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This is last minute. Apparently, the Alice White Musical with Blanche Sweet SHOW GIRL IN HOLLYWOOD (1931) is on TCM Monday at 6 A. M. Central time. 7 A. M. Eastern daylight time. I really wish that TCM would get it's on-line schedule resolved so we know what is happening.




"It's Got The White Kick To It"

Yes, TCM's schedule is a bit of a mess. Fortunately, outraged forum posters let me in on what was planned, so my recorder is set.

Darn, I read this too late. I missed NEW MOON a few days ago too. Well, in that case, at least I can still see Lawrence Tibbett in THE ROGUE SONG. Oh, wait....

Gee Louize Gagman I miss I hope TCm get their act together

I miss Wild Orchids last night

I was fortunate to see SHOW GIRL IN HOLLYWOOD on TCM (but it's also available from Warner Archive for those who didn't).

It's interesting to compare this with BROADWAY MELODY. I thought that despite some obvious technical limitations, SHOW GIRL was very well done, with a fair amount of moving camerawork and even some insert shorts (which were likely shot silent and cut in later, perhaps?).

Even though BROADWAY MELODY may have more gloss, I always thought it was pretty leaden from a plot and dialogue standpoint. And that's where SHOW GIRL shines, IMO. There's the cute bit about the sign painter continually scraping names off office doors as folks become "just a memory" at the studio, and the bit with all the "yes men" around the studio exec.

But the best dialogue comes when Alice White is asked by a lecherous director to attend a private dinner-for-two at his house, where her new contract would supposedly be waiting for her. In response she says "I'm suspicious of contracts that aren't signed in the daytime" (Joe Breen would have been proud!). Unfortunately, although Alice had lovely eyes, nice legs and a decent high kick, that was about it -- an actress she wasn't. I've seen better delivery of lines by UPS.

Very cute movie though, and a nice slice of Vitaphone history to boot in the "I've Got My Eyes on You" number, with the studio orch right on the set and the camera sweatboxes all set up.

Incidentally, the final number looks like it may originally have been shot in two-strip Technicolor, because the present b&w rendition looks a bit dupey. Can anyone supply any information about this? SETH

FYI we will be screening SHOWGIRL IN HOLLYWOOD, appropriately enough, with 11 recently restored 1927-30 Vitaphone shorts at Film Forum in NYC this Monday, May 9th. Three shows at 1:00, 4:40 and 8:20PM.

SGIH had two Technicolor sequences, now only surviving in black and white. The big musical number "I've Got My Eye On You" which also shows the Vitaphone process during filming, and the final reel which has stars arriving at the Warner Brothers Hollywood theatre then the big closing number "Hang On To A Rainbow" on the theatre's screen.

No colour [Canadian spelling] in TCM's broadcast of SHOW GIRL IN HOLLYWOOD, but it DID have an appearance by SPEC O'DONNELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello,
I knew all about these movies, but I use the Canadian schedule. It is almost the same, with a movie occasionally blacked out due to some copyright differences. It has been fairly comprehensive, and I can check now until August 1

And it featured real Hollywood locations in the tour down Hollywood Blvd. like the Roosevelt Hotel and Hollywood and Vine. Alice visits the actual Montmartre Cafe at Hollywood and Highland and the owner, Eddie Brandstatter, is introduced by the waiter.

TCM aired a travelogue short in the wee hours this past weekend, STOPOVER IN HOLLYWOOD, in which a comely blonde in a very tight skirt takes a tour of the city in a red convertible. All of the usual sights are shown, Hollywood Blvd (Grauman's), Sunset, Beverly Hills, the beach (including Marineland - never went there..). What was interesting was that it was filmed in the early 60's, before the seediness had moved in for good. (Well, not in Beverly Hills - they don't allow seediness there...)

Movies like SHOWGIRL IN HOLLYWOOD almost seem like a part of a yearly quota by the city's chamber of commerce (before they became an evil entity of the Republican party) to promote the town. One can chart the popularity of such landmarks as the Montmartre Cafe by it's frequent film appearances in each decade. (Did it lose it's luster by the war years?) From the 1920's onward the progression and regression of L.A. is showcased yearly for all to see. That's what makes films like SHOWGIRL so interesting. It's not about whether Alice can act or not...(we all know the answer to that), it's the time capsule aspect to it all. The films that showcased the town in the 20's and 30's, however, always made everything look so bright and fresh.

It would get darker later on....