Such a frustrating disappointment

As Good As It Gets

Absolutely Fantastic

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is a fantastic film that saves its best for last. It starts off as a good Cagney-Blondell pairing, with him playing a theater producer whose job is in trouble with the advent of "talkies", and her playing his hardworking, intelligent secretary. It ends with a couple of absolutely STUNNING musical numbers choreographed by Busby Berkeley – 'By a Waterfall' and 'Shanghai Lil'. The sets are spectacular, as are the visual effects Berkeley creates with overhead camera shots – just have a look on youtube. Cagney is a delight to watch in his film, which has him in a role different from his usual gangster typecasting. He's marvelously light on his feet, both when he shows performers how it's done early in the movie, and then later when he 'fills in' for a guy who has had too much to drink to perform 'Shanghai Lil', which is set in a Chinese den of iniquity. The banter and comedy throughout the movie keeps it entertaining, with the exception of Hugh Herbert, who's in a whiny, annoying role. There's also lots of 1933 eye candy here, with dancer's legs, skimpy outfits, and bathing suits abounding, helped along by the movie being pre-Code. Related to that and as a small side note, I thought it was funny to see Claire Dodd, wide- eyed, reading a book called "Naughty Stories" with a vamp on the cover.As for the other leads, Dick Powell is not my favorite but he's passable, and Ruby Keeler is a joy, playing a cute secretary who transforms into a performer. There are some cringe-inducing moments, including Keeler as an Asian woman during 'Shanghai Lil, singing some broken English lyrics which may make you think of the cliché 'me love you long time' (one of the actual lines: "I miss you very much, a long time, I think that you no love me still"). Earlier in the film, Cagney will brainstorm for themes in his musicals and hit upon one with "African slaves" (after other wacky ideas, e.g. "Frankenstein"), and later, after seeing a bunch of African-American kids playing in the water from a fire hydrant, he'll quip "That's what (we) need - a modern waterfall splashing on beautiful white bodies." You have to forgive the film for those transgressions, which are relatively small for the time period. Overall – very entertaining and an absolute blast in some places, with Cagney and Berkeley turning in outstanding work. Great film.

Great showstoppers. Jimmy hoofing it up a storm, nine years before his boffo "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Ruby Keeler always excellent; superb. Joan Blondell -- spoiler -- gets Jimmy in the end, after she kicks his cheap trashy gold-digger, literally, to the curb, lol. Hugh Herbert with the famous hand-twirling -- always a delight. Jimmy's friend Frank McHugh terribly whiny as the dance director, and his wearing that huge cat's tail is totally hilarious. Cat number just divine, so is waterfall number. Honeymoon number full of pre-code innuendoes, but of course there is the justice of the peace just off the lobby. Berkeley always excellent, plus he is one of the cast. Look for him. 12/10

What a spectacular parade Footlight Parade is, irresistible and one of the best and most entertaining of the Busby Berkeley early 30s film musicals. The second half is stronger than the first, the first half is still a lot of fun but the second half makes a little more of an impression with scenes that people talk about more. The costumes and sets are beautiful and glitzy and Footlight Parade is stunningly shot for the time and just as much a wonder now too. In this regard, the best photography is in By the Waterfall, the kaleidoscopic technique and look is just as effectively used as it was in Gold Diggers of 1933. The music has great energy and is really pleasant on the ears, and the featured songs are just great. Shanghai Lil makes for an unforgettable ending, daring and surreal as well as exuberant(some of the best lyrics are in this number too), even better is by far the most visually beautiful scene of the film By the Waterfall. The script is snappy and razor-sharply delivered, and the story moves at a lively pace and the great fun, energy and warmth makes you ignore that structurally it's not that special(when you're having so fun you don't care though). The direction is solid and professional, the choreography simply dazzles particularly in By the Waterfall and the performances are fine. Joan Blondell has such great sassy wit, while Dick Powell is charming and Frank McHugh is very funny and empathetic. Ruby Keeler also gives one of her better performances, her singing and dancing have never been great(though they're better than they have been here) but her winsome innocence and charm is enough to win one over. Making Footlight Parade is James Cagney, giving a performance that is electric in every way possible and one that plays to his strengths as a singer, actor and dancer. To conclude, spectacular and immensely enjoyable, if you love film musicals this is a must see if you haven't seen it yet. 10/10 Bethany Cox

At the beginning of the movie there's a theater marquee from Hollywood Pictures that announces 'Silent Pictures are Finished'. With that concept being dealt with in real time, Warner Brothers casts it's rising star Jimmy Cagney as a go-getter, a producer of stage shows who has to quickly readjust to the new reality of moving pictures in order to make a buck. He decides on creating 'prologues', live musical numbers to complement what theater fans are about to see on the big screen.The set up for the large scale Busby Berkely production numbers takes up the first half of the story, as Cagney's character Chester Kent labors to come up with original ideas only to have them stolen and used by the competition. Pulling out all the stops for a major investor, Kent ushers his troupers from theater to theater to present his latest ideas before his rival has a chance to learn about them. The trio of Berkeley numbers are truly extravaganzas, with a lavish flair that would be hard to emulate even today. Presumably each production is meant to outdo the one before, so I probably go against consensus here by choosing the Waterfall sequence as my favorite, the middle prologue of the three. Cagney himself gets to hoof it in the third number, Shanghai Lil, with Ruby Keeler as an Oriental geisha. The production has an interesting international flavor with characters representing various ethnicities, something you probably wouldn't expect three decades prior to the Civil Rights era.Cagney film fans will enjoy his team up once again with Warner contract players Joan Blondell and Frank McHugh. Blondell was married to cinematographer George Barnes when the picture was being made; two years later she would divorce him and marry the picture's other headliner, Dick Powell. This was my first look at Ruby Keeler, and I can't say I was all that impressed with her performance. Nor Powell's for that matter, even though the movie-going public fell in love with them in Berkeley's first musical for Warner's, "42nd Street", soon followed by "Gold Diggers of 1933". I haven't seen those yet, so I don't want to be too critical here.Contrary to what one might think, Cagney himself preferred his musical films to the gangster flicks that captured the imagination of his many fans. For a long time, "Footlight Parade" was his favorite, although by the time author Doug Warren interviewed him for the biography "Cagney" published in 1983, he was quoted as saying "It was a dog". I'd say he was being a little hard on himself.