The Show of Shows

Dan Condon asks:

>Does anyone know if "The Show of Shows" (1929) is available from anyone,
>anywhere or is it a lost film. I have never seen it and am told its
>excellent.

It survives complete in B&W. Some of the color survives in color, but some
only in B&W. It used to run several times a year on TNT. It has run on TCM,
but not lately and I just searched their schedule and don't see it scheduled.

Earl, "Sinking in the Bath Tub", or was that Bosco's version........
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It's run from time to time. Very strange film, not great but better as a whole
than Hollywood Review of 1929. Show of Shows has some great sequences, and some
so-bad-they're-great ones, but some of it depends on how much Frank Fay you can
take. Also, it's a rare opportunity to see young Beatrice Lille.

Stott

Early Film wrote:

> Dan Condon asks:
>
> >Does anyone know if "The Show of Shows" (1929) is available from anyone,
> >anywhere or is it a lost film. I have never seen it and am told its
> >excellent.
>
> It survives complete in B&W. Some of the color survives in color, but some
> only in B&W. It used to run several times a year on TNT. It has run on TCM,
> but not lately and I just searched their schedule and don't see it scheduled.
>
> Earl, "Sinking in the Bath Tub", or was that Bosco's version........
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I think you need to Lightner up, a bit, Earl...




"Early Film" <earlyfilm DeleteThis @aol.comedy>
>
>
> Earl, "Sinking in the Bath Tub", or was that Bosco's version........
>
>
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I won't Winnie about that crack, but now it is driving me crazy....I can't
remember who sang the parody "Sinking in the Bathtub" and what film it was in!
Bosco did a few song parodies, but was this one of them? Or was the parody in
"Show of Shows" itself?

That dumb song is going to be playing all night in my head.......
Earl.

Robert Miller adds:
>
>I think you need to Lightner up, a bit, Earl...
>
>
>"Early Film" <earlyfilm.DeleteThis@aol.comedy>
>>
>>
>> Earl, "Sinking in the Bath Tub", or was that Bosco's version........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A. Top Posting.

>>Q. What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?
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Early Film wrote:

> I won't Winnie about that crack, but now it is driving me crazy....I can't
> remember who sang the parody "Sinking in the Bathtub" and what film it was in!
> Bosco did a few song parodies, but was this one of them? Or was the parody in
> "Show of Shows" itself?
>
> That dumb song is going to be playing all night in my head.......
> Earl.

It's Bosko in Warner Brother's first talking cartoon "Sinking in the Bathtub".
In it, Bosko wants to take a bath, but the bathtub is missing. He searches for it,
and goes to the outhouse, and finds that the bathtub is using the toilet. The
rest of the cartoon isn't much better.

Stott
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How do you properly judge a film that survives in such dismal prints and
without the colour. Everyone always has a go at Frank Fay and misses the
point entirely. Fay isn't a terrible compere, he is parodying all the worst
aspects of being a compere. Watch the film in that context and you'll see
that WB was collectively taking the piss out of MGM.
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Oh, please don't misjudge what I said, I actually love Frank Fay- I've got an
autographed picture of him on my piano. Show of Shows might be his best film
overall- it was when he tried to ACT that he really could be a pain.
Stott

Andy Henderson wrote:

> How do you properly judge a film that survives in such dismal prints and
> without the colour. Everyone always has a go at Frank Fay and misses the
> point entirely. Fay isn't a terrible compere, he is parodying all the worst
> aspects of being a compere. Watch the film in that context and you'll see
> that WB was collectively taking the piss out of MGM.
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Just to add to what I said above.....

It seems fairly common on this board to have a whack at the early talkies as
inferior to silents and indeed anything that come later. They should be
regarded as friends. These neglected films often showcase silent performers
(as does Show of Shows). In the final programme of the 'Hollywood' series,
Kevin Brownlow was right to use a clip from 'Peacock Alley' as a contrast to
the beauty of the silents, he also chose that clip and a few deliberately
wretched examples. It should be remembered that there are some very good
early talkies, in the same way that they are good silents and bad silents.
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>Oh, please don't misjudge what I said, I actually love Frank Fay- I've got an
>autographed picture of him on my piano.

Now, if you could only play "Your Love Is All I Crave"... ;)

j e f f
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well, I DO have sheet music for "Lady Luck"

Stott

Jeff NY wrote:

> >Oh, please don't misjudge what I said, I actually love Frank Fay- I've got an
> >autographed picture of him on my piano.
>
> Now, if you could only play "Your Love Is All I Crave"... ;)
>
> j e f f
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Something worth mentioning about Show of Shows is that there is another
color reel existing apart from the 'Chinese Fantasy'. This is the 'Sisters'
number, minus the Richard B introduction. The print I saw was faded to the
red side of the spectrum and was probably a 16mm multilayer dupe. Here's
hoping that a good 35mm copy does still exist.
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There's one other missing sequence I'd like to see- "Beatrice Lille and Her
Boyfriends". It does exist- mute. Also, there's a very awkward fade and cut
during the "Lady Luck" finale.



Andy Henderson wrote:

> Something worth mentioning about Show of Shows is that there is another
> color reel existing apart from the 'Chinese Fantasy'. This is the 'Sisters'
> number, minus the Richard B introduction. The print I saw was faded to the
> red side of the spectrum and was probably a 16mm multilayer dupe. Here's
> hoping that a good 35mm copy does still exist.
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When 'Show of Shows' reached London, theatre critic James Agate mauled it
alive for poor sound and color photography 'of the crudest kind as if a
child had been let loose with a shilling box of paints'. He did reserve
praise for the finale, which is spectacular. The strangest sight of all is
that curtain of stars who are rouged up so much that even in b/w it's hard
to delineate who is who. In the midst of all this, Rin Tin Tin sticks his
head through. I have often wondered why there is a break in the finale, but
there is no easy way of telling what is missing, unlike say 'Gold Diggers of
Broadway', in which we can see (with very sharp eyes) Winnie Lighner moving
into place with two acrobats on either side, just before the pictur
vanishes. That makes me wonder how many other films are missing final shots?
I'd think Techicolor ending are missing from a few films (The Merry Widow
and Phantom of the Opera - Honeymoon). Perhaps one day we'll see them again,
after all, the color reel from the 'Lottery Bride' turned up in pristine
condition.
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