Watch Dixiana For Free

Why so much hype?

hyped garbage

Excellent but underrated film

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

In antebellum New Orleans, two men vie for the affections of a beautiful young girl during Mardi Gras.Very early sound film with silent film star BeBE Daniels.Frankly, I really tired of people drinking the kool aid and having to highlight what they described as "racist" imagery of the film. This is 1930 not 2014. Get over it.Blacula has racist overtones and nobody says a peep.This is an odd film that somehow mixes the circus with the plantation. And the plantation owner has a Jewish accent. In fact a bunch of the actors have odd accents. Not the typical Hollywood accents of the time.The film mixes song and drama and comedy.So is this a good movie? Uh not really. It drags and wheeler and woolsy are not my cup of tea.However what makes the picture interesting are is the last two reels -- first time use of 2 strip technicolor. Its worth watching for that alone.

The title role of Dixiana is played by Bebe Daniels who is a circus performer in an act with Wheeler&Woolsey. Offstage she's pursued by young southern blade Everett Marshall and Snidely Whiplash like gambler Ralf Harolde.Dixiana was RKO Pictures big budget film for 1930. It's given a lavish production, but unfortunately it's crashingly dull except when Wheeler&Woolsey are on and when Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson gets to do a specialty number.Part of the problem is Everett Marshall, fresh from the Metropolitan Opera, makes Nelson Eddy look like Marlon Brando. Marshall does have a stirring baritone and maybe if Dixiana had a few hits come from it, his career might have lasted in films. As it was, Marshall knew he was better on the musical and concert stage and wisely stayed there the rest of his career.Wheeler&Woolsey bring their own brand of humor, shattering certain traditions of the old south as the code duello. The duel they fight for Dorothy Lee's affections is hilarious.As Dixiana is set in the old south, racial and other stereotypes do abound. But unless you like Wheeler&Woolsey and Bojangles, there's no reason to see this film.

Dixiana is a film that stands alone among early sound film restorations. The Technicolor sequences which make up the final twenty minutes of this lavish extravaganza are absolutely beautiful to behold. This restoration was first shown on the TNT cable network in the spring of 1990. I believe that this is one of the few early talkies that one can see in the manner in which it was first presented in the theaters. The beauty of the restoration aside, there is much to admire in this operetta, which stars the lovely Bebe Daniels and Metropolitan Opera Star Everett Marshall. The music, by Harry Tierney is lovely and melodic. The dances are well-executed by Pearl Eaton. The gorgeous costumes were designed by Walter Plunkett, although the opening titles credit Max Ree with costumes and scenery. Dixiana was issued in the late summer of 1930, at a time when the public was tiring of musical films. The film supposedly lost $300,000 in it's initial release. I believe that Everett Marshall was chosen to play the male lead in this film due to the enormous success of an earlier MGM film,"The Rogue Song" which starred Metropolitan Opera Star Lawrence Tibbett and Catherine Dale Owen. This film only exsists in fragments and a Vitaphone soundtrack recording, so we have no accurate way to compare the two films. Dixiana seems to have something for everyone. You like vintage comedy? You can see Wheeler and Woolsey do their stuff with the charming Dorothy Lee, who co-starred in many of their films. You want hissable villains? There is Ralf Harolde who is just about as hissable as can be, seconded by Jobyna Howland as Marshall's dragon of a stepmother (married to stage comedian Joseph Cawthorn). You want glorious extravaganza? Check out the Technicolor finale, which includes Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in his feature film debut. All in all, Dixiana is a film which should please any fan of early talkies, as well as a few more people as well. Thanks for reading.

Back in 1930 RKO was like all the other studios, churning out musicals to please an audience hungry for the new rage of talking pictures. 'Dixiana' was meant to cash in on the success of 'Rio Rita', the Ziegfeld show that became a movie in 1929, and used many of the same cast - the lovely Bebe Daniels in the title role (very like Jeanette MacDonald in this), plus comic relief from Wheeler and Woolsey and pretty Dorothy Lee. The big mistake was in casting Met star Everett Marshall as the male lead; an opera singer with an excellent voice but no acting ability whatever.Add to this mix Joseph Cawthorn and Jobyna Howland as Marshall's parents (Ms Howland goes to town with her over-acting!); plus Mr Bojangles in his debut film appearance (a 3 minute solo); and a two-strip Technicolor finale. The musical numbers are fine (mostly for Everett Marshall and Bebe Daniels; although there's a cute song for Bert Wheeler and Dorothy Lee about halfway into the film). I've seen this film described as a 'prehistoric turkey', but I wouldn't put it down that much. It has its high points (the colour sequence looks great and is a hoot) and it is about as complete a restoration as you could ask for. And it is the only Wheeler and Woolsey currently on DVD; we need more of their mad movies commercially available. 'Dixiana' is patchy but it isn't prehistoric!