Glorifying the American Girl (1929)

The rise of a showgirl, Gloria Hughes, culminating in a Ziegfeld extravaganza "Glorifying the American Girl".

Director:

Millard Webb

Writers:

J.P. McEvoy (from the story by), Millard Webb (from the story by)

Stars:

Mary Eaton, Eddie Cantor, Helen Morgan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mary Eaton	...	Gloria Hughes
Eddie Cantor	...	Eddie Cantor - Appearance in Revue Scenes
Helen Morgan	...	Helen Morgan - Appearance in Revue Scenes
Rudy Vallee	...	Rudy Vallee - Appearance in Revue Scenes
Dan Healy	...	'Miller'
Kaye Renard	...	'Mooney'
Edward Crandall	...	Buddy
Gloria Shea	...	Barbara (as Olive Shea)
Sarah Edwards	...	Mrs. Hughes
Singing and Dancing Chorus of Seventy-Five Glorified Beauties	...	Chorus Members

Storyline

Gloria, Barabara and Buddy are working at the sheet music counter in a New York department store. On a trip of the whole store, Gloria, who's in love with Buddy, is spotted by vaudeville hoofer Miller, whom his partner Mooney, like her predecessors, has just left. Miller tours with Gloria and both are spotted by Ziegfeld's talent scouts, just before they were splitting up, leaving Gloria with a contract giving Miller a part of her earnings in the next few years. Gloria becomes the star of a new Ziegfeld production, but Barbara, who has been pining for buddy for quite a while, seems to have more luck with him.

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Plot Keywords:

vaudeville | partner | contract | ziegfeld follies | unrequited love | 

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Taglines:

The heartaches and glory of Broadway's glittering fame. Presented for you by the magician of theatredom himself. (Print Ad-The Daily News,((Ludington, Mich.)) 6 May 1930)

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Glorificação da Beleza

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min (Raymond Rohauer print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Color:

Black and White Color (2-strip Technicolor) (some sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fanny Brice, Will Rogers and Marilyn Miller were scheduled to make cameo appearances in this film. But since Brice was appearing in a play by Ziegfeld rival David Belasco, Miller was under contract to Warner Bros. and Rogers under contract to Fox, they did not appear in the film.

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Alternate Versions

A black-and-white print currently shown on television (which was cut down to 87 minutes) was made in the 1950s and has a number of sequences cut due to their Pre-Code content (nudity, etc.). The film was restored to the length of 96 minutes, with the original Technicolor sequences, by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

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Connections

Featured in Broadway: The American Musical (2004)

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Soundtracks

Changes
(1927) (uncredited)
Music by Walter Donaldson

User Reviews

Restored by UCLA to 98% of its "Glory."

If you want to catch a viewing of this film in nearly all of its "Glory" -- 2-Strip Technicolor and all--simply get on a plane to Los Angeles and taxi over to the UCLA Film Archives in Westwood. Oh...you'll have to make an appointment well in advance...for "Scholarly and/or Academic Pursuits Only"...for a private screening, as this film resides in the vault. It is rarely screened, except for Film Preservation Retrospectives... or is occasionally loaned out to "your town"...if you happen to live in NY State, or Australia, or Europe. All versions on VHS or DVD are poorly duped dupe-of-a-dupe copies of badly battered eminent domain prints, but unfortunately, that's all there is "out there" until UCLA decides to release their terrific library of 2-Strip Technicolor films onto the world some day! For a couple of swell Technicolor scenes of the film's finale, I suggest that you visit the sensational, stupendous, colossal "Vitaphone Varieties" website run by Jeff Cohen at vitaphone.blogspot.com/.