--- title: "Footlight Parade" year: 1933 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/footlight-parade" fi1m_id: "footlight-parade" imdb_id: "tt0024028" tmdb_id: 28432 wikidata_id: "Q534459" fi1m_score: 70 critics_reviews: 2 published: "2026-09-25T01:09:37.845475+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T01:10:14.320343+00:00" region: "AU" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Footlight Parade (1933) Directed by Lloyd Bacon · 1h 44m · Comedy, Music ## Identity Footlight Parade - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/footlight-parade - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** footlight-parade - **IMDb ID:** tt0024028 - **TMDB ID:** 28432 - **Wikidata ID:** Q534459 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024028/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/28432, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q534459 **Fi1m score: 70** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* The water ballet is worth waiting for, though the plot seems determined to check how much waiting we will tolerate > James Cagney and Joan Blondell are good company in *Footlight Parade*, though its first hour drags. The musical numbers earn a qualified recommendation, chiefly for anyone who will forgive loose plotting in exchange for a water ballet. ## Synopsis Chester Kent (James Cagney), Nan (Joan Blondell), Bea (Ruby Keeler) and Scotty (Dick Powell) are the principal characters in *Footlight Parade*, a musical comedy from 1933. Around them are Francis (Frank McHugh), Gould (Guy Kibbee), Mrs. Gould (Ruth Donnelly) and Vivian (Claire Dodd). Lloyd Bacon directs the 104-minute film, with a screenplay by James Seymour and Manuel Seff. Music is credited to Al Dubin, Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal and Harry Warren; George Barnes handles the cinematography and George Amy the editing. ## Review *Footlight Parade* is worth seeing for its musical numbers, provided a slack opening hour will not finish the evening for us. Lloyd Bacon takes longer than he should to make good on the film’s promise, and the wait is not consistently entertaining. We would forgive a thin story more readily if it moved briskly. Here, the comedy and the music keep offering different reasons to stay, with the music making the stronger case by some distance. James Cagney, as Chester Kent, is the most persuasive reason to remain interested before the numbers take over. There is an alertness to his presence that makes even unpromising business feel briefly as though it might lead somewhere. Joan Blondell’s Nan supplies a welcome dryness beside him, without making the comedy feel laboured. The pair give us people to watch through a story that too often seems to be finding fresh ways to delay its own pleasures. The screenplay by James Seymour and Manuel Seff has trouble making one passage matter to the next. A crowded cast can give a comedy momentum, but here it too often gives it another place to wander. George Amy’s editing leaves those joins exposed, and the first hour feels both busy and slow. That is a substantial reservation in a film running 104 minutes, with performers asked to keep us amused for too long without enough help from the writing. We were delighted by the water ballet, partly because it gave us something specific and absorbing to watch after so much aimless plotting. The pleasure is in watching a musical number take its visual possibilities seriously, with movement worth attending to for its own sake. George Barnes’s photography deserves attention here: the spectacle remains readable, so we can enjoy its scale without losing interest in the performers. For once, we stopped wondering how long the film was taking. The music credits name Al Dubin, Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal and Harry Warren, and the songs make a better case for the film than the dialogue. *Honeymoon Hotel* and *Shanghai Lil* have a distinct identity that much of the surrounding comedy lacks. We remember the numbers individually, and would happily watch them again without needing the connecting scenes to prepare us. Their independence helps: there is no need to find the plotting compelling before enjoying what the musical performers can do. Musical comedy allows a certain amount of loose plotting, and we are happy to grant it. This much dead time is harder to overlook, particularly at 104 minutes. Our recommendation rests on the numbers, which are the reason we would return. Anyone coming principally for a tightly worked comedy may reasonably be less forgiving. Choose it for a musical evening, with patience for the stretches when nobody is singing. *Fi1m score 70, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Footlight Parade worth watching?** *Footlight Parade* is worth watching for its musical numbers, especially the water ballet, and we score it 70 out of 100. James Cagney and Joan Blondell help sustain interest through a slack opening hour, but we recommend it chiefly to musical fans willing to forgive loose plotting and a long wait for its strongest pleasures. **How long is Footlight Parade, and what is it rated?** *Footlight Parade* runs 1h 44m. It is a comedy and music film. **Where can I watch Footlight Parade in Australia?** *Footlight Parade* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from A$4.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Footlight Parade compare to Topsy-Turvy?** *Footlight Parade* offers more pleasure in its musical numbers than its connecting story, while [*Topsy-Turvy*](https://film.one/film/topsy-turvy) makes the preparation of a show absorbing in its own right. We recommend *Topsy-Turvy* more confidently for its attention to the people doing the work, despite occasional slow stretches; *Footlight Parade* suits an evening when the spectacle matters more than the plotting. ### Reviews we read (2) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (65/100, inferred): The review finds the film weaker overall than its predecessors, but says its spectacular musical numbers more than compensate. It singles out the water ballet, “Honeymoon Hotel” and “Shanghai Lil” for praise, while criticizing the first hour’s lethargic, disjointed plot. [Read](https://variety.com/1932/film/reviews/footlight-parade-1200410760/) - **Time Out**, TM (64/100, inferred): The page is identified as a review of the specified film, but the review text is unavailable. Its verdict and any particular praise or complaint cannot be determined from the accessible information. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/footlight-parade) ## Details - **Director:** Lloyd Bacon - **Director:** Lloyd Bacon - **Screenplay:** Manuel Seff, James Seymour - **Writer:** Peter Milne - **Story:** Robert Lord - **Cinematography:** George Barnes - **Editor:** George Amy - **Music:** Al Dubin, Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, Harry Warren - **Costume design:** Milo Anderson - **Producer:** Robert Lord - **Cast:** James Cagney as Chester Kent; Joan Blondell as Nan; Ruby Keeler as Bea; Dick Powell as Scotty; Frank McHugh as Francis; Guy Kibbee as Gould; Ruth Donnelly as Mrs. Gould; Hugh Herbert as Bowers - **Runtime:** 1h 44m - **First release (the US):** 30 September 1933 - **Genres:** Comedy, Music - **Budget:** $703,000 - **Box office:** $2 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIv4A53jH6s ## Where to watch in Australia - Amazon Prime Video: rent A$4.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy A$14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-25.* Also available in: AU, CA, DK, FR, GB, HR, IN, IT, LT, MX, NO, RO, RS, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Band Wagon* (1953): Backstage egos and musical invention, with more confidence in the connecting comedy. - *The Young Girls of Rochefort* (1967): A town full of dancers offers colour, romance and unapologetically expansive musical staging. - *The Boy Friend* (1971): Another backstage musical that lets elaborate numbers outgrow the business surrounding them. - *Topsy-Turvy* (1999), Fi1m 88: For the rehearsal-room work behind a show, and the people doing it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/topsy-turvy.md) - *The Hole* (1998): Musical daydreams interrupt a leaking flat and a much lonelier kind of life. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/footlight-parade