Surprise! (1935)

• 64%
• 1935
• Music
• Roy Mack
• Vivian Duncan
• Rosetta Duncan
• Clarence Nordstrom

The Duncan Sisters (Rosie and Vivian) and their college dorm mates sing a song to their alma mater while packing up to leave college at the end of school. The sisters make a special point of packing up a couple of costumes--a Gypsy dress and a Toreador outfit--from one of their stage productions. The sisters then sing an ode to their old southern plantation home, which blends into their arrival at the mansion. They discover that a surprise costume party is being held in honor of their return, with most people dressed up in 1800s attire. The sisters decide to surprise the others by dressing up in their own costumes, and affecting the characters of a bullfighter and a Gypsy, each with her own song. A number of songs follow, including a rubber-legged, athletic dance by Jay Seiler and a production number imagining what it would be like if the Volga River ran through the South. The sisters end the short by doing one of their Eva (Vivian) and Topsy (Rosie) vaudeville routines.