User Reviews

A Broadway producer sends his writer to spy on Hal Leroy's new show.

We get to see Leroy in one of those Broadway shows that are shot on stages larger than the largest legitimate houses; given that this, and other Leroy shorts were made at Warner Brothers' Vitagraph studio in Brooklyn, this Busby-Berkeley staging was appropriate. Leroy was an eccentric dancer who hit Broadway in 1931, stealing the Ziegfeld Follies from the better known performers. Hollywood called, and he starred in a good movie version of the comic strip HAL TEEN. After that, no one quite knew what to do with him, so it was back on Broadway through 1942, then stock and night clubs.

The new Emerson Show starring Hal Le Roy goes into rehearsal. Rival producer Max Brock is angry that he lost Hal Le Roy and blames his writer Freddie McGuire who is supposed to be Hal's friend. He sends McGuire to spy on the production.

The musical isn't much. The story isn't much. The comedy isn't that funny. The musical within the short is nothing more than a bunch of musical numbers with not much of a story holding it together. Hal does a bit tap and has his big teeth smile. There is a bit of fun acrobatics/clowning. That may be my favorite part of the show in the whole thing. It is fine light fun.

Main Street Follies (1935)

** (out of 4)

Decent musical from Warner has Hal Le Roy singing and dancing his way through various skits all set around Main Street. A rival show producer sends a spy out to see what skits Le Roy will be doing in his upcoming act and these are the items we get to see. If I had never seen a musical before then I'd probably give this a higher rating but seeing as how Turner Classic Movies plays a new one each week, there's very little here for someone who has seen more from the genre. The short manages to move by pretty quickly as Le Roy is certainly charming enough to carry the film. His dancing is also very good and this is the main reason to watch the movie but in the end there's just nothing overly special here to make one track it down. The sets are decent but nothing great. The acts are decent but not great. Even the direction is, you guessed it, decent but not great. Outside of Le Roy's dancing, nothing here really sticks out too much and in the end this is a short you can miss.

This Vitagraph short subject from Warner Brothers stars singer/dancer Ha; LeRoy as one producer sends one of his retainers to see a show that LeRoy has committed to a rival producer. Number are being performed in a nightclub now.

The producers get the flashback as we see LeRoy's show with good acts, his singing and dancing and some most forgettable songs.

Nice short between Warner Brothers feature films

For a 21-minute short, this little film is packed with talent. Sure, it's not the A-listed performers here, but there's enough variety in this Warner Brothers "extra" to entertain anyone. The screenplay or plot shouldn't even figure in here. As with some feature length old- time musicals, it's more of a revues with various song and dance, comedy and other routines. And that's entertainment.

The main plus for "Main Street Follies" is the dancing of Hal Le Roy. The guy could move his feet faster than anyone alive – and he did it in some whirlwind dance scenarios. The film has some decent comedy in a couple of clowns in a horse costume, and some good singing from a quartet known as "The Cavaliers" back in the 1930s.

The final good bit of entertainment in this is the acrobatics of the Arthur Petley Troupe. This group combined trampoline and trapeze for some entertaining routines. The film even included a song and dance number with some of the chorus girls running the trampoline.

It's a nicely done short that reminds me of the variety shows we saw on television decades ago (Ed Sullivan and others). Just an assemblage of various acts and routines with song and dance and animals and comedy. Hey! Sounds a little like vaudeville, doesn't it?

"Main Street Follies" is a two-reel short from "Vitaphone" and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it since it featured so many musical numbers. I think the strangeness of some of these song and dance numbers made the film endearing.

Mr. Brock sends one of his employees to spy on a new show in which Hal Le Roy is appearing. The guy returns and describes, act by act, the dress rehearsal As for Brock, he wants to 'borrow' some of these routines and rush them into production...which is pretty sleazy. What follows are like seeing an excerpt of a Broadway show...but a most unusual one, as it includes snow, live horse, trampolines and acrobats! In the end, there is a cute twist....which you'll just have to see for yourself.

I just found this film charming and fun....with good music and a nice strangeness that make it a most unique short film. Well worth seeing.

Hal LeRoy was a great dancer! What a shame he never got the publicity or roles that others got. I wonder how many people today know of him? To be honest, I did not.....until I saw this little 21-minute "short" that was part of the Barbara Stanwyck movie DVD "Annie Oakley."

LeRoy was even skinnier than Fred Astaire, and had big protruding teeth but he had nice, pleasant face overall with a great smile and, man, this guy could dance.

In the first minute, we see Hal doing some sort of Charlestown dance number and his footwork is unbelievable! I've never seen anything like it. Later in the movie, a woman calls him "Rubber legs," and that is a very accurate description.

Later, we see LeRoy and other dancers do several numbers, including some with a sidewalk that is like one long, narrow trampoline. There is some pretty inventive material in here. The story isn't much, but it's mainly a short musical and helps promote to talents of LeRoy which, in my opinion, were awesome. I'd like to see more of this guy strut his stuff. He's entertaining!