Reaching for the Moon | 1930 | Romantic Comedy

Title: Reaching for the Moon | 1930 | Romantic Comedy Director: Edmund Goulding Studio: Feature Productions, Inc. Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Bebe Daniels, Edward Everett Horton, Claud Allister, Bing Crosby Based on: Story by Irving Berlin Release Date: December 29, 1930 Runtime: 90 minutes Format: Black-and-white; 1.20:1; Mono Country: United States Language: English Genres: Romantic comedy, Musical --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Larry Day’s Wall Street success and social introduction 00:10:00 A wager and a chance meeting with Vivian 00:28:00 Shipboard pursuit and the “love potion” cocktail 00:46:00 Courtship at sea and shifting affections 01:02:00 Market crash and personal reckoning 01:18:00 Reunion and resolution --- Summary: A brilliant but romantically inexperienced financier, Larry Day, meets socialite and amateur aviatrix Vivian Benton on the eve of her transatlantic voyage. Spurred by a wager and coached by his valet, he boards the same ocean liner to win her favor, where a cocktail laced as a “love potion” complicates intentions and emotions. As their shipboard flirtation deepens, the Wall Street crash upends Larry’s fortune, forcing both to confront the difference between image and substance. The film blends romance and light comedy with pre-Code sophistication, charting a courtship tested by pride, timing, and sudden reversal of luck. --- Background: Conceived as a star vehicle for Douglas Fairbanks with an original story and songs by Irving Berlin, the production began as a full-scale musical. During late 1930, in response to audience fatigue with early talkie musicals, most songs were removed, leaving primarily the lively “When the Folks High Up Do the Mean Low Down,” introduced on screen by Bing Crosby in an early solo film appearance. Directed by Edmund Goulding and released by United Artists, the film was an expensive, pre-Code romantic comedy whose surviving prints vary significantly in length due to later cuts. --- Trivia: Bing Crosby makes one of his earliest solo screen appearances, introducing “When the Folks High Up Do the Mean Low Down,” reportedly filmed after-hours following his Cocoanut Grove engagements. The project’s working title was Lucky Break before release as Reaching for the Moon. Originally around 90 minutes, later circulating versions were cut substantially, with prints as short as roughly 62–74 minutes. Douglas Fairbanks had starred in an unrelated silent feature of the same title in 1917. Production design was by William Cameron Menzies, whose visual style helped define early sound-era spectacle. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: December 29, 1930 Original Studio / Distributor: Feature Productions, Inc. / United Artists Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: Unknown --- Hashtags: ReachingForTheMoon DouglasFairbanks BebeDaniels EdwardEverettHorton BingCrosby IrvingBerlin EdmundGoulding UnitedArtists PreCode 1930sCinema PublicDomain Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reaching_for_the_Moon_(1930).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Reaching_for_the_Moon_%281930%29.webm