Sunday Night at the Trocadero (1937) User Reviews

Music Not Bad, But Humor And Sound Very Weak

[ccthemovieman-1 · 5/10 · 15 March 2007]

"Reginald Denny and Galaxy of Stars" is how this is billed in the beginning credits.

Interesting at first to see real-life footage of people at a nightclub, complete with cigarette girls, dress and hairstyles of the period. Then it goes into a corny story of a lowly poor usher-type guy who is ready to break into the talent show business....and he's terrible.

Along the way we get some lame comedic acts and some orchestra numbers, some solo singing efforts, that are "fair to good." Personally, I liked the up-tempo numbers better, like the finale with The Brian Sisters.

It was cool to see stars like Groucho Marx (sans mustache) in the audience, along with Frank Morgan, Robert Benchley, Frank McHugh and others.

The worst part of this was the sound quality. I saw this on a Marx Brothers DVD (" Night At The Opera") in which the movie and the other features all came through sharp and clear....but not in this short. I couldn't decipher about half the dialog, which was very annoying.

Sunday Night at the Trocadero was an interesting curio for the chance to see Groucho Marx sans his trademark mustache

[tavm · 5/10 · 22 January 2013]

Just watched this rarity on the A Night at the Opera DVD. It takes place at the title nightclub with many celebrities in attendance. One of them was Groucho Marx, here with then-wife Ruth Johnson, who's seen without his trademark greasepaint mustache and eyebrows. There are also much enjoyable music and dancing depicted. Connee Boswell provides an enjoyable number and then when The Brian Sisters develop stagefright, she also does a nice teaming with them. Unfortunately, there's also an unfunny impressionist and I mean unfunny both in who he impersonates and what lines he gives. Actually, many reviewers here also complained about how low the volume seemed to be so maybe that was my problem as well. Anyway, Sunday Night at the Trocadero is worth a look for the rare chance to see Groucho on film as he really looked off-screen during this period.

Awful musical short from MGM to show Hollywood night life in '37...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 21 April 2009]

I can't think of a worse musical short I've seen from Metro, hosted by REGINALD DENNY, the distinguished looking British actor. He's seen at a nightclub called the Trocadero, taking candid photos of the various celebrities enjoying a night out.

The soundtrack is appallingly bad, with none of the dialog understandable for the average viewer and full of name dropping remarks from Denny as he acknowledges the famous faces from the '30s.

Movie buffs will easily recognize some of them: Arthur (Dagwood) Lake, Dick Foran, John Howard, Chester Morris, Robert Benchley, Connie Boswell, Groucho Marx, Frank Morgan, Eric Blore, Glenda Farrell, and Frank McHugh.

The music performances are way below par. A trio of sisters is the worst act of all and the bandwagon of George Hamilton is so-so. Boswell's voice is fine but her choice of numbers is questionable, to say the least.

Pretty bad considering it coasts on its musical talent and it sounds as though it's coming from outer space, so bad is the soundtrack. Picture quality is fine though, but you might as well have a tin ear as far as the music is concerned.

Peter Lind Hayes as a hopeful picture discovery doing some imitations and mugging his way through bad material, at least shows promise as a standup comedian that he became later on.

Dime a Dozen

[caspian1978 · 24 September 2004]

A vintage short from the 1930's, Sunday Night at the Trocadero is far from anything special. A typical short musical / comedy with no big stars to the cast. A handful of 30's eye candy is showcased at the fictional dinning club called the Trocadero. A group of well to do producers and self made men have dinner and share conversation as the room around them is alive. A group of girls sing and dance throughout the hall to gain attention. A struggling bell boy / wanna-be actor performs every five minutes to get hired on the Big Producer's next movie. Everyone in the cast seems to be working for food, let alone a pay check. For 21 minutes, the short provides beautiful musical numbers and quick "no so funny" one liners that really isn't worth watching for an audience member in the 21st century. To appreciate this movie, you need to be from the generation or know one of the actors in the film. All in all, an interesting vintage short that is like most short musicals of its time. Quick, simple, and worth the price of admission for its time, which was 10 cents.

