Footlight Parade | Human Waterfall | Warner Archive

[@lindakemer4950]

My grandmother was part of the cast swimmers in this movie.

[@davidwindle6999]

I often wonder what happened to the girls in the Busby Berkley movies. Did they marry and raise children(as in your case)? Did they hit stardom? Unfortunately all will have passed on by now. What was your Grandmothers name?

[@njlillycline]

Every time I’ve watched this, I’ve gotten emotional while watching the beautiful happy faces of these young ladies so many years ago, and hoping they all got the best out of life. Hoping all the same for your grandmother

[@lindakemer4950]

When Ester Williams began making her own movies the swimmers were out of work. However, while grandma was working it provide my dad to obtain bit parts on other movies. He is the child stunt runner for Claude Jarman Jr. in The Yearling with Gregory Peck. The kid running through the woods is my dad. He also was in Heidi, but the scene when grandpa & Heidi slide down the hill, cut out the quick shot of two kids sitting on the fence as they passed by. He also was one of the boys in Boys Town.

[@stephenindc9102]

@@lindakemer4950 Cool.

[@jojomorgan]

It's incredible! You've got the wonderful grandma. ❣️

[@John_Fugazzi]

I can't begin to imagine how much rehearsal time this took.

[@NeighborofKT]

John Fugazzi we just watched this movie yesterday, and that is exactly what I said to my husband during that scene.

[@andreraymond6860]

That's a lot of trial and error. Important to remember that it was shot in bits and pieces. The women would only have to learn and do a few seconds of choreography at a time. Any bits that didn't look right would end on the cutting room floor. That said, the visual choreographer needed to have an endless array of ideas to fall back on.

[@DM0317]

And money

[@lauremehrkens5891]

And what a strong swimmer you had to be.

[@marciabramson6194]

2 words ,,,,, HARD WORK.

[@mark60123]

When they say "They don't make them like that any more," THIS is what they're talking about! Even if you could mount this number today in color, would youngsters care enough to say money to see it? God only knows how much rehearsal time it took to stage this or how many camera takes. Truly breathtaking and inspiring nearly a century later! Thanks for making this available!

[@mrh3894]

No we would not - The Youngsters

[@bluechocolate4315]

I just recently saw this on the big screen at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles (owned by Quintin Tarantino; it was actually his personal copy of the film). With all due respect, forget TV. Seeing this on the big screen just completely blew me away. I'm 57, and I hadn't felt this exhilarated by a film in years.

[@esmeephillips5888]

Golden Age musicals are so rarely seen the way they were supposed to be seen. It's like looking at Old Master frescoes through the wrong end of a telescope; this genre loses so much on small home screens. To their original audiences- say in a small-town picture house, folks who had never been in a big theater or entertainment venue- the impact must have been overwhelming, like a glimpse of another world.

[@anthonycrnkovich5241]

@@esmeephillips5888 That's why so many of that era's films are so great; filmmakers felt they owed it to their Depression audiences to deliver entertainment that would blow them away.

[@esmeephillips5888]

@@anthonycrnkovich5241 True. Today's Hollywood thinks it must lecture its customers on how to be 'woke'. The Warner Brothers were progressive New Dealers, but they never forgot that movies are about pleasure, not preaching. They were happy to hire Berkeley, who never had a political notion (only pathological ones;-))

[@hotjazzbaby]

bluechocolate wow are you lucky to have seen this on the big screen. I have all these movies on DVD

[@racheldoesacrylic4089]

@@esmeephillips5888 yeah blew their mind these lions of film making x

[@wvanderwahl]

Even with today's special effects nothing can top a musical number from Busby Berkeley. His scenes were pure magic and glamour.

[@cgmiddle]

You are correct. Even my family in the Reich was completely captivated by this. Will we ever have such splendor again? I think we will.

[@crystalwaters8852]

Absolutely first class❤ Busby was a visionary! The, sequencing, lighting, costumes everything. Golden age!❤❤❤

[@kennixox262]

He was also in the Army during WW1 and apparently he did a lot of parade work during that time.

