab running outside all through the night, waiting to rush the repaired film of “Little Esther” to their newsreel lab, to make a new negative and composite sound print film.
The new print was presented in court the next morning and was the final evidence that helped determine the case against Helen Kane, who had sued the creators of Betty Boop for plagiarism. A master copy of this film short was last owned by the Columbia Phonograph Company, Bridgeport, 1064 Connecticut.
Music:
- “Don’t Be Like That”
- “Is There Anything Wrong In That?”
- “Wa-Da-Da”
List of M-G-M Shorts:
- Jack Pepper
- George Lyons
- Charles Irwin
- Tyler Mason
- Little Esther
- Rafaelo Diaz
- Raymond Hitchcock
- Gordon & Squire
- Al Wohlman
- Kellers & Lynch
- Guildford & Rosen
- Bernardo De Pace
- Phil Spitalny Orchestra
- Victor Artists
- William O’Neal
- Lubin Lowry & Andree
- Normal Phillips Fam
- Jan Garber Orchestra
- Morris & Campbell
- Miller & Lyle
- Locust Sisters
- Elsa Ersie-Nat Ayer
- Mabel Wayne
- Mary Eaton & Oscar Shaw
- Marlon Harris
- Leo Beers
- Royal Welsh Glee
- Joseph Regan
- Ponce Sisters
- Yorke & King
- Frank Gaby
- Fuzzy Knight
- Johnny Marvin
- Sunshine Sammy
- Harry Rose
- Jules Bledsoe
- Odette Myrtill
- Eva Le Gallienne
- Ella Shields
- Robert Chisolm
- Kramer & Boyle
- Emil Boreo
- Craig Campbell
- Hurst & Voight
- Dooley & Morton
- Alan Pryor
- Frances White
- Earl & Belle
- Ed & Lou Miller
- Miss Patricola
- Vincent Lopez
- Zelaya
- Derickson & Brown
- Maxine Lewis
- Morton Downey
- Cliff Edwards
- Tom Waring
- Bernard & Henry
- Vox & Walters
Trivia:
- The MGM short was recorded in the year of 1928, but articles claim that it was shown as of 1929.
- This among other evidence was used during the $250,000 Infringement Lawsuit to prove that Helen Kane was not sole innovator of the scat-singing method, and it helped Edward J. McGoldrick rule in favor of the Fleischer Studios.
- Esther is said to be giving Helen Kane tribute in this short, as she would have met Kane at the Everglades with her manager Lou Bolton in early 1928. Kane is said to have been inspired by Jones’ “Florence Mills” scat-singing impersonation.
- The “Wha-Da-Da” technique that Jones uses is said to have predated the “Boop-Boop-a-Doop” routine.
- It is classed as a “talking short” but in other articles is referred to as a Movietone, which is a newsreel.
- Jones was booked for this Movietone through William Morris.
- The short is lost and is said to be nameless.
- Lou Bolton claimed that the short was labeled “Baby Esther” or “Little Esther” in court.
- Esther Jones has also appeared in talkies while touring Europe for Excelsior Film of Berlin.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures or simply MGM was founded in 1924 by Marcus Loew. Loew merged Goldwyn Pictures, Louis B. Mayer Pictures and Metro Pictures into one. Today the company is known as MGM Studios. And the company focuses on global distribution and production of TV and film content across all platforms.
- In São Paulo cinematógrafos for Brazil, Jones appeared in a Brazilian film titled Little Esther, no “Para Todos” which was released on the 2nd of July, 1931.
Boop-Boop-Be-Doop ♥ 