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Footlight Parade Movie Review

Footlight Parade is a 1933 Pre-Code musical film directed by Busby Berkeley and Lloyd Bacon and starring James Cagney and Joan Blondell. It’s a true spectacle of a movie.

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“I’d rather you sue me than marry me“

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Chester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival’s spy to produce spectacular live “prologues” for movie houses. This movie was a big hit when it was released and it’s still respected for its musical numbers and rightfully so. It is by far one of the most spectacular musicals ever committed to the big screen.

Let’s talk about those last three musical numbers that are the raison d’être for this entire film. Shanghai Lil is the weakest of the three numbers. Cagney’s dancing was beautiful to witness for sure and the Chinese setting was unique for the time, but the number simply wasn’t as memorable as the other two songs.

Honeymoon Hotel is one of the most sexually suggestive numbers from the era as it is all about this couple who agree to wed only to have sex. They go to this hotel where everybody is trying to stop them from engaging in the activity. This number is very fun and catchy, but it benefits from particularly effective edgy humor throughout.

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But the one scene that made this movie a must see for any musical and/or cinema buff is the By a Waterfall number. It was situated in the middle of the three numbers at the end and it should have closed the movie honestly as it was easily the greatest one. It consists of hundreds of female professional dancers who swim and dive in a rhythmical fashion. The water fountain is iconic, but my favorite moment came when the girls formed a snake formation while swimming. This number was so shockingly amazing that I could not believe what I was seeing. Not only has it aged flawlessly, but it remains the most ambitious dance sequence ever put on film.

Footlight Parade truly is one of the most ambitious undertakings from Hollywood of the time. The production design is staggering as those three numbers contain numerous sets, a huge number of actors and dancers involved and simply miraculous choreography. This is not Busby Berkeley’s greatest picture, but it might be his best in terms of pure choreography. These songs are reasonably diverting, but it is the dancing that elevated these numbers to a classic status.

The costumes are terrific too and so is the editing, directing and acting. This is one of only a few James Cagney musical performances and it’s a shame that he did not get to star in more of these movies as his tap dancing is fabulous. He was a true star here, though the character himself wasn’t all that likable in my opinion. Joan Blondell is the only one who managed to rival him here as she was both radiant in personality and fantastic in her dance numbers. Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell were the less memorable couple here, but even these two got a couple of fine moments here and there.

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So if Footlight Parade is this iconic in its dancing, then why is it for me a four-star movie? The reason lies in its first half. Ironically, the movie itself ended up being like the story that it tells – it is all about the making of these numbers and the build up before it. That first half where we waited for those numbers was, thus, far from engaging. It was sluggish, repetitious in its examination of work dynamics and simply not particularly interesting. The story is so slim here that it impacted what otherwise would have been an instant classic, though some of the humorous dialogue was quite strong.