Thursday, October 15, 2009

UKULELE SCENES IN MOVIES


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PLEASE HELP ME ADD TO THIS MOVIE LIST
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Hello ukulele friends:
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I have a few movies that have ukulele scenes in them and I thought I would devote this entire post to just movies with ukulele scenes. I would like to know what movies that have a substantial ukulele playing sequence that might be worth watching. For instance I have the movie, The Glass Bottom Boat, in which Doris Day and Arthur Godfrey sing and he plays the ukulele for two complete songs: Que Sera, Sera and the Glass Bottom Boat. It is a fun early color film from 1966. HU
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Foreign, I mean non-U.S., film names are VERY welcome. I will edit and realphabetize this list as I get more information. As this lists develops I'll change it to spreadsheet and make a pdf for easier viewing. NOTE: I have not checked all of the movies in the list (yet).
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50 First Dates (Adam Sandler)
A League of Their Own (???)
Australia (Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman)
Balloonatic 1923 Silent (Buster Keaton)
Blue Hawaii 1960 (Elvis)
The Cat's Meow 2001 (Ian Whitcomb soundtrack)
Dirty Dancing (Baby's Sister plays a Baritone Uke)
Five Easy Pieces (Jack Nicholson)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
The Jerk 1979 (Steve Martin, Lyle Ritz [not seen])
Joe Versus the Volcano (Tom Hanks)
GEORGE FORMBY [ALL of HIS MOVIES, this be a separate blog entry]
The Gus Kahn Story ( Doris Day)
Glass Bottom Boat 1966 (Doris Day, Arthur Godfrey)
Honolulu 1939 (Gracie Allen, Eleanor Powell)
IT (Clara Bow silent movie)
Mixed Nuts (Steven Martin, Adam Sandler)
On Moonlight Bay 1951 (Doris Day -- WWI era time period)
Pest from the West 1939 (Buster Keaton)
Please Don't Eat the Daisies 1960 (Doris Day)
The Hudsucker Proxy (Charles Durning)
The Jumping Flea - Tales of the Modern Uke (Ukulele Documentary)
The Purple rose of Cairo (Mia Farrow)
Reds (Warren Beatty)
Rock That Uke 2007 (Documentary)
Seabiscuit (William H. Macy uke on his office wall, no playing)
Shallow Hal
Some Like It Hot (Marylin Monroe)
Sons of the Desert 1940 (Laurel & Hardy)
Stage Door 1937 (Ginger Rogers)
Stanley's Gig 2000 (William Sanderson, Ian Whitcomb's playing [not seen])
Steamboat Bill, Jr. 1920's Silent (Buster Keaton)
Stingray Sam (Cory McAbee)
The Giant Gila Monster
Take a Chance 1933 (Cliff Edwards)
A Thousand Clowns
Waikiki Wedding 1937 (Bing Crosby & Martha Raye)
Waking Life (Guy Forsyth)
Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story
Where the Truth Lies (Kevin Bacon plays a tiple)
You, Me & Dupree (Owen Wilson)
QUICK UKE SPOTTINGS (in movies)
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Miss Congeniality (Sandra Bullock) (A uke is held by a beauty contestant)
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TELEVISION & ANIMATION
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I Love Lucy "Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright"
Lilo & Stitch (Disney)
Princess & the Frog (Disney)
The Muppets (where? Ukulele Lady)
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There's a quick link for future access "UKES in MOVIES LIST"
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CONTRIBUTORS LIST
(Thanks and Happy Strumming to all!)
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Amazon Movies
Shelley Rickey (Netherlands) http://shelleyrickey.blogspot.com/
Alistair Wood (UK) http://www.ukulelehunt.com/
Liesbeth en Karl (muziek maken in Belgium)
Ron Hale
Ukey111
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44 comments:

  1. Shelley RickeyOctober 16, 2009 at 12:13 AM

    "Waikiki Wedding" 1937
    starring Bing Crosby & Martha Raye

    & I'm assuming that all the George Formby played the banjoukulele in all of his movies. (See his wikipedia entry.)

    That's all i can come with right now, but there are lots more from the 30's i'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shelley RickeyOctober 16, 2009 at 12:16 AM

    Oh, & "Please Don't Eat The Daisies" 1960 with Doris Day

    ReplyDelete
  3. WoodshedOctober 16, 2009 at 1:27 AM

    Clara Bow in IT
    Pretty much every George Formby film.
    Adam Sandler in 50 First Dates.
    My new favourite: Cory McAbee in Stingray Sam.

    ReplyDelete
  4. WoodshedOctober 16, 2009 at 1:30 AM

    Guy Forsyth in Waking Life

    ReplyDelete
  5. Liesbeth en KarlOctober 16, 2009 at 6:53 AM

    - Seabiscuit, but in the background only (William H. Macy has a habit of smuggling in ukuleles in his films)
    - Where the Truth Lies, in which Kevin Bacon plays a mean bit of tiple in front of a big band. Tiples do count, do they?
    - Dirty Dancing - a baritone ukulele for a goofy contribution to the open mike event, I think even played by the main girl's sister.

