Nominated for Best Picture of 1929 (it didn't win).
MGM trots out almost all of its stars to show off how they sound in one of its first talking films. It's basically one act after another. They had some obvious problems with the sound--the lion roaring at the beginning sounds really bad and the sound fades in and out occasionally.
The high lights (and low lights) include: Jack Benny and Conrad Nagel as the MCs and giving us some very bad and (then topical) comedy; Nagel singing (quite well); a young Joan Crawford singing and dancing very badly; William Haines (looking fat and old) doing a VERY bad comedy skit with Benny; Bessie Love being tossed around (literally) by 12 guys; Marie Dressler singing (sort of); Laurel & Hardy do an OK routine; Marion Davies looking miserable and dancing; the fun little novelty tune "Lon Chaney Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out" with (I believe) a silent appearance by Lon himself (he died in 1930); Norma Shearer and John Gilbert in (faded) color doing the balcony scene from "Romeo & Juliet" (Gilbert's voice is hysterically bad and they do a second version of it with "updated" dialogue) and the big finale where everybody pops up belting out "Singin' in the Rain".
Sounds great but it's a real trial to sit through. All the dancing is great but it gets monotonous real quickly; the comedy is lousy; the color faded and there are some truly rotten acts. Even if you're a film buff (like me) it's rough going. Still this movie, as a historical document, is invaluable. It's entertainment value is just not as good as you might wish.
So, proceed at your own risk.
Originally this film was 2 hours and 10 minutes. All existing prints are just under 2 hours thank goodness!
MGM trots out almost all of its stars to show off how they sound in one of its first talking films. It's basically one act after another. They had some obvious problems with the sound--the lion roaring at the beginning sounds really bad and the sound fades in and out occasionally.
The high lights (and low lights) include: Jack Benny and Conrad Nagel as the MCs and giving us some very bad and (then topical) comedy; Nagel singing (quite well); a young Joan Crawford singing and dancing very badly; William Haines (looking fat and old) doing a VERY bad comedy skit with Benny; Bessie Love being tossed around (literally) by 12 guys; Marie Dressler singing (sort of); Laurel & Hardy do an OK routine; Marion Davies looking miserable and dancing; the fun little novelty tune "Lon Chaney Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out" with (I believe) a silent appearance by Lon himself (he died in 1930); Norma Shearer and John Gilbert in (faded) color doing the balcony scene from "Romeo & Juliet" (Gilbert's voice is hysterically bad and they do a second version of it with "updated" dialogue) and the big finale where everybody pops up belting out "Singin' in the Rain".
Sounds great but it's a real trial to sit through. All the dancing is great but it gets monotonous real quickly; the comedy is lousy; the color faded and there are some truly rotten acts. Even if you're a film buff (like me) it's rough going. Still this movie, as a historical document, is invaluable. It's entertainment value is just not as good as you might wish.
So, proceed at your own risk.
Originally this film was 2 hours and 10 minutes. All existing prints are just under 2 hours thank goodness!