On With the Show! (1929)

the audience applauded

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The acting in this movie is really good.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I'm glad that I've been given the gift of seeing old movies as a product of their time, otherwise I would not be able to get through "The Broadway Melody", "Hollywood Revue", "The Show of Shows", "Rio Rita" or the several dozen other ancient early movie musicals, all released in 1929. This smash hit is the extreme example of why they were so popular in the days before and after the market crash, as they were thoroughly modern and filled with the biggest song hits of the day. Like many others, this is a backstage story, telling the believable tale of what goes on in a Pre-Broadway tryout. The show backstage is more dramatic than the goings on in front of the audience. The leading diva (Betty Compson) has demands that can't be met, and the producer bemoans the lack of funds. As the show goes on, a dramatic robbery occurs, making the situation all the more dire.Best known for two memorable numbers featuring the legendary Ethel Waters (including her big hit "Am I Blue?"), this also has the rubber legged Joe E. Brown provides the laughs in front of the stage, but he's a pill to deal with backstage. Louise Fazenda, in a fright wig, gets the wisecracks, and the future Dagwood Bumpstead (Arthur Lake) gets falsely accused of the robbery. The dramatic scenes are short and sweet, often interjected during the musical numbers. The show itself seems to be a homage to the recent Broadway smash "Show Boat". Only infrequently static, this is practically perfect in every way. I would have loved some dramatic moments with Waters, truly moving in her brief time on screen. I have the feeling that her scenes could easily be cut for showings in the South, but for me, her involvement in this is as important as the principals. After all, her real life was all about going on with the show, keeping those tears hidden.

"On With The Show!" is a very typical musical of its period. It features lots of stage-bound singing and dancing--like you'd see in films like "The Broadway Melody", "42nd Street" and "Footlight Parade"--but even more stagy in style. And, as for the plot, again it's pretty familiar. The show is in financial trouble and it always seems on the verge of being shut down. And then, out of the blue, someone robs the box office! Can these troopers manage to find the crook and become big stars?! Well, I assume the odds are DEFINITELY in their favor! Historically speaking, "On With The Show!" was a pretty important film. It was the first sound film made entirely in color. BUT, there are two important caveats. First, the color was Two-Color Technicolor and even when restored to its original look, it isn't true color but tends to have red-orange and blue-green tints. Colors like yellow and tertiary colors simply aren't possible with this early process. Second, and most importantly, the only surviving print is black & white (though a minute of color was recently discovered)! How I would love to have a time machine to go back and see it in its original form (and so I could invest a few bucks in Microsoft around 1980).The film features Arthur Lake (who gained fame in the Blondie and Dagwood films), Joe E. Brown and Betty Compson. And, although it's a small role, you get to see and hear Ethel Waters as well (and, not surprisingly, she sings her standard "Am I Blue"). Some other highlights would include Brown's really athletic and exciting dancing (I never knew he could do that!), the costumes beginning at the minute marks (and I felt sorry for the guys dressed as guards), Interesting film techniques such as rack of clothes at about 9 minutes into the film, 3/4 angles of performers (and it looks like you are in the audience watching a revue) and lots of backstage shots make it seem like you are there at the show instead of just watching a film. As for sound, it GENERALLY is very good for an early talkie. When the actors speak, they are easy to understand and clear--and not as stiff and obviously standing very near microphones like in many early sound films. But, the singing is seriously tinny and poor. It's a shame the film doesn't have captions--it would help to understand what they are singing, as I was clueless.As for the film's watchability today, I would agree with most of the other reviewers who feel that most would probably be turned off by the film's antiquated style. Compared to musicals made just a few years later, it's VERY dated and I'd never show this film to someone who isn't familiar with the genre and who isn't open-minded. However, if like me and most of these other reviewers you DO like transitional films (early talkies), then by all means watch it. Just understand the technical problems with the film and put them in a historical context. In other words, don't blame "On With The Show!" for not being more than it is because it's among the film musicals and so much we later came to expect just hadn't been developed yet. The only thing I can't forgive is the INCREDIBLY talky ending. Wow...she just won't shut up and I couldn't wait for the film to end! It's a shame, as up until then I was rather impressed by the movie.By the way, get a load of Calvinnme's review and his comments about Sally O'Neill! I couldn't agree more--and I'll buy the arrows! Lake wasn't great either and I am glad he found his niche as Dagwood--he certainly hadn't found it here in "On With The Show!"!

On With the Show! (1929) * 1/2 (out of 4)This early sound film from Warner was actually the first full sound musical to be show in color but sadly the color version (2-strip Technicolor) is now lost. What remains is the B&W version, although recently one-minute worth of color footage was found. This film is clearly Warner's reply to MGM's THE Broadway MELODY as we get all the backstage drama of a show currently going on. We'll see a musical act or comic team and then we see what's going on backstage. This routine carries from start to finish as we get involved with various stories ranging from a boy needing to send money to his sick mother to an actor trying to steal scenes from another. Fans of history in terms of movies will probably want to check this out but all others should stay clear as it hasn't aged too well (and I'm not sure it would have been considered good in 1929). The movie is very dated in terms of production and being an early talkie we also have to put up with some pretty bad audio. I'm not sure if the color version would have helped things but I'm going to guess it would have at least given us some pretty things to look at. I've never been a fan of Crosland's and that includes his most popular film THE JAZZ SINGER. His direction here is a lot more upbeat as he at least keeps the camera moving and doesn't just settle on one set up and shot. Betty Compson is good in her role and a somewhat laid back Joe E. Brown is as well. The majority of the acting is pretty bad here but the dance and music numbers usually make up for it. It's also worth noting that the black actors in the film are played by blacks and not just whites in blackface. Another thing that does keep the film moving are some nice pre-code images from backstage with the women undressing and walking around in skimpy outfits. With that said, there's not enough here to warrant a 102-minute running time and by the half way part you'll be squirming in your chair making this a rather hard film to sit through.

When I saw "On With the Show" on Turner Classic Movies, I was very disappointed in the poor quality of the picture and the sound, but was very pleased by some clever dialog, although realizing some of it was not so clever, and I was absolutely in awe of the performance of Betty Compson.She was not only lovely just to look at, in her big scene near the end, she stole the show.She was more than charming -- she was adorable.Joe E. Brown's presence in a movie is usually enough to make me skip it but here he is toned down considerably, is not so silly, and he performs an eccentric dance with a surprising athleticism. I actually liked him in "On With the Show." Sally O'Neil was surprising. She sounded at first like some precocious child, with little-girlish voice, but when this caterpillar bursts out of her cocoon, she is a star.One other aspect of this film is almost unique for its time: The cast is integrated. Right there on stage are black dancers with white dancers, although to be accurate there is not interaction between white and black. Still, it was a start.Ethel Waters made what was apparently her film debut, and surely was an immediate hit since she was already a star in other media.A 21st century viewer of "On With the Show" must consider context, remember the times in which it was made, during the changeover from silents to talkies, to be able to appreciate it fully.There were lots of great individual talents involved, and a viewer should try to ignore the poor framing of the scenes and the poor quality of the sound, at least some of which might be because of the age or even generation of the print.But appreciate the historicity as well as the talent, and you will enjoy "On With the Show" as much as I did.