The Hollywood Revue of 1929

Infobox Film
name = The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)

"The Hollywood Revue of 1929" is an American musical film/comedy motion picture released in 1929. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of the earliest ventures into the talkie format. Produced by Harry Rapf and directed by Chuck Riesner for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film brought together some of MGM's most popular performers in a lavish two-hour revue. The two masters of ceremonies are Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny.

Production

Unlike M-G-M's imposing feature films, which always boasted strong story values, "The Hollywood Revue of 1929" was a plotless parade of variety acts. Conrad Nagel, interviewed for the book "The Real Tinsel," recalled, "Everybody thought Harry Rapf was crazy for making it." Billed as an “All-Star Musical Extravaganza,” the film includes performances by once and future stars, including Joan Crawford singing and dancing on stage (she later remarked, "Revue" was one of those let's-throw-everyone-on-the-lot-into-a musical things, but I did a good song-and-dance number."Fact|date=February 2007). Other segments feature Lionel Barrymore, Marion Davies, John Gilbert, Buster Keaton, Marie Dressler, Anita Page, Norma Shearer, and the comedy team of Karl Dane and George K. Arthur. Highlights of the film are musical performances (including the debut of "Singin' in the Rain") performed initially by Cliff Edwards ("Ukelele Ike'") and later performed at the end of the film by the entire cast) and a comedy routine starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as inept magicians. The only major M-G-M stars missing from the revue are Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, and Lon Chaney, Sr. (although Chaney is referred to by name in one of the songs performed).

The film is sometimes cited (as on the DVD release of the 1952 "Singin' in the Rain") as the movie that led to the downfall of Gilbert's career. Gilbert, a popular silent film actor (best known for his work opposite Garbo), possessed a pleasant tenor speaking voice, but it didn't always match his heroic, dashing screen image. In "Hollywood Revue" he plays the balcony scene from "Romeo and Juliet" with Norma Shearer, first straight, then for laughs with contemporary slang.

Only one number was cut from the film, a parody of the Albertina Rasch ballet's "pearl dance" by Marie Dressler. Considered "too long," the number was replaced by one featuring Buster Keaton. Production stills show Dressler in a Lady Godiva wig and tutu.

The film was popular with audiences and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Producer Rapf tried to follow it up with another revue, "The Hollywood Revue of 1930", which was changed during production to"The March of Time", and finally abandoned. Musical numbers already shot for the film were edited into M-G-M short subjects of the early 1930s.

The circulating print of "The Hollywood Revue of 1929" runs as follows:

ACT I:

*The Palace of Minstrel sung and danced by a minstrel chorus
*Masters of Ceremonies Jack Benny introduces Conrad Nagel. Cliff Edwards interferes
*Got a Feeling for You sung by Joan Crawford
*"Old Folks at Home" sung by chorus
*Old Black Joe sung by chorus
*Low-Down Rhythm sung and danced by June Purcell
*Your Mother and Mine sung by Charles King
*You Were Meant for Me "sung" by Conrad Nagel (whose voice was dubbed by Charles King) to Anita Page
*Nobody but You sung by Cliff Edwards
*Your Mother and Mine played by Jack Benny on his violin
*Cut Up comedy skit featuring William Haines ripping up Jack Benny's suit
*I Never Knew I Could Do a Thing Like That sung by Bessie Love
*For I'm the Queen sung by Marie Dressler, assisted by Polly Moran
*Magic Act introduced by Jack Benny, featuring Laurel and Hardy as magicians in a comedy skit
*Military March with Marion Davies singing "Oh, What a Man" and "Tommy Atkins on Parade" followed by military drill and dancing. The Brox Sisters conclude this number singing "Strike Up the Band"

Intermission

Intermission -- During this five-minute break, the orchestra is seen playing to the tunes of "Nobody But You", "Your Mother and Mine" and "I've Got A Feeling for You" in front of the closed curtain.

ACT II:

*The Pearl Ballet sung by James Burrows, danced by Beth Laemmle and the Albertina Rasch ballet
*The Dance of the Sea, an "underwater" dance performed by Buster Keaton
*Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You If You Don't Watch Out sung by Gus Edwards
*The Adagio Dance with the Natova Company
*"Romeo and Juliet" (in Technicolor) with John Gilbert and Norma Shearer, with Lionel Barrymore as director
*Singin' in the Rain introduced by Cliff Edwards
*Charlie, Gus, and Ike with Charles King, Gus Edwards, and Cliff Edwards
*Marie, Polly, and Bess with Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, and Bessie Love
*Orange Blossom Time (in two-strip Technicolor), sung by Charles King to Myrtle McLaughlin, danced by the Albertina Rasch Ballet
*Singin' in the Rain (finale) (in two-strip Technicolor] , sung by entire cast

Preservation

The film survives intact with its original Technicolor sequences. It was released on laserdisc in the 1990s.