The Musicals of 1929
List activity
296 views
• 5 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
50 titles
- DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsBessie LoveAnita PageCharles KingA pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.DVD
- DirectorRobert FloreyJoseph SantleyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxDuring the Florida land boom, The Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves.
- DirectorCharles ReisnerChristy CabanneNorman HoustonStarsConrad NagelJack BennyJohn GilbertAn all-star revue featuring MGM contract players.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldLupino LaneThe queen of mythical Sylvania marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsDaniel L. HaynesNina Mae McKinneyWilliam FountaineA sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsHelen MorganJoan PeersFuller Mellish Jr.A burlesque star seeks to keep her convent-raised daughter away from her low-down life and abusive lover/stage manager.
- DirectorLuther ReedStarsBebe DanielsJohn BolesBert WheelerCapt. James Stewart pursues the bandit "The Kinkajou" over the Mexican border and falls in love with Rita. He suspects, that her brother is the bandit.
- DirectorMillard WebbStarsMary EatonEddie CantorHelen MorganThe rise of a showgirl, Gloria Hughes, culminating in a Ziegfeld extravaganza "Glorifying the American Girl".
- DirectorJames CruzeErich von StroheimStarsErich von StroheimDonald DouglasBetty CompsonAn insanely, egocentric ventriloquist, even though he is possessed by his wooden dummy, is in love with a dancer who is in love with another. The dummy gives advice to the ventriloquist.
- DirectorWesley RugglesStarsBetty CompsonJohn HarronJack OakieA homeless and destitute violinist joins a combo to bring it success, but has problems with her love life.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsJanet GaynorCharles FarrellMarjorie WhiteMolly and Bee, sweet young 'working girls,' live in a cheap room over a New York grocery store. Molly's idol, wealthy Jack Cromwell, lives in a Long Island mansion but is markedly less happy, since his fiancée Jane won't discourage her other admirers. Fleeing in his car, Jack ends up in an urban block party where he meets you-know-who.
- DirectorPál FejösStarsGlenn TryonEvelyn BrentMerna KennedyA naive young dancer in a Broadway show innocently gets involved in backstage bootlegging and murder.
- DirectorJohn G. AdolfiStarsFrank FayWilliam CourtenayH.B. WarnerIn 1929, the studio gave the cinema its voice and offered audiences a chance to hear their favorite actors and actresses from the silent-screen era. For the first time, they can be heard in a gaudy, grandiose musical-comedy revue. But also appearing are actors and actresses from the first 'talkies', stars from Broadway, and, of course, German shepherd Rin-Tin-Tin. Frank Fay is the host of the more than 70 well-known stars who show various acts.
- DirectorJohn Francis DillonStarsMarilyn MillerAlexander GrayJoe E. BrownSally was an orphan who got her name from the telephone exchange where she was abandoned as a baby. In the orphanage, she discovered the joy of dancing and has been practicing since. Working as a waitress, she goes from job to job until she finds a job that also allows her to dance. At the restaurant, she meets Blair, and they both fall for each other, but Blair is engaged to Marcia. Sally is hired to impersonate a famous Russian dancer named Noskerova, but at that engagement, she is found to be a phony and that Blair is engaged. Undaunted, she proceeds with her life and has her show on Broadway, but she still thinks of Blair.
- DirectorJohn CromwellA. Edward SutherlandStarsHal SkellyNancy CarrollDorothy RevierWhen a vaudeville comic and a pretty young dancer have little luck in their separate careers, they decide to combine their acts; to save money on the road, they get married.
- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsArthur LakeBetty CompsonJoe E. BrownA musical advertised as the first 100% natural color, all-singing production. The plot concerns a wide-eyed former hatcheck girl who takes the place of a rebellious star.
- DirectorHarry A. PollardArch HeathStarsLaura La PlanteJoseph SchildkrautEmily FitzroyA mostly silent version of Edna Ferber's original novel, with some songs from the musical as a last-minute addition
- DirectorSam WoodStarsRosetta DuncanVivian DuncanLawrence GraySisters Casey and Babe work in a department store that puts on a show every year. As expected, things are going wrong with every act until Casey comes out to help Babe with her song. They are a hit, but in the final act, Casey again comes out and this time the president sees her act and fires both her and Babe on the spot. Benny is able to book Casey, Babe, and Dean into Vaudeville and their act is popular. But before they have their shot at stardom, Dean and Babe leave Casey and the act.
- DirectorMarshall NeilanStarsRudy ValleeSally BlaneMarie DresslerA zany musical about an amateur musician in search of work who impersonates a big band leader.
