Touches You

Excellent adaptation.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

When I was in junior college I took a summer film class and the instructor showed films in the girl's gym every Friday night.  It was free and there was always a big turnout. What was interesting was the selection of films. They were all Hollywood films from the early 30s like "Duck Soup," "20th Century" and "Fury." A sizable part of the crowd didn't have much background in film, and certainly hadn't seen very many older films. This was in the late 60s or early 70s and the new wave of American films was just underway, so audiences were prone to laugh at the old fashioned movies of the past. And indeed they did, but after a few films a surprising thing happened. People started cheering at the end of the films, and even cheering at moments during the films. They were really surprised at how good they were, how adult they were, and how funny they were. By the end of the summer, an amazing learning experience had occurred. At least one audience had grown to understand the value of older movies. One of the films shown was "Footlight Parade which was initially received with guffaws, but ultimately Busby Berkeley won the audience over. He was a visual genius no one has matched, but the film is more than visual extravagance."Footlight Parade" has a very intricate plot unfolding in a face paced story with witty dialogue and physical performances by both James Cagney and Joan Blondell. I couldn't decide who was cuter, Blondell or the very young Ruby Keeler. There was even a comment on the greediness of big business when we discover the owners of the production company have been skimming off the top (basically, taking money from the hard working man - James Cagney and the rest - to line their own pockets).  If that doesn't relate to what is going on today I don't know what does.  The story builds to three song and dance routines, choreographed by Berkeley: "Honeymoon Hotel," "By a Waterfall," and "Shanghai Lil." Each one is spectacular in its own way. "Honeymoon Hotel" was very racy, showing all these couples having affairs with others in the hotel. It's all told in visuals and a very infectious song that alludes to all the sexual chicanery. Really impressive and funny. "By a Waterfall," good God, what can be said about this?!! Simply stated, it has choreographed female swimmers forming patterns in a large pool, but it was just about the most visually phenomenal phantasmagoria ever produced. How it was achieved boggles the mind. When the camera shoots down and shows the swimmers' kaleidoscopic patterns, it was truly remarkable, and when the overhead lights go off and the pool lights underneath go on we get this languid shimmering, silhouetted spectacle that was just beyond ethereal. The last number, "Shanghai Lil," has producer/director Cagney forced to dance when the lead performer is found drunk. This was Hollywood encouraging America to pull itself out of the depression and have faith in Roosevelt's New Deal. It was invigorating to say the least!! We need something like this now!!  James Cagney was just a joy, so energetic and fun. His dancing always impressed me.  He had a very individualistic style. I think I prefer his solo style to Fred Astaire's, and that's saying a lot, but Astaire's paired routines with Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth were the best. Joan Blondell had a field day with physical comedy. Her timing was impeccable. This film is so progressive in thought that it's hard to believe Cagney later became a Republican.  The three songs are easy to like. Very old style 1930s numbers indeed they are, but they're extremely catchy, transformed into little jewels of the era by Busby Berkeley's visual panache. Today's Hollywood may have CG dinosaurs, but they don't make 'em like this anymore.

While "42nd Street" and "Gold Diggers of 1933" had very strong story lines, the follow-up with Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, "Footlight Parade", did not, presenting more of a revue like structure to this entertaining account of the creation of prologues to big movie events, traveling around New York City from theater to theater to put on a quick show. James Cagney puts aside his machine gun and grapefruit to play director and hoofer, showing another side to his many talents in the somewhat racist "Shanghai Lil" production number where Ruby Keeler replaces "R's" with "L's". While this number is artistically excellent, it is comparable to all of the blackface numbers utilized in minstrel and vaudeville show as well as many movies who would continue to have Caucasians playing non-whites in both singing and non-singing roles throughout the golden age of movies.Much better artistically and definitely more timeless is the delightful "By a Waterfall", the elaborate, rather lengthy production number that is Busby Berkley's follow-up to his 1932 Sam Goldwyn film "The Kid From Spain" which opened with a similar water musical number. Ruby's also in this with her regular partner Dick Powell. The number is an absolute delight from start to finish. She puts on a cat suit and sings "Sittin' on a Backyard Fence", a delightful mini-number where little Billy Barty plays a mouse. As a sequel to "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" from "42nd Street", "Honeymoon Hotel" is perfectly witty as relatives invade an eloping couple and house detectives remind them that "You're in Jersey City, and not in Hollywood". Once again, Barty (who also had a fun little cameo in "Gold Diggers of 1933") appears, playing Keeler's baby brother who is accidentally "left behind".What exists of a story surrounds Cagney's battles with ex-wife Renee Whitney while his assistant Joan Blondell pines for him. Warner Brothers contract players Frank McHugh, Ruth Donnelly, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert and Claire Dodd also add amusing moments to the proceedings. Definitely one of the musicals that woke up to the censors for what they believed to be needed changes in movie good taste, "Footlight Parade" remains an easy on the eye treat that isn't going to tax your brain, but will provide some very interesting insight to the styles of entertainment that the country was enjoying during the early years of Roosevelt's presidency as the country struggled to move out of the depression. There's no depression here, however, so just enjoy all the silliness and the best of what Busby Berkley could do.

Why it's dumb: First off, for the first half of this musical there are really no production numbers. Second, the sets for the musical numbers in the second half could not have been built on a movie theater stage, and not overnight...which is what the plot was about. Third, both in terms of singing and dancing (at least in this film), Ruby Keeler could do neither.And yet, it works! And here's why it works: First, James Cagney in a refreshing non-gangster role. Second, Joan Blondell in a very appealing role as secretary/love interest. Third, Frank McHugh in what seemed at first to be poor casting turns in a very entertaining performance as a dance director. Fourth, some nice humor by Hugh Herbert. But most importantly, a nice plot even with its holes; some musicals are high on musical numbers, this one is almost the reverse.

"Footlight Parade" is the best of the backstage musicals. The grand finale of this 1933 film -- three unbelievable Busby Berkeley productions -- is the most entertaining 30 minutes of film ever produced. The songs are so good, the productions so lavish, and performances so full of heart, I can watch the finale over and over. Ruby Keeler plays so well to the camera in all three of these very different story-songs. "Honeymoon Hotel" is the first number, it's adorable. The second number, "By A Waterfall," is a climax before the climax, when the overhead camera captures hundreds of swimming of girls in amazing synchronized swimming to a beautiful tune. The music is wonderfully arranged and catchy, all three, but none more so than the grand finale, "Shanghai Lil." James Cagney, the producer of this show upon which so much depends, must replace the leading man at the last minute and of course puts it over in style. "Shanghai Lil" starts out in a wonderfully grimy bar, with opium and prostitutes, where AWOL sailor Cagney is looking high and low of his Shanghai Lil to that great melody. All three tunes have been going around in my mind constantly for a few months, that's entertainment.