Underplayed Gems

Manhattan Parade (1931)

Manhattan Parade poster
Directed by
Lloyd Bacon
Genre
musical film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 15m
Rating
3.2 of 10 from 5 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A pre-Code musical comedy that makes fun of Al Jolson and his career slump. It was originally made as a full musical but the American release cut out all the songs because audiences were tired of musicals at the time.

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What happens

Manhattan Parade is a 1931 American pre-Code musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was originally intended to be released, in the United States, early in 1931, but was shelved due to public apathy towards musicals. Despite waiting a number of months, the public proved obstinate and Warner Bros. Pictures reluctantly released the film in December 1931 after removing all the music. Since there was no such reaction to musicals outside the United States, the film was released there as a full musical comedy in 1931. The film pokes fun at Al Jolson, who had suffered a downturn in his career due to the public aversion to musical pictures. He had been released from his contract to Warner Bros. late in 1930. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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