A typical self-promotion film....but in black & white

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 25 April 2017]

In the 1930s, MGM made quite a few short films designed to promote their B-list actors. Ostensibly, the film is set at some sort of nightclub and these lesser known actors and actresses supposedly hang out there and the cameras catch them 'as they really are'...or, at least as the publicity department WANTS them to be perceived. However, unlike many of them, this one is in black & white and there really are very few of the bigger stars of the day (whereas the other films usually had a handful of A-listers in addition to the up and coming B and C-listers). The biggest stars you see in this one are Groucho Marx, Robert Benchley, Chester Morris and Frank Morgan. In addition, like "Starlit Days at the Lido", the leading man in this one is Reginald Denny--who introduces some of the acts.

In addition to the mostly uninteresting cameos, you've got some nightclub performers--several of which really stink (especially the guy who was doing impersonations) or are only passably entertaining...at best. Oddly, there also is a bizarro fashion show featuring some of the strangest outfits I have ever seen! It all comes off as weird...and not especially entertaining. Only of interest to folks who want to see the stars...even if it is all staged.

By the way, the sound quality of this short is rather poor...making there one more reason not to watch.

meh... some big stars in here.

[ksf-2 · 5/10 · 18 May 2018]

Kind of hokey, but some fun songs and dance numbers in here. George Hamilton is the emcee, and we start off with "Cuban Pete". The picture quality is quite good, but the sound is TERRIBLE... muted.. it stops and starts. some silly bits in between the dance numbers. Lots of big stars from the day popping up here and there... it was 1937, after all. "Anything but Love, Baby" by Connee Boswell, which is a VERY different version than we hear in ""Bringing up Baby". and some real silly, goofy bits, which may have been amusing at the time, but are pretty dated at this point. Fun to see some big names like Groucho Marx, Robert Benchley, Bert Wheeler, Eric Blore, and more. This one has some fun, old time big stars, but it's almost painful to sit through, with the poor sound quality. I would have turned it off, but I did want to see the film that came on after this. Shown in-between films on Turner Classic Movies. Directed by George Sidney, who had directed some biggies. Viva Las Vegas with Elvis, Scaramouche, Bye Bye Birdie, and Harvey Girls. interesting, for history's sake.

"What, no Shirley Temple?"

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 18 August 2015]

MGM short about the Trocadero nightclub, which put on a show every Sunday night where up-and-coming talent could be discovered by the big shots in attendance. The host for the whole thing is Reginald Denny. Some of the guests include Groucho Marx (without his mustache!), Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Robert Benchley, Chester Morris, Frank Morgan, Dick Foran, Eric Blore, and Sally Blane (sister of Loretta Young). Other celebs are name-dropped, such as Jack Benny and Joe E. Brown, but don't appear. The talent hoping to become stars are Connee Boswell, The Brian Sisters, and Peter Lind Hayes as an annoying bellboy doing impersonations (including one in blackface) every few minutes. The orchestra leader is George Hamilton, father of the very tanned actor George Hamilton most of us are more familiar with. It's not funny and the songs are nothing special. There is a fashion show in the middle of it, which is bizarrely amusing in its way. As another reviewer mentioned, the sound quality isn't the greatest. Only worth a look for classic film fans who enjoy curiosities such as this.

What's the problem

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 25 December 2016]

This short is one of 34 which are featured on Warner Archives Classical Musical Shorts From The Dream Factory.I am very puzzled by many of the reviews of the shorts.They don't seem to appreciate that in many instances an exhibitor would not be charged for these items which were gimme fillers.The fact that they had no or silly stories is entirely irrelevant.These films were often had one major purpose to promote the studio stars.Yes some of the films were what would now be considered racist or sexist,certainly UN pc.However you can't really project 21st century attitudes on to shorts which are now around 80 years old.If you are easily offended just turn off.These shorts are of their time and should be appreciated accordingly.

