The March of Time (MGM musical)

The March of Time is the title of an unreleased 1930 American Pre-Code musical film directed by Charles Reisner. The film was originally scheduled to be released in September 1930 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but was later shelved. The March of Time would have been one of the first musicals partially filmed in two-color Technicolor.

The uncompleted film was originally titled Hollywood Revue of 1930 and was conceived by producer Harry Rapf as a follow-up to MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929 which he had also produced. The film was retitled to The March of Time as it was to consist of three sections which featured past performers from the stage and the vaudeville circuit, then-present day performers and up-and-coming performers. In order to attract audiences that mainly watched films, musical numbers featuring well known actors of the time, including Bing Crosby, Ramon Novarro, Marie Dressler, Joan Crawford, and Wallace Beery were included. Production began in Spring 1930 but by June 1930, MGM decided to shelve the project as they considered it to be unmarketable despite the fact that a number of musical numbers had been filmed.

Among the performers originally scheduled to appear in The March of Time were Buster Keaton, Joe Weber and Lew Fields of the Weber and Fields comedy team, Gus Edwards, Fay Templeton, DeWolf Hopper Sr., Albertina Rasch and her dancers, Polly Moran, Barney Fagan, and Raquel Torres.