Kid Millions (1934)

[MrKEGreene]

What a delightful production number in Primeval Technicolor!!

[mohelidude]

"Kid Millions" was only shown in the very large MGM markets. Most Americans did not get to see it in the theaters. It was a very expensive movie to produce... and just as expensive to print. MGM sunk most every dollar they had into making it and, luckily, had blockbuster hits every year after that to offset the costs. It would be 1938 with "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" before most moviegoers would see their first color film.

[hotmarriedgays]

@mohelidude Kid Millions was not an MGM film.

[hotmarriedgays]

@mohelidude Also, most moviegoers would have seen "Becky Sharp", "A Star Is Born", "Garden of Allah" and "Nothing Sacred"...all major hit Technicolor films from between 1935 and 1937...before they saw 1938's "Adventures of Robin Hood".

[fabgirl4life216]

I remember seeing this film and being overwhelmed with happiness. It made me smile aplenty! :)

[SpaceClinicProverbs]

Shoot. That must have made the Great Depression kids SUPER crazy.

[xellisx1983]

absolutely gorgeous ending of the film, i wish i could find the soundtrack

[RichMansSon92]

thats just typical that, theres children dying and starving in africa, but american kids want ice cream so the whole world is supposed to stop?

[mohelidude]

@RichMansSon92 Keep in mind this was 1934. Americans knew nothing about Africa other than what was printed in geography books. At a time when unemployment was approaching 30%... kids getting ice cream was like receiving a very special birthday present.

[tenchimouse]

My mother was born in 1934, May. Just amazing and wonderful that you all seem to know your history. I love and do enjoy classic films, nothing like it!

[audiovisualIntro]

Kid Millions foi uma marco na história do cinema,onde deu inicio a cor e som que começaram a andar juntos e em sincronia.O filme é um musica clássico,não inovando muito.Como a cor estava no começo usou-se a tecnica ''technicolor''que era a segunda maior tecnica utilizada na época para colorir imagens em movimento.O som tem que melhorar muuito mais é o mais perfeito que se pode conseguir na época devido a limitação da tecnologia.

Athur Lima-primeiro semestres -IESB Sul

[audiovisualIntro]

O filme Kid millions inaugura o processo de cor e som no cinema.Foi um dos primeiros filmes da época a apresentar sincronia de som e expressão dos personagens,por esse motivo adquiri um grande valor na cinematografia da época.

A cor e a música ajudaram a estruturar essa característica de filme infantil,dando mais intensidade e emoção a estória.A música se torna um dos recursos narrativos. Roberta 

[TheMaxx111]

nice color. They really look better then the 2 color process.

[taurnguard]

Did you notice Butch and Woim from the Little Rascals at 6:17 ? :)

[nightswimmer99]

Looks like ice cream being made in Oz... :-)

[castletriglav]

It's amazing to see Ethel when she wasn't as grotesque as she became two decades later.

[djmbm100]

weren't those giant cows re-used in a Danny Kaye movie?

[zuiderzee98]

@djmbm100 (God, I hope I don't double post) The Kid from Brooklyn had a Goldwyn Girls number called "Sunflower Milk" with clever verses. The cow in the number was no prop.

[spagandtuna]

Although this film was painful to sit through in parts, what film really was good from '34? And, visually, at least, the color finale is pretty stunning, that's a plus.

[ragemanchoo82]

Ethel Merman was about 21 in this! :D

[VinylLad]

Watching technicolor movies made before 1939 feels extremely surreal. Does it affect you the same way?

[paulj0557]

This is great. I don't think I've ever seen it before. My mom was born in 31' and my dad 32' so these kids are even older. I like the fact that even in a kids film they use the chorus girls. Every boys fantasy- a machine that make giant ice cream sandwiches with a hot girl on top. Yum yum!

[webboffin]

I wonder if Willy Wonka was born from this?

[YearOfCam]

What would this have been like for the average filmgoer in '34? After NEVER having seen color film before?

It would have been psychedelic, the ultimate trip. 'more real than real'...

[jdsmyhero85]

Not really random. He said in the song "When My Ship Comes In" he would "buy a great big ice cream factory, and all the kids can come and get in free." :)

[bandgeekmike]

This always has seemed like one of the most random movie endings I have ever seen.

[fishhead06]

Of course, the black kids are at a separate table - lol!

[fishhead06]

Okay, I think the LSD has kicked in....

[patoman881]

Ice skating with giant strawberries....now if I saw that on a resume.....HIRED!

