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

Depression Era Musical Masterpiece

Footlight Parade is among the best of the 1930's musical comedy extravaganzas. A snappy script and an all-star cast including Jimmy Cagney, the lovely Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, and Ruby Keeler make this film a cut above the rest. Directed and choreographed by the creative genius Busby Berkeley, this film will have you grinning from ear-to-ear from start to finish.

Busby, of course, is the undisputed master of the Hollywood musical with "Gold Diggers of 1933" and "42nd Street" to his credit (as Dance Director). Footlight Parade is graced by hundreds of scantily-clad chorus girls, a Berkeley trademark. The elaborate dance numbers were shot with only one camera and Busby was the first director to film close-ups of the dancers. His obsession with shapely legs and "rear-view" shots is amply demonstrated here. The overall effect is highly erotic and mesmerizing.

Our boy Jimmy Cagney plays Chester Kent, a producer of "prologues" or short musical stage productions that were performed in movie theaters to entertain the audience before the talkies were shown. He's surrounded by crooked partners, a corporate spy, and a gold-digging girlfriend. Although Cagney had a solid background in vaudeville, this was the first film in which he showed his dancing talents. Joan Blondell is memorable as Cagney's wise-cracking, lovestruck secretary. And Ruby Keeler is adorable, as always.

The film climaxes with three outstanding production numbers, "Honeymoon Hotel", "The Waterfall", and "Shanghai Lil", each one a masterpiece and not likely to be duplicated in today's Hollywood where so-called "special effects" have replaced creative cinematography.

Claudia's Bottom Line: Clever and erotic, with some of the best musical production numbers ever put on celluloid. A thoroughly enjoyable Depression era romp.