
Two rare sights seen in this picture include the old Grauman's Chinese Theater looking lovely at a movie premiere and the RKO/Pathe logo with a rooster instead of the traditional radio tower (see below).
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The rarely seen RKO Pathe rooster logo that plays at the front of WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD? |
SHOW BOAT (1936; James Whale)
"This the boat where they have the play-actin?"

I have to be honest, as much as the spectacle of the film is quite grand, I find myself always having trouble with this era of the south depicted on film. The whole "hard working but happy" African Americans is just tough for me to watch. Especially when juxtaposed with well-to-do white folks. In this movie, one of the plot details hangs delicately on the question of race - specifically mixed race and marriage. It is a sobering testament to the time in which the story takes place and it is very very sad. While I appreciate a film that addresses such social issues as they stood at the time in question, it makes them no less pleasant and certainly puts a damper on the light, celebratory nature of the musical numbers. It is an interesting juxtaposition not lost on me, but nonetheless tough to watch. At least the film's attitude about all of it seems relatively progressive for the time.
One thing that did amuse me though was Irene Dunne's first dance number. It is the strangest dance I've seen in a film this old. Looks like something that'd be more at home in a New Wave club in the mid Eighties. Pretty great. And Irene Dunne herself is always charming and lovely. She has a wonderful aura about her and has always been able to deliver dialogue quickly and with great energy. Plus she's cute as all heck (even in her Blackface scene which was a bit uncomfortable to watch).
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