When he'd switched roles with the original star of The PublicĮnemy (1931). Started out as a song-and-dance man and only blundered into gangster roles But, with Cagney dancing for theįirst time on screen, Joan Blondell cracking wise as only she could and 100Ĭhorus girls swimming through a gigantic studio tank in the spectacular "ByĪ Waterfall" number, most fans agree that it's the ultimate WarnersĪs soon as he heard about the studio's plans to follow Berkeley's two smash musicals,Ĭagney campaigned for the role. Coming on the heels of the studio'sįirst two groundbreaking musicals - 42nd Street (1933) and Gold Diggers ofġ933 - the film had a way to go to top its predecessors. head Jack Warner to give him a change of pace with the lead in Footlight Parade, Busby Berkeley's 1933 musical extravaganza. James Cagney made the transition from gats to taps when he convinced Warnerīros. He performs splendidly, gets the contract and after his last bow, he proposes to Nan. Then at the last minute, Chester has to go on as the lead in the third because the star is drunk.
With Nan's help, he pays off his ex-wife, collects his share of the profits, discovers Vivian's true nature, finds the leak and stages his three prologues. Frantically, Chester sets to work, locking everyone in the studio to prevent leaks. Then theater chain owner Appolinaris agrees that if Chester can come up with three new shows in three days, he'll sign all his theaters with him. Instead, to Nan's disgust, he has fallen for Vivian Rich, a gold digging actress. Throughout all the chaos, he depends on his loyal secretary, Nan Prescott, who is madly in love with him, even though he doesn't realize it. Added to this is the fact that his partners seem to be cheating him out of his share of the profits. As soon as Chester thinks up ideas, his competitor, Gladstone, beats him to the punch. Everything does not function smoothly, however. He convinces his two partners, Sy Gould and Frazer, to join him in producing prologues, live performances to be presented before the movies are shown, and soon he has more business than he can handle. His wife leaves him when he breaks the news to her, but he's not down for long.
Chester Kent, a successful producer of musical comedies, finds himself out of work with the advent of talking pictures.
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