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Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Instant Favorite.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A lot of fun.

The early all star musicals were designed to show audiences that even the most dramatic of stars could sparkle and captivate with their singing and dancing talent and also was a way to introduce new talent to an unknowing public ("if you like Irene Bordoni's song in "Show of Shows", you will just love her in her new movie "Paris"). They also served as screen tests where silent favourites were thrust in front of the cameras, often with no guidance or help (Clara Bow, who was a real hit in "Paramount on Parade" had to arrange her own hair), then struggled to entertain or wisecrack. Every studio had one in the pipeline, even lowly little Pathe, but they were the first type of musicals to find disfavour with the public. With the success of "The Hollywood Revue of 1929" Warner Bros. decided it, too, must have an all star revue but of the initial lineup only John Barrymore ended up in the movie. Al Jolson was a conspicuous no show, having demanded too much money (besides his last movie "Say It With Songs" was a huge flop). Master of Ceremonies was Frank Fay (at the time married to Barbara Stanwyck) a huge name in vaudeville but in movies his arrogance shone through. There is a running gag about him trying to convince the studio that he can sing - and three quarters of the way through he gets his chance but he has now picked up a side kick in Sid Silvers who does get to do an imitation of Al Jolson and a really awful song about bad breath (I'm not joking) called "If Your Best Friend Won't Tell You".Why, in my opinion, this revue fell flat, as opposed to "Paramount on Parade". Paramount knew the value of it's stars and each of it's numbers had the focus directed on one person (Clara Bow, Helen Kane, Nancy Carroll). "Show of Shows" seemed just a jumble of sketches designed to put as many of it's stars in as the stage would allow. That's why my favourite was Winnie Lightner. She had been a huge hit in "Gold Diggers of Broadway" and at the time probably seemed Warner's best bet for stardom (of course musicals were never going to go out of fashion were they?). She belted her way through "Pingo Pongo" and whether you liked that style or not she carried you through this zany song about cannibals, she looked like she was enjoying herself and actually loved to sing. She was back for another number, a funny parody of "Singin' in the Rain" called "Singin' in the Bathtub", performed in an over-sized bathroom with a male chorus dressed in old fashioned women's bathers. John Barrymore was also a standout and gave audiences a thrill with his Duke of Gloucester soliloquy from "Henry VI" and also a chance to see "the greatest Hamlet of his generation".A most bizarre opening - a nobleman is beheaded while a peasant shouts "On With the Show of Shows" - there follows an amazing precision military formation dance headed by Monte Blue. Next is the amusing "What Became of the Flora Dora Boys" (Myrna Loy, Sally O'Neil are among the girls , the boys are old comedians including Ben Turpin) which would have you believe that while the girls stayed young and beautiful, the boys hit hard times. There was a pirate number where Ted Lewis jazzed the blues away (was he really a popular band leader !!!) Richard Barthelemess introduced "Sisters" in which pairs of famous sisters (there were a few ring ins including Harriette Lake, soon to be Ann Sothern)did little dances in national costumes. I thought the problem with these numbers was even though the stars were introduced there was no individualizing - and it was often hard to pick out who was who. Just when you despaired, along came Rin Tin Tin who introduced "Li Po Li". It is the only Technicolor segment that has survived and it was dazzling - the turquoises, golds and reds were so sharp and striking. Myrna Loy is the Oriental dancing girl and Nick Lucas is the singer, there is a gigantic genie and chorus girls pop out of huge jars. It is all kitsch but wonderful.Irene Bordoni was just a bit too "different" - she sang sensuously "Just an Hour With You" but she was photographed too unflatteringly. Bea Lillie, to me, looked as though she could have been witty and funny in a modern way, was only given a few lines. Another skit in the "different" category - former middleweight fighter Georges Carpentier puts chorus girls through their exercising paces, finishing up climbing ladders where they do their formations on wall niches. The heavily promoted song of the show is "Lady Luck" and the finale, while long, is spectacular. Girls are revealed as human chandeliers as Alexander Gray tries to give the song ("don't give my hopes the razz") a touch of class. Then there come out every conceivable variety act - the floppy girl, the boy who can somersault one way and land the other and beautiful Armida who runs down the steps for a cute hip swinging dance."The Advent of a New Event in Pictures" was the slogan Warners used and at $800,000 it was their most expensive film (excepting "Noah's Ark"). It had everything, even a bathtub, but originality and proved that there was no place for revues as films it they didn't have style and class.