[@angusmacdonald7187]

One of the aspects that is so hard to grasp nowadays is just how important of a refuge the movies were for people during the Great Depression. For a nickle or a dime you could go in, see two features, 3-4 cartoons or short features, and a newsreel. While outside was horrible, scraping for the daily needs of life, inside there were huge screens that covered your vision with beautiful men and women not worrying about where the next meal was coming from. I had the good luck to see several Depression era musicals on a big screen and it's a whole different experience.

[@scotpens]

In fact, some of the Warner Brothers musicals (particularly Gold Diggers of 1933) acknowledged the Great Depression and made it a central story point. On the other hand, watching the RKO Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals from the same period, you'd never know the country was in the grip of a depression. You'd think everybody was independently wealthy, wore elegant clothes, and lived in fabulous penthouses and hotel suites!

[@lesliea7394]

This continues as a great antidote for the woes of the 21st century....a great escape!

[@SquawkingSnail]

​@@lesliea7394 Pure unadulterated escapism.

[@diamondgoddess2534]

I far prefer old movvies to current cinema! Who needs all that realism? Give me this kind of gorgeous fantasy any day.

[@sirpoopalot6420]

@Jake Tappert YES!!!! "some weird woke agenda" 😄 😆 🤣

[@gato7050]

Ok boomer

[@hellogoodbye5435]

@Jake Tappert do you realize that back in the day they expressed political views in entertaiment, just like today? Maybe in a more subtle way, but they definetely did. Take the twilight zone. It's filled with political agendas.

[@JaneAustenAteMyCat]

I completely agree 😍

[@pansepot1490]

They stopped making this kind of movies because people got bored of watching fancy choreographies with no story, no characters, no emotions,

[@saxon954]

In the late 1950's my Mother tried to tell us how fantastic these films were but we were only interested in Rock'N'Roll. I am 72 now and understand.

[@Northatlantic2012]

Now I understand too.

[@sanjaysoni7515]

saxon954 pagal

[@oldtykesmith2317]

My mum was same, told us all these films she saw as a young girl. most amazing films ever made.

[@lalala-lt8fe]

I loved watching these as a teen in the nineties and my parent just wanted to watch trashy sitcoms!

[@Peighter]

Im in high school and i love these musicals. My parents are the rock n roll ones... which i love too

[@williambgrice3206]

I'm 84 and have always enjoyed these films Busby Berkeley was a master, I also wondered about the lady's in these films, who were they, were they happy did the have a good life. once in a while you can spot future stars of days past.

[@Northatlantic2012]

They were certainly all beautiful!

[@bradleycotton3237]

Northatlantic2012 But were they all clones?

[@drsunshine1959]

@@bradleycotton3237 Are you?

[@esmeephillips5888]

They were like butterflies, living a short but colorful life. Most would spend a few years in pictures or on the stage, filling crowd scenes with maybe a close-up or two if they caught the dance director's eye. The chances of being lifted out of the chorus into stardom were minuscule. But despite its rigors, the work was more fun than being a stenographer or serving in a shop. Few girls were seriously ambitious. Not many came to grief in Hollywood. They would hit 25, marry and raise families, possibly teach local kids dancing. Some hung up their shoes and never talked about their young days. They were grateful to be out of the Depression. Hoofing and respectable middle-aged suburban home-making did not mix. Anyhow, would their neighbors believe they had performed alongside Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell or Jimmy Cagney? Nobody in the early 1930s thought pictures were more than ephemera. But when TV began to rerun musicals, and later when video recordings came in, many a gray--haired lady could show her grandkids a flash of her youth and beauty. They would know she was telling the truth about having had a moment of glory, when the screen was silver or glowing in three-pack Technicolor.

[@j2b2man]

@@esmeephillips5888 This has got to be the most thoughtful and enlightening response ever written on youtube.

[@huntrrams]

I'm really amazed in the Art Deco set design and the amazing cinematography!

[@jeffgoesrandom4217]

My Great Uncle was one of the guys who was a Human Hamster and had to run around a giant crank connected to a pulley that turned one of the spinning wheels the swimmers stood on. He also had to connect the water hose to the water that went into the air. We always called him "Cranky."

[@gtlfb]

That officially makes your great uncle one of the coolest people ever. I always wondered at the mechanics of that fountain. It telescoped, each tier revolved, and somehow water was pumped through multiple outlets. How did that plumbing work? Any info on that you may have, I’d love to know.

