Footlight Parade
1933 · Movie · NR · 104 min · ★ 6.8 · 90% critics
A struggling producer clashes with his workers and financiers as he pushes to bring live musical extravaganzas to moviegoers. With his greedy ex-wife adding fuel to the fire, his attempts to make big, audience-ready shows become a constant fight to keep ideas from being taken.
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Details
- Years
- 1933
- Release date
- 1933-10-21
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Critic score
- 90/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.8/10 (103 votes)
- Box office
- $2,400,000
- Budget
- $703,000
About
You’ll like this if you enjoy fast, pre-code-era musical chaos and legendary stage-size showstoppers like A Night at the Opera or 42nd Street, but Not for you if you prefer restrained, straightforward storytelling without big spectacle.
Pros: energetic backstage story; show-stopping musical numbers; strong star turn | Cons: busy, episodic pacing; some plots feel scattered; a few sequences divide viewers
Themes
- musical
- producer
- pre-code
Cast & crew
James Cagney
as Chester Kent
Joan Blondell
as Nan Prescott
Ruby Keeler
as Bea Thorn
Dick Powell
as Scotty Blair
Frank McHugh
as Francis the Dance Director
Guy Kibbee
as Silas 'Si' Gould
Ruth Donnelly
as Mrs. Harriet Gould
Hugh Herbert
as Charlie Bowers
Claire Dodd
as Vivian Rich
Gordon Westcott
as Harry Thompson
Directed by Lloyd Bacon