The Hollywood Revue of 1929

The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Charles Reisner
Produced by	Irving Thalberg Harry Rapf
Written by	Al Boasberg Robert E. Hopkins Joseph W. Farnham
Starring	Conrad Nagel Jack Benny Joan Crawford Marion Davies John Gilbert Norma Shearer Anita Page Marie Dressler William Haines Buster Keaton Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Gus Edwards
Music by	Gus Edwards Arthur Freed ("Singin' in the Rain") Nacio Herb Brown ("Singin' in the Rain")
Cinematography	John Arnold Max Fabian Irving G. Ries John M. Nickolaus
Edited by	William S. Gray Cameron K. Wood
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	June 20, 1929 (Los Angeles)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$426,000
Box office	$1,561,000

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is an American Pre-Code musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of their earliest sound films. Produced by Harry Rapf and Irving Thalberg and directed by Charles Reisner, it features nearly all of MGM's stars in a two-hour revue that includes three segments in Technicolor. The masters of ceremonies are Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny.

Unlike M-G-M's imposing feature films, which always boasted strong story values, The Hollywood Revue of 1929 was a plotless parade of variety acts. Conrad Nagel, interviewed for the book The Real Tinsel, recalled, "Everybody thought Harry Rapf was crazy for making it." Billed as an "All-Star Musical Extravaganza", the film includes performances by once and future stars, including Joan Crawford singing and dancing on stage. (She later remarked, "Revue was one of those let's-throw-everyone-on-the-lot-into-a musical things, but I did a good song-and-dance number."). Other segments feature Lionel Barrymore, Marion Davies, Gus Edwards, John Gilbert, Buster Keaton, Marie Dressler, Anita Page, Norma Shearer, and the comedy team of Karl Dane and George K. Arthur.

Highlights of the film are a comedy routine starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as inept magicians, and a variety of musical performances. One of these is the debut of "Singin' in the Rain", performed initially by Cliff Edwards as "Ukulele Ike,'" and later performed at the end of the film by the entire cast. This latter all-star color sequence was a last-minute addition to the film, shot late at night on June 10, 1929, just ten days before the premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The only major M-G-M stars missing from the revue are Greta Garbo, Ramón Novarro, and Lon Chaney, Sr., although Chaney is referred to by name in one of the songs performed and Garbo is spoken of during one of the introductory dialogues. Only one sequence was cut from the film: three songs by The Brox Sisters, which was recycled into a short subject, Gems of MGM. Another sequence, a parody of the Albertina Rasch ballet's "pearl dance" by Marie Dressler, was planned but not shot (as the film's production records reveal). Instead, the number was replaced by one featuring Buster Keaton, though Dressler did pose for stills wearing a Lady Godiva wig.