    And if you include TV, a special mention should go to the Muppets.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ronhaleOctober 16, 2009 at 3:18 PM

    You list documentaries, so:

    Mighty Uke -- Not for sale yet, but still...

    The documentary about Jake - Play Loud Ukulele,
    is it in the spirit of things? Perhaps, not.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ronhaleOctober 16, 2009 at 3:40 PM

    The 2001 film The Cat's Meow, soundtrack by Ian Whitcomb (with ukulele), but also a very, very brief shot at a funeral, of a uke player & a guitarist.
    See Youtube:
    Funeral With Ukulele From Cats Meow (2001)

    ReplyDelete
  8. ronhaleOctober 16, 2009 at 8:12 PM

    TV

    Tiny Tim plays Whistling in the Dark
    on the premiere episode of Ironside,
    1967. Also on Youtube...

    Kate Micucci plays the uke on Scrubs

    ReplyDelete
  9. ronhaleOctober 16, 2009 at 10:13 PM

    Doughboys, 1930 --

    Buster Keaton holds & frets an 8-string (it has 8 tuning pegs, can't tell if it's fully strung), while Cliff Edwards sits across from him and plays on the strings with a pair of drumsticks.

    See excerpt on www.veoh.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousOctober 17, 2009 at 1:10 AM

    - Stanley's Gig (2000)
    - The Best Things in Life are Free
    (movie bio of Henderson, DeSylva and Brown)
    - Pixar's 'Up' -- at least there was a ukulele on the hearth
    - Toy Story Two -- a Woody Uke

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousOctober 17, 2009 at 1:14 AM

    Have you looked into Jim Beloff's ukulele history -- he lists a number of uke scenes in movies -- In Tin Pan Alley (1941) with Alice Faye and Betty Grable.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ukey111October 17, 2009 at 1:29 AM

    The 1956 film "The Best Things In Life Are Free"
    Starring Gordon McRae and Dan Dailey.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tim HatcherOctober 17, 2009 at 6:12 AM

    SADIE MCKEE (1934), starring Joan Crawford, with two scenes in which her co-star Gene Raymond plays "All I Do is Dream of You".

    TO YOU SWEETHEART, ALOHA (2004), a documentary about Bill Tapia.

    For a long list of uke movies, go to the internet movie database at http://www.imdb.com/keyword/ukulele/

    ReplyDelete
  14. ronhaleOctober 17, 2009 at 3:22 PM

    Zac Efron plays ukulele in the upcoming film, Me and Orson Welles (set in 1937), according to various movie/celebrity websites. Begins limited release Nov. 25, 2009.

    ReplyDelete
  15. ronhaleOctober 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM

    TV --

    Peter Sellers performs the George Formby song,
    When I'm Cleaning Windows, in the style of Formby,
    on the Parkinson interview show. On YouTube

    Various websites claim he says that his father taught Formby to play, but this isn't on the same video as the song mentioned above.

    ReplyDelete
  16. HumbleUkerOctober 17, 2009 at 4:12 PM

    I think I will separate out TV appearances or animations for another day. I want to stay focused on Movies for now - so that I may stay sane for a while longer. HU

    ReplyDelete
  17. ronhaleOctober 17, 2009 at 4:41 PM

    Ukulele Ike --

    Film - Marianne, 1929 -- Performs the song,
    When I See My Sugar YouTube

    Film - Hollywood on Parade, 1933 -- Performs the song, Theme Songs (I think that's the song title) YouTube

    Short - Starlit Days at the Lido, 1935 -
    Performs the song, Oh! Honey,It's So
    Funny YouTube

    He did Singin' in the Rain in Hollywood Revue of 1929. Can't find any film, but it's possible he played ukulele.

    There's a YouTube video of him performing I Did it with My Little Ukulele (which sounds like a Formby title), video labeled as BLAME IT ON A UKULELE & dated as 1933, but with no positive I.D. of the film title.

    Hard to pin things down on these older films, the film titles, song titles, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ronhaleOctober 17, 2009 at 8:54 PM

    Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid - 1969
    Ukulele playing during the song, Raindrops Keep
    Fallin' on my Head.

    ReplyDelete
  19. ronhaleOctober 17, 2009 at 9:19 PM

    More soundtrack uke -

    The Japanese film, Matango, aka Fungus of Terror,
    & The Mushroom People, 1963. Soundtrack includes what is described as a "jaunty ukulele number." And the no.9 track listing on the soundtrack is entitled, "The Ukuleles."

    ReplyDelete
  20. ronhaleOctober 17, 2009 at 9:46 PM

    Jack Johnson plays the ukulele on the soundtrack to the film, Curious George. Honolulu on the Cheap's site says that the uke appears on the soundtrack to the film, Surf's Up.

