Tag Archives: Early talkie

Musical Monday: The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) – Musical #795

hollywood revue7

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Charles F. Riesner

Starring:
All Performers as themselves:
Master of Ceremony: Conrad Nagel, Jack Benny
Galaxy of Stars: John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Bessie Love, Anita Page, Buster Keaton, Marion Davies, Lionel Barrymore, William Haines, Marie Dressler, Cliff Edwards, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Nils Asther, Charles King, Polly Moran, Gus Edwards, Karl Dane, George K. Arthur, Gwen Lee
Uncredited: Ann Dvorak (uncredited)

Plot:
To introduce audiences to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stars in a talking picture, the MGM stars, all as themselves, perform a revue of songs and skits with actors Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny as the hosts.

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Musical Monday: Street Girl (1929)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Street Girl (1929) – Musical #629

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
Wesley Ruggles

Starring:
Betty Compson, John Harron, Jack Oakie, Ned Sparks, John Harron, Guy Buccola, Joseph Cawthorn, Doris Eaton, Ivan Lebedeff

Plot:
The Four Seasons is a jazz group made up of four musicians Mike Fall (Harron), Joe Spring (Oakie), Happy Winter (Sparks) and Pete Summer (Buccola). They are talented but are financially down on their luck. They find Frederika Joyzelle (Compson) on their doorstep, about to pass out from hunger. The band takes her into their flat, where she helps do the housework. Frederika is an immigrant from the country Aregon, where she was a talented violinist. Frederika joins the band and helps them rise to fame, particularly when she performs for the visiting Prince of Aregon (Lebedeff).

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