IMDb > On with the Show! (1929)

On with the Show! (1929) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   86 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Robert Lord (scenario)
Humphrey Pearson (play)
Contact:
View company contact information for On with the Show! on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 July 1929 (USA) more
Genre:
User Comments:
Antiquated Musical more (6 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Arthur Lake ... Harold Astor
Betty Compson ... Nita French
Joe E. Brown ... Joe Beaton
Sally O'Neil ... Kitty (as Sally O'Neill)
William Bakewell ... Jimmy
Louise Fazenda ... Sarah Fogarty
Sam Hardy ... Jerry
Harry Gribbon ... Joe
Lee Moran ... Pete, the Stage Manager
Wheeler Oakman ... Bob Wallace
Marion Fairbanks ... Dorsey Twin (as The Fairbanks Twins)
Madeline Fairbanks ... Dorsey Twin (as The Fairbanks Twins)
Purnell Pratt ... Sam Bloom (as Purnell B. Pratt)
Thomas Jefferson ... Dad
Ethel Waters ... Ethel Walters
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Additional Details

Runtime:
103 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (2-strip Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ethel Waters' first film. more
Soundtrack:
Welcome Home more

FAQ

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
Antiquated Musical, 1 August 2003
10/10
Author: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA

Desperate for Broadway, the traveling troupe of The Phantom Sweetheart must always go ON WITH THE SHOW!

Here is another very early talkie musical, full of excitement for the new medium, but bloated by too much talk, unexciting songs sung by the chorus with mostly unintelligible lyrics and an overlong running time. The plot deals with the usual frustrations & jealousies that most backstage musicals seem to find requisite.

The cast includes William Bakewell as the head usher eager to get his sweetheart, box-office girl Sally O'Neill, her chance at the Great White Way. Betty Compson plays the temperamental star and Arthur Lake the whiny young male lead. Louise Fazenda is the company's eccentric comedienne, who is given little to do but laugh at inappropriate moments.

The film does have some compensations. Rubber faced Joe E. Brown is cast as the company's brash comic and, as always, he is funny simply to look at. Best of all, the incomparable Ethel Waters is brought in to sing a couple of songs, including 'Am I Blue?' Miss Waters has no connection with the rest of the story whatsoever, but just enjoying her for a few minutes is pure pleasure.

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