It's a mixed bag of songs, sketches, dramatic skits and gags for this early sound review. Warner Brothers went out of their way to try and out-do MGM's "Hollywood Revue", and in some aspects, they did, skewering their friendly rival's all-star early sound musical by giving it a good-hearted goose. This is an important look at Hollywood's transition from the silent era to sound, and practically every contract player takes part. The comedy skits seem extremely dated, and the photography can be a bit static, but overall, it's fun.While "Hollywood Revue" took the balcony sequence from "Romeo and Juliet", "Show of Shows" gave John Barrymore's soliloquy from "Richard III" with lavish results. A musical number entitled "Singin' in the Bathtub" takes Broadway's Winnie Lightner and gets a dig in at "Singin' in the Rain" from MGM with her hysterical delivery of the lyric, "Never Take a Shower. It's an awful pain. Singin' in the shower's like singin' in the Rain!". The over-sized bathtub and hysterically clad chorus is a sight to behold.A lavish final makes up for some of the precision numbers (marching chorus girls in a drill routine is really static), but the Myrna Loy number, "Nip-O-Li" will raise eyebrows with its stereotyping of the Asian culture. At least it gets two-strip Technicolor photography to give its audience a "wow!" moment. If you can go into this with a view of Hollywood history, you can get past the slow points, dated comedy and often offensive stereotypes.

Although dismal as cinema (static wide-angle camera records acts performed on a large theatre stage) it is great notstalgia to see (in a few rare close-ups) stars of the 20's, many of whom were yet to become famous. Particularly, as Master of Ceremonies, Frank Fay, who, 15 years later in 1944, would be cast on Broadway in a role which had already been offered to (and turned down by) 4 famous stars: Harold Lloyd, Edward Everett Horton, Robert Benchley, and Jack Haley. Frank Fay then originated in his greatest role the character Elwood P. Dowd in the Mary Chase play "Harvey" (the name of his imaginary 6-foot-tall rabbit friend). When the producers later sent Fay to take the National Touring Company cast on the road, the play then continued on Broadway with the remaining cast, but with role of Elwood P. Dowd played by James Stewart, who had just finished his movie characterization of George Bailey (It's Wonderful Life). Another road show cast I saw in 1947 at San Francisco's Geary Theatre starred Joe E. Brown, who would recommend Stewart for the movie version.

THE SHOW OF SHOWS (Warner Brothers, 1929), directed by John G. Adolfi, originally presented in early two-strip Technicolor, became Warner Brothers' answer to MGM's earlier all-star musical, "The Hollywood Revue of 1929," which brings almost all of its contract players, former stars of the silent screen, and recent recruits from Broadway, to show off their musical talents, or their lack of. The master of ceremonies in this vaudeville-type production is Frank Fay, who spends the first half of this revue trying to have the spotlight all to himself and to sing a song or two, even a few times trying to sing "Dear Little Pup" to his dogie, but is always interrupted by comedy acts or singers who feel they could do better, and they usually can. For a musical revue that goes on for almost two hours, one can only say that this is a mixed bag of production numbers that either entertains or doesn't. What can be said about "The Show of Shows" when seeing it today is that it plays to 1929 audiences, in other words, there are many performers in this revue who appear without any introduction, such as the legendary John Barrymore (who still needs no introduction in my book), Monte Blue leading a West Point military march, or the then popular French prizefighter, Georges Carpentier, singing "If I Could Learn to Love" in front of a curtain backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, accompanied by Patsy Ruth Miller and Alice White, among others, assuming that viewers of 1929 watching this review automatically know who these people are, but for