Footlight Parade (Warner Bros.) (1933)

— Publicity—Advance your Ist story Strand’s Next Film ““Footlight Parade’ is 3rd Big Musical With a cast headed by a dozen popular screen favorites and including 250 of the most beautiful girls in the world, ‘‘ Footlight Parade,’’ Warner Bros. gigantic musical successor to 42nd Street’’ and ‘‘Gold Diggers of 1933,’’ will arrive on the screen OL there a eee Theatre next This new and mammoth spectacle is said to far surpass its predecessors in the originality and beauty of its ensembles, in its hilarious comedy drama plot, its songs and its romantie love interest. The screen play by Manuel Seff and James Seymour is a story of back stage life, but entirely different from anything before sereened. It deals with a young musieal comedy director who loses his job when talking picures supplant musieals on the stage and turns to making prologues for motion picture theatres on a wholesale scale. There is a definite and well knit plot with riotously funny situations and sparkling comedy. Two teams of players furnish the love interest played by James Cagney and Joan Blondell and Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell with Claire Dodd and Renee Whitney as the gold digging, dangerous damsels. A quartet of famous comedians furnish a large part of the hilarity, They are Frank McHugh as the dance director, Guy Kibbee, the theatrical magnate, Ruth Donnelly as his wife and Hugh Herbert the company’s milksop censor. Others in the east include such noted players as Gordon Westcott, Arthur Hohl, Philin Faversham, Barbara Roezis, Juliet Ware, Paul Pircasi, Herman Bing, Charles Wilson and William Granger. Two of the big surprises in this vast production are the singing and daneing of Cagney, who really started his stage career as a hoofer. Four gigantic musical numbers which he states surpass anything he has yet done are staged by Busby Berkeley who created and staged the ensembles for both ‘‘42nd Street’’ and Gold Diggers of 1933.’’ They include a most unique cat number in which scores of beautiful girls and chorus men dressed in feline costumes frolic in the moonlight and make love on the backyard fence. The scene by a waterfall is a glorified spectacle in which more than a hundred swimming girls take part. This igs one of the most mammoth sets ever constructed, inelud scenes shot from eneath the water, massive revoling fountain upn which the girls Hootie le? anid JOAN BLONDELL ‘‘Shanghai Lil’? Cut No. 2 numbers are Cuti5e Mati5e equally unique and effective. The 250 girls in these various numbers were selected by Berkeley from thousands of candidates both for their beauty and their talent in singing, dancing and swimming. Never has there been such lilting music and catchy songs as in the new musical. The airs were written by two teams of ace song writers. Warren and Dubin wrote the song hits, ‘‘Honeymoon Hotel’’ and ‘‘Shanghai Lil’’, while Fain and Kahal wrote ‘‘By a _ Waterfall,’’ ‘<Sittin on a Backyard Fence’’ and ‘Ah, the Moon is Here.’’ Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell with other songsters give these melodies an inimitable touch. Lloyd Bacon, who directed ‘‘42nd Street’? and many other earlier musieals is responsible for weaving the various angles of the picture into a well knit entity, making of ‘‘Footlight Parade’’ one: of the greatest, if not the greatest show ever staged. Pane Fighteen RN ae cles ing besides a gi-. gantic pool with: ambol elad only’ n golden tresses.) Che ‘* Honeymoon GIRLS GALORE IN “FOOTLIGHT PARADE” A bevy of beautiful girls, and an all-star cast, headed by Jimmy Cagney, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, and Joan Blondell, glimpses of the your 2nd story Famous Screen Stars Head Large Cast in “‘Footlight Parade’’ Twelve of MHollywood’s brilliant stars head the tremendous east of noted players who appear in the Warner Bros. mammoth spectacle, ‘‘ Footlight Parade,’’ which comes to the ES ee Wheatre “On. iss en The two principals are James Cag ney and Joan Blondell who played together on the stage and rose to stardom side by side on the screen, play. ing together in ‘‘Sinner’s Holiday,’’ ‘*Blonde Crazy’’ and ‘‘The Crowd. Roars’’ before they began to star: separately. And now they are united: again in ‘‘Footlight Parade’’ as one of the greatest teams of wise-cracking, fast-action players that ever together appeared on the screen. Then there is that wholesome singing, dancing team of Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell who have made three distinctive hits in musical spectacles with ‘‘42nd Street,’’ ‘‘Gold Diggers of 1933’? and the eurrent production. The two make so perfect a team as screen lovers that Warner Bros.. plan to continue them also in such roles in non-musical pictures. Such noted comedians as Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Ruth Donnelly and Hugh Herbert supply the comedy in the hilariously funny situations in ‘“Footlight Parade.’’ Claire Dodd as the vamp, Gordon Westcott and Arthur Hohl ag the two villians with Philip Faversham comprise another quartet of recognized players. Other important roles are enacted by ‘Renee Whitney, Barbara Rogers, Juliet Ware, Paul Poreasi, Herman Bing, Charles Wilson and William Granger. In addition to this imposing cast there are two hundred and fifty of Hollywood’s most beautiful and talented singing and dancing girls in make “Footlight Parade” a_ picture always to be remembered. splendors awaiting you in this latest Warner Bros. masterpiece coming ee Seid aR a Matt Theatre. Out No. 81 Out60c Mat 20c There has been much comment on the mammoth choruses and surprise! the new era of musicals for the screen, ensembles. The picture was directed by Lloyd Bacon who also directed ‘‘42nd Street’’ while the ensembles were created and staged by Busby Berkeley. The screen play by Manuel Seff and James Seymour is a well knit comedy with romantic love interest as well as hilarious situations, fast action and sparkling comedy. Lilting songs that everyone will be humming and which were written by two teams of song writers, Harry Warren and Al Dubin, and Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal, add greatly to the entertainment furnished by the mammoth musical and daneing spectacles. your 3rd story ““Footlight Parade’’ Producers Rated as Ziegfelds of Screen With the advent of the new musieal eycle on the screen, Warner Bros., the foremost producers of such shows of which ‘‘Footlight Parade,’’ which Open at eine sc. eae Theatre on Pee Metis a eae , is an outstanding example, may well be termed the ‘<Ziegfelds’’ of the motion picture world. Certainly no other producer has been able to turn out any musieal picture that can compare with ‘¢42nd Street’’, or ‘‘Gold Diggers Of 1933." ” Warner Bros. alone seem to have the knack of turning out tremendous screen musical hits with great numbers of beautiful girls, unique and mammoth ensembles, and unusually catchy songs, plus _ strong. story backgrounds. The three musicals so far produced have surpassed the most magnificent and spectacular settings ever seen in Ziegfeld Follies. ushered in with ‘‘42nd Street’’ and given further impetus. with ‘‘Gold Diggers of 1933.’’ Now with ‘‘ Footlight Parade’’ coming to a_ local theatre, no one can doubt that the new era is on — and flourishing. “<42nd Street’’ released during the bank holidays did a wonderful busi ness. ‘‘Gold Diggers’’ released during the summer months smashed all ree ords. And now with the N.R.A. get ting people back to work — with money to spend — hungry for a good movie, ‘‘Footlight Parade’’ is expee ted to play to more people than any picture released in years. Revived interest in musicals is in part due to better knit and more defined plots than formerly and to the uniqueness and the magnificent scale of the ensembles and dance numbers, ‘‘Footlight Parade’’ is said to have not only a strong comedy drama plot with hilarious situations. fast moving action and sparkling dialogue, but it surpasses its predeces sors in the magnitude of its numbers and the beauty and originality of their settings. The cast, which is all star, is larger and more impressive, and more beautiful girls are used in the various scenes. More than 250 of the world’s prettiest girls are seen in the pro duction in sensational dance creations. These ensembles were all created and staged by Busby Berkeley who acted in a similar capacity in the two predecessors to ‘‘Footlight Parade.’’ The cast headed by James Cagney and Joan Blondell includes such popular screen favorites as Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Ruth Donnelly. Hugh Herbert, Claire Dodd, Gordon Westeott, Arthur Hohl and Philip Faversham. Lloyd Bacon, who handled ‘‘42nd Street’’, directed the picture from a screen play by Manuel Seff and James Seymour, The teams of Harry Warren, Al Dubin and Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain wrote the music. Here are some your 4th story 72,000 Pearls Dress 100 Sea Nymphs in “‘Footlight Parade’ Seventy-two thousand pearls, graduated in size from a pea to a walnut, were used to dress one hundred beautiful girls in a single number of ‘‘Pootlight Parade,’’?’ the Warner Bros. lavish new musical picture which comes to the hieatresgn: src ee te oe A water scene, in which camera shots actually were taken ten feet under the surface, shows the hundred sea, nymphs, daughters of Neptune, in luxurious, although briny, surroundings. Costumes, of course, had to be waterproof, and studio designers, with the co-operation of Dance Director Busby Berkeley, conceived the plan of clothing the girls only in bands of golden rubber, moldded to their figures, and outlined with pearls. Five hundred gross of _ pearls proved to be the number required, while three hundred yards of net and a similar amount of the golden material ‘‘barely’’ covered the hundred beauties The water nymph scene is one of the beautiful and unique numbers of ‘“Pootlight Parade’’, a picture which carries a well-knit comedy drama plot in addition to its music and enensembles. Two hundred and fifty girls appear in the various numbers which were created by Busby Berkeley. There is an all star cast headed by ames Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd, George Westcott and Arthur Hohl. Lloyd Bacon directed the picture from a screen play by Manuel Seff and James Seymour.