Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Hamilton MacFadden

Writer:

Ralph Spence (dialogue)

Release Date:

4 May 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

President Franklin Roosevelt appoints a theatrical producer as the new Secretary of Amusement in order...

Plot Keywords:

Lobbyist | Entertainer | Government | Great Depression | Washington D.C.

Cast

Warner Baxter	...	Lawrence Cromwell
Madge Evans	...	Mary Adams
James Dunn	...	Jimmy Dugan
Sylvia Froos	...	Herself
John Boles	...	Himself
Arthur Byron	...	John Harly
Shirley Temple	...	Shirley Dugan
Ralph Morgan	...	Secretary to President
Jimmy Dallas	...	Boy Scout
Tess Gardella	...	Aunt Jemima (as Aunt Jemima)
Frank Mitchell	...	Sen. Danforth (as Mitchell & Durant)
Jack Durant	...	Sen. Short (as Mitchell & Durant)
Scotty Beckett	...	Boy auditioning for Miss Adams
Dick Foran	...	Himself (as Nick Foran)
Nigel Bruce	...	Eustis Dinwiddle

Also Known As:

Fox Movietone Follies of 1934 (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

68 min | USA:80 min (original release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:PG (re-rating) (1994)

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

For the "Baby, Take a Bow" number with James Dunn, the studio felt it would be easier for Shirley Temple to do the dance she had done at her audition rather than learn a new one, so Temple spent her first day on the set giving Dunn dancing lessons.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Young People (1940)

Soundtrack:

Stand Up And Cheer!

A Weird Fantasy from the mind of Will Rogers

There's a famous story about President Herbert C. Hoover meeting Rudy Vallee during the midst of his term which as we know coincided with the Great Depression. Hoover supposedly said to Vallee it would be great if he could sing some hit song that would make people forget their troubles, economic and otherwise.

Well maybe that story got back to the ears of Will Rogers because he was the one who came up with the idea of a Cabinet position for Secretary of Amusement. Maybe Rogers had himself in mind for the job, he was sure doing it unofficially.

Fox was Rogers's home studio, but he makes no appearance here. Instead the president of the United States hires Warner Baxter for that job.

Baxter essentially reprises his role of Julian Marsh the driven director from 42nd Street. I guess the money from that hit show didn't last long for Baxter so he's got this job.

But can you imagine; instead of trying to get financial backers for a show, Baxter goes before a Congressional committee for an appropriation? I'm not sure which is a worse ordeal.

So the movie is Baxter trying to find a talent enough for a big extravaganza that will do what Herbert Hoover wanted from only one song.

Stand Up and Cheer survives today because of the appearance of Shirley Temple, on her way to becoming the movies' biggest box office attraction of the decade. She only does one number here, with hoofer James Dunn as her father. But it's one of her biggest, Baby Take a Bow.

If it weren't for Shirley, the film would have been a curious forgotten relic of some very tough times. Still it's worth watching for more than just Shirley Temple.