[@jeffgoesrandom4217]

@@gtlfb I don't know the details, but my Great Uncle's last request was to be buried under the giant fountain at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. We did bury him with a reverse osmosis water filter system and a case of bottled water from Hollywood... btw, check out my you tube channel, Jeff Goes Random

[@margiebaez8299]

Jeff Goes Random that’s awesome that he was a part of it I truly loved watching them in sinc that itself must’ve been hard 😉👍👍

[@robertthikkurissy8435]

This movie is so beautiful. It’s a shame movies can’t be made like this one was.

[@rjtwigg1]

I wish they were made in color.

[@rocketmom60]

Can you imagine a movie like that today? No exploding cars. No gunfights. No vulgarity. We are so jaded now.

[@a.l.7337]

No vulgarity? I'd say the leg spreading that went on here was pretty vulgar.

[@brendarodgers5686]

​@@a.l.7337vulvas aren't vulgar.

[@alex9920ro]

Yet another reason why old movies are much better than the modern ones !

[@ninjasavage9875]

I wouldn’t say all older movies are better, but the classics still have qualities to them that are so beautiful and that’s why when modern films use them for inspiration they end up being nominated and winning oscars like La La Land

[@ElRaybeatlite]

@@ninjasavage9875 La La Land ... didn't win the oscar tho hahaha

[@ninjasavage9875]

Ellie Ray lmao why did I say that. La La Land famously lost. I think I meant nominated

[@esmeephillips5888]

Well, musicals were better. Broadway still finds performers who can captivate an audience, but movies have forgotten how to bottle that spirit. The Golden Age, despite all the cinematographic tricks, at heart was a transcription of musical theater and revue, by a flock of exiles from New York in California.

[@maximuscomfort]

I don't think health and safety now would allow that many in a pool. Now computer generated cast of a thousand one flex hour programmer in 3D.

[@camboxe]

Busby Berkeley was a true graphic coreography genius! I just love his work!

[@dylankelly1871]

I have a 1933 Cadillac and I just love the idea of the beautiful car pulled up in front of a grand movie palace to go and see fantastic films like this. That's a very odd feeling.

[@paulinegarcia888]

Wow, the cars of that era were lovely.

[@hotjazzbaby]

Dylan Kelly those were the nicest cars ever built. And yes that would be an odd feeling especially if you’d put on your suit for the occasion

[@JoMarieM]

This is amazing, even for the time in which it was filmed. Too bad we don't do stuff like this anymore on TV!

[@Denovo-v9i]

Busby never had studied dance. This is a natural talent.

[@littleworkshopofhorrors2395]

And I suspect could/would only be done these days in CGI,

[@patsysolatzzo2962]

I would have paid good money to see this on a big screen or in person. So beautiful, unique and absolutely timeless.

[@shank7529]

3:14 you can just tell by their faces how “On top of the world” these girls feel. Absolutely beautiful!

[@pauluap1000]

What a genius Busby Berkley was!

[@marciabramson6194]

Yeah? I guess. Was he mean??? How dud he get all these ladies to do that??? Tooooo amazing for words. No explanation needed I guess.

[@jorgerobles9484]

I found almost all of the Warner Bros films of the 30s enjoyable, with a great staff of actors (Cagney, Edward G Robinson, Paul Muni, Bogart, Errol Flynn, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Dick Powell, etc), a great staff of directors (Michael Curtiz, Raoul Walsh, Mervyn Leroy, Busby Berkeley, William Wyler, etc), and great scripts that have made these films to age well, specially social-dramas and musical comedies.

[@CynthiaLK]

I love all the 30's Warner Bros films, but I also love all the 40s Warner Bros films. It's my favorite part of the entire Hollywood Studio System era...

[@sulkypalms8002]

This is pure magic. So beautiful it is crazy. Thank you!

[@hebneh]

Even incomplete, it's about time a really first-class copy of this masterpiece was available on KZbin.

[@debbiethompson14]

My little girls use to watch this when they were small. These are the kind of movies children need to see too.

[@Northatlantic2012]

I agree.

[@ronch550]

How is this even humanly possible?!?! Such skill!!

[@peroz1000]

How can anyone possibly DISLIKE this?

