Fox Movietone Follies of 1929
{{short description|1929 film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Fox Movietone Follies of 1929
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| image = Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 Window Card.jpg
| director = David Butler and Marcel Silver
| producer = William Fox
| writer = David Butler
William K. Wells
| starring = Sue Carol
Sharon Lynn
Dixie Lee
Lola Lane
| music = Arthur Kay
| cinematography = Charles Van Enger
| editing = Ralph Dietrich
| studio = William Fox Studio
| distributor = Fox Film Corporation
| released = {{Film date|1929|5|26}}
| runtime = 80 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
File:"William Fox Movietone Follies of 1929" ad in The Film Daily, Jan-Jun 1929 (page 1276 crop).jpg, 1929]]
Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, also known as Movietone Follies of 1929 and The William Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, is an American sound (All-Talking) Pre-Code musical film released by Fox Film Corporation. This lavishly produced film featured color sequences in the Multicolor process in some of the revue scenes.
Plot
George Shelby, a boy from the Southern United States, comes to the city to dissuade Lila, his sweetheart, from embarking on a stage career and finally buys out the controlling interest in the revue so that he can fire her. On the opening night, however, she goes onstage when the prima donna of the show becomes temperamental, and she proves to be a big hit. At this development, George is able to sell the show back to the producer, who had previously lacked confidence in his investment and planned to take advantage of the youth's inexperience.
Cast
- John Breeden as George Shelby
- Lola Lane as Lila Beaumont
- DeWitt Jennings as Jay Darrell
- Sharon Lynn as Ann Foster
- Arthur Stone as Al Leaton
- Stepin Fetchit as Swifty
- Warren Hymer as Martin
- Archie Gottler as Stage Manager
- Arthur Kay as Orchestra Leader
- Mario Dominici as Le Maire
- Bobby Burns as unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")[https://www.mediafire.com/view/oz0agwkes82869k "Film Reviews: Fox Movietone Follies (of 1929)"]. Variety. May 29, 1929. Page 14. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- Sue Carol as unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")
- Dixie Lee as unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")
- Carolynne Snowden as unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")[https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=71665007 "Fox Movietone Gives Nation First Audible Screen Follies"]. The Dothan Eagle. May 23, 1929. Page 2. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- The Four Covans (uncredited)[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71983598/the-akron-beacon-journal/ "The Most Intimate Follies Ever Seen Or Heard"]. The Akron Beacon-Journal. June 6, 1929. Page 33. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- Cee Pee Johnson (uncredited)[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/70840547 "Fox Coronado: On the Stage"]. Las Vegas Daily Optic. July 12, 1933. Page 7. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
Soundtrack
All songs were written by Con Conrad, Archie Gottler and Sidney D. Mitchell.
- "Walking With Susie"
- "Why Can't I Be Like You?"
- "Legs"
- "Breakaway"
- "That's You Baby"
- "Look What You've Done To Me"
- "Big City Blues"
- "Pearl of Old Japan"
Production
Filming locations for Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 included Havana, New York City, and Palm Beach, Florida.
Preservation status
{{external media
| audio1 = [https://soundcloud.com/koshka-mathews/fox-movietone-follies-of-1929 Surviving Vitaphone soundtrack disk] at SoundCloud
| video1 = {{YouTube|Zqrx0jKqylc|Surviving fragments of the film}}
}}
The film had Multicolor sequences in its original release, as well as being filmed in the experimental Grandeur wide-screen process. It is now considered a lost film,{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Edwin M.|title=The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932|year=2004|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0-7864-2029-4|pages=42–43}} as all film prints known to exist were destroyed in fires at the Fox storage facility in New Jersey in 1937. The sequel, New Movietone Follies of 1930, also has Multicolor sequences and exists in the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Some fragments of the film have turned up lately online and audio elements of the 1929 film still survive, however. Specifically, "Movietone Sound-on-Disc" audio for reels 6 and 7 still survive, offering the only record of dialogue and music taken directly from the movie.{{cite web|url=https://lostmediawiki.com/The_Fox_Movietone_Follies_of_1929_(partially_found_Pre-Code_musical_film;_1929)|title=The Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (partially found Pre-Code musical film; 1929)|work=The Lost Media Wiki}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0019896}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110509210944/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/92252/Fox-Movietone-Follies-of-1929/overview New York Times]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110715031036/http://www.ovguide.com/movies_tv/fox_movietone_follies_of_1929.htm OV Guide]
- [https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791075.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 Variety]
{{David Butler}}
Category:English-language musical films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:Films shot in Florida
Category:Films shot in New York City
Category:Lost American musical films