I’m exactly halfway through my Busby Berkeley set now.  Woohoo!

I’ve just watched Footlight Parade.  I’ve watched it once before… but it was just like watching it for the first time as I didn’t really remember it.

It’s definitely pre-code, and even keeping that in mind… you still wonder how did Busby get away with Honeymoon Hotel? 

This movie was very Cagney-centric - about him and his relationships.  With his gold-digging ex-wife, his new gold-digging girlfriend, the dance director, his secretary and his greedy partners.  And a little problem to do with prologues before the movies… as talking pictures have completely replaced silent ones.    I like watching him on screen - he makes a great thirties hoofer as well as a great hoodlum (which he isn’t in this film).
The Shanghai Lil number in particular to me is almost like a prologue to the next twenty or so years in movie musicals.  It’s diverse, fast-paced and a patriotic spectacle.  The tapping that Cagney & Keeler do is full of charm.  And one thing I like is how they use pictures (in this case the ship on the deck of cards) to hint at the ending to the story.  I don’t know if this is the case, but I could imagine future stars like Gene Kelly taking a few hints from it to use in their own musicals.

I didn’t really like the waterfall number much… the formations in the water were fun but that doesn’t really interest me too much - girls sitting on rocks with very long hair.  Ugh.

I did love the Honeymoon Hotel number… especially when Dick Powell says to the hotel Maitre’D that they’re not married.  And there are couples there who clearly aren’t married either… lots of people registered as Mr and Mrs Smith.

Overall, very enjoyable. Definitely one I’ll whip out again once my current viewing agenda is done.  I just got several Columbia DVD’s in the mail to watch after I’m done with this boxed set!