Manhattan Parade (1931)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Samuel Shipman (play)
Robert Lord (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

10 January 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The fortunes of a Broadway costume company rise and fall depending on who is running it, and whether its clients' shows succeed or not.

Plot Keywords:

Costume | Genius | Bizarre | Elephant | Financial Crisis

Cast

Winnie Lightner	...	Doris Roberts
Charles Butterworth	...	Herbert T. Herbert
Joe Smith	...	Lou Delman (as Smith)
Charles Dale	...	Jake Delman (as Dale)
Dickie Moore	...	Junior Roberts
Bobby Watson	...	Paisley
Frank Conroy	...	Bill Brighton
Walter Miller	...	John Roberts
Mae Madison	...	Woman in Charge of Fitting
Polly Walters	...	Telephone Girl
Luis Alberni	...	Vassily Vassiloff
Greta Granstedt	...	Charlotte Evans

Runtime:

75 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Although it was filmed in 2-strip Technicolor, all surviving material is in black & white. Two songs by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, "I Love a Parade" and "Temporarily Blue," were cut before release, although "I Love A Parade" is heard over the opening and closing credits. "I'm Happy When You're Jealous" by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby was also cut before release.

Movie Connections:

References The Silent Enemy (1930)

Soundtrack:

I Love a Parade

It ain't Shakespeare, but I really liked it!

I'm sure that some who see this movie will be very unimpressed and a bit put off by its style, but I had a great time watching the film even though it could never be mixed up for Shakespeare due to its decidedly low-brow approach. While the film is essentially a drama about a company that provides costumes for Broadway productions, there is a lot of far from subtle comedy that made me laugh in spite of its very modest pretensions. Many of the laughs came from the legendary Vaudeville team "Smith and Dale"--who were reportedly the inspiration for Neil Simon's THE SUNSHINE BOYS. There jokes are corny and pure "Borscht Belt" (i.e., very stereotypically Jewish) but I liked their act--though I am sure many might find them annoying or very old fashioned. I think the reason I like them so much is that although they had a very long career together, they did almost no films. This and the great short WHAT PRICE PANTS? are two wonderful examples of their comedy--and I am a huge fan of early comedy (silent and sound). However, if you aren't a fan, I could see that you might just find the act bizarre.

The other funny act in the film was Bobby Watson in the role of "Paisley". His was perhaps the most stereotypically gay performance in films during the Pre-Code era--so named because a loose and unformalized Production Code often meant that taboo topics such as adultery and homosexuality were included in films. His gay designer "schtick" was great and very funny, though I am sure some might find his mincing manner offensive. Considering the time and context, to me it didn't seem offensive--just a time capsule of the era and its attitudes. Incidentally, because of Watson's performance, this film was spotlighted by Turner Classic Movies for their salute to homosexual images in film.

As far as the plot goes, it wasn't all that subtle or believable, but it was fun--though a tad over the top and silly. Once again, it was not great art but due to a lot of energy by everyone concerned the film is likable and nearly earns a 7--especially if you (like me) are a huge fan of Pre-Code Hollywood. The Watson performance plus a plot involving adultery make this a film you could not have seen post-1934 due to the restrictiveness of the code. An excellent historical curio.