Having heard of this for years, the only reason I just now decided to watch this was because since It's once again Black History Month and I'm reviewing movies featuring African-Americans in chronological order once again, I had to watch this to represent 1929 and the film debut of the eventual legendary Ethel Waters who performs both "Am I Blue?" and "Birmingham Bertha", the latter with dancer John W. Bubbles. Those two numbers are the best ones here. The rest is a real-time chronicle of the opening of a new musical and all the backstage drama that entails. The only other names and faces I recognized were Joe E. Brown playing a brash comedian whose character in the play is supposed to be an alcoholic (though he also does a fascinating dance scene in the middle) and Arthur Lake-the future Dagwood Bumstead-whose actor character doesn't get to do much until he has to stretch when a female co-star refuses to go on and another one takes her place. The version I saw was in black and white though I understand it was originally in two-strip Technicolor. The movie seemed long but I wasn't bored, just partly anxious for certain parts to be over. So on that note, I recommend On with the Show! for any one curious about the early talkie movies that were made during that time...
Review of On with the Show!
