Footlight Parade (1933)
(Lloyd Bacon, US 1933, 104 min., 35mm)
Reunited with stars Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, Footlight Parade is Busby Berkeley’s third musical at Warner Bros., following 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933. It also features James Cagney in his first musical role following a string of parts as gangsters and hard men. He yearned to go back to his vaudeville roots and campaigned for the lead in this film. Here he plays Chester Kent (loosely based on impresario Chester Hale) who revives his directing career by moving from musicals to “prologues” — short live stage productions presented as part of the cinema experience. With a big contract pending, Kent must come up with three new ideas without having them stolen, all the while falling in love with his secretary, Nan (Joan Blondell). This pre-Code spectacular was naughty by 1930s standards, but is still as entertaining as ever.
Introduction and post-screening discussion with Michael Lasser.