- DirectorMarshall NeilanStarsArthur LakeJune ClydeDorothy RevierPeggy and Bill are high society lovebirds, but their marriage plans are put on hold while Peggy spends most of her summer straightening out her wayward parents and her unlucky-in-love sister Janet. Mama and Papa are set to rights fairly quickly, but Janet's the one with real problems. It seems she sent some compromising love letters to a worthless cad, and now the bounder wants to use the letters for blackmail. Peggy's friend Roger and his flapper sweetheart Tootie hatch an elaborate plan to retrieve the incriminating letters and salvage Janet's reputation.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsNancy WelfordConway TearleWinnie LightnerThree Broadway chorus girls seek rich husbands.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsElliott NugentRobert MontgomeryCliff EdwardsBiff and Eddie are the best of friends. They are college seniors, roommates at the fraternity, and star teammates on the USC football team. Then a flapper named Babs enters the picture. Biff considers Babs his girl, and she does like him more than Eddie, but Eddie is persistent. Everywhere they go, Eddie and Biff are competing for Babs. When Eddie backs off for the sake of the friendship, Babs decides that she wants him, and this causes the friendship to end. Their rivalry even threatens the team's play in the big Stanford football game.
- DirectorBenjamin StoloffStarsCharles E. EvansMarjorie WhiteRichard KeeneMargie, a singer on a showboat, decides to try her luck in New York although she's in love with the owner's grandson. She is successful, but suddenly she hears that the showboat is in deep financial trouble, and she summons all of the boat's former stars to unite and put on a big show to rescue it.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsCharlotte GreenwoodClaude GillingwaterGrant WithersUncle Claude comes to the Ardmore Beach Hotel to see Tommy and his wife. At the hotel, with his two granddaughters Ruth and Sally, Uncle Claude meets a wise talking employee named Letty which causes him to leave the Hotel. When he finds Tommy, he mistakes Grace for his wife and likes her and the way she keeps a clean house. To get a big check from Uncle Claude and to see how life is with the other, the two couples switch spouses for a week.
- DirectorSidney FranklinStarsRamon NovarroDorothy JordanMarion HarrisA Bonapartist falls for a Royalist.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsWilliam PowellHelen KaneFay WrayBig-name musical performers experience everyday problems and disappointments during their offstage hours.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsAl JolsonDavey LeeMarian NixonJoe Lane kills another man in a fistfight after learning that the man has made improper advances towards his wife. Joe goes to prison for the murder. When Joe gets out of prison, he visits his son "Little Pal" at school. Little Pal tries to follow Joe downtown, but is hit by a truck.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsAlice WhiteMarion ByronSally EilersA Chorus girl who is in love with her stage manager is led to believe that he is in love with another young woman, so, she agrees to marry a bootlegger instead.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsNancy CarrollHelen KaneStanley SmithA chorus girl inherits a men's college where her boyfriend is a star football player.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJohn BolesCarlotta KingLouise FazendaThe Desert Song is a 1929 American Pre-Code operetta film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring John Boles, Louise Fazenda, and Myrna Loy.
- DirectorJames TinlingStarsLois MoranTom PatricolaDavid PercyPhil and Pete compete for Mary's love and also in a contest for best song written by a college student.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsVictor McLaglenEdmund LoweLili DamitaTwo Marines are sent to South Sea island where they fight over a local island girl.
- DirectorBert GlennonStarsFred Waring and His PennsylvaniansMorton DowneyBarbara BennettThis is RKO's first sound musical. It centers on a pair of vaudevillians who are quite close on and off the stage until a dashing millionaire comes around and begins wooing the female partner.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsGertrude LawrenceCharles RugglesWalter PetrieGeorgie, a singer and music vendor on the streets of Paris, teams with Zizi, a pickpocket, and in the scurry before a police raid she meets Tony, a young American artist. Returning his wallet the next day. Georgie is persuaded to remain and model for him, and as a result they fall in love. When war is declared, Tony enlists and Georgie keeps his apartment for him. While nursing in a large hospital in Paris, Georgie becomes pals with three "musketeers" of the Paris underworld; when Tony fails to meet her on his leave, she finds him in the arms of Suzanne, a cafe waitress; with her friends she monopolizes their attention with her musical talent. Later, Suzanne lures her from the apartment and has her imprisoned. Tony joins the friends in their search for her; and after a battle with the villains, the lovers are reunited.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsColleen MooreJames HallRobert HomansA pretty young violinist who travels from Ireland to America to seek fame and fortune on Broadway finds a bit more than she expected.
- DirectorRichard WallaceStarsMaurice ChevalierSylvia BeecherRussell SimpsonMaurice, a humble Parisian junk dealer who sells some of his wares at the Flea market, saves a boy from drowning. The boy's aunt Louise is grateful and wins Maurice's affections, but the lad's grandfather despises him. The jaunty junk man gets a great offer to sing in an important show and launch a theatrical career, but Louise is against it and at length, he must choose between the two.
