After Cliff Edwards' opening number, one of the chorus girls in the background is chatting away with the girl next to her, when a sudden cut appears, and the same girl is now stone still (apparently the director told her in between to stop talking, and pay attention).
All-star talent show of MGM silent stars, many of which in their first talkie. They sing, they dance, they do comedy bits.
What a crass attempt by "the studio with more stars than the heavens" to try and blind you with them in this ill conceived, poorly mounted musical comedy review in which our headliners could used a lot more rehearsal time. In no particular order MGM major stars Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton and an uncomfortable looking Marie Dressler fumble their way through this ill conceived all star variety show featuring both Hollywood stalwarts and Broadway players clumsily handled by co masters of ceremony Conrad Nagel, who gets to show off his rusty pipes and Jack Benny, who delivers more misses than hits.
This is one of those Dated, Corny, and Cringe-Inducers that Film Buff's, usually Reluctantly, sit through to say They have and add another Notch to the Belt, a much Deserved Reward for making it through the Two-Hour Running Time.Sure there are Some Folks who are Fans of the "Old School" Movie Stars and devour this Stuff and think its a Gay and Glorious Movie full of Wonderful Tunes and Dance Numbers.
Sorry to say, I'm badly out of synch with the majority of reviewers who have elevated this picture to a 7.6 rating at the time I write this.
If anybody picks up this film to get an example of Laurel and Hardy - boy, will they get the wrong Picture! The sketch that they are doing here is abominably bad.
MGM used to boast that they had more stars than were in the heavens. This transitional picture shows some "stars", people who still have name recognition.
MGM's "Hollywood Revue" often comes off like an elaborate amateur "Talent Show" from an otherwise uninvolved in show business group of people. It could be any school, or workplace.
This was a nice introduction to sound film put together by MGM with most of their biggest stars. Conrad Nagle starts as the master of ceremonies, but he disappears part way through the film and is replaced by Jack Benny.
This is a very odd little curio and despite my horribly low rating of 2, the film is strongly recommended for fans of the golden age of Hollywood. That's because despite being very bad and tedious, cinephiles will want to catch glimpses of some of their stars (such as Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, Joan Crawford and Buster Keaton) in very unusual roles.
