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IMDb > Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)

Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   122 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 21% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Lou Breslow (idea)
Hilary Lynn (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Hollywood Cavalcade on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 October 1939 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
Michael Linnett Connors takes Molly Adair from Broadway understudy to 1913 Hollywood star. Although she is in love with him... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Reviews:
Excellent half a film more (8 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Alice Faye ... Molly Adair Hayden

Don Ameche ... Michael Linnett 'Mike' Connors
J. Edward Bromberg ... Dave Spingold
Alan Curtis ... Nicky Hayden
Stuart Erwin ... Pete Tinney, Michael's Cameraman
Jed Prouty ... Keystone Cop Police Chief

Buster Keaton ... Himself
Donald Meek ... Lyle P. Stout, Studio Chief
George Givot ... Claude, an Englishman in the Show

Al Jolson ... Himself (as Mr. Al Jolson)
Eddie Collins ... Keystone Cop Driver
Ben Turpin ... Bartender in Western
Chester Conklin ... Sheriff in Western
Hank Mann ... Keystone Cop
'Snub' Pollard ... Keystone Cop (as Snub Pollard)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Black and White | Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Although a Twentieth Century-Fox picture, this is one of the few Hollywood-made films in which one studio (Fox) acknowledges and names the existence of another (Warner Bros.) and credits them with the introduction of talking pictures. Don Ameche is actually shown watching a scene from Warner's The Jazz Singer (1927) , probably the only instance in Holywood history where one studio shows another studio's work within a film. Another rarity is that the head of the studio (J. Edward Bromberg) is openly portrayed as being Jewish. In later years Bromberg was blacklisted and ended up committing suicide. Fans of W.C. Fields will recognize Russell Hicks, who plays the stone-hearted money-man Roberts in "Hollywood Calvacade," as fast-talking con man J. Frothingham Waterbury, who sold Fields shares in the Beefstake Mine in the classic comedy The Bank Dick (1940). more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Take It or Leave It (1944) more
Soundtrack:
By the Beautiful Sea more

FAQ

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful.
Excellent half a film, 11 September 2002
Author: Dan Navarro (eldorado@vcoms.net) from Ventura, California

In the earliest years of silent cinema, former prop boy Mike (Don Ameche) "discovers" a charming Broadway understudy, Molly (Alice Faye), and impulsively hires her to a personal contract to star in pictures. With Mike as director, Molly is set to appear in a film with Buster Keaton as her boyfriend -- but things get out of hand, the first day on the set.

By accident, Buster flings a custard pie into Molly's lovely face, thus throwing off the rhythm of their primly choreographed love scene. Soon Molly, Buster, and the "villain" of their scene (George Givot) are covered in custard, and the laughing and applauding onlookers convince Mike he's discovered a new screen genre. He milks it for all it's worth, launching a series of slapstick comedies -- with pies, bathing beauties, and Keystone-style Kops -- all featuring Molly, who becomes a big star.

If "Hollywood Cavalcade" had continued in this same vein, it would probably have become a classic. Instead, about halfway through, Mike makes the decision to turn Molly into a dramatic actress, starring in serious photoplays and leaving her slapstick days behind.

The film's second half turns maudlin when Molly, whose love for Mike seems unrequited, marries her new costar Nicky (Alan Curtis). Having lost his biggest star, Mike slides into despair, his films regularly losing money. Then Nicky is killed in a traffic accident and Molly teams up with Mike again. They make a hit picture, and discover that they've loved each other all along.

"Hollywood Cavalcade" marked two firsts for Alice Faye: her first Technicolor film, and also the first in which she sings not a single note. But her performance was generally lauded by the film critics.





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