[@peterkarargiris4110]

So beautiful. Great applause to these stunning, talented and unknown girls.

[@zzzbbbooo]

Yes, I'll bet they worked very hard in rehearsal after rehearsal. Many of them probably hoped they'd be big stars but having a role like this was incredibly coveted and they likely used it in conversation with people for the rest of their lives.

[@alvexok5523]

I bet they were the talk of the rest home in, idontknow, if they were between the ages of 18 and 24, which I'm sure they all were in these numbers in 1933, then they were probably 80 something years old in nursing homes around the 1990s. So yes, they were telling stories about their performance in "Footlight parade" to their nurses, fellow nursing home residents, and visiting kids and grandkids in the 1990s. Sadly, they've probably all passed on by now, and their kids are now almost nursing home age. Those girls were in the same generation as my grandparents, they were in their 80s in the 1990s, and my grandparents all passed on between 1997 and 2011 (grandpop, 1997, other grandpop, 2003, grandmother, 2009, other grandmother, 2011 (age 97)). My grandmothers were 20 and 17 in 1933, about the same ages as the performing girls in "By a waterfall", they were so beautiful. My grandmothers were too when they were young

[@esmeephillips5888]

Twelve-hour days laboring for a kinky bully in smelly water under blazing lights until you were mottled like a turtle, for unremarkable pay. Ah, the glamor of Tinseltown! But it was worth it. History rejoices in the results. Thanks, ladies.

[@davanmani556]

I always thought the extra and the unknowns had the most talent if the movie was done right.

[@Muswell]

Wonderful Art Deco set by Anton Grot.

[@georginabird9354]

Amazing , loved this , as a little child , I can remember watching these and wanting to be one when I grew up , they took my breathe away, stunning , so thank you to those wonderful women xx

[@ethelm.s.4634]

Busby Berkley had quite a talent for these numbers. Imagine how may hours of rehearsal and set up... Thank you Mr. Berkley and the wonderful talented people who put these movies together.

[@susansoprano]

I wonder how many takes they had to do to get it that perfect?

[@ludwig_der_grobe]

I doubt very much that this can ever be repeated.

[@luchen9640]

Fabulous! Magic! All beautiful girls and perfect shape. Can't imagine how they made it. It's way more than tons of practices!

[@alopez4435]

I wish these types of movies were made again.

[@evitaradiante77]

Omg !!What a pleasant sight !!!😍😍The people performing are so talented!!! Such beautiful relaxing music !!! It’s nice to see women’s bodies and faces without plastic surgery and botox !!Natural beauty !! 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸Sincere smiles!!🤩Amazing show !!!🏆🎇🎇🎆🎆🎆

[@charlesmangum3108]

I haven't seen one of these choreographed-swimming routines in years. They are beautiful.

[@danhutson3460]

Ninety years of greatness & nothing we have today can stand up to it !!!

[@mariafilotas879]

Marvelous. Movies then were to entertain AND that Is exactly what they did. This Is puré magic

[@carloshonduras9603]

What a great performance. In my 50 year I had never seen such a nice show with beautiful girl sadly gone through the time. Cheers.

[@mikelloyd520]

My thoughts also. With a degree of anger and bitterness.

[@margiebaez8299]

Loved this movie when i was a kid so beautiful watching them dance like this in the water ❤️😉👍👍

[@mocarururu]

I’m obsessed with the beauty of black and white

[@jrandall4020]

Amazing choreography

[@paxguns]

Thank you for posting. Busbee Berkeley was something else and I can't anyone capable of repeating this in modern times.

[@gregoryhighfill4994]

One of my favorite movies. Love Busby Berkeley. He taught precision marching in the military, so his choreography makes perfect sense.

[@melissacline196]

Absolutely jaw dropping!

[@carlosivanalamo2673]

I was looking for this for many years.I saw a sample on TCM Channel.I think they used to sell a set of DVDs with this wonderful and amazing water choreography.I simply enjoyed it.Beautifully produced.

[@Beedee664]

There is a book “Swim Pretty” that talks about history of synchronized swimming. Facinanting

[@misternewoutlook5437]

It never gets old.

