The Life of the Party (1930 film)

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The Life of the Party (1930)
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Written by Darryl F. Zanuck
Arthur Caesar
Starring Winnie Lightner
Irene Delroy
Jack Whiting
Charles Butterworth
Charles Judels
Music by Earle Crooker
Sidney D. Mitchell
Cinematography Devereaux Jennings
Frank B. Good
(Technicolor)
Editing by William Holmes
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) October 25, 1930
Running time 79 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
IMDb profile

The Life of the Party is a 1930 musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. The musical numbers of this film were cut out before general release in the United States because the public had grown tired of musicals by late 1930. Only one song was left in the picture. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists. The film only survives in a black and white copy (of the United States release print) made in the 1950s for television.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Poster for the film showing Jack Whiting and Irene Delroy.
Poster for the film showing Jack Whiting and Irene Delroy.

The girls try to find a millionaire in Havana but end up finding a male "gold-digger" who is looking for a rich woman to help pay his bills. Eventually, the dressmaker arrives in Havana...

[edit] Pre-Code Sequences

Poster for the film.
Poster for the film.

One of the Pre-Code gags in this comedy include a scence where the dressmaker is showing the girls some dresses and says "And this one the prince wanted to wear but his mother would not let him." Towards the end of the film LeMaire catches up with the two golddiggers and literally destroys a room while shouting "I Will Call The Police If I Don't Get The Money For The Dresses" After he gets a check he says: "And I'm glad I didn't lose my temper!"

[edit] Songs

  • "Poison Ivy"
  • "Can It Be Possible?"(Cut from United States release print)
  • "One Robin Doesn't Make A Spring" (Cut from United States release print)
  • "Somehow" (Cut from United States release print)

[edit] Preservation

Poster for the film showing Winnie Lightner, Charles Judels and Irene Delroy.
Poster for the film showing Winnie Lightner, Charles Judels and Irene Delroy.

Only a black and white copy of the cut print released in the United States (without most of the musical numbers) seems to have survived. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.

[edit] Trivia

The music heard of the credits at the beginning of the film was added in the 1950s. These credits are also not original but have been redrawn, removing all indication that the film was photographed in Technicolor. The original music survives on Vitaphone disks. The rest of the film, beginning with the first title card ("New York was originally purchased from the Indians..."), has the original sound.

[edit] Cast (in credits order)

Full page color ad for the film from the November 1930 issue of New Movie Magazine.
Full page color ad for the film from the November 1930 issue of New Movie Magazine.