"The name (and voice) dies before the man"

[charlytully · 6/10 · 13 June 2009]

At least half the people appearing as themselves in this musical brief are unlikely to be viewed in the future by ANYONE with a living memory of them; hence, my comment's paraphrased summary line from A.E. Housman's "Ode to an Athlete Dying Young," from the poetry cycle A SHROPSHIRE LAD, which he self-published in 1896 (and which seems LESS dated today than the sound-distorted MGM publicity fluff short of 1937, SUN_DAY NIGHT AT TROCADERO). If you get kicks out of seeing white actors in black-face, or like to gawk at black-and-white footage of 1930's burlesque costumes, go ahead and watch this. Otherwise, remember "silence sounds no worse than cheers//after earth has stopped the ears."

Fun Short

[Michael_Elliott · 13 May 2009]

Sunday Night at the Trocadero (1937)

*** (out of 4)

MGM short has Reginald Denny hosting three musical acts including Louis & Celeste, The Three Brian Sisters and Medina & Mimosa. The acts are singing inside the Trocadero, which has many famous faces including George Hamilton, Groucho Marx, Frank Morgan, Frank McHugh, Robert Benchley and Dick Foran. If you're a fan of any of these actors then you might want to check this out if you must see everything they've done but there are a lot of weaknesses here. For starters, the sound quality is very poor and I don't think this is an issue with the print shown on TCM. It really appears that the sound was recorded poorly and this leads to the issues. Another problem is that the comedy is just downright bad. The musical numbers are certainly worth listening to as are seeing the famous faces.

Another Lou Lewyn Special

[boblipton · 7/10 · 22 October 2019]

Here's one of those "Hollywood stars" shorts. While some studios had specialty series like this -- particularly Columbia with its "Screen Snapshots", most studios dabbled, and when they dabbled in the 1930s, they called Lou Lewyn. He had cut his teeth on "Screen Snapshots", followed through with "The Voice of Hollywood" for Tiffany-Stahl, and then Paramount's "Hollywood on Parade." After that he went independent, with stars and aspiring players from every studio and rank.... and a couple of people of particular interest to fans of old movies, like Gaylord Carter, for decades the dean of silent film organists.

Anyway, it's some good music, some nice production numbers, and some stars in mufti. See if you recognize Groucho Marx without his painted-on eyebrows and mustache.

"What? No Shirley Temple?"

[slymusic · 22 July 2010]

The Trocadero was apparently a popular celebrity nightclub in the 1930s, and the way it is depicted in this MGM short, it seemed to be worth its weight in gold. Plenty of celebrities abound in "Sunday Night at the Trocadero", where there are two subplots going on: A pair of talent scouts show up to sign on any bright new talent to their liking, and actor Reginald Denny receives a camera as a present, which he wastes no time using to photograph all his celebrity friends.

Here are some of my favorite moments from this entertaining short. A bellboy who does impersonations is consistently frustrated because the two talent scouts always guess incorrectly who he is imitating; perhaps the boy's funniest reaction occurs when one of the scouts guesses the Marx Brothers. Connee Boswell sings a nice jazzy rendition of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" with organ accompaniment. A trio of girls known as the Brian Sisters are too frightened of their audience to sing, but Connee, who had once experienced this same kind of stage fright, politely encourages them to go ahead with their number, and they do quite well, singing a catchy little swing tune. A bartender shakes a cocktail in time to a rhumba beat. Celebrities Frank McHugh and Benny Rubin (the latter of whom I have seen in a handful of Three Stooges shorts from the 1950s) clown around for Reginald Denny's camera.

"Sunday Night at the Trocadero" can be found as a bonus item for the DVD of the Marx Brothers feature film "A Night at the Opera" (1935). As such, this short suffers from an unbalanced soundtrack that quite often makes the dialogue hard to decipher. On a positive note, in addition to the celebrities mentioned above, here are a few more who I recognize from other movies: Groucho Marx (minus his traditional comic makeup), Frank Morgan, Robert Benchley, and John Howard.