Manhattan Parade


Manhattan Parade is a 1931 American pre-Code musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was originally intended to be released, in the United States, early in 1931, but was shelved due to public apathy towards musicals. Despite waiting a number of months, the public proved obstinate and the Warner Bros. reluctantly released the film in December 1931 after removing all the music. Since there was no such reaction to musicals outside the United States, the film was released there as a full musical comedy in 1931.
The film pokes fun at Al Jolson, who had suffered a downturn in his career due to the public aversion to musical pictures. He had been released from his contract to Warner Bros. late in 1930.

Plot

Cast

The film was the first Warner Bros. film to be filmed in the improved Technicolor process which removed grain and improved both the color and clarity of the film. This improved process had first been used on The Runaround and resulted in an attempt at a color revival by the studios late in 1931. Variety praised the color work in this film, stating that "the coloring is easy on the eye and never harsh or confusing as the early color pictures were."

Music

Three songs were written for the film by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler:
  • "I Love a Parade"
  • "Temporarily Blue"
  • "I'm Happy When You're Jealous". It was later recorded by Isham Jones and his Orchestra for Brunswick Records.

    Preservation

Only a black and white copy of the cut print released in 1931 in the United States seems to have survived. A print is deposited at the Library of Congress. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists. According to the George Eastman Museum 2015 book The Dawn of Technicolor, 1915-1935 a 16mm safety color print is held at UCLA.