This was the last released of 5 films currently included in a Busby Berkeley films collection, consisting of Warners films released between 1933-35. So far, I've only seen "Dames", along with this one. "Dames" clearly was more entertaining than this one, to me. Some previous reviewers have come to a similar conclusion comparing this film to others in the series. The first approximately hour, before the 2 big musical production numbers is especially weak in entertainment value. Both films save the 2 big productions until the last part of the film. Thus, a boring or too inane screen play will make you want to hurry out of the theater before the best parts. In Berkeley's later 3 films costarring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, one of the big production numbers occurred midway in the film, and there were often smaller musical numbers early on. I consider that a better, and safer, format.
This film contains some commonalities and differences from the other 4 films in this series. Although Busby was the chief choreographer for all, each of these films had a different director. This is the only one of the 5 in which Busby was also the overall director. All featured Dick Powell as the male lead or co-lead and main male soloist, and all were scored by the composer-lyricist team of Harry Warren and Al Dubin. This film includes one of their best remembered songs : "The Lullaby of Broadway", used as the featured song in one of the big production numbers. However, it's not a love song. "Dames" includes another of their best remembered: "I Only Have Eyes For You", which was used as a featured love song in an informal setting, as well as in one of the later big productions. This is the only one of the 5 that was released after the Hays commission censorship fully kicked in, around mid-'34. It's also the only one that lacks Ruby Keeler as Powell's ingénue musical girlfriend. It also lacks the charismatic Joan Blondell, who was an important character in several others of the series(and would soon marry Dick Powell). It also lacks Ginger Rogers, who was another significant character in several of these films. In their places , we have only Gloria Stewart. Gloria developed many talents over the years. However, she had no appreciable singing or dancing talent at this time, and appears to have little chemistry with Dick Powell. Thus, she comes across as just another pretty face, among many in this film, whom Powell happens to single out as his girlfriend. Gloria's last film role, some 60 years later, is the one present audiences most remember: as 100 year-old Rose, in "Titanic". Although Gloria lived to be 100, she was actually 86 when this role was shot.
Middle-aged Hugh Herbert returned from several other films in this series to reprise his Ed Wynn-like humor. However, in place of Fred Mertz-like Guy Kibbee, as another older male comedic character, we have the quite different Adolphe Menjou, who enjoys shouting at people. He could be an effective part of the comedy, as in the later "You Were Never Lovelier". However, here, both he and Alice Brady, as Gloria's super-rich mother, with her periodic hysterics over her finances or daughter's romantic choices, often come across as more irritating than funny.
The two main musical productions consist of 1)many chorus girls supposedly each playing or cavorting around an identical piano, or 2)many male and female dancers dancing in unison, emphasizing the rhythmic sound of their feet. To me, these were far less interesting than the multiple kaleidoscopic patterns formed by the chorus girls, often seen in overhead projections, and other unusual features of the productions in "Dames", and some of the other films in this series. However, the segment with the apparently undulating 2 lines of pianos is an impressive accomplishment. As usual, Busby made the most of sharply contrasting black and white or neon in his musical productions. He would eventually get a chance to choreograph in color, albeit not until his career was in steep decline. "The Gang's All Here", with Carmen Miranda, is probably his first choreography in color. It certainly most clearly bears the stamp of classic '30s Warners Busby, among the half dozen Busby-choreographed color films I've seen. In the early '50s, he did the choreography for Esther Williams' "Million Dollar Mermaid" water ballets, having previously choreographed a water ballet in "Footlight Parade": part of the present film series. During this period, he also did the choreography for several of Jane Powell's musical comedies. Then, after a decade of no film credits, his last credited choreography was for the Doris Day-starring "Billy Rose's Jumbo": a most underrated musical comedy.
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