[@guildlightmusicguildlightm3171]

GREAT WONDERFUL ORCHESTRA ！

[@guildlightmusicguildlightm3171]

ＦＯＯＴ ＬＩＧＨＴ ＰＡＲＡＤＥ(Lloyd bacon, USA 1933) BY A WATERFALL(fain kahal) GREAT MOVIE THEMES star spangled rhythm footlight parade ＣＤ 60013 1997 by Promo Sound AG My favorite Sound collection！

[@robertsmith5970]

I totally agree. The fantastic orchestrations from early 30s Warner films were the best. I wish the Vitaphone orchestra had released records too.

[@AMDesignMarketing]

Ive seen this a few times over the years and it never gets dull. Too bad this, and movies like it have passed from the collective consciousness of present movie goers. An age is gone and passed , and we need things like this, fantasy and glamour that makes you feel happy and awestruck at the same time. The feeling never leaves me where I see these movies. Busby Berkley was a genius, and a madman, in a symmetrical sense! And I love it! Too bad the afterlife wasn't like these old movies, I wouldn't mind dying as much!!!! God bless these happy girls, and thank god this was made pre-code!

[@user-lina-lina]

Потрясающе!!!Спасибо,что дали возможность увидеть это!

[@overdriver9173]

This coreography's simply amazing. Thinking about it's made in the thirties make it absolutely special....wow.

[@thestoryofo9636]

It's amazing I'm here watching all of these without being high!

[@jrnumex9286]

synchronized swimmers meet the rocketts , we present the synchroetts.

[@merccadoosis8847]

Synchronized swimming with shoes on! Over the years synchro and rythmic gymnastics have taken a lot of criticism from many people. But few of those critics understand the intricacies of both sports which actually require FAR more practice time than do football or baseball. This presentation was a great performance which took many, many hours to rehearse. Kudos to the girls and directors for their work whose aesthetic merit remains in evidence after all these decades.

[@mypureimagination]

@@merccadoosis8847 They sometimes have shoes, sometimes they are barefoot, like when they jump in.

[@bernietinirau8160]

Definitely the best of Busby Berkeley’s musical numbers. A wonderful tune ,beautiful girls.....what more can you ask for!🥳

[@mariaconstanza9002]

Soy joven, pero mi abuela y mi mamá, me enseñaron a ver estás películas. Tengo algunos clásicos. Desde Colombia ❤

[@catmomma6942]

Golly gee whiz I love these old extravaganzas!

[@dawnsimons118]

Remember when fabulous was , FABULOUS . such a production . mesmerizing . I remember watching as a young girl . I wanted to be a roller derby girl . thanks for sharing the memories the romance and the fabulousness

[@francoiseoeuvray4320]

J'ai cherché des années ce film que j'avais vu enfant......merci

[@michelebrunet1858]

WAOWWW !!! IMAGES SUPERBES !!!

[@manueldpmingopereznavales5109]

Absolutely breathaking. The pure magic of Hollywood's cinema. Dreams dust.

[@followerofjulian1652]

Don't forget the magnificent music of Sammy Fain bringing so much life to the visual images!

[@satyajitganguly3135]

Mesmerising, flawless...height of syncronized swimming!!!!

[@sunflower7045]

Every Sunday was squared away for Sci Fi and classic movie/musicals. I had the best of both worlds. I remember watching this and many extraordinarily choreographed numbers, and totally zoning out on them.💐

[@suzannederringer1607]

Gosh - I haven't seen this film in Decades! Thanks for posting. Now I need to.get the whole movie.

[@ddivincenzo1194]

Who could dislike this!

[@injujuan8993]

Camera goes underwater and perfect camera work from every angle. I'm in awe. Let alone the fab ladies

[@rowbygoren1830]

Keep in mind these films were meant for release for a few months at the most. And then that would usually be the end of it. No one involved in these productions would ever imagine that 70 years later the best of these classic films would have a new life and be admired and would still be entertaining generation after generation. This film, and others, such as “Singing in the Rain”, “Wizard of Oz” were produced by people whose goals were to make the very best films possible. It was their extraordinary talent and the love of filmed entertainment that was what they lived for. ...Rowby.

[@johnhatzopoulos8463]

GREAT. ARCHIMEDES GEOMETRY! !!

