Large Association of Movie Blogs
Large Association of Movie Blogs

Friday, April 10, 2009

One Of Our Favorite Flappers: Zelma O' Neal

The genuinely charming musical comedy star Zelma O' Neal sings "I Wanna Be Bad" with good humor and exuberance in this production number from the classic early talkie Follow Thru (1930, Paramount). Zelma was a big star on Broadway and only made a few films, but made the most of her opportunities. She must have been a blast to see onstage.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Zelma O'neal would have been a huge comedy star in film a la Joan Davis or later Martha Raye if the powers that be back then had opened their eyes to see her unique talent. I'm grateful for this film that does exist, it and she are very special.

Paul F. Etcheverry said...

I wholeheartedly agree. She is in Peach O' Reno with Wheeler and Woolsey, which I haven't seen. If, as I suspect, Zelma was relegated to an ingenue role in this, the powers that were at RKO really missed an opportunity, big time. She's at least as funny as Bert n' Bob - and those guys make me laugh.