Paramount on Parade

Several scenes are still missing from this 1930 film, but what's left is mostly good stuff, and all interesting from a historical point of view. Would you like to see Clive Brook as Sherlock Holmes? Here's a rare chance. Would you like to see Clara Bow sing? Here she is. Would you like to see rather too many songs by Maurice Chevalier? Take your pick of several here. Would you like to see names such as Lillian Roth, Helen Kane, Mitzi Green, and Zelma O'Neill, who are only half-remembered today? Now you can. Would you like to see early appearances by William Powell and Fredric March before they made it big in talkies? They're in this.

The musical numbers fall into the 'ok' camp; they are largely static and stagey, and rather old-fashioned, but no more so than any other early talkie revue film. A lot of the film drags (notably Helen Kane's Boop-de-doop school lesson, and the links by Jack Oakie et al) but as a piece of history, it is fine. It should be a candidate for restoration if the whole film survives in a vault somewhere; let's hope so.

"Paramount on Parade" (Paramount, 1930), with various directorial credit including Ernst Lubitsch, A. Edward Sutherland and Victor Schertzinger, among others, became Paramount's attempt in an all-star movie revue, following the earlier attempts of MGM's "The Hollywood Revue of 1929" and "The Show of Shows" for Warner Brothers, and while many claim this to be the best of the revues, I find it to be a disappointment mainly because the print that's been circulating on television over the last couple of decades, and later cable television, not being the entire movie. Even though I wasn't around when the 102 minute presentation of "Paramount on Parade" was released in theaters, the cuts are quite obvious, especially when French entertainer Maurice Chevalier gives Italian singer Nino Martini a special introduction, and later on in the revue, director Edmund Goulding preparing his cast of actors who are to appear in a Civil War setting musical skit, "Let Us Drink to the Girl of My Dreams," with Gary Cooper, Fay Wray, among others, which never comes. At present, "Paramount on Parade" runs 78 minutes, minus Technicolor segments. Whether the missing scenes are lost forever, or a complete copy is displayed somewhere in a dark vault gathering dust, is anyone's guess. However, at present, it appears that possible restoration of this movie is unlikely to occur.

The "Paramount on Parade" program is as follows, with the deleted scenes preceded with asterisks (*): * SHOWGIRLS ON PARADE (with Virginia Bruce); * PARAMOUNT ON PARADE (chorus); "We're the Masters of Ceremonies" (sung by Jack Oakie, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher and Leon Errol); "Any Time's the Time to Fall in Love" (sung by Buddy Rogers and Lillian Roth); MURDER WILL OUT (a comedy sketch with William Powell as Philo Vance; Clive Brook as Sherlock Holmes; Warner Oland as Fu Manchu, with Eugene Palette and Jack Oakie; THE ORIGIN OF THE APACHE (with Maurice Chevalier and Evelyn Brent); IN A HOSPITAL (comedy sketch with Leon Errol, Jean Arthur, Phillips Holmes and David Newell); "I'm in Training for You" (sung by Zelma O'Neal and Jack Oakie); * THE TOREADOR (with Harry Green singing "I'm Isador the Toreador" from Bizet's CARMEN, with Kay Francis); "My Marine" (sung by Ruth Chatterton, with Fredric March, Stanley Smith and Stuart Erwin as Marines); "All I Want is Just One Girl" (sung by Chevalier); MITZI GREEN HERSELF (with Mitzi Green reprising "All I Want Is Just One Girl" and doing imitations of Chevalier and Charles Mack of the comedy team of Moran and Mack, The Two Black Crows); "What Did Cleopatra Say?" (sung by Helen Kane); *THE GALLOWS SONG (sung by Dennis King); "Dancing to Save My Sole" (sung and danced by Nancy Carroll and Al Norman, the eccentric rubber-legs dancer); * DREAM GIRL, "Let Us Drink to the Girl of My Dreams" (with Richard Arlen, Jean Arthur, Gary Cooper, Mary Brian, Virginia Bruce, Fay Wray, and others); "I'm True to the Navy Now" (sung by Clara Bow and sailors); FOLLOWING YOUR IMPULSE: (Introduced by George Bancroft in a comedy sketch about social manners showing how people at a function normally act, then presenting them on how they really feel. Kay Francis partakes in this skit); and the finale, "Sweeping the Clouds Away" (sung by Maurice Chevalier).

