Manhattan Parade (1931)

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

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

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

Stars:

Winnie Lightner, Charles Butterworth, Joe Smith

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

The John Roberts Costume Company is being run super-efficiently by Doris Roberts, but her husband demands that she give up her position to stay at home with their young son. Without her wheeling and dealing skills the company starts to lose money and when John leaves for Europe on a tryst, Doris returns to save the firm. Hooking up with an obviously disturbed producer and a pair of theatrical backers, the costume company seems to be on the road to riches again when John returns and wants his share of the profits.

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Plot Keywords:

costume | sheriff | theatrical producer | nightclub | ruse | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1932 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min 75 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Connections

References Ladies of Leisure (1930)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Happy When You're Jealous"
Music by Harry Ruby
Lyrics by Bert Kalmar

User Reviews

An OK comedy and a good example of a pre-code film

I saw this film on TCM as part of their month-long "Screened Out" series. It's not a great film, but it wasn't bad either. It has to do with a company founded by a married couple that designs and supplies costumes for Broadway shows. The husband issues an ultimatum to the wife (Lightner) that her place is at home taking care of their son, not at the office. He makes this ultimatum not out of concern for his son, but so that he can make his wife's secretary his own since she is already his mistress. When Winnie's character agrees to resign and stay home, her husband proceeds to run the business into the ground and then takes off to parts unknown with the company's remaining funds and his secretary/mistress. Now it's up to Lightner's character to repair the damage to the company and repay the creditors before the business has to be dissolved.

The husband does reappear at one point, and the odd thing is, Winnie has him behind a legal eight ball not because he is a man in his thirties carrying on with an under aged (17 year old) girl (the secretary), but because he has promised to marry the girl and has gone back on that promise - or as they once called it - breach of promise. Oh how conventions have changed in eighty years.

I've heard much about Winnie Lightner over the years, primarily about her role in the lost film "Gold Diggers of Broadway", and I was surprised as how she actually came across on screen. Lightner actually seemed more matronly than a flapper in this one. Charles Butterworth, who I usually find unbearably unfunny, actually did a good job in this one as company researcher - he makes sure that historical costumes are accurate for the times. Then there is the reason this film was in the festival in the first place - Bobby Watson as Paisley, the apparently gay costume designer in a delightful over-the-top performance. Watson certainly had a wide acting range. In 1929 he is a whiny vaudevillian in one of the first talkies, "Syncopation". Then he went on to playing gay men during the precode era, but you probably best remember him as the diction instructor in "Singing in the Rain".

This film will probably never be on DVD, but it's fun viewing and a good example of a pre-code era film.