James Dunn and Sally Eilers form a dance team, but we see little dancing: the director has ace cinematographer James Wong Howe concentrate on their faces and for their one big number, they are replaced by uncredited doubles. Dunn was a hoofer, but obviously neither was up to it.
The story is much darker than one would expect from a musical. There is a suicide offstage and old vaudevillians who can't get a booking. Dunn and Eilers are good but not great. Of more importance is Howe's low-key lighting as they achieve success and lose each other. It was an annoyance that much of the print was out of focus until the last ten minutes, but in some ways it actually focuses you on the shapes! Not worth seeing except for fans -- at least until they find a good print!
The story is much darker than one would expect from a musical. There is a suicide offstage and old vaudevillians who can't get a booking. Dunn and Eilers are good but not great. Of more importance is Howe's low-key lighting as they achieve success and lose each other. It was an annoyance that much of the print was out of focus until the last ten minutes, but in some ways it actually focuses you on the shapes! Not worth seeing except for fans -- at least until they find a good print!