- DirectorLuther ReedStarsJack OakiePolly WalkerRoger GrayLooloo (Polly Walker), owner of a seaside coffee shop, falls in love with sailor Bilge Smith, who is on shore leave, but her sudden wealth sabotages the romance.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsJohn BreedenLola LaneDeWitt JenningsLila Beaumont is an understudy in a Broadway musical. Her boyfriend, George Shelby, arrives in New York hoping to take Lila back home with him to marry. George buys a majority interest in the show, planning to fire Lila after she refuses to quit the show. But when Lila goes on in place of the temperamental star, she is a great success and George is able to sell the show back to the original investors at a profit.
- DirectorRobert F. HillStarsEddie LeonardJosephine DunnHuntley GordonA songwriter leaves his chorus girl sweetheart to join the US Army in WWI. In France he falls in love with French singer Madelon. He is crippled in action. Back in the States, his girl friend there leaves him. But Madelon can't forget him and comes to the USA to work there as singer. Per chance she meets the songwriter, and he is cured. Singing one of his love songs, he knows that he has found the right girl.
- DirectorGeorge ArchainbaudStarsSally O'NeilJack EganCarmel MyersWhen the road-show that Ted Howard, a singer, and Mary, a chorus-dancer, goes broke and the company is stranded in the sticks, Ted Uses his own savings to get them all back to New York. Ted and Mary form a team and are doing well when Valenska, a musical comedy queen, asks Ted to join her as an act. Since the offer doesn't include Mary, Ted refuses. But, Mary, who loves Ted, knows this is Ted's big chance, and she instigates a situation that leads to the break-up of their team. Ted does do well, but is also used by Valenska as her boy-toy. When they open a big show, Mary is there as a member of the chorus. This does not set well with Valenska. There are some problems.
- DirectorHoward BrethertonStarsGrant WithersBetty CompsonGertrude OlmsteadA musical comedy that follows the progress of a college All America football player, Jim Crane(Grant Withers), whose swollen head is deflated when, after graduating , he takes a job as a Wall Street stock salesman. While poor at selling, he knows how to charm women and his boss has him concentrate his efforts on disposing of bad stock to gullible females, one of whom turns out to be the wife of his boss.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsSophie TuckerLila LeeAudrey FerrisNightclub hostess Sophie Leonard educates her daughter Beth abroad and keeps her life secret for her. But suddenly the daughter shows up.
- DirectorPaul SloaneStarsStepin FetchitClarence MuseEugene JacksonNappus, an elderly farmer, resents the fact that his daughter Chloe is married to a lazy layabout named Gummy, who allows Chloe to do all the house and farm work he himself should be doing. Chloe has to care for her two children, Trailia and Chiquapin, while managing all of Gummy's duties as well, and she is worn down by her labors. When Chloe and the child Trailia become dangerously ill, Gummy obtains the services of a voodoo doctor instead of a real medical doctor, with tragic results. Nappus decides he will somehow raise the money to send his grandson Chiquapin to medical school.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsBelle BakerRalph GravesDavid DurandTom and Anna Gibson, along with their little boy, Buddy, form a successful vaudeville song-and-dance act and a happy family. Anna, however, is worried about her son's future when she finds him playing ball, forgetting a performance.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsColleen MooreRaymond HackettFredric MarchA musical comedy star named Fifi D'Auray is famed for her Gallic charm, though she is really one Betty Murphy. She won't marry her fiance, Jimmy, until he stops gambling and gets honest work. As Fifi, she has rich playboy Gregory obsessed with her, and he goes to lengths to please her, even getting Jimmy a position as treasurer of his theatre. A robbery there is pinned on Jimmy, and Fifi believes that Gregory had set a trap for him.
- DirectorCharles J. HuntStarsTommy ChristianEllalee RubyJohnny KaneA college band performs in a speakeasy, where a raid results in the expulsion of the bandleader, but later he manages to land a Broadway gig.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsAlice WhiteCharles DelaneyRita FlynnDaisy, a clerk at Woolworth's, loves to sing. She meets Bill, a guard on the subway, at a party and they're both attracted to each other, but each tells the other that they have a different job than they actually do. Bill later finds her handbag on the subway, returns it to her and invites her to dinner. They dine at the swanky Mayfield Club, where owner Lawrence Mayfield is also attracted to Daisy and offers her a job there as a singer. Bill is not happy, although Daisy is. Complications ensue.
- DirectorDonald GallaherStarsMae ClarkeRobert AmesWilliam HarriganProfessional acrobats Bert and Johnny are the best of friends. Thay are also confirmed women-hating bachelors. When an injury suddenly sidelines the act, they move to a boarding house that caters to theater folk until they are ready to return to work. There they meet one of the residents, Jackie, a girl who wants to also become an acrobat. Both Bert and Johnny fall for her, and become rivals for her, eventually splitting up their act.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsVictor McLaglenFifi D'OrsayEl Brendel