Footlight Parade (1933)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Manuel Seff (writer)
James Seymour (writer)

Release Date:

21 October 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Climaxing Warner Bros.' glittering parade of musicals!

Plot:

Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.

Plot Keywords:

Secretary | Dance | Movie Theater | Brother Sister Relationship | Fainting

Awards:

1 win

Cast

James Cagney	...	Chester Kent
Joan Blondell	...	Nan Prescott
Ruby Keeler	...	Bea Thorn
Dick Powell	...	Scott 'Scotty' Blair
Frank McHugh	...	Francis, dance director
Ruth Donnelly	...	Harriet Bowers Gould
Guy Kibbee	...	Silas 'Si' Gould
Hugh Herbert	...	Charlie Bowers
Claire Dodd	...	Vivian Rich
Gordon Westcott	...	Harry Thompson
Arthur Hohl	...	Al Frazer
Renee Whitney	...	Cynthia Kent
Barbara Rogers	...	Gracie
Paul Porcasi	...	George Apolinaris
Philip Faversham	...	Joe Barrington

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating, cut version) | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #2649)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1992.

Goofs:

Continuity: The newspaper claims that Honeymoon Hotel has "400 rooms, 400 baths," and yet later we see all guests of each floor disappearing into a single bathroom on each floor.

Quotes:

Charlie Bowers: Is there, is there anything I can do?
Chester Kent: Yeah. See that window over there?
Charlie Bowers: Yeah.
Chester Kent: Take a running jump and I think you can make it.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Soundtrack:

One Step Ahead of My Shadow

This is New Jersey, not Hollywood

An opium den, a dirty little boy (actually a midget), prostitutes galore, a violent fracas in a dive, a motel for sexual shenanigans, scantily clad babes with cleavage a lot, a boozer falling down the stairs, a racially mixed clientèle in a bar with Asians, Africans, and Anglos treated equally, does this sound like a film playing at the local shopping mall? Wrong. These are all scenes from a 1933 musical.

The first half of "Footlight Parade" is preparation for a musical extravaganza which occupies the last half of the film. Chester Kent (Cagney) is about to lose his job and does lose his playgirl wife as a result of talking pictures squeezing out live stage musicals. His producers take him to see a popular talky of the day, John Wayne in "The Big Trail." Before each showing of the flick, a dance number is presented as a prologue. Shorts, news reels, serials, and cartoons would later serve the purpose. Kent gets the idea that a prologue chain would be the road to salvation for the dwindling live musical business. Kent is basically an idea man along the lines of choreographer Busby Berkeley. Could it be that Cagney's character is patterned after Berkeley? Could be.

In preparation for the prologues, Kent learns that his ideas are being stolen by a rival. He uncovers the traitor, fires him, then unbeknown to him a new leak is planted in the form a dazzling temptress. His assistant, Nan Prescott (Joan Blondell - soon to be Mrs. Dick Powell) has the hots for Kent and is determined to expose the wiles of the temptress. A new singer from Arkansas College shows up in the form of Scotty Blain (Dick Powell) who turns out to be a real find and is paired with Bea Thorn (Ruby Keeler). The resulting three prologue musicals, which couldn't possibly have been presented on any cinema stage of the day, are as fresh and enjoyable today as they were over seventy years ago, "Honeymoon Hotel," "By a Waterfall," and "Shanghai Lil."

Of special note is the song and dance of tough-guy James Cagney. Like Fred Astaire and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Cagney's dancing appeared natural and unrehearsed, although hours went into practice to get each step just right. Not as good a singer as Astaire, Cagney's singing, like Astaire's, sounded natural, unlike the crooning so popular at the time. It's amazing that one person could be so talented and so versatile as James Cagney.

Most critics prefer the "Shanghai Lil" segment over the other two. Yet the kaleidoscopic choreography of "By a Waterfall" is astonishing. How Berkeley was able to film the underwater ballets and to create the human snake chain must have been difficult because it has never been repeated. The close up shots mixed brilliantly with distant angles is a must-see. The crisp black and white photography is much more artistic than it would have been if shot in color.

Though not nearly as socially conscious as "Gold Diggers of 1933," "Footlight Parade" stands on its own as one of the most amazing and outrageous musicals ever put on the big screen.