The Hollywood Revue of 1929

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The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
Directed by Charles Reisner
Produced by Irving Thalberg
Harry Rapf
Starring Conrad Nagel
Jack Benny
Joan Crawford
Marion Davies
Anita Page
Marie Dressler
William Haines
Music by David Snell
Raymond Klages
Jesse Greer
Martin Broones
Cinematography John Arnold
Max Fabian, Irving G. Reis
John M. Nickolaus
Editing by William S. Gray
Cameron K. Wood
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) November 23, 1929
Running time 116 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
IMDb profile

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is an American musical film/comedy motion picture released in 1929, and one of the earliest ventures into the talkie format. Directed by Charles Riesner for MGM (it was the company's second musical), the film brought together some of MGM's most popular performers a lavish two-hour revue with Technicolor sequences hosted by Jack Benny.

Contents

Poster for the film.
Poster for the film.

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."[citation needed]). Other segments feature Lionel Barrymore, Marion Davies, John Gilbert, Buster Keaton, Marie Dressler, Anita Page and Norma Shearer. Highlights of the film are musical performances (including the debut of Singing 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 a team of inept magicians. The only major MGM 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).

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

  • The film is often cited (such as on the DVD release of the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain) as the film that led to the downfall of Gilbert's career. Gilbert, a popular silent film actor (best known for his work opposite Garbo),possessed a speaking voice that, although pleasant, did not match his on-screen image, as indicated in his performance of a scene from Romeo and Juliet during Hollywood Revue of 1929.
  • The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is notable for a glimpse at the early careers of some of the major figures of Hollywood's Golden Age. The film was popular with audiences and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

The circulating print of the film runs as follows:

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.

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

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