''Footlight Parade'' is a 1933

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director, he made films in numerous genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and c ...

, with songs written by

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

(music), Al Dubin (lyrics),

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...

(music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It starred

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

Joan Blondell Rose Joan Blondell (August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on a film career, estab ...

, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell, with featured appearances by Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert, and Ruth Donnelly. The film's screenplay was written by Manuel Seff and James Seymour, based on a story by Robert Lord and Peter Milne. In 1992, ''Footlight Parade'' was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". ''Footlight Parade'' has a rating on the review-aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on reviews. __TOC__

Plot

Chester Kent (

) replaces his failing career as a director of Broadway musicals with a new one as the creator of musical numbers called "

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

s", short live stage productions presented in movie theaters before the main feature is shown. He faces pressure from his business partners to continuously create a large number of marketable prologues to service theaters throughout the country, but his job is made harder by a rival who is stealing his ideas, probably with assistance from someone working inside his own company. Kent is so overwhelmed with work that he doesn't realize that his secretary Nan (

) has fallen in love with him and is doing her best to protect him as well as his interests. Kent's business partners announce that they have a big deal pending with the Apolinaris theater circuit, but getting the contract depends on Kent impressing Mr. Apolinaris ( Paul Porcasi) with three spectacular prologues, presented on the same night, one after another at three different theaters. Kent locks himself and his staff in the offices to prevent espionage leaks while they choreograph and rehearse the three production numbers. Kent then stages "Honeymoon Hotel", " By a Waterfall" (featuring the famous "Human Waterfall") and "Shanghai Lil", featuring Cagney and Ruby Keeler dancing together.

Cast

CredCagneyFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredBlondellFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredKeelerFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredPowellFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredMcHughFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredKibbeeFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredDonnellyFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredHerbertFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg CredDoddFootlightParade33Trailer.jpg *

as Chester Kent, creator of musical prologues *

as Nan Prescott, Chester's secretary * Ruby Keeler as Bea Thorn, dancer turned secretary turned dancer * Dick Powell as Scott "Scotty" Blair, juvenile lead who is Mrs. Gould's "protégé" * Frank McHugh as Francis, the dance director * Ruth Donnelly as Harriet Gould, the producer's spoiled and nepotistic wife * Guy Kibbee as Silas "Si" Gould, producer * Hugh Herbert as Charlie Bowers, Mrs. Gould's brother and the censor of Kent's programs *

Claire Dodd Claire Dodd (born Dorothy Arlene Dodd; December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973 ) was an American film actress. Early life Dorothy Arlene Dodd was born on December 29, 1911, in Baxter, Iowa, to Walter Willard Dodd, a farmer whose family w ...

as Vivian Rich, Nan's gold-digging friend who sets her sights on Chester * Gordon Westcott as Harry Thompson, Kent's assistant * Arthur Hohl as Al Frazer, the other producer * Renee Whitney as Cynthia Kent, Chester's greedy estranged wife * Paul Porcasi as George Apolinaris, owner of a chain of movie theaters * Barbara Rogers as Gracie, the spy among Chester's dancers * Philip Faversham as Joe Barrington, another juvenile lead and "protégé" of Mrs. Gould * Herman Bing as Fralick, the music director *

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti; October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast i ...

as "Mouse" and "Little Boy" * Hobart Cavanaugh as Title-Thinker-upper * George Chandler as druggist Cast notes: *

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the ''Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing C ...

, Victoria Vinton,

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s ...

and Lynn Browning were among the many chorus girls in the film. It was Lamour's film debut."Footlight Parade" notes
tcm.com; accessed November 28, 2023. * It is sometimes written that

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

made his (uncredited) film debut in the "Shanghai Lil" routine in a (5/6ths of a second) shot. Turner Classic Movies perpetuates the mistake in an Article on TCM.com and debunks it in the Notes section of the same entry. The 2003

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

documentary ''The John Garfield Story'' also refutes this, as do several John Garfield biographies that give timelines where he is in New York and then on tour in Chicago with the revival of the play ''Counsellor-at-Law'' in 1933. * The movie briefly shown in the theater early in the film is '' The Telegraph Trail'', starring a young

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

and, coincidentally or not, Frank McHugh.

