Roman Scandals
 | ||
| Starring | Eddie Cantor | |
| Directed by | Frank Tuttle | |
| Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn | |
| Choreographer | Busby Berkeley | |
| Written by | William Anthony McGuire based on the story by George Kaufman | |
| Editing by | Stuart Heisler | |
| Studio | Samuel Goldwyn Productions | |
| Music by | Alfred Newman (composer) | |
| Cinematography | Ray June Gregg Toland | |
| Distributed by | United Artists | |
| Released | Dec 29, 1933 in {{{4}}} | |
| Runtime | 93 minutes | |
| Country | United States | |
| language | English | |
| Budget | US$1,000,000 (est.) | |
| Gross | $2,443,000 | |
| IMDB Info | 0024507 on IMDb | |
Roman Scandals is a 1933 American black-and-white pre-Code musical film starring Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, Edward Arnold and David Manners. It was directed by Frank Tuttle. The film features a number of intricate production numbers choreographed by Busby Berkeley. The song "Keep Young and Beautiful" is from this film. In addition to the starring actors in the picture, the elaborate dance numbers are performed by the "Goldwyn Girls" (who in this film include future stars such as Lucille Ball, Paulette Goddard and Barbara Pepper). The title of the film is a pun on 'Roman sandals'.
Plot summary
Easily the best of Eddie Cantor's gargantuan musical comedies, Roman Scandals begins in the middle-America community of West Rome, Oklahoma, where Eddie (Cantor) is employed as a delivery boy.
A self-styled authority of Ancient Roman history, Eddie bemoans the fact that the local shanty community is about to be wiped out by scheming politicians, certain that such an outrage could never have happened during Rome's Golden Days. After a blow to the head, Eddie wakes up in Imperial Rome, where he is sold on the slave auction block to good-natured tribune Josephus (David Manners). Eddie soon discovers that the evil emperor Valerius (Edward Arnold) is every bit a crook and grafter as the politicians in West Rome, and he intends to do something about it.
He gets a job as a food taster for Valerius — a none-too-secure position, inasmuch as the emperor's wife, Agrippa (Veree Teasdaleis constantly trying to poison him—and does his best to smooth the path of romance for Josephus and the recently captured Princess Sylvia (Gloria Stuart). Eddie's well-intentioned interference earns him a session in the torture chamber, but he escapes and commandeers a chariot. On the verge of capture, Eddie wakes to find himself in West Rome, OK again, where he quickly foils the modern-day despots and brings about a happy ending for all his friends.
Cast
- Wikipedia article: Roman Scandals Cast
Soundtrack
- Wikipedia article: Roman Scandals Soundtrack
Critical response
A written media review is located in Monthly Film Bulletin (UK), Vol. 1, Iss. 8, September 1934, (MG)
Reception
The film was one of United Artists' most popular films of the year.
| Busby Berkeley articles | |
|---|---|
| Broadway plays choreographed | A Connecticut Yankee (1927) • Present Arms (1928) • Sweet and Low (1930) |
| Films choreographed and directed |
42nd Street (musical numbers, 1933) • She Had To Say Yes (1933) • Footlight Parade (musical numbers, 1933) • Dames (musical numbers, 1934) • Fashions of 1934 (musical numbers, 1934) • Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) • Bright Lights (1935) • I Live for Love (1935) • In Caliente (musical numbers, 1935) • Stars Over Broadway (musical numbers, 1935) • Stage Struck (1936) • Varsity Show (finale, 1937) • The Singing Marine (musical numbers, 1937) • Gold Diggers of 1937 (musical numbers, 1937) • The Go Getter (1937) • Hollywood Hotel (1937) • Men Are Such Fools (1938) • Gold Diggers in Paris (musical numbers, 1938) • Garden of the Moon (1938) • Comet Over Broadway (1938) • Broadway Serenade (finale, 1939) • They Made Me a Criminal (1939) • Fast and Furious (1939) • Babes in Arms (1939) • The Wizard of Oz (scenes cut, 1939) • Forty Little Mothers (1940) • Strike Up The Band (1940) • Blonde Inspiration (1941) • Lady Be Good (musical numbers, 1941) • Ziegfeld Girl (musical numbers, 1941) • Babes on Broadway (1941) • For Me and My Gal (1942) • Born to Sing (finale, 1942) • Cabin in the Sky ("Shine" sequence, 1943) • The Gang's All Here (1943) • Girl Crazy ("I Got Rhythm" sequence, 1943) • Cinderella Jones (1946) • Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) • Annie Get Your Gun (scenes cut, 1950) • |
| Films choreographed only |
Whoopee! (1930) • Kiki (1931) • Palmy Days (1931) • Flying High (1931) • Sky Devils (1932) • Girl Crazy (1932) • Night World (1932) • Bird of Paradise (1932) • The Kid From Spain (1932) • Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) • Roman Scandals (1933) • Wonder Bar (1934) • Romance on the High Seas (1948) • Call Me Mister (1951) • Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) • Small Town Girl (1953) • Rose Marie (1954) • Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) • |
External links
- Review Roman Scandals at the Internet Movie Database
- Film profile, san.beck.org
- Film profile, scifilm.org
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