Jazz Heaven (1929) - A cute but clunky look at the music biz

So, is Jazz Heaven worth your time today? If you like old movies that feel like they're being performed inside a giant tin can, then yes.

It’s perfect for people who enjoy 1920s vibes and don’t mind a plot that’s thinner than a sheet of music. If you want a fast-paced thriller or actual jazz music, you should probably stay far away from this one.

The whole thing starts with Barry, played by Johnny Mack Brown. He’s a Southern guy who looks way too wholesome for the grime of New York City.

He brings his piano with him. His actual, full-sized upright piano.

Imagine moving to the big city and the first thing you do is drag a massive wooden box into a tiny apartment. It’s kind of funny, honestly, and Barry treats that piano like it’s his first-born child.

He ends up at a music publisher on Tin Pan Alley. That’s where he meets Nan, played by Sally O’Neil.

Sally has that high-energy 1920s personality that makes you feel a little tired just watching her move. She’s got these huge eyes and she’s basically the only reason the plot moves forward at all.

They have this weird meet-cute where she basically stops him from getting kicked out of an office. It’s very stagey.

The dialogue is a bit stiff, mostly because you can tell the actors were terrified of moving too far from the hidden microphones. You can almost hear them thinking about where to stand so the sound doesn't cut out.

There’s this one scene where a guy is playing the piano and the camera just stares at him for what feels like an eternity. No cuts, no movement, just a guy and his keys.

I noticed the background noise is really fuzzy throughout the whole thing. Its just 1929 for you, I guess.

Sometimes a character will walk off the screen and you can still hear them talking perfectly clearly. It makes them sound like ghosts haunting the set.

The movie reminds me a bit of the vibe in Her Social Value. Everyone is just trying so hard to climb the social ladder, or in this case, the musical ladder.

But here, the ladder is made of sentimental ballads that aren't actually jazz. The title Jazz Heaven is a bit of a lie, really.

It’s more like "Polite Pop Song Heaven." Nobody is really swinging or doing anything experimental.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Jazz Heaven (1929) through its definitive frames.

There’s a guy named Max who is supposed to be the funny sidekick. He is mostly just very loud.

I think I counted three different hats on one guy in the background. The costumes are very specific to that era where everyone had to look like they were going to a formal lunch at all times.

The music industry back then looks like a lot of yelling in small, cramped offices. It’s a bit stressful to watch if you don't like crowded rooms.

I liked the parts where they weren't talking. The silent bits feel much more natural, probably because the actors were still used to that style of performing.

Barry is so stiff when he’s trying to be romantic. He looks like he’s afraid he might break if he leans too far in one direction.

It’s definitely a slower experience than something like The Americano. That one feels like an actual adventure, while this is just people standing around in rooms talking about money.

I saw a guy in the background of one scene who just looked directly at the camera for a second. He looked totally confused about why he was there. 🧐

The sets look very wobbly, too. One time a door closes and you can see the whole wall shake just a little bit.

If you've seen Dizzy Daddies, you know how these old comedies can get a bit frantic and weird. This one is calmer, but it still has that "we're figuring out sound as we go" energy.

I wonder if people in 1929 actually thought this was what New York was like. It feels way too clean and polite to be the real NYC.

The ending comes out of nowhere. It’s like the film ran out of money or the actors had a train to catch.

One second they are struggling, and the next second everything is perfectly fine. Its very convenient.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it’s a nice little time capsule. It’s a movie about a guy and his big wooden box, and sometimes that's enough for a Sunday afternoon.

I really liked the hat Nan wore in the second act. It looked like a giant upside-down bucket, which I guess was the height of fashion.

Anyway, give it a watch if you’re into the history of RKO or just want to see Johnny Mack Brown before he spent the rest of his life on a horse. Skip it if you need a story that actually makes sense for more than ten minutes at a time.

It's just an okay movie. But being okay in 1929 is actually kind of an achievement considering how many of these early talkies were total disasters.