Show of Shows

Director: John G. Adolfi, John G. Adolphi John G. Adolfi

Overview

Basically a filmed vaudeville presentation, The Show of Shows was Warner Bros.' entry in the "all star, all talking, all singing and all dancing" sweepstakes of 1929. Though slightly better than MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929, the Warners entry pales in comparison to Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 and Paramount on Parade, due mainly to the film's master of ceremonies, the insufferable Frank Fay. Some of the individual acts seen in Show of Shows were pretty good, notably Winnie Lightner's delightful "Singing in the Bathtub" (a spoof of Hollywood Revue of 1929's "Singin' in the Rain") and John Barrymore's brilliant rendition of Richard III's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Henry VI. Also easy to take was "Floradora Sextette," featuring such luminaries as Myrna Loy, Patsy Ruth Miller and cross-eyed comedian Ben Turpin, and "Eight Sister Acts," including such Hollywood siblings as Dolores and Helene Costello, Sally Blane and Loretta Young and Shirley Mason and Viola Dana (also teamed in this number are Ann Sothern and Marion Byron, who were not sisters). But for the most part, the acts are on a par with "Skull and Crossbones," a boring production number showcasing entertainer Ted Lewis, and "Recitations," a one-joke affair in which three different anecdotes (related by Frank Fay, Louis Fazenda, Lloyd Hamilton and Bea Lillie) are melded into one. Show of Shows was originally released in two-color Technicolor but now exists only in black in white, save for the "Chinese Fantasy" number featuring crooner Nick Lucas and Warner Bros. contractee Myrna Loy.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/08/2009
UPC:	0883316224731
Original Release:	1929
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	2:03:00
Sales rank:	38,542

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Barrymore	Richard III
Beatrice Lillie	Actor
Loretta Young	Sister Act #6
Richard Barthelmess	Guest
Frank Fay	Master of Ceremonies
Armida	Sister Act #3
Noah Beery Sr.	Actor
Sally Blane	Sister Act #6
Marion Byron	Sister Act #7
Dolores Costello	Sister Act #1,Sister Act #1
Viola Dana	Sister Act #8
Alice Day	Sister Act #4,Sister Act #4
Lola	Sister Act #3
Ada Mae	Sister Act #5
Shirley Mason	Sister Act #8
Molly O'Day	Sister Act #2
Sally O'Neil	Sister Act #2
Ann Sothern	Sister Act #7
Alberta Vaughn	Sister Act #5
H.B. Warner	Actor
Johnny Arthur	Actor
Mary Astor	Actor
Monte Blue	Actor
Irene Bordoni	Actor
Hobart Bosworth	Actor
Jack Buchanan	Actor
Chester Conklin	'Bicycle Built for Two' sequence
Hans Conried	Actor
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	Guest
Louise Fazenda	Actor
Lloyd Hamilton	Actor
Lila Lee	Actor
Winnie Lightner	Actor
Myrna Loy	Guest
Nick Lucas	Actor
Tully Marshall	Actor
Patsy Miller	Actor
Lee Moran	Actor
Frank Morgan	Actor
Chester Morris	Actor
Marian Nixon	Actor
Ben Turpin	Actor
Alice White	Actor
Lois Wilson	'Bicycle Built for Two' sequence
Grant Withers	Actor
Rin Tin Tin	Actor
Louis Silvers	Conductor

Technical Credits

John G. Adolfi	Director
Darryl F. Zanuck	Producer
John Adolphi	Director

Editorial Reviews

Warner Bros.' Show of Shows, much like its MGM-spawned rival Hollywood Revue of 1929, holds up today mostly as an artifact to a by-gone age of entertainment -- in a time when audiences were transfixed by any kind of talking picture, it gets away with a lot without the benefit of much (if any) editing and a totally stationary camera; the beauty of the movie is that it not only preserves acts of the period, but includes itos own tributes to entertainments of the past, so that what we're seeing is a compendium of performers and pieces covering a good three decades. The movie hasn't been handed down to us in its optimal state -- though shot in two-color Technicolor, it has survived in black-and-white, apart from the "Chinese Fantasy" segement -- so it's hardly fair to judge, from this late date, 80 years past, the worth of all of the work and decisions made by its makers. But it's also easy to see what they did not have in mind, and on that count Show Of Shows is sorely lacking, as were most of the "revue"-type pictures of this era. Hollywood Revue of 1929 has been better preserved, and also features a better score and more ambitious staging, camera work, and a better overall cast of performers, and is probably a better place to start absorbing this film output.

All Movie Guide - Bruce Eder