There was a major technical breakthrough in films made between 1932 and 1933. The films seemed to speed up a bit and the camera moved around more to make films seem less like a recorded stage play. Unfortunately, this one seems to have missed the technical boat. It's not just the gay 90's to Roaring 20's setting, but the whole pacing. Because of this, the film seems like something taken off the shelf from the barrage of musicals made in 1929/30 that lead to them being considered box office poison.
What is present is the typical story of a vaudeville family changing with the times. Frank Morgan and Alice Brady are fine as mom and pop, and Jackie Cooper is their young son who grows up to be Russell Hardie. In casting that could have been a prequel to "Babes in Arms", Mickey Rooney is Hardie's son who also ends up on stage. In fact, footage from this film ended up in "Babes in Arms" showing young Rooney taking a bow. Archival footage from the unreleased "March of Time" is used for the Follies numbers, having been filmed in 1930, and it matches the creakiness of the new footage. It's lavish but appears to be one of MGM's early sound musical shorts. Rooney grows up to be Eddie Quillan who ends up a film star. In a brief appearance, Nelson Eddy appears as a singer within the show that Brady and Morgan are appearing in with little enthusiasm from the audience whose tastes have changed. The film does have a poignant final that is one of the few touching moments in the movie.
What is present is the typical story of a vaudeville family changing with the times. Frank Morgan and Alice Brady are fine as mom and pop, and Jackie Cooper is their young son who grows up to be Russell Hardie. In casting that could have been a prequel to "Babes in Arms", Mickey Rooney is Hardie's son who also ends up on stage. In fact, footage from this film ended up in "Babes in Arms" showing young Rooney taking a bow. Archival footage from the unreleased "March of Time" is used for the Follies numbers, having been filmed in 1930, and it matches the creakiness of the new footage. It's lavish but appears to be one of MGM's early sound musical shorts. Rooney grows up to be Eddie Quillan who ends up a film star. In a brief appearance, Nelson Eddy appears as a singer within the show that Brady and Morgan are appearing in with little enthusiasm from the audience whose tastes have changed. The film does have a poignant final that is one of the few touching moments in the movie.