Starting in 1913 movie director Connors discovers singer Molly Adair. As she becomes a star she marries an actor, so Connors fires them. She asks for him as director of her next film. Many s... Read allStarting in 1913 movie director Connors discovers singer Molly Adair. As she becomes a star she marries an actor, so Connors fires them. She asks for him as director of her next film. Many silent stars shown making the transition to sound.Starting in 1913 movie director Connors discovers singer Molly Adair. As she becomes a star she marries an actor, so Connors fires them. She asks for him as director of her next film. Many silent stars shown making the transition to sound.
- Al Jolson - Recreation of 'The Jazz Singer' Scene
- (as Mr. Al Jolson)
- Directors
- Irving Cummings
- Buster Keaton(uncredited)
- Malcolm St. Clair(silent film sequences) (uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough a Twentieth Century-Fox picture, this is one of the few Hollywood-made films in which one studio (Fox) acknowledges and names the existence of another (Warner Bros.) and credits them with the introduction of talking pictures. Don Ameche is actually shown watching a scene from Warner's The Jazz Singer (1927), probably the only instance in Hollywood history where one studio shows another studio's work within a film. (Additionally, many other actual studios are mentioned in the dialogue, including Pathe, Vitagraph, Famous Players [later Paramount], Metro [later MGM] and United Artists.) Another rarity is that the head of the studio (J. Edward Bromberg) is openly portrayed as being Jewish. In later years Bromberg was blacklisted and sadly died from a heart attack while performing in a stage play in London, where he sought to restart his career. Fans of W.C. Fields will recognize Russell Hicks--who plays the stone-hearted money-man Roberts in this film--as fast-talking con man J. Frothingham Waterbury, who sold Fields shares in the Beefstake Mine in the classic comedy The Bank Dick (1940).
- GoofsThis is another film that perpetuates the myth that studios abandoned silents almost immediately after "The Jazz Singer" opened. In fact, it WAS regarded as a fluke. It would be many months before studios realized that talkies weren't going away, and it wasn't until 1930 that production of silents finally ceased, save an occasional outlier like "City Lights" and "Tabu.
- Quotes
Dave Spingold: [to Molly] It'll be chiseled on my tombstone - Dave Spingold - Schlemiel.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Take It or Leave It (1944)
The romance in Hollywood Cavalcade is predictable, but still manages to be sweet and tragic. It's obvious to the audience that Don cares, and when Alice confronts him, he shows off his acting chops in a wonderfully dramatic scene. His character is extremely strong, stubborn, and prideful, but he gives enough humanity in his performance to make the audience root for him unconditionally. In contrast, Alice comes across as flaky and weak, but since Don's the protagonist, it's alright.
The other half of Hollywood Cavalcade shows what it's like to be in the business. Here today, gone tomorrow, and all at the whim of the audience and the studio. Several silent legends gave cameos and received a special thank-you during the opening credits-Buster Keaton, Lee Duncan, Chester Conklin, Ben Turpin, Hank Mann, Jed Prouty, Snub Pollard, and Al Jolson-and it was sweet to see them reliving their heydays. And when talking pictures come, Don delivers an incredible monologue about the power of sound in films. "They were looking at shadows on the screen, only they weren't shadows anymore," he describes. I'm sure audiences of 1939 remembered how they felt in 1929 during that speech.
All in all, this is a very good movie, but generally overlooked because of the year it was released. If you're looking for a better, more dramatic version of Singin' in the Rain, check this one out.
- HotToastyRag
- Jan 26, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Holivudska kavalkada
- Filming locations
- West First Street, Los Angeles, California, USA(Photographs)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1