The Cuckoos
About The Cuckoos
Professor Bird and his assistant Sparrow, a pair of fake fortune tellers, are stranded at a resort on the Mexican side of the border. Sparrow falls for Anita, an American living with a Gypsy band whose leader, Julius, wants her himself. Heiress Ruth Chester is hiding from her aunt Fannie Furst, who wants her to marry a baron instead of the pilot Billy Shannon. Julius's men kidnap Ruth. Billy, Bird, and Sparrow take her back from the baron, and the group returns to Fannie's house in San Diego.
Cast & crew
More about The Cuckoos
Paul Sloane directed. Cyrus Wood adapted the 1926 Broadway musical The Ramblers by Guy Bolton, Bert Kalmar, and Harry Ruby. William LeBaron produced, with Louis Sarecky also credited. Nicholas Musuraca photographed it, in black and white with two-strip Technicolor sequences, on RCA Photophone. Arthur Roberts edited. Victor Baravalle is the musical director. RKO copyrighted it on May 4, 1930, as LP1331. The AFI Catalog lists 9,170 feet and 11 reels. Bert Wheeler plays Sparrow and Robert Woolsey plays Professor Bird. It was their first film billed as a starring team, after Rio Rita.
Themes
Look
Nicholas Musuraca shot the picture in black and white, with sequences in two-strip Technicolor.
Music
Victor Baravalle directed the music, from songs by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby written for The Ramblers.
Notes
- Dorothy Lee plays Anita, Jobyna Howland plays Fannie Furst, June Clyde plays Ruth Chester, Ivan Lebedeff plays the baron, and Mitchell Lewis plays Julius.
- The New York Times reviewed it on April 26, 1930, and Film Daily on April 27, ahead of the May 4 release date.
Scenes
- Julius's men carry off Ruth, and Billy, Bird, and Sparrow take her back from the baron.
Influenced by
- The Ramblers (1926 musical)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Cuckoos (1930).webm)
