Lyric by Bob Wright (2 results)

MUSIC SHEET. Condition: VG. JOAN CRAWFORD COVER. SMALL TEAR TO FIRST PAGE.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Vintage illustrated sheet music issued to coincide with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's lavish Technicolor musical Balalaika, starring Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey. The striking photographic cover reproduces the film's stars in costume, making this both a piece of popular music and an attractive example of Hollywood Golden Age movie ephemera. The story behind this song spans both Europe and Hollywood. Composer George Posford and lyricist Eric Maschwitz originally created At the Balalaika for the successful 1936 London stage musical Balalaika. When MGM adapted the production into the 1939 film, legendary studio music director and Academy Award-winning composer Herbert Stothart prepared the musical adaptation, while Broadway lyricists Bob Wright and Chet Forrest supplied revised English lyrics for American audiences. The resulting publication captures an interesting cultural journey - from London's West End to one of MGM's prestige musical productions during the studio system's golden era. Nelson Eddy, already America's premier operatic baritone on film, and Hungarian-born soprano Ilona Massey helped popularize the song for moviegoers, making this edition especially desirable for collectors of classic Hollywood memorabilia. This example remains in Very Good condition. The illustrated front cover displays well with bright color and strong eye appeal despite moderate edge wear, rubbing, light creasing, and age toning consistent with use. The principal flaw is a clean separation of the cover along the spine fold, a common condition issue with heavily handled sheet music of this period; the cover is complete and present. Interior pages remain clean and fully legible with no writing or performance markings observed. The rear cover retains Leo Feist's contemporary advertising for additional song folios, providing a useful snapshot of the publisher's catalog during the late 1930s.