[@marciabramson6194]

Wow wow wowza!!! That us sooooooooo AMAZING to see. Couldn't ever do these days. Would blow the budget to shreds. I love the musical (from 1936 maybe) where Robert what's his name ,,,, ??? Anyway ,,,, he sings ,,,,, "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody" when this spiral staircase is slowly moving. Unsure how they did it. Unreal. Very very gorgeous though. I can't imagine rehearsing it. Those folks from that era were worked to death. Jeesh.

[@wendyg311]

I am mesmerized by this old movie choreography. “Actors/performers” theses days should be ashamed

[@yokuiee3890]

Synchronizing at it's best. Beautiful!

[@9487087496]

Par Excellence. No word to describe. Sheer dedication and hard work. At that time no camera tricks. Creative and innovative. Please upload such videos so that current generation can learn from them.

[@rosegeoffroy9379]

Lo mejor que he visto en toda mi vida. Maravillosasss👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@annusannus9026]

Can't believe it's before 90 year's it's sooooooo beautiful and glamorous

[@kj-kasper4414]

There is absolutely no way that anyone could watch that entire clip without having to pee.

[@raghunandansrinivasan773]

Mesmerizing choreography, and team work! Hats off to all of them.

[@_The_Oracle1975]

Oh wow! The memories of synchronize swimming. I loved doing this.

[@mariaesperanza7864]

1933?... I'm in shock... really!. It's perfect... it's amazing!. Love from Argentina.

[@rosaspanjol673]

Beautiful!...very well co-ordinated,beautiful girls!.. Love 💕 it!

[@oldtykesmith2317]

Perfect timing and so beautifully done.

[@igorbicalho]

By a waterfall I'm calling you. We can share it all beneath a ceiling of blue. We'll spend a heavenly day Here where the whispering waters play. There's a whipperwill that's calling you. By a waterfall, he's dreaming too. There's a magic melody Mother nature sings to me Beside a waterfall with you. There's a whipperwill that's calling. By a waterfall, he's dreaming too. There's a magic melody Mother nature sings to me Besides a waterfall with you.

[@gailjackson-chapman7085]

I’m 63 and I always wondered how their swimming was done like that. WoW 🤩 😘😍🥰♥️

[@brendalewis2431]

That was amazing to see them work together like that .

[@dreababy8020]

And still today such a work of art. They look amazing.

[@robertchesnosky3508]

UNBELIEVABLE!!! BUZZ WAS A GENIUS..HE DEFINED THAT ERA

[@felixmoreno1787]

Increible pelicula. Mucho talento.

[@user-ih6vs3eg3o]

It’s almost hypnotic

[@jourwalis-8875]

Pure magic! It´s a pity that we could not see the whole number!

[@johnyohann6946]

Try your local library's DVDs. I checked out this one, along with many other old musicals.

[@hotjazzbaby]

I bought the whole Busby Berkeley DVD set of 4 in a box for $40 off eBay and it’s totally worth it I can tell you that

[@mikeeddy-k5f]

Brilliant. And not a tattoo in sight

[@scottiebrinker3346]

STILL AMAZING HOW THEY EVEN ENVISIONED THIS!

[@nigelcarren]

Amazing footage, and let's just pause to imagine how this was essentially edited with tape and scissors! 🏆

[@TranscenDaMental]

Beautiful Choreography!

[@forestbirdgirl]

When I was a child, I could put myself in any time, any place, and imagine myself doing some of the most unimaginable things. One of my favorite pastimes was watching old movies with my grandfather and then making these ideas manifest in play. I loved to pretend that I was a mermaid water ballerina! Thanks Mom and Dad for always having a pool for us to play in and create dreams...

[@telopidus]

it's so artistic❤

[@peggyblue51]

This. Is. Just PERFECT.

[@TheGardengal638]

No CGI...Just Stunning

[@JohnJ469]

A movie from a time when spectacle filled the screen and not an actors ego. On the big screen you'd have to turn your head to take in and appreciate what you are seeing.

[@francoisesalvayre8442]

C est magnifique!! Ils étaient forts à l époque!!!

[@lourias]

I wonder how long it took the ladies to learn that number. I also wonder how long it took to build the set... PHENOMENAL!