Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 explained

Fox Movietone Follies of 1929
Caption:	Theatrical release poster
Director:	David Butler and Marcel Silver
Producer:	William Fox
Starring:	Sue Carol Sharon Lynn Dixie Lee Lola Lane
Music:	Arthur Kay
Cinematography:	Charles Van Enger
Editing:	Ralph Dietrich
Studio:	William Fox Studio
Distributor:	Fox Film Corporation
Runtime:	80 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, also known as Movietone Follies of 1929 and The William Fox Movietone Follies of 1929, is an American black-and-white and color pre-Code musical film released by Fox Film Corporation.

Plot

George Shelby, a boy from the Southern United States, comes to the city to dissuade Lila, his sweetheart, from embarking on a stage career and finally buys out the controlling interest in the revue so that he can fire her. On the opening night, however, she goes onstage when the prima donna of the show becomes temperamental, and she proves to be a big hit. At this development, George is able to sell the show back to the producer, who had previously lacked confidence in his investment and planned to take advantage of the youth's inexperience.

Cast

• John Breeden as George Shelby
• Lola Lane as Lila Beaumont
• DeWitt Jennings as Jay Darrell
• Sharon Lynn as Ann Foster
• Arthur Stone as Al Leaton
• Stepin Fetchit as Swifty
• Warren Hymer as Martin
• Archie Gottler as Stage Manager
• Arthur Kay as Orchestra leader
• Mario Dominici as Le Maire
• Bobby Burns – unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")^[1]
• Sue Carol – unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")^[1]
• Dixie Lee – unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")^[1]
• Carolynne Snowden – unspecified performer (in "Song and Dance Numbers")^{[2] [1]}
• The Four Covans (uncredited)^[3]
• Cee Pee Johnson (uncredited)^{[4] [2]}

Soundtrack

All songs were written by Con Conrad, Archie Gottler and Sidney D. Mitchell.

• "Walking With Susie"
• "Why Can't I Be Like You?"
• "Legs"
• "Breakaway"
• "That's You Baby"
• "Look What You've Done To Me"
• "Big City Blues"
• "Pearl of Old Japan"

Production

Filming locations for Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 included Havana, New York City, and Palm Beach, Florida.

Preservation status

The film had Multicolor sequences in its original release, as well as being filmed in the experimental Grandeur wide-screen process. It is now considered a lost film,^[5] as all film prints known to exist were destroyed in fires at the Fox storage facility in New Jersey in 1937. The sequel, New Movietone Follies of 1930, also has Multicolor sequences and exists in the UCLA Film and Television Archive.^[5]

Some audio elements of the 1929 film still survive, however. Specifically, "Movietone Sound-on-Disc" audio for reels 6 and 7 still survive, offering the only record of dialogue and music taken directly from the movie.^[6]

In addition, several songs from the film were recorded for record release.

See also

• List of early color feature films
• List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)
• List of lost films
• 1937 Fox vault fire

External links

• Surviving Vitaphone soundtrack disk at SoundCloud
  • New York Times
• OV Guide
• Variety

Notes and References

1. https://www.mediafire.com/view/oz0agwkes82869k "Film Reviews: Fox Movietone Follies (of 1929)"
2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=71665007 "Fox Movietone Gives Nation First Audible Screen Follies"
3. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71983598/the-akron-beacon-journal/ "The Most Intimate Follies Ever Seen Or Heard"
4. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/70840547 "Fox Coronado: On the Stage"
5. Book: Bradley, Edwin M.. The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. 2004. McFarland. 0-7864-2029-4. 42–43.
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bd9XSsRqbc Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 (Movietone Sound On Disc Reel 6 & 7)