Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Karl Ericsson If anybody picks up this film to get an example of Laurel and Hardy - boy, will they get the wrong Picture! The sketch that they are doing here is abominably bad. Frankly, they are a pair of idiots here, period. But they were not idiots, you see - they were the greatest comical geniuses that ever lived only second to Tex Avery, the king of animation. Why did they do this? Can anybody tell me? As for the rest of the film, it's a film with Winners (must have been through good Contacts) that should have been losers or in jail, for all I care. This film was made by people totally without humor and totally unashamed. Shame on you for producing such garbage! Why, it's as bad as if it was out of Hollywood!!

Michael_Elliott Hollywood Revue of 1929, The (1929) ** (out of 4) Film buffs might eat up the chance at seeing some of MGM's biggest stars but even lovers of cinema will have a hard time taking this film in one long (116-minutes) dose. What we basically have here is a major studio wanting to show off their major talent and in some cases having this major talent look extremely bad by doing stuff we normally wouldn't expect to see them doing. Case in point, Joan Crawford who has to sing and let's just be kind and say that this wasn't her calling in life or at least one the day this scene was filmed. Jack Benny, John Gilbert, Conrad Nagel, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Bessie Love, Marion Davies, Marie Dressler, Norma Shearer and Lionel Barrymore are among the A-list talent that show up here and the end results are mixed at best. A prime example of this would be Gilbert and Shearer doing a scene from Romeo and Juliet, which is followed by them talking and having fun "out of character" when Barrymore comes up to them with a few comments. On one hand, the acting in the R&J scene is pretty bad as neither actor appears to be taking it too seriously. The "out of character" stuff is mildly entertaining but what really makes this scene special is the fact that it was shot in 2-strip Technicolor. Most of the vaudeville like acts are poorly directed and executed and this includes the Laurel and Hardy bit, which comes off pretty badly without a single laugh to be found. The majority of the stars just show up for brief bits and none of them are all that memorable unless they're of the embarrassing kid (like Crawford). The biggest problem is that the film has a very slow pacing and it doesn't help that the thing runs nearly two hours and apparently it was even longer but many of these segments are now lost. So, on one hand it's rather nice seeing all of these legends but one can only wish that the film was better than it is. It's very hard to get through the entire thing and in the end this here is certainly for film buffs only.

Ralph Schiller I have the new Warner Archive DVD release of "Hollywood Revue Of 1929" and I could not agree with reviewer Wayne Malin more. Right before the number "Lon Chaney Will Get You If You Don't' Watch Out", Jack Benny maintains that Lon Chaney does not exist. At that moment a man wearing an overcoat, derby hat, and sinister expression comes out onto the stage. Jack looks at the man, snidely chuckles and says "So you're Lon Chaney?" Benny finally reaches out to shake Chaney's right hand only to have the entire arm come off completely! Jack Benny screams with fear as Lon Chaney exits in a great scene.Movie fans look closely. That is Lon Chaney himself doing a silent, enigmatic appearance with Jack Benny right before the number!The rest of the film is a complete delight with nearly every major MGM star on the lot doing an appearance. This includes Norma Shearer, Lionel Barrymore,, Marion Davies, lovely Joan Crawford, John Gilbert still at the peak of his career but not for long, and many others. Buster Keaton nearly steals the entire show with his exotic dance number, and the finale with (nearly) everyone singing "Singin' In The Rain" in Technicolor is a joy to watch. "The Hollywood Revue Of 1929" is a historical gem that was unavailable for many years until Turner Classic Movies and now it's on DVD.

Maliejandra Kay The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is certainly a simple curiosity by now. When it was made, the world had just been taken by storm by talking pictures, a revolutionary concept. All of the studios were hesitant to make themselves over for sound, especially MGM who housed an amazing cast of silent stars. This film is a sort of stage show exhibiting the talents of many of the major talents under contract to MGM. Conrad Nagel is the master of ceremonies along with Jack Benny. Nagel also sings to Anita Paige in the show. Joan Crawford dances and sings, Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards sings several times, William Haines bullies Benny, Bessie Love speaks a few songs, Marie Dressler does the same, Laurel and Hardy do a comic magic act, Marion Davies sings and dances, Buster Keaton does a comic dance, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert recite Romeo and Juliet, and Lionel Barrymore directs. The grand finale is the entire cast singing Singin' in the Rain in color.Everything is pretty primitive here. The camera is static, so much so that when the actors move it sometimes cuts off their heads. The sound synchronization is sometimes off too. The musical scenes feature bland routines by chorus girls in costumes with contrasting colors for visual affect. There is one overhead shot reminiscent of Busby Berkeley, though, who did not make his breakthrough 42nd Street until three years later.Many of these clips are available in other places. The Davies documentary that Milestone released includes her scene toward the end. Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star utilizes most of Crawford's song. The thirteen part Hollywood series shows the Romeo and Juliet scene with Shearer and Gilbert. When The Lion Roars shows the "Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You" song. Various other sources show the Singin in the Rain finale. However, this film does include many scenes that aren't available elsewhere due to the obscurity of the star.