The Hollywood Revue of 1929 | Through the Shattered Lens

On Sunday, the Tonys will be handed out on and, if you want to watch the ceremony, it’ll be televised on CBS. However, if you’d just rather watch some movies about backstage life, I’ve got a few suggestions.

The Broadway Melody (1929) is a historically important film, in that it was the first sound film and the first musical to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The story is nothing special. Two sisters (Anita Page and Bessie Love) attempt to make the transition for Vaudeville to Broadway. One sister becomes a success and almost loses herself in the process. The other sister remains determined to become a star. Watching the film today, it’s obvious that the cast and the crew were still figuring out how to work with sound. That said, it’s a historical oddity and an interesting look at the film industry making the transition into the sound era. If you’re into that sort of thing — and I certainly am! — the film is now available on Tubi.

Far more entertaining is the same year’s Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929). Produced by MGM, Hollywood Revue features all of the MGM featured players showing off what they could do. It’s a plotless parade of variety acts, hosted by the suave Conrad Nagel and featuring everyone from Joan Crawford to Marion Davies to Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Lionel Barrymore, John Gilbert, and Jack Benny! The goal here was to not only show off MGM’s roster of stars but also to show audiences that MGM knew how make sound pictures. It’s actually a really fun little movie. The cast appears to be having fun and there’s something really enjoyable about seeing so many talented people all in one movie. It also features a song called Singin’ In The Rain. The film can be viewed on YouTube.

Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979) is a masterpiece, following choreographer Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) as he directs both a film and a musical at the same time while popping pills, having heart attacks, and flirting with the Angel of Death (Jessica Lange). The scene where Gideon watches as his daughter and his girlfriend perform a dance routine that they’ve prepared for him is one of the most heartfelt moments that I’ve ever seen in a movie. The film’s surreal ending manages to be satirical, heart-breaking, oddly funny, and sad. Fosse based Gideon on himself and sadly, they both shared the same fate. It can be viewed on Tubi.

Finally, Michele Soavi’s Stage Fright (1987) is one of the best horror films to ever be set in a theater. Have you ever wondered why the victims in slasher films don’t just leave the house or the theater? Have you ever said, “Don’t split up, you idiots!” Well, in this one, everyone sticks together and everyone tries to leave and it doesn’t do a bit of good. (Unfortunately, their director has a cocaine problem.) This film has an absolutely brilliant opening sequence. I always laugh when the Marilyn Monroe look-alike starts playing the saxophone. The much-missed Giovanni Lombardo Radice has a small role. Director Soavi appears as a cop who asks, “Do you think I look like James Dean?” The film is on Tubi.

(Check out last week’s Weekend Films here!)

Last night, I really needed a break from thinking about this stupid, asinine presidential election that we have coming up here in the U.S. Fortunately, TCM provided me with one by showing The Hollywood Revue of 1929!

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is probably one of the most obscure film to ever be nominated for best picture. It’s a plotless collection of songs and comedy bits, all performed by actors who were under contract to MGM. In fact, the movie might be best described as a two-hour commercial for MGM. The message of the film seems to be: “Now that movies have sound, look what MGM can do!”

With the exception of Greta Garbo and Lon Chaney, every MGM star makes an appearance in Hollywood Revue. Everyone sings a song and does a dance, even if some of them are better singers and dancers than others. The revue is hosted by Conrad Nagel (who looks very dapper in a tux but still seems to be strangely uncomfortable with his hosting duties) and Jack Benny (who plays his violin and gets annoyed every time he’s interrupted by an MGM stock player). Joan Crawford (who Nagal describes as being “one of my favorites”) sings, “Got A Feeling For You,” and she may be off-key but you can’t help but appreciate the fact that she’s doing her best. Buster Keaton does a dance. Laurel and Hardy perform a magic act that doesn’t go very well. Marion Davies does a tribute to the military and I’m sure that, somewhere, William Randolph Hearst was smiling. Chorus girls sit in the background and smile at the camera and, as someone who knows what it’s like to be in the chorus, I enjoyed watching as a few of the smarter and braver ones attempted to steal the audience’s attention away from the headliners.

At one point, Jack Benny reached into his suit jacket and revealed that a miniature version of actress Bessie Love was apparently living in the pocket. He held Bessie in the palm of his hand and proceeded to have a conversation with her and all I could think about was the end of Mulholland Drive, when that tiny old couple cornered Naomi Watts in her apartment. When Benny placed Bessie on the ground, she grew to normal height and sang a song.

During the second half of the film, silent screen star John Gilbert plays the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, opposite Norma Shearer. First he does it in Shakespeare’s words and then he does it again in 1929 language. Lionel Barrymore directs them. Interestingly enough, Shearer (who was married to The Hollywood Revue‘s producer, Irving Thalberg) would later play Juliet in 1936’s Romeo and Juliet. Barrymore, though best remembered as Mr. Potter from It’s A Wonderful Life, actually was a prominent film director in 1929 and would even invent the boom mic. As for Gilbert, legend has it that the Hollywood Revue was the first time that audiences actually heard him speak and they were so unimpressed with his voice that his career ended. Having now seen Gilbert speak — well, he didn’t have the greatest or sexiest voice but he still sounded better than Jean Hagen did in Singin’ In The Rain.

Speaking of Singin’ In the Rain, that song was specifically written for Hollywood Revue! The entire cast sings it at the end of the film.

Seen today, there’s something charming about how old-fashioned and corny The Hollywood Revue is. I imagine that some people will laugh at it but, honestly, it’s still more entertaining than that stupid live version of The Sound of Music that they put on TV two years ago. The Hollywood Revue is basically the classic film equivalent of a high school talent show, where everyone does their best and a good deal of the charm comes from seeing how silly it all is. If you love TCM, you’ll enjoy seeing all the Golden Age performers trying to do their best. If you don’t love TCM, then go to Hell.

The Hollywood Revue is usually listed as being a nominee for best picture. Actually, the truth is a little bit more complicated. For the 2nd annual Academy Awards, there were no nominees. Instead, the awards were determined by a select committee and only the winners were announced. Much like the Cannes Film Festival, no film received more than one award. Broadway Melody (which starred Hollywood Revue‘s Bessie Love) was named best picture.

However, notes were kept of the committee’s meeting and those notes indicate that Hollywood Revue was considered as a possible pick for best picture. Hence, Hollywood Revue is considered to be a best picture nominee even though there were no official nominees that year.

Anyway, if you’re a classic film lover, keep an eye out for Hollywood Revue the next time that it shows up on TCM!