As with the previous Hollywood revues, portions of the film succeed musically and comically, while others don't. Highlights include Zelma O'Neal's energetic singing and opposite Jack Oakie in the gymnasium; Nancy Carroll's dance number on top of a giant shoe; Maurice Chevalier's finale; and of course Clara Bow, who brings this revue to life as the sole female vocalist amongst a group of sailors. Her singing voice does record well, but her career in talkies came to an end by 1933. The lesser moments are the comedy skits, including Leon Errol in the hospital bed with his good-for-nothing sons ignoring his requests and telling their dad to "Shut up"; Mitzi Green's dated impersonations of Moran and Mack; and the singing of "My Marine" by Ruth Chatterton, who performs better as dramatic actress than as a singer, making this eight minute segment seems longer than it is. Helen Kane's "Boop, Boopa Doop" number in the classroom starts off well, but grows tiresome only after a few minutes.

American Movie Classics formerly presented the edited version of "Paramount on Parade" back in 1988-89, and since then, is hardly shown at all these days. However, if this revue should ever resurrect again, whether on video or on Turner Classic Movies, let's hope for a restored complete version. Maybe the 102 minute edition might not make much of a difference entertainment wise, but it certainly will be a rare treat indeed. As it now stands ... (***)

I've just watched the current restoration and can add some information to the 2002 review.

The footage of the opening "Showgirls on Parade" sequence is missing but the sound survives.

The sound disc for "Isadore the Toreador" has been located (only a few days ago) and will be put into the next restoration with the surviving Technicolor footage..

Nino Martini's number is now complete, and in Technicolor.

The "Dream Girl" Technicolor footage survives but the sound is missing.

The "Gallows Scene" is missing most of the sound except for Dennis King's song.

"Paramount On Parade" is both a musical revue and a collection of skits by Hollywood stars who can sing and some who cannot. The entertainment value is uneven as some of their stints in front of the camera range from pretty good to mediocre, from Maurice Chevalier to George Bancroft, whose forte was gangster roles. The movie was an excuse for Paramount to showcase as much of their stable of stars as they could assemble, and there were quite a lot of them. I understand that there were a spate of star revue-type pictures produced around the start of the sound era, and this was another one in that mold.

The main reason to see this picture in 2010, I found, was as a museum piece, watching old stars that I had only heard of. Hadn't seen much of Mitzi Green to speak of, ditto Skeets Gallagher, and had never seen Harry Green before. From that standpoint it was fascinating, but maybe not for moviegoers older than me. There was a good skit with four old-time movie sleuths, Warner Oland, William Powell, Clive Brook and Eugene Palette (who was more of a movie dim-witted cop).

On the IMDb site it is clocked at 77 minutes but at Capitolfest in Rome,N.Y. (8/10), a 102 minute 35mm print restored by the UCLA film department was shown which made it extra special.

Sad to say I recently saw an abbreviated version of Paramount On Parade with about only 60% of the numbers and acts in the edited version I saw. Fortunately I do remember seeing the whole film in years gone by.

Paramount's biggest star in those days was Maurice Chevalier who gets to be in three numbers, one of them being the finale. He also had the biggest hits of the show with All I Want Is Just One Girl and Up On Top Of A Rainbow. His third number the Poor Apache is an Apache number if Mack Sennett had choreographed it.

The White Mountain studio made both an English and French version and in the French version Jeanette MacDonald was mistress of ceremonies as opposed to comedian Skeets Gallagher for the English. She also was given a number in the French one that we in America weren't privileged to hear. I'm told it's quite lovely.

William Powell and Clive Brook play Philo Vance and Sherlock Holmes in a murder mystery satire where they annoy Warner Oland as Fu Manchu with insisting on dragging in other suspects. Eugene Palette and Jack Oakie are also in the skit as well.

Cut out of the version I just saw was Dennis King, Broadway star who had just repeated his role as Francois Villon in The Vagabond King. That film doesn't hold up well for a number of reasons, but his number Nichavo in Paramount On Parade is a stirring song that King's virile baritone takes to easily. King did much better on stage than on the screen although he scored very well in his next film with Laurel and Hardy, Fra Diavolo.

The finale is Maurice Chevalier with Up On Top Of A Rainbow done with a hundred chorus girls as well. The song and Maurice are fine, but these kind of numbers really needed Busby Berkeley to show how its done.

I'm a big old sucker for these all star films which had a brief run during the early days of sound and then were revived during World War II as morale boosters. I only wish a complete version was available out there.