Musical numbers

* "Honeymoon Hotel" – by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics) * "Shanghai Lil" – by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics) * " By a Waterfall" – by

(music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics) * "My Shadow" – by Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics) * "Ah, the Moon Is Here" – by Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics) * "Sitting on a Backyard Fence" – by Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics) Source:

Production

Looking for a role different from the gangster films such as '' The Public Enemy'' that catapulted him to fame, Cagney actively campaigned for the lead role of Chester Kent, based on well-known impresario Chester Hale of the prologue production company Fanchon and Marco. Cagney had gotten his start in vaudeville and Broadway before going into film work; the film became his first on-screen appearance as a dancer.Miller, Frank
''Footlight Parade'' (1933; article)
TCM.com; accessed July 27, 2015. Cagney had only fallen into his gangster persona when he and Edward Woods switched roles three days into the shooting of 1931's '' The Public Enemy''. That role catapulted Cagney into stardom and a series of gangster films. Throughout his career, Cagney found being typecast as a gangster to be as limiting as it was a benefit. While Powell's role was written specifically for him, he was replaced by Stanley Smith when he fell ill. When he recovered, Smith's scenes were reshot with Powell. The film became the third pairing of Powell and Ruby Keeler after '' 42nd Street'' (1933) and ''

Gold Diggers of 1933 ''Gold Diggers of 1933'' is an American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It starr ...

'', the first two Warner Bros. Busby Berkeley musicals. Similarly, Dorothy Tennant was initially cast as Harriet Gould, but replaced by Ruth Donnelly. Other actors considered for various roles included Eugene Pallette, George Dobbs and

Patricia Ellis Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O'Brien; May 20, 1918 – March 26, 1970) was an American film actress from 1932 to 1939, who then had a brief singing career until 1941. Early years Born in Birmingham, Michigan, in 1918 (although she gave he ...

. Warner Bros. initially signed for Larry Ceballos to choreograph the film when Berkely was unavailable. However, when Berkeley was able to make changes to his schedule, the studio let Ceballos go. Ceballos subsequently sued Berkeley and the studio for $100,000 for breach of contract. Production took place at the Warner Bros. studio in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

between June and September 1933, costing an estimated $703,000 to make (equivalent to approximately $ in ). It premiered on September 30, 1933, with a general release on October 21.

Pre-Code era scenes and promotion

The film was made during the

era, and its humor is sometimes quite risqué, with multiple references to

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and suggestions of profanity largely unseen again in studio films until the 1960s, when the

Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...

collapsed. For example, Dick Powell's character is being "kept" by Mrs. Gould until he falls in love with another girl. Joan Blondell's character of Nan Prescott is the center of several lines and moments. She introduces her roommate, Vivian Rich, as "Miss Bi... Rich"; and later, when Vivian tries to take advantage of an intoxicated Chester, Nan kicks her out of their apartment, claiming Vivian will have a job "as long as there are sidewalks". In the Shanghai Lil number, it is clear that Lil and all the other girls are prostitutes working the waterfront bars along with scenes of an opium den. A character played by Hugh Herbert acts as the censor for Kent's productions, constantly telling Kent certain parts of his production numbers have to be changed. His character is portrayed as buffoonish and comical, saying disagreeable lines to Kent such as "You must put brassieres on those dolls..." (referring to actual toy dolls) "...uh uh, you know Connecticut." There is also a scene in which, after seeing black children having fun in the water off a fire hydrant, Chester gets an idea for a prologue involving women dressed in black face and getting wet under a waterfall. As with many other pre-Code films, including musicals, promotional materials featured scantily clad women on movie release posters, lobby cards and promotional photographs, as seen of Joan Blondel

Reception

The film made $1,601,000 in the United States, and an additional $815,000 internationally. Warner Bros. reported the film made a profit of $819,080, making it one of the most successful films of the year. In 1992, ''Footlight Parade'' was selected for preservation in the United States

by the

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". ''Footlight Parade'' has a rating on the review-aggregator

, based on reviews.

Accolades

* 1992:

by the

. * 2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated

References

External links

* *
''Footlight Parade'' at AllMovie
* *

Filmsite.org; accessed August 4, 2015.
''Footlight Parade'' essay by Randy Skretvedt
at

Parade''
essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 216–218 {{Authority control 1933 films 1933 musical films American black-and-white films Films about musical theatre Films directed by Lloyd Bacon Films set in a movie theatre Films set in New York City United States National Film Registry films Warner Bros. films American musical films Backstage musicals Films produced by Robert Lord (screenwriter) 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language musical films

Plot

Cast

Musical numbers

Production

Pre-Code era scenes and promotion

Reception

Accolades

See also

References

External links