The Life of the Party (1930 film)

Infobox Film
name = The Life of the Party (1930)


producer =
director = Roy Del Ruth
writer = Darryl F. Zanuck
Arthur Caesar
starring = Winnie Lightner
Irene Delroy
Jack Whiting
Charles Butterworth
Charles Judels
music = Earle Crooker
Sidney D. Mitchell
cinematography = Devereaux Jennings
Frank B. Good
"(Technicolor)"
editing = William Holmes
distributor = Warner Bros.
released = October 25, 1930
runtime = 79 min.
language = English
country= USA
imdb_id = 0021069|

"The Life of the Party" is a 1930 musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. The musical numbers of this film were cut out before general release in the United States because the public had grown tired of musicals by late 1930. Only one song was left in the picture. 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. The film only survives in a black and white copy (of the United States release print) made in the 1950s for television.

Plot

The girls try to find a millionaire in Havana but end up finding a male "gold-digger" who is looking for a rich woman to help pay his bills. Eventually, the dressmaker arrives in Havana...

Pre-Code Sequences

One of the Pre-Code gags in this comedy include a scence where the dressmaker is showing the girls some dresses and says "And this one the prince wanted to wear but his mother would not let him." Towards the end of the film LeMaire catches up with the two golddiggers and literally destroys a room while shouting "I Will Call The Police If I Don't Get The Money For The Dresses" After he gets a check he says: "And I'm glad I didn't lose my temper!"

ongs

*"Poison Ivy"
*"Can It Be Possible?"(Cut from United States release print)
*"One Robin Doesn't Make A Spring" (Cut from United States release print)
*"Somehow" (Cut from United States release print)

Preservation

Only a black and white copy of the cut print released in the United States (without most of the musical numbers) seems to have survived. 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.

Trivia

The music heard of the credits at the beginning of the film was added in the 1950s. These credits are also not original but have been redrawn, removing all indication that the film was photographed in Technicolor. The originalmusic survives on Vitaphone disks. The rest of the film, beginning with the first title card ("New York was originally purchased from the Indians..."), has the original sound.

Cast (in credits order)

*Winnie Lightner as Flo
*Irene Delroy as Dorothy 'Dot' Stottsbury
*Jack Whiting as Jerry 'A.J.' Smith
*Charles Butterworth as Colonel Joy
*Charles Judels as Monsieur LeMaire (the Dressmaker)
*John Davidson as Mr. A.J. Smith
*Arthur Hoyt as Jerry's secretary