Review of Footlight Parade (1933) by Ben L — 01 Jun 2016

Footlight Parade is the story of a theater producer who moves into the business of producing prologues, which apparently are short stage shows that the movie houses would present before the feature film. The greatness of this film basically begins and ends with the marvelous musical dance numbers that were choreographed by the amazing Busby Berkeley. In particular there is one routine in the water (to the tune of "By a Waterfall") which had me positively dumbstruck. The story of the film feels like a rather unimaginative stage play, and the way the characters interact just reinforces that feeling. In many ways this is something that could easily be pulled off in a theater production because there are limited sets, and the dialogue and overall plot would fit in with other Broadway-style musicals. But those final 3 dance numbers that we are shown are the one thing that could never have the same impact unless you see them presented on film. Perhaps that's another flaw of Footlight Parade, because it seems to imply that all these prologues are some kind of live performance, but the way it is presented would never work for an audience in a theater to see, particularly the one in the pool.

To reiterate, the music numbers were one of a kind. I only wish they were scattered throughout the picture, instead of lumped one-after-another at the end. Also when you have a truly remarkable number like "By a Waterfall" it should be the finale of your film, but they actually sandwich it in the middle of the three big performances. I understand why they did it story-wise, because they wanted the moment that James Cagney took the stage to be momentous and be the thing that turns the tide, but it didn't work for me as a final climax. Speaking of Cagney, I think he does good enough with what he's given. He might have an overly gruff personality for some of the more delicate moments he is given, but when he takes on his "partners" it is a moment that totally suits him. Joan Blondell is charming but under-utilized. I think most of the humorous moments were because of her character, and she did well with that. Honestly I didn't have any huge problems with the cast, the sets, or the cinematography. I just didn't care about the story. I was uninterested, and I genuinely think that offering those big brash musical numbers more frequently might have made the experience better.