Director:
Lloyd BaconCámara:
George BarnesReparto:
James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Ruth Donnelly, Hugh Herbert, Claire Dodd, Gordon Westcott, Arthur Hohl (más)Streaming (1)
Sinopsis(1)
Chester Kent está agotado y acorralado, se le han acabado las ideas y tiene solo unos días para preparar tres musicales para un productor de Hollywood. Para empeorar la situación tiene un espía que le entrega sus nuevas ideas a sus rivales. Su secretaria, Nan Prescott, está enamorada de él y junto con el resto de su leal equipo le ayudarán a salir adelante. (Filmin)
(más)Reseñas (2)
When he didn’t have a tommy gun at hand, James Cagney used his mouth to fire off words at a machine-gun rate. As a producer with an explosive disposition and the smile of an innocent, he fires in all directions during the first hour without a break. Because his battlefield is a film made before the introduction of the Production Code and his partner is the in no way bashful Joan Blondell (see her promotional photos from the given period), the sensual innuendos in the scenes with screwball editing are like bacteria in a petri dish. Though it’s categorised somewhere among musicals and was clearly inspired by stage musicals – including the transitions between scenes, which are reminiscent of a curtain opening, including Cagney addressing his stable as if he’s speaking to the audience – Footlight Parade offers up the real performance during the last forty minutes, specifically at the moment when the waiting for the transformation of the working relationship into a personal relationship burns itself out in the narrative. (But everything happens in such a hurry that there is no time to think about it anyway.) Anyone expecting spectacular musical numbers cannot be disappointed by the Berkeley-esque footwork. The lyrics of the songs are not nearly as important as the choreography, eliciting well-deserved superlatives from our speechless mouths even during a barroom brawl. Though it breaks down into two films, the second of which is three separate numbers, this all-talkie show-business comedy is consistently entertaining and makes what was at the time of its creation a valuable, albeit ultimately false, statement: sound films are not a threat to your business. 75%
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The movie "42nd Street" actually caught my attention, but compared to "Footlight Parade," it's more like a demo. It's like a preparation for this longer and ultimately more interesting piece. Same director, just more singing scenes, continues with great visuals and excellent voice acting, but there's even better humor, a better story, and of course, excellent music added to it. This is truly a great start to the golden age of musicals.
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