Forbidden Hollywood is a monthly series hosted by STL film critic Katie Carter celebrating the Pre-Code films of the early 1930s, when movies were wild, racy, transgressive, and tons of fun.

Screen gangster James Cagney trades in Gatling guns for tap shoes in Lloyd Bacon’s star-studded 1933 backstage musical FOOTLIGHT PARADE. He plays Chester Kent, a theatrical producer whose job is on the line thanks to the popularity of new talking pictures— until he devises an assembly line method of creating and staging live musical prologues to be performed before a movie. The film’s elaborate finale is comprised of three numbers that represent the pinnacle of choreographer Busby Berkeley’s work: the innuendo-laced “Honeymoon Hotel,” the patriotic “Shanghai Lil,” and the erotic “By a Waterfall,” featuring Berkeley’s iconic human waterfall. But FOOTLIGHT PARADE is also a zippy comedy beyond its song-and-dance numbers, bolstered by the talents of Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Claire Dodd, Guy Kibbee, and Frank McHugh and brimming with more risqué dialogue and saucy situations than you can shake a chorus girl’s leg at, making it a true pre-Code essential.

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.