Footlight Parade

James Cagney takes on the role of hyper-energetic and businesslike theater man Chester Kent, who must face the times and recognize that his industry is threatened by the rise of speech-film. His answer will be to invent lavish musical prologues, which are performed in cinemas before the movies — dizzying stage shows designed to lure the audience inside. Look, that was a different time. As Kent deals with rivals, financial pressures and romantic entanglements, his secretary Nan (Joan Blondell) stands faithfully by his side. The film moves effortlessly between rapping lines, backstage comedy and pure musical ecstasy.
Busby Berkeley choreographed the film's famous musical numbers, in which a myriad of dancers transform into geometric formations in water and on land as the camera whirls about, finding viewing angles that no theater audience would ever be able to see. A film like no other -- and at the same time a reminder that cinema space has always been in crisis and has had to reinvent itself time and time again.

Directed by Lloyd Bacon
Starring: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler
Country/year: United States, 1933
Running time: 104 min.
Formato: DCP
Language: English Speech
Age limit: Allowed for children over 15

Part of the series: The Many Lives of the Cinema
For 30 years, the cinema halls in Gothersgade have been the beating heart of Cinemateket. We celebrate this with a series of films set in and around cinemas, depicting life in the hall, the foyer and behind the scenes. Welcome to the cinema!