User Reviews

Gus Edwards started as a vaudevillian and wound up as a song writer, publisher and organizer of shows on the stage and radio in which young children performed. His two best known songs are "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" and "School Days".

Mr. Edwards does not appear in this revue, but he was so well known that his name was worth paying for this short. A bunch of children show up to throw a show for Santa Claus. While some of the performers are astonishing in their abilities at very tender ages, the net effect is slightly creepy to a modern viewer like me, as they ape adult manners -- in a strictly PG manner. Still, there's no doubt about their ability -- although the kid who sings "Dinah" is little better than Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.

Let's cut to the chase....this short from Vitaphone is god-awful. While it begins by announcing that it stars the 'stars of tomorrow', as far as I know, none of them ever made a name for themselves in Hollywood...and we should give thanks for this, as they appear to be a rather annoying and mostly untalented lot. There are a couple tap dancers who are cute but unfortunately sing like children, a kid doing a third-rate Betty Boop (or Helen Kane) imitation, a kid in a straw hat who sings and scats...badly and more. The worst, however, was the hellishly bad version of "Good Ship Lollipop". This ditty was just awful and might make your ears bleed--as will "La Cucharacha"!! A couple aren't bad (such as the boy singing "When Irish Eyes" and the tiny pianist) but they are the exception and aren't all that good either. It all comes off much like a grade school talent show. All of this is presided over by a creepy Santa and some kid dressed a bit like a gangster (minus the gat, of course).

Watch if you date but considering none are budding stars (such as the Vitaphone film of Judy Garland and her sisters, the Gumms), I can't see a lot of reason to look for this one.