Line #16 Film/FootlightParade


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fp_55.png]]
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7	Yet another 1933 Creator/WarnerBros musical featuring songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, though this time the songs were divided between them and Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal.
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9	Creator/JamesCagney stars as Chester Kent, a musical theater director whose career is greatly threatened by the invention of talking motion pictures. Kent, casting about for a means of saving his job, hits on the idea of creating live musical numbers to be shown as "prologues" to main features in movie theaters. Creator/JoanBlondell co-stars as his long-suffering secretary Nan Prescott, with Ruby Keeler and Creator/DickPowell as two of his cast members.
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11	Frankly, this {{Excuse Plot}} serves no other purpose than to give a {{Busby Berkeley Number}} montage some substance.
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13	''Footlight Parade'' was directed by Lloyd Bacon, with Creator/BusbyBerkeley directing the giant musical numbers. The movie that Kent's partners take him to see is a real film, ''The Telegraph Trail'', starring an obscure B-movie actor named Creator/JohnWayne.
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16	!!Provides Examples Of:
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18	* BlowingSmokeRings: Apolinaris the movie theater owner is doing this when Gould and Frazer are begging him to sign a contract.
19	* BusbyBerkeleyNumber: And they are impressive. As was typical for Berkeley, they are far more ornate than one would ever see on a stage, much less in a movie theater; once again, WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief on the part of the audience is duly necessitated.
20	* CallForward: In a meta sense, as Chester Kent basically comes up with the idea for ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' some forty-odd years before the real show.
21	* CurseCutShort / LastSecondWordSwap
22	--> '''Nan''': I know Miss Bi--Rich, if you remember.
23	* GirlFriday: Nan to Chester Kent. She's crazy in love with him but he doesn't notice.
24	* TheGlassesGottaGo: if Ruby Keeler wants to be a showgirl.
25	* GoldDigger: The optimistically named Vivian Rich.
26	* UsefulNotes/HollywoodAccounting: InUniverse. Kent's partners are using accounting tricks to scam him out of the profits of their business.
27	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: "Aw, talking pictures, it's just a fad."
28	* TheMole: Harry Thompson. "Swell. Move it babe while I give it to Gladstone." Then Thompson's girlfriend after Thompson quits to go to Gladstone.
29	* MoralGuardians: Charlie, the irritating, buffoonish in-house censor. Obviously a TakeThat, since pre-codes had problems with the censors.
30	* TheMusicalMusical: Another typical Berkeley plot device, as Kent is busy coming up with various musical prologues.
31	* ObliviousToLove: Chester is amazingly slow to figure out that Nan is in love with him.
32	* SassySecretary: Nan Prescott.
33	* SmithicalMarriage: ''en masse'', in the "Honeymoon Hotel" number.
34	* VideoCredits: At the beginning, as was standard for Warner Bros. productions at that time?

Context Film / FootlightParade