The Eccentric Entertainer (1929) Online

. . . is a matter for some speculation. Seemingly, the star of the 1929 Warner Brothers Vitaphone short #709, titled SOL VIOLINSKY: THE ECCENTRIC ENTERTAINER (lasting 7 minutes, 17.24 seconds) has a screw loose. I was forced to play the violin in my schools' orchestras for six years, but fortunately the teacher never had us strap our bows to our thighs so we could FIDDLE WHILE PLAYING THE PIANO! Not only would this have violated our repair contracts with the Marshall Music Company, but I'm sure I would have dropped out of orchestra ON THE SPOT rather than engaging in such nerd-like tomfoolery! Sol should have known better than to abuse his precious instrument in such a manner, even for the sake of making this film, especially as he went on to play for the New York Symphony under his real name, Sol Ginsberg (born in Kiev, Russia, July 4, 1885; died in Binghamton, NY, May 5, 1963). Back in the 1920s I think Sol's better judgment had been shorted out by the fact that he could not perform under his real name, since an actor born Jan. 10, 1860, in New York City (who died in Hollywood Feb. 15, 1941) sometimes used it. Which is a pity, since the first Sol Ginsberg called himself some variation of "Louis Stern" 99% of the time!

This was another of the Vitaphone musical shorts made by Warner Brothers in the late 20s that's now on The Jazz Singer DVD. It stars Sal Violinsky as his pianist self. His second number was his tribute to the piano accompaniment of silent pictures that was quite humorous the way he performed it. But the topper was when he then took his violin, put it on his knee, and then did both instruments at the same time! Really has to be seen to be believed! Okay, since there's supposed to be ten lines in order for this review to be submitted, I'll just say this was quite a very enjoyable musical short despite some derogatory words concerning some African-Ameericans in special lyrics for "March of the Wooden Soldiers". So on that note, The Eccentric Entertainer is highly recommended

A later Vitaphone film, this Warner Brothers short apparently was one created using a very complicated system through which an accompanying record was synchronized with a movie camera. There were several serious setbacks for such a system (such as if a film skipped--it became out of sync for the rest of the film plus the records quickly wore out--and 20 showings was the normal life-span of the records) and even though it produced excellent sound, it was eventually replaced. The last of the Vitaphone films were made in 1930, then the studio switched to the standard sound-on-film system.

While I would NOT like a steady diet of Sol Violinsky (this CAN'T be his real name), I did enjoy this Vitaphone short because it wasn't typical of the series. Most of the films featured bands or singing. Instead, Sol plays the piano wonderfully--in a style somewhat reminiscent of Chico Marx's playing in his films--though Sol seems more skilled.

After this initial number, his delivery changed--and was quite bizarre. I think that in order to show off, he did the next number while staring up at the ceiling the entire time! It was very good--and odd.

The third number featured Sol singing and dancing--and the song is guaranteed to drive modern audiences crazy with its racist lyrics! I am sure that Violinsky didn't mean anything by it--being tacky and gross when referring to black people was the norm. It wasn't right and showed a serious lack of regard, but this sort of thing permeated entertainment up until the 1950s and 60s.

The fourth song was the most amazing. Sol showed off his vaudeville heritage by both playing the piano AND violin at the same time! The bow was strapped to his leg and he managed to do both pretty well! Wow! Overall, despite cultural insensitiveness, this is a dynamite showcase for the performer and will most likely amaze the viewer today...and it might just cause the politically correct out there to have a stroke!