the first-time viewer, this individual will start asking himself, "Who is that?" Nostalgic buffs and star searchers can otherwise sit back and enjoy spotting some of their favorite movie stars then just starting out in the business, including the better-known faces of Myrna Loy, Loretta Young, Harriette Lake (who became Ann Sothern) and/or Douglas Fairbanks Jr. In brief, THE SHOW OF SHOWS musical program features: PROLOGUE UNIQUE: Hobart Bosworth as an executioner and HB Warner as the victim in a brief skit set during the French Revolution; THE MILITARY PARADE: lead by Monte Blue and marching and drum playing West Point cadets; FLORADORA GIRLS: Myrna Loy, Marian Nixon, Ben Turpin, Lupino Lane, and many others in 1890s costumes; THE PIRATE NUMBER: featuring Ted Lewis with motion picture pirates including Noah Beery, Tully Marshall, etc.; EIFFEL TOWER: Georges Carpentier; RECITATIONS: Beatrice Lillie, Louise Fazenda, Lloyd Hamilton and Frank Fay, later going into their song, "Your Mother and Mine"; EIGHT SISTER ACT: Hosted by Richard Barthelmess, followed by sisters including Dolores and Helene Costello singing "Meet My Sister," along with Loretta Young and Sally Blane, Sally O'Neil and Molly O'Day, Alice and Marceline Day; Marion Byron and Harriett Lake; and others. Following this number comes a title card that reads INTERMISSION: TEN MINUTES (which is usually eliminated from most TV prints); SINGING IN THE BATHTUB: Winnie Lightner, which concludes with Lightner and Bull Montana singing "You Were Meant for Me"; IRENE BORDONI HERSELF: Bordoni singing "Just an Hour of Love"; Chinese FANTASY: Introduced by Rin-Tin Tin; with Nick Lucas singing "Li-Po-Li" and Myrna Loy dancing (this number now can be seen in its restored two-strip Technicolor); FAY AND SILVERS: Amusing skit with Sid Silvers stepping in and auditioning for a solo spot, showing Frank Fay his own imitation of Al Jolson by singing "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody"; BICYCLE BUILT FOR TWO: Chester Conklin, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Chester Morris; Gertrude Olmstead, Sally Eilers, among others; BLACK AND WHITE: Introduced by Sid Silvers, danced by chorus girls dressed up in black and white dresses; YOUR LOVE IS ALL THAT I CRAVE: Sung by Frank Fay (he finally got to do his solo); KING RICHARD III: Introduced and recited by John Barrymore; Mexican MOONSHINE: Comedy sketch with Monte Blue as a condemned man, and Frank Fay as his executioner, accompanied by Lloyd Hamilton, Albert Gran and others as soldiers; LADY LUCK FINALE: Sung by Alexander Gray with Betty Compson briefly seen as Lady Luck; and STARS: with the entire cast appearing with their heads poked through holes in canvas singing "Lady Luck", especially John Barrymore making facial gestures while he pretends to be singing along with the others.THE SHOW OF SHOWS is fortunate to have survived almost intact after all these years, considering how many movies of 1929 are no longer available for viewing. The most memorable performer besides John Barrymore (whom I wished could have been the master of ceremonies instead of Fay), is Winnie Lightner, whose energetic and unique comedic style, in the persona of of future vibrant singers as Martha Raye or Betty Hutton combined, who not only sings in the bathtub, but lightens up the rough spots by singing "Ping Pongo," And then there's Nick Lucas singing "Lady Luck" and "That's the Only Song I Know" with his guitar.A predecessor to the once popular fad of TV variety shows of the 1950s and '60s, THE SHOW OF SHOWS which is one from the time capsule, is worthy entertainment that should be viewed at least once, and to get the feel of the bygone days of vaudeville, here captured on film Hollywood style. WPHL, Channel 17, in Philadelphia, was one of the very few known commercial television stations to frequently play THE SHOW OF SHOWS in the early 1970s (final air date: December 31, 1974). In later years when brought over on cable, it was shown on Turner Network Television (TNT) from 1988 to 1993, and later on Turner Classic Movies (more frequently prior to 1997). (***)