The March of Time (film)

For the Time magazine newsreel series 1935-1951, see The March of Time.
The March of Time
Directed by Charles Reisner
Produced by Harry Rapf
Production
company
Country United States
Language English

The March of Time is the title of an unfinished 1930 American musical film directed by Charles Reisner.[1] The film was originally scheduled to be released in September 1930 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but was shelved by MGM. The March of Time would have been one of the first musicals partially filmed in two-color Technicolor.

Overview

The uncompleted film was originally titled Hollywood Revue of 1930 and was conceived by producer Harry Rapf as a follow-up to MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929 which he had also produced.[2] The film was retitled to The March of Time because it was to feature three sections which featured past performers from the stage and the vaudeville circuit, then-present day performers and up-and-coming performers.[3] In order to attract audiences that mainly watched films, musical numbers featuring well known actors of the time, including Bing Crosby, Ramon Novarro, Marie Dressler, Joan Crawford, and Wallace Beery, were included.[4] Production began in Spring 1930 but by June 1930, MGM decided to shelve the project as they considered it to be unmarketable despite the fact that a number of musical numbers had been filmed.[2][3]

Among the performers originally scheduled to appear in The March of Time were Buster Keaton, Joe Weber and Lew Fields of the Weber and Fields comedy team, Gus Edwards, Fay Templeton, DeWolf Hopper Sr., Albertina Rasch and her dancers, Ramon Novarro, Polly Moran, Barney Fagan, Raquel Torres, and Bing Crosby. Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Weber and Fields, Fay Templeton, Edwards, Fagan, and Hopper were to be included in a series of vaudeville sketches as the "Old Timers".[2]

In order to salvage the $750,000 that had already been spent on the film, MGM announced plans to use the footage in a planned project starring Jimmy Durante that was to be released in 1932. That project was also abandoned.[3] The footage from The March of Time later found its way into the musical shorts The Devil's Cabaret (1930), Nertsery Rhymes (1933), Beer and Pretzels (1933), Hello Pop! (1933), Jail Birds of Paradise (1934), and The Big Idea (1934). MGM's 1931 musical revue Wir schalten um auf Hollywood (We Tune In to Hollywood), produced for the German market, also featured scenes from The March of Time as did Broadway to Hollywood (1933).[5] Footage from the unfinished film also appears in That's Entertainment! III (1994).[3]

References

  1. ↑ Kennedy, Matthew (1999). Marie Dressler: A Biography : with a Listing of Major Stage Performances, a Filmography, and a Discography. McFarland. p. 236. ISBN 0-786-40520-1.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bradley, Edwin M. (2002). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. McFarland. p. 261.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Bradley, Edwin M. (2004). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. McFarland. p. 261. ISBN 0-786-42029-4.
  4. ↑ Soares, André (2010). Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 157, 373. ISBN 1-604-73458-2.
  5. ↑ (Soares 2010, p. 158)

External links