    ReplyDelete
  21. ronhaleOctober 17, 2009 at 10:46 PM

    Ukulele on soundtrack --

    American Beauty 1999

    ReplyDelete
  22. HumbleUkerOctober 18, 2009 at 6:43 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  23. HumbleUkerOctober 18, 2009 at 6:45 AM

    OK. Let's stick actually visual playing in Movies for now. These suggestions are all great but I would like to focus this a bit. I may categorize into Formby, Silent, pre-1945, 1945-color, color-1999, 2000-. Then perhaps Animation, Uke Documentary, Soundtrack, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousOctober 19, 2009 at 1:55 AM

    Jack Hulbert film, "Falling for you" (193?)-- I believe that there is a song where Jack is joined by 3 singers, one of whom plays ukulele.

    ReplyDelete
  25. HumbleUkerOctober 21, 2009 at 5:46 PM

    My wife Wendy spotted a ukulele being held by a beauty pageant contestant in Sandra Bullock's Miss Congeniality.

    ReplyDelete
  26. ronhaleOctober 22, 2009 at 2:56 PM

    Ukulele.fr just mentioned British Pathe vis-a-vis
    ukulele on film(hard to fight through the translation), so you might visit them & then British Pathe (search on ukulele & ukelele)to find some old film with ukulele.

    ReplyDelete
  27. suekuleleOctober 23, 2009 at 10:14 PM

    A beautiful scene of Debra Paget and Hoagy Carmichael doing "Japanese Sandman". He appears to play a soprano uke while she dances and sings. You can find it on You Tube.

    ReplyDelete
  28. AnonymousOctober 27, 2009 at 4:24 AM

    There's a yellow ukulele inside Carl's house in the Pixar movie Up! :D

    ReplyDelete
  29. AnonymousNovember 3, 2009 at 3:15 AM

    Update on Jack Hulbert film, "Falling for you"

    (1933)-- There is a song where Jack is joined by 3 singers, one of whom plays ukulele. The song is 'Sweep your troubles away' (about 53 minutes into the film).

    ReplyDelete
  30. AnonymousDecember 11, 2009 at 7:18 PM

    "High Society Blues" with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor (1930). The Times newspaper of 13 May 1930 said that "there is a ukulele to give them the opportunity to sing duets together".

    ReplyDelete
  31. HumbleUkerMay 13, 2010 at 8:14 AM

    Alistair Wood added
    Broadway Danny Rose
    a Woody Allen movie
    4-13-10

    ReplyDelete
  32. Shelley RickeyAugust 28, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    I found a new one!
    At least i don't think it was on your list.
    Glorifying The American Girl, 1929
    http://youtu.be/4QHIbYWpz2E
    appears at :57 and is played at 5:00

    ReplyDelete
  33. Shelley RickeyOctober 9, 2011 at 10:54 AM

    Here's a great one. The Green Pastures 1936
    http://youtu.be/NU7YdV1aXEs (3:16)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Shelley RickeyOctober 9, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    and more importantly at 8:15 in part 3 of The Green Pastures 1936
    http://youtu.be/kdm1Tnma95I

    ReplyDelete
  35. AnonymousDecember 22, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    Rose of Washington Square (1938). The uke player, whoever he was, knew what he was doing with that Martin K5.
    Reyalpeleluku

    ReplyDelete
  36. AnonymousDecember 22, 2012 at 1:11 PM

    A silent Buster Keaton film, The HighSign, has a young woman playing the ukulele -- she looked like she played well (but I could hear her strumming).
    Reyalpeleluku

    ReplyDelete
  37. AnonymousOctober 28, 2013 at 7:53 AM

    Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - Dwayne Johnson "The Rock" is a great player.

    ReplyDelete
  38. AnonymousOctober 28, 2013 at 8:33 AM

    There is a US war film with a guy playing Don't fence me in. Can't remember the name.

    ReplyDelete
  39. reagonforpresidentDecember 15, 2013 at 3:00 PM

    Blue Valentine. You always hurt the one you the ones you love. Ryan Gosling.

    ReplyDelete
  40. AnonymousApril 10, 2015 at 9:23 AM

    Jack Lemmon in "It Happened to Jane" He strums the uke as Doris Day sings to a bunch of cub scouts

    ReplyDelete
  41. AnonymousJune 12, 2015 at 10:12 AM

    "The Greatest Show on Earth" - Emmet Kelly plays a shiny purple uke while Dorothy Lamour sings "Lovely Luawana Baby." Dorothy also plays it for a minute, or pretends to. Later, just before the train crash, the circus folk are relaxing by campfires before boarding the train and I spotted at least one uke.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Russ PetcherMarch 5, 2017 at 11:41 PM

    The film she starring Joaquin phoenix has a ukulele moment in it

    ReplyDelete
  43. Karla KoenigJuly 3, 2019 at 12:19 AM

    Dumbo 2019 has a ukulele playing scene for song Baby Of Mine

    ReplyDelete
  44. sureah kumarMarch 9, 2020 at 2:53 AM

    Whenever you are out to buy an ukulele, it must be very confusing as to which brand or model to prefer. We are going to make it easier for you with our guide on the best ukulele for beginners

    ReplyDelete

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