Change Your Image
flashrats
Reviews
Carnival Day (1936)
What A Delightful Surprise!
This sweet, entertaining film is a multi-cultural, highly enjoyable musical. It unselfconsciously brings to life an integrated small society, of the folks who come together on "Carnival Day". While it's not presented as a social commentary, the film is about a community that seems as if it was never prejudiced: each person is very important to the others, folks are folks & deeply friends, and there is no awareness of race, age, class, or national origin. We see: a dark-haired, dark-skinned jockey sing his heart-filled song (Irish Rose/Rose in her Hair) to his pale, red-haired love (she works in a booth), while 2 bad guys in dark suits try to fix the race (OK these characters were stereotypes); two very talented, excited, African American kids do a COMPLETE, complex tap dance, looking right into the camera for you; a sparkling, old, Italian man in his carnival attire, who knows everyone, provides the segues; and yes--the color (and orchestration) is not only astounding...it's 3 years ahead of Gone with the Wind!
I'm hoping to find a print to make my own.