Footlight Parade (1933) on Netflix
G19331h 44m
Chester Kent has left Broadway musicals to create prologues, the live numbers staged in movie theaters before the feature. His partners want more of them, and a rival steals his ideas.
- Netflix4.4/5
- IMDb7.5/106,742 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Chester Kent's career directing Broadway musicals has faltered, so he now turns out prologues, the short live stage numbers that movie theaters put on before the main feature. His business partners keep pressing him for a large number of them to supply theaters across the country. A rival keeps stealing his ideas, and the leaks appear to come from inside his own company. The workload leaves him no room to notice that Nan, his secretary, is in love with him and quietly guards his interests. He also has a greedy estranged wife, Cynthia, and a censor keeps demanding changes to his numbers.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Footlight Parade (1933)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- James Cagney actively campaigned for the lead role of Chester Kent, wanting a part different from the gangster films such as The Public Enemy that had made him a star; the character was based on impresario Chester Hale of the prologue production company Fanchon and Marco.
- Larry Ceballos was signed to choreograph Footlight Parade when Busby Berkeley was unavailable, but the studio let him go once Berkeley's schedule freed up; Ceballos sued Berkeley and Warner Bros. for $100,000 for breach of contract.
- Dick Powell's part was written specifically for him, but he was replaced by Stanley Smith when he fell ill, and when Powell recovered Smith's scenes were reshot with him.
- Footlight Parade became James Cagney's first on-screen appearance as a dancer, after he had gotten his start in vaudeville and Broadway before going into film.
- Dorothy Lamour was among the chorus girls in Footlight Parade, which was her film debut; Victoria Vinton, Ann Sothern and Lynn Browning were also chorus girls in the film.
- In 1992 the Library of Congress selected Footlight Parade for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
