Hollywood and The Hollywood Revue of 1929

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
DIRECTED BY: Charles Reisner
NOMINATED FOR: Best Picture

I don't normally look at films I haven't seen in full. My excuse is that The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is not a film, it's a television special in the days before television.

All this "film" is is a collection of sketches performed on a stage by then-famous Hollywood stars. There's no narrative, no story, just some comedy bits and some singing, stretched out to two hours. You could randomly shuffle the sketches up and still come out with the same movie.

And that doesn't offer anything worth talking about. I guess it gave the people the same kind of Seeing Famous People Do Stuff thrill that we now get from Dancing With the Stars and such shows, but if you really need that kind of thrill, you probably have nothing to do with this blog.

Since there's no substance to speak of, I'll just post the available clips on Youtube and show you what was entertainment in 1929:



Host Jack Benny getting his clothes torn off by William Haines...



Marie Dressler having a royal fantasy...



Buster Keaton dancing in drag...



Laurel & Hardy doing magic, kinda (my personal favorite bit from those I've seen)...



John Gilbert & Norma Shearer doing a classic scene from Romeo & Juliet (IN COLOR!)...



And them again, doing a more up to date scene from Romeo & Juliet (IN COLOR!)...



And to close things out, the entire cast performing "Singing in the Rain," which I should point out debuted with this film.

No, I have no desire to hunt the rest of the film down. What's the point? It's mostly Hollywood patting itself on the back, and I already get enough of that with the Academy Awards.