![]() ![]() The final production, my own personal favorite, gives the audience the pleasure of seeing Cagney and Ruby Keeler as dance partners. The first two numbers feature young ingénues Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. ![]() This is when Busby Berkeley’s magic takes over from Lloyd Bacon’s sharp direction with three magical and exquisite productions numbers, “Honeymoon Hotel,” “By a Waterfall,” and Shanghai Lil,” one more extravagant and grand than the other. The movie is divided into two halves, the first a backstage raucous comedy while the second half, really the final half hour, contains the three big musical highlights. Always behind the scenes and protecting his back with love sick eyes is his ever faithful secretary, Nan. Nan’s money grubbing roommate make a play for Chester as he remains too blinded by her beauty to see her true gold digging colors. First, his wife starts divorce proceedings only to change her mind when she thinks he is back in the money. Chester also has eyes for the ladies, unfortunately, they are for women who will only do him dirty. Chester is also taking a beating from his producers (Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert)who are fudging the books so the profits, of which Chester is suppose to get a percentage, are never there for him to collect. The three women in “Gold Diggers of 1933” lost their jobs, as did Warner Baxter in “42nd Street.” In “Footlight Parade,” Cagney’s pugnacious Chester Kent worries not only about hard times but about rivals stealing his productions before they even open. Unlike the glossy MGM fare, Warner’s musicals, though still escapist entertainment from life’s realities, did not ignore the hard times the world was facing. “Footlight Parade” was the last of Warner’s big three classic depression musicals released in 1933. Taking it a step further, he will mass produce these shows, called prologues, to movie palaces all over the country! It’s a business paradigm that cannot miss, at least in the movies. Sophisticated audiences will come in droves. Talkies are the new rage so why not produce an extravagant live production that precedes the movie. Kent comes up with what he believes is an extraordinary idea. James Cagney is Chester Kent, a penniless producer, with Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott, his trusty secretary and dependable right hand. It remains one of Warner Brothers great Depression era musicals, filled with Busby Berkeley’s overly impossible yet miraculous production numbers forcing you to sit there stunned and say simply, wow! “Footlight Parade” is all about what happens behind the scenes. The creative puzzle of putting a show together with just the right pieces, the excitement, the panic before facing the audience, the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd, the tears of joy, or sorrow, depending on the show’s success after the curtain comes down. ![]() There is something magical about what goes on before the curtain rises on opening night. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |