The Show of Shows
Brief Synopsis
Warner Bros. stars perform a series of musical and dramatic sketches.
Cast & Crew
Read More
John G. Adolfi
Director
Frank Fay
Master of ceremonies
William Courtenay
The minister
H. B. Warner
The victim
Hobart Bosworth
The Executioner
Marian Nixon
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Release Date
Dec
28,
1929
Premiere Information
New York premiere: 20 Nov 1929
Production Company
Warner Brothers Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 9m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White, Color (Technicolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
11,692ft
(15 reels)
Synopsis
Following the introduction of emcee Frank Fay, a dramatic prologue presents an execution in a medieval setting. The "Military March" number features Monte Blue and a horde of chorus girls in a dancing routine. Winnie Lightner then sings "Singin' in the Bath-Tub" with a male chorus attired as bathing girls, and performs a comedy takeoff with Bull Montana. Georges Carpentier appears as a boulevardier in a number featuring "If I Could Learn to Love," supported by Alice White and Patsy Miller. Irene Bordini appears with various composers, each seated at a piano, and sings their successes. In the Florodora Number, the girls sing, then are replaced by the Florodora Boys, demonstrating their occupations in a dance routine. Beatrice Lillie, in a comedy sketch, does "Your Mother and Mine." In the "Motion Picture Pirates" number, Ted Lewis appears with an array of leading screen ladies and heavies along with his band on a picturesque pirate ship. Myrna Loy and Nick Lucas appear in an Oriental routine featuring "Li-Po-Li," and an all-star number features eight sets of starlets, each attired in costumes of various countries in "Meet My Sister," with Richard Barthelmess as emcee. A rhythmic ballet number features 75 dancing girls in black and white costumes, highlighted by Louise Fazenda; then Lupino Lane appears in a tramp ballet. John Barrymore, along with Anthony Bushell and E. J. Radcliffe, acts out a scene from Richard III . In the "Bicycle Built for Two" number, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., heads a prominent group of stars in a satire of 1900; the Execution Number, laid in the badlands of Mexico, features Monte Blue and some of the screen's leading heavies, headed by Noah Beery. The "Lady Luck" finale stars Betty Compson and Alexander Gray along with 15 individual acts, climaxed by a screen image of each of the film's stars singing "Lady Luck."
Director
John G. Adolfi
Director
Cast
Frank Fay
Master of ceremonies
William Courtenay
The minister
H. B. Warner
The victim
Hobart Bosworth
The Executioner
Marian Nixon
Sally O'neil
Myrna Loy
Alice Day
Patsy Ruth Miller
Florodora Sextette
Ben Turpin
Waiter
Heinie Conklin
Ice man
Lupino Lane
Street cleaner
Lee Moran
Plumber
Bert Roach
Father
Lloyd Hamilton
Hansom cabby
Wheeler Oakman
Bull Montana
Kalla Pasha
Anders Randolf
Philo Mccullough
Otto Matiesen
Jack Curtis
Pirates
Johnny Arthur
Hero
Carmel Myers
Ruth Clifford
Sally Eilers
Viola Dana
Shirley Mason
Ethlyne Clair
Frances Lee
Julanne Johnston
Ladies
Douglas Fairbanks
Ambrose
Chester Conklin
Traffic cop
Grant Withers
William Collier Jr.
Jack Mulhall
Chester Morris
William Bakewell
Boys
Lois Wilson
Gertrude Olmstead
Pauline Garon
Edna Murphy
Jaqueline Logan
Girls
Monte Blue
Condemned man
Albert Gran
Noah Beery
Tully Marshall
Lee Moran
Soldiers
Armida
John Barrymore
Richard Barthelmess
Sally Blane
Irene Bordini
Anthony Bushell
Marion Byron
Georges Carpentier
James Clemmons
Betty Compton
Dolores Costello
Helene Costello
Marceline Day
Louise Fazenda
Alexander Gray
Beatrice Lillie
Winnie Lightner
Hariette Lake
Lila Lee
Ted Lewis
Nick Lucas
Molly O'day
Rin-tin-tin
E. J. Radcliffe
Sid Silvers
Sojin
Lola Vendrill
Ada Mae Vaughn
Alberta Vaughn
Ted Williams Adagio Dancers
Alice White
Loretta Young
Crew
Rube Bloom
Composer
Perry Bradford
Composer
J. Keirn Brennan
Composer
J. Keirn Brennan
Special material
Nacio Herb Brown
Composer
Al Bryan
Composer
Joe Burke
Composer
Larry Ceballos
Dance Director
Michael H. Cleary
Composer
Al Dubin
Composer
Gus Edwards
Composer
Frank Fay
Special material
Arthur Freed
Composer
Joe Goodwin
Composer
George R. Groves
Recording Engineer
Jack Haskell
Dance Director
M. K. Jerome
Composer
Jimmy Johnson
Composer
Sam Lewis
Composer
Herb Magidson
Composer
Bernard Mcgill
Director of Photography
Ray Perkins
Composer
Jean Schwartz
Composer
Bernie Seaman
Composer
Marvin Smolev
Composer
Ed Ward
Composer
Ned Washington
Composer
Joe Young
Composer
Darryl Francis Zanuck
Supervisor
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Release Date
Dec
28,
1929
Premiere Information
New York premiere: 20 Nov 1929
Production Company
Warner Brothers Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
2h 9m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White, Color (Technicolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
11,692ft
(15 reels)
Articles
Show of Shows
Warner Brothers, eager to show off their new advances in color film and sound technology, put together this wild hodgepodge of a variety show conceived as an explicit death knell to the old way of doing movies. Starring just about everyone they had under contract at the time -- Alice White, Patsy Miller, Beatrice Lillie, Loretta Young, Ann Sothern, Marceline Day, Dolores Costello, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Myrna Loy, Louise Fazenda, John Barrymore, and yes, Rin-Tin-Tin -- the acts range wildly in content, from Busby Berkeley-esque ballet extravaganzas to Shakespearean scenes to a chorus line of men in bathing beauty drag clomping around to the tune of "Singing In The Bathtub". To modern eyes, its static shooting style is frustratingly stiff for a musical, but that's due to the locked-down limitations of sound cameras at the time. But as a census of talents on their way out and new faces on their way in, it's a fascinating snapshot of Hollywood on the cusp of radical change.
Show of Shows
Warner Brothers, eager to show off their new advances in color film and sound technology, put together this wild hodgepodge of a variety show conceived as an explicit death knell to the old way of doing movies. Starring just about everyone they had under contract at the time -- Alice White, Patsy Miller, Beatrice Lillie, Loretta Young, Ann Sothern, Marceline Day, Dolores Costello, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Myrna Loy, Louise Fazenda, John Barrymore, and yes, Rin-Tin-Tin -- the acts range wildly in content, from Busby Berkeley-esque ballet extravaganzas to Shakespearean scenes to a chorus line of men in bathing beauty drag clomping around to the tune of "Singing In The Bathtub". To modern eyes, its static shooting style is frustratingly stiff for a musical, but that's due to the locked-down limitations of sound cameras at the time. But as a census of talents on their way out and new faces on their way in, it's a fascinating snapshot of Hollywood on the cusp of radical change.
