Throughout this seemingly never-ending extravaganza of long-forgotten faces and bodies, I tried to imagine myself, sitting in one of those fabulous movie palaces in 1929 and experiencing this avalanche of marquee names.
It wasn't easy and it begins like a military army drill with dozens of female dancers all dolled up in uniform, tapping and revolving and moving in formation. This went on and on and although I was impressed with the number of performers on the screen, I've never cared for watching military parades.
And then began the tsunami of film personalities engaged in everything from pirates at sea sketches, singing duos, comedy routines, a ukulele playing expert, a longggg sequence involving sister acts, vaudeville entertainers.
The glaring obstacle to really enjoying this type of star cavalcade is that we have no way of knowing whose who. John Barrymore is easily identified, as is comedian Ben Turpin. But nearly all are just moving, anonymous figures. Also, my copy of this movie suffered from a serious sound weakness. It was impossible to understand most of the dialogue.
After watching this mish-mash, one realizes that almost no one appearing here were around just a year or two later. None were really suited for "talkies." And yet, we see them all, many desperately, working their hearts out to prove themselves ready for the microphone.
One really misses the original color prints that 1929 audiences saw, which may have enhanced their enjoyment. Frank Fay performed as master-of-ceremonies and he's not bad. What's interesting is that Fay was married to an unknown actress at that time, Barbara Stanwyck. When she agreed to make a screen test that year and to eventually star in a movie drama, her star began to rise, while Fay's career took a nose-dive and he was forgotten by the mid-1930s.
One familiar face that stood out was that of silent screen star, Richard Barthelmess who looked amazingly modern and whose voice sounded very good for "sound." Also of interest was the parade of "sister acts". A real stand-out were Natalie and Delores Costello--the latter stunning with her natural beauty.
If you can stick it out until the end, you may feel a touch of sadness. This was the last time the majority of these performers were ever seen, except for minor movie roles. But here, at least, we have them permanently enshrine forever on celluloid where they can continue to bore or excite future generations of film buffs..
It wasn't easy and it begins like a military army drill with dozens of female dancers all dolled up in uniform, tapping and revolving and moving in formation. This went on and on and although I was impressed with the number of performers on the screen, I've never cared for watching military parades.
And then began the tsunami of film personalities engaged in everything from pirates at sea sketches, singing duos, comedy routines, a ukulele playing expert, a longggg sequence involving sister acts, vaudeville entertainers.
The glaring obstacle to really enjoying this type of star cavalcade is that we have no way of knowing whose who. John Barrymore is easily identified, as is comedian Ben Turpin. But nearly all are just moving, anonymous figures. Also, my copy of this movie suffered from a serious sound weakness. It was impossible to understand most of the dialogue.
After watching this mish-mash, one realizes that almost no one appearing here were around just a year or two later. None were really suited for "talkies." And yet, we see them all, many desperately, working their hearts out to prove themselves ready for the microphone.
One really misses the original color prints that 1929 audiences saw, which may have enhanced their enjoyment. Frank Fay performed as master-of-ceremonies and he's not bad. What's interesting is that Fay was married to an unknown actress at that time, Barbara Stanwyck. When she agreed to make a screen test that year and to eventually star in a movie drama, her star began to rise, while Fay's career took a nose-dive and he was forgotten by the mid-1930s.
One familiar face that stood out was that of silent screen star, Richard Barthelmess who looked amazingly modern and whose voice sounded very good for "sound." Also of interest was the parade of "sister acts". A real stand-out were Natalie and Delores Costello--the latter stunning with her natural beauty.
If you can stick it out until the end, you may feel a touch of sadness. This was the last time the majority of these performers were ever seen, except for minor movie roles. But here, at least, we have them permanently enshrine forever on celluloid where they can continue to bore or excite future generations of film buffs..