Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

MartinHafer MGM made a film called "Hollywood Review of 1929" and it was a plot less picture consisting of nearly every MGM star singing and dancing--whether they liked it or not! This was because in 1929, folks LOVED talking pictures...particularly musicals with giant production numbers. The film also had some comedy and drama--making it a talent show more than anything else. The film was shot very quickly using several directors and made $1.1 million...a very tidy sum for the time. So, it's not surprising that rival studio Paramount would make their own version only a few months later. Both films lack coherent stories but are must-sees for old movie buffs, as it's great looking for all your favorite old time stars. A few of them, sadly, are very obscure and even the biggest movie buffs would be hard-pressed to recognize all of them. A few of the big and very recognizable stars include: William Powell, Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, Maurice Chevalier, Kay Francis, Frederic March and Warner Oland. So is it any good? Well, as I mentioned above, there isn't a lot in the way of plot--just lots of little vignettes. And, sadly, portions of the film are missing today...and a recently completed restoration still lacks the opening credits and a few scenes and portions of the soundtrack. As for the acts, most of them are not good--very dated, the songs not memorable and the humor is quite forced. This is not a film you watch because it's fun or enjoyable....more a strange opportunity to see stars behaving very strangely! In particular, you can see Helen Kane--the inspiration for Betty Boop. But, because a living, talking Boop isn't that enjoyable, Ms. Kane ended up making few films. You also get to see some actors trying out outrageous accents or singing when they really aren't very good at singing--although I did enjoy hearing Clara Bow sing (though not necessarily well). And the dance numbers are mostly just strange to say the least. Overall, an odd curio that is NOT for the casual old movie buff (they'll hate it) but the die-hard fans looking for their favorite stars.

GManfred "Paramount On Parade" is both a musical revue and a collection of skits by Hollywood stars who can sing and some who cannot. The entertainment value is uneven as some of their stints in front of the camera range from pretty good to mediocre, from Maurice Chevalier to George Bancroft, whose forte was gangster roles. The movie was an excuse for Paramount to showcase as much of their stable of stars as they could assemble, and there were quite a lot of them. I understand that there were a spate of star revue-type pictures produced around the start of the sound era, and this was another one in that mold.The main reason to see this picture in 2010, I found, was as a museum piece, watching old stars that I had only heard of. Hadn't seen much of Mitzi Green to speak of, ditto Skeets Gallagher, and had never seen Harry Green before. From that standpoint it was fascinating, but maybe not for moviegoers older than me. There was a good skit with four old-time movie sleuths, Warner Oland, William Powell, Clive Brook and Eugene Palette (who was more of a movie dim-witted cop).On the IMDb site it is clocked at 77 minutes but at Capitolfest in Rome,N.Y. (8/10), a 102 minute 35mm print restored by the UCLA film department was shown which made it extra special.

eocostello Of the early talkie-era all-star revues, this one is by far the most "fun." The song sequences are nicely done; in particular, the "Dancing to Save Your Sole" segment with Nancy Carroll. Maurice Chevalier does very well in his three segments, one comedy segment, one comedy musical segment (bearing the noticable stamp of Lubitsch), and the entertaining finale. The comic segments are a bit hit or miss, but the Philo Vance/Sherlock Holmes/Fu Manchu skit near the start is a must-see. I saw this in an old TV print; the color sequences mostly exist, but have yet to be restored, and the copy of most prints that circulate is servicable, but not spectacular. Find the best print you can.

niki-17 You get to see dozens of early talkie stars in this hodgepodge. The short "drama" sequences and most of the "comedy" sequences are awful, but the singing and dancing routines are tops. My favorites are the "I'm in Training for You" routine (Jack Oakie and Zelma O'Neal), the "Dancing to Save Your Soul" routine (Nancy Carroll and an uncredited Al Norman - the great deadpan rubberlegs dancer), Maurice Chevalier singing "All I Want is Just One" and "Sweeping the Clouds Away" and little Mitzi Green imitating Chevalier.