Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

gavin6942 Chester Kent (James Cagney) struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.Cagney, a former song-and-dance man, actively campaigned the executives at Warner Bros. for the lead in "Footlight Parade", which became his first on-screen appearance as a dancer. Cagney had only fallen into his gangster persona when he and Edward Woods switched roles three days into the shooting of 1931's "The Public Enemy". That role catapulted Cagney into stardom and a series of gangster films, which throughout his career, Cagney found to be as much a straitjacket as a benefit.Although musicals are not my thing, I do appreciate the active role Cagney took in it. I am aware of his background as a dancer rather than the tough guy we think of, and it makes sense he would want to show that rather than be typecast. (Despite this film and "Yankee Doodle Dandy", though, he is probably still best remembered as a gangster.) The swimming choreography is well done, and the "Honeymoon Hotel" number is decent. Some of the themes in that song are a little scandalous -- is there a man flirting with another woman on his own honeymoon?

gkeith_1 Great showstoppers. Jimmy hoofing it up a storm, nine years before his boffo "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Ruby Keeler always excellent; superb. Joan Blondell -- spoiler -- gets Jimmy in the end, after she kicks his cheap trashy gold-digger, literally, to the curb, lol. Hugh Herbert with the famous hand-twirling -- always a delight. Jimmy's friend Frank McHugh terribly whiny as the dance director, and his wearing that huge cat's tail is totally hilarious. Cat number just divine, so is waterfall number. Honeymoon number full of pre-code innuendoes, but of course there is the justice of the peace just off the lobby. Berkeley always excellent, plus he is one of the cast. Look for him. 12/10

steve-h-edelman "Footlight Parade" is the best of the backstage musicals. The grand finale of this 1933 film -- three unbelievable Busby Berkeley productions -- is the most entertaining 30 minutes of film ever produced. The songs are so good, the productions so lavish, and performances so full of heart, I can watch the finale over and over. Ruby Keeler plays so well to the camera in all three of these very different story-songs. "Honeymoon Hotel" is the first number, it's adorable. The second number, "By A Waterfall," is a climax before the climax, when the overhead camera captures hundreds of swimming of girls in amazing synchronized swimming to a beautiful tune. The music is wonderfully arranged and catchy, all three, but none more so than the grand finale, "Shanghai Lil." James Cagney, the producer of this show upon which so much depends, must replace the leading man at the last minute and of course puts it over in style. "Shanghai Lil" starts out in a wonderfully grimy bar, with opium and prostitutes, where AWOL sailor Cagney is looking high and low of his Shanghai Lil to that great melody. All three tunes have been going around in my mind constantly for a few months, that's entertainment.

Jimmy L. This is a pre-Code Warner Bros. Busby Berkeley musical starring...James Cagney!Cagney develops live musical prologues to be shown on stage at movie houses before the start of a film. (If you've seen the "Let's Go To The Movies" number in ANNIE you get the idea.) It's one catastrophe after another as Cagney tries to keep things running smoothly while staying a step ahead of the competition.Joan Blondell is great as Cagney's secretary, who loves him more than he realizes. The solid cast also includes Busby Berkeley regulars Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler as a young new tenor and a secretary-turned- leading lady, respectively, with Frank McHugh as the perpetually worried dance instructor and Hugh Herbert as the morality adviser/censor. Lloyd Bacon directs the showbiz tale, with spectacular choreography by the inimitable Busby Berkeley.I've seen this film's contemporaries (42ND STREET and GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933) and usually feel lukewarm toward these early musicals, but I found myself surprisingly receptive to FOOTLIGHT PARADE. I really liked Blondell's performance, with the romantic tension and snappy wit, and I could tolerate Keeler in her role. McHugh adds whiny comic relief and the script has some racy pre-Code touches. The film also benefits from James Cagney's screen presence. Cagney, best known for his gangster roles, demonstrates some dance steps in this rare musical appearance.Berkeley choreographs a handful of routines (including an awkward cat- themed number), but saves the three biggest for the very end: "Honeymoon Hotel", "By A Waterfall", and "Shanghai Lil". As was often the case, the dance numbers are meant to be staged within the context of the story (a show within a show) and as was always the case, Berkeley choreographs cinematically, using camera movements, insert shots, and cuts that make no sense within the reality of the story. But his routines are meant for the moviegoers and they are awe-inspiring.The water nymph routine will blow you away. I've seen my fair share of Busby Berkeley numbers, but the water nymph sequence may be his masterpiece. Did Berkeley invent synchronized swimming? I don't know, but he might as well have. There are unbelievable kaleidoscopic overhead shots as well as underwater choreography. I can't figure out how they did the shot of the swimmers in concentric rings, spinning in different directions, since the swimmers seemed to be lying still in the water. (Movie magic?) The more complex overhead shots are some of the most impressive visuals I've ever seen in a musical."Honeymoon Hotel" is a racy little number about couples spending their first night together in a hotel. Men in pajamas, women in negligees, bedrooms. There's a peculiar "child" that runs around causing mischief, but the scene has a neat larger-than-life dollhouse shot and a creative bit of stop-motion animation. "Shanghai Lil" follows a sailor through a crowded saloon in search of an elusive woman. There's a brawl, there are marching soldiers in formation, there's Ruby Keeler dolled up like a Chinese call girl, and there's Jimmy Cagney dancing and singing.With a great cast and impressive dances, this is an enjoyable ride. Maybe the best of the early WB musicals.