RAINBOW ON THE RIVER

US, 1936, 87 minutes, Black and white.
Bobby Breen, Louise Beavers, May Robson, Charles Butterworth, Alan Mowbray, Benita Hume, Henry O' Neill.
Directed by Kurt Neurmann.

Rainbow on the River is a pleasant family oriented film of the mid 1930s, capitalising on the popularity of the child singer, Bobby Breen. This is his second of his films, made when he was nine. He had a strong and striking voice, popular in films, but also on radio, singing with such stars as Deanna Durban. He made his last film in 1942 as his voice was breaking and he moved out of cinema to concentrate on a nightclub singing act.

This story, based on a novel Toinnete’s Philip, is set in New Orleans after the end of the Civil War. A young lad is being looked after by an emancipated slave, played with great strength and emotion by Louise Beavers. She has ambitions for his education and the local priest, played by Henry O’ Neill, discovers that the boy has relatives in New York City and he is sent there. The family is unwelcoming, exploiting the young boy, but he ultimately charms his grandmother, May Robson. Alan Mowbray portrays his scheming uncle.

Eventually, he charms his crotchety grandmother and returns to the South.

The film is billed as a musical and Bobby Breen has quite a number of songs including his version of Stephen Foster’s Camptown Races. However, he has an opportunity to sing the title song three times, first a lonely version, the second with all the children in New York and his playing the banjo and, finally, with great sentiment as he rides again in a carriage with his grandmother and with Toinnette, the blacks in cotton fields even joining in a choral version of the song as the film comes to an end.

Not widely seen the film, pleasant – a reminder of the talent of Bobby Breen who has been largely forgotten.