{"id":31312,"date":"2013-05-08T10:08:53","date_gmt":"2013-05-08T17:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31312"},"modified":"2021-02-04T22:48:06","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T05:48:06","slug":"footlight-parade-1933","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31312","title":{"rendered":"Footlight Parade (1933)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Aw, talking pictures &#8212; it&#8217;s just a fad.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Poster-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-31327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Poster-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe producer (James Cagney) of live musical prologues for movies struggles to come up with new concepts while dealing with his mercenary ex-wife (Renee Whitney), an in-house spy who is leaking his ideas to a rival company, and shady colleagues (Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert) swindling him out of his profits; meanwhile, his loyal secretary (Joan Blondell) &#8212; who harbors a secret crush on him &#8212; is distressed to see him falling for a two-faced gold-digger (Claire Dodd).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Busby Berkeley Films<\/li>\n<li>Depression Era<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Cagney Films<\/li>\n<li>Joan Blondell Films<\/li>\n<li>Let&#8217;s Put On a Show<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Rivalry<\/li>\n<li>Ruby Keeler Films<\/li>\n<li>Spies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;Cagney and Blondell make a good match&#8221; in this &#8220;Depression Era musical&#8221; &#8212; as do &#8220;Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler&#8221;, playing secondary romantic roles as (respectively) the protegee of a wealthy patron (Ruth Donnelly) and a mousy secretary who takes off her glasses and instantly becomes a performer. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Keeler-Powell.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Keeler-Powell.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Keeler-Powell.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Keeler-Powell-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Keeler-Powell-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Keeler-Powell-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary argues that while the movie is &#8220;great fun&#8221;, it &#8220;would be [a] touch better if [the] screenwriters had simply put in a few lines about how the success of the&#8230; numbers is as important to the welfare of the dancers and singers (who need jobs!) as it is to Cagney&#8217;s peace of mind&#8221; &#8212; a point which doesn&#8217;t bother me personally, given that Warner Brothers&#8217; other two musicals released the same year (<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31201\"><em>42nd Street<\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26106\"><em>Gold Diggers of 1933<\/em><\/a>) both did an admirable job covering that sociological base. Peary goes on to write that &#8220;with the plot out of the way, Busby Berkeley stages three of his greatest, most innovative, and sexiest musical numbers, back to back: &#8216;Honeymoon Hotel&#8217;, &#8216;By a Waterfall&#8217; (with the chorines, shot from above, creating amazing patterns in the water), and &#8216;Shanghai Lil&#8217;.&#8221; Indeed, it&#8217;s Berkeley&#8217;s concluding masterpieces that constitute the film&#8217;s primary calling card &#8212; but the storyline itself remains a fun (if occasionally convoluted) backstage drama about an interesting historical topic (trailers have long since replaced live prologues), and it features fine performances by all involved. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>James Cagney as Chester Kent<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Cagney.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Cagney.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Cagney.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Cagney-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Cagney-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Blondell.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Blondell.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Blondell.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Blondell-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Blondell-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Several exceptional Busby Berkeley-directed musical numbers<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley2.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley3.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley3-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Berkeley3-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Shanghai-Lil.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Shanghai-Lil.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Shanghai-Lil.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Shanghai-Lil-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Footlight-Parade-Shanghai-Lil-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a classic Depression Era musical.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0024028\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/3122\/footlight-parade#articles-reviews?articleId=12783\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1933\/10\/06\/archives\/a-screen-musical-comedy.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1934busb.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/footlight-parade\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Aw, talking pictures &#8212; it&#8217;s just a fad.&#8221; Synopsis: The producer (James Cagney) of live musical prologues for movies struggles to come up with new concepts while dealing with his mercenary ex-wife (Renee Whitney), an in-house spy who is leaking his ideas to a rival company, and shady colleagues (Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert) swindling him out of his profits; meanwhile, his loyal secretary (Joan Blondell) &#8212; who harbors a secret crush on him &#8212; is distressed to see him&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31312\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31312"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68817,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31312\/revisions\/68817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}