This may seem like a strange question, but I wonder if anyone knows why the Russian (actually Ukrainian) song "Ochi Chernye" ("Dark Eyes") turns up in a number of American films in the 1930s, usually in a comical way. It's "practiced " endlessly by Mischa Auer in MY MAN GODFREY, used as a ruse by Fred Astaire in SHALL WE DANCE, and rather alarmingly trilled by Gloria Jean in NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK. It's clear that the song was well-known enough to function as a signifier for "Russian-ness" but was its use prompted by a particular recording or musician in the 1930s? Don Larsson ----------------------------------------------- "Nothing is ever the same as they said it was. It's what I've never seen before that I recognize." --Diane Arbus Donald F. Larsson Department of English, AH 230 Minnesota State University Mankato, MN 56001 [log in to unmask] Office Phone: 507-389-2368 ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]