[manga12]

got to love the art deco age films and the numbers with the huge sets and props. eh if only we had this quality of the arts in song and dance today, now its all about effects, and not even a fair written story.

[SomehowCreativeYT]

XDD

[jdsmyhero85]

"He's a lot of hooey!" hahahaha

[12stringsforme]

This must have influenced the 74 Willie Wonka film.

[roon41]

1971

[MrLogoman007]

@12stringsforme 71

[JCJasion]

@12stringsforme - That thought occurred to me. The set designers must had a ball with the the set for this sequence.

[FaerieCrone]

Marvellous!

[SirCyrano]

Can you imagine watching this dazzling sequence in a movie theater during the depths of the Great Depression? You really can't overstate the magic of Hollywood in those days. I have to wonder if we'll be so lucky during the upcoming depression.

[Kinemacolour]

I've read about this, but I never saw it before.

It's Willy Wonka in Oz!

[MetalHeart8787]

great scene I reconized Butch at 6:17 also

& the kid next to him.

[fromthesidelines]

Until "Becky Sharp" (the first full-length first "three-strip Technicolor" feature) was released in 1935, most Hollywood producers often "sprinkled" similar Technicolor sequences into their films, as a "jolt" to movie patrons accustomed to seeing black & white films. In this case, this must have been fascinating to people who initially saw this sequence in theaters...

[byronbenguche]

I remember watching this movie on AMC years ago.This was one of my favorite Eddie Cantor Movies

[skot66]

At the end during the "Louie part" ..I think that is "Butch" from the Little Rascals...

[Bobolink03]

Yes, and "Woim" right next to him.

[Mr1920s]

The women looked SO MUCH BETTER in the 30s than they do now. They sang more fiminine too. AND ITS SO COLOURFUL!

[beeswaxer]

they looked wholesome and the dresses they wore everything was swell!!

[skot66]

I agree ..now days women have no class..well not all...but a large percentage.

[Lampshade51]

Wow. They used every shade known to man! I suspect that after a few years of the limited 2-color process, they wanted to flaunt the new process which could finally reproduce the entire color spectrum. Finales in color in the mid 30s were fairly common due to the limited availability of the equipment and the expense. Shirley Temple's "The Little Colonel" (mid 30s) had a color finale. Shirley said that it was the only time as a child star that she ever had to wear makeup.

[xABitTooGorgeousx]

why are the classics so darn CHEESY!it smells!

lol

[Lockbar]

Black kids also get ice cream, but they appear to be segregated. Crazy.

[Lockbar]

"We want ice cream! We want Ice Cream! We Want ice Cream!" Now I remember why I never had kids.

[xxtiaan]

omg that was some kinda acid nightmare

[AmazingShoestring]

Goodness, what a color palette.

[songplugger]

Oh, Ray - I love the fact that the earliest 3-strip Technicolor films of the 1930s are SO saturated and rich! Color that can't be re-created today!

[richardbrompton]

It would have been a funny sight Gag if the Milk Maids tryed to "MILK" a Bull!

[RayPointer]

The subject is KID MILLIONS, which is one of the early Technicolor features. It was remade 12 years later at THE KID FROM BROOKLY with Danny Kaye, again in Technicolor. One thing to note is that these early Technicolor

films are overly saturated. They become more natural in the late 30s most notably THE WIZARD OF OZ and GONE WITH THE WIND.

[RayPointer]

What is your point? Who's on first?

Is the issue which was the first application of three-color Tech? As stated, CAT IN THE FIDDLE was in color in the last reel. LA CUCARACHA two-reel short was all color, and BECKY SHARP was still the first Tech feature. Again, my remark was in response to the Disney exclusivity to animation.

[stjn00]

No offense:) My point is only to make clear that La Cucaracha wasn't the first use of live action 3-strip like everyone seems to believe. That's about it. Wasn't the Disney exclusivity only for animated movies?

[RayPointer]

Again, while CAT AND FIDDLE made use of it in the last reel, and this may have been the first public display, its use was not considered a true "color" release since the majority of the film was black and white.

Regarding the Disney use, perhaps if you would stop to read and cease trying to "show off" and nit pick a non issue, you would already know what has been explained twice.

[perfectjazz78]

Also do not forget... In addition to the films mentioned, "The House of Rothschild" (20th Century Pictures, Loretta Young) was released on April 7, 1934 and contains a beautiful Technicolor finale. So out of the 30s superstars, Jeanette Macdonald and Loretta Young were seen in Three Color Technicolor before Miriam Hopkins

[stjn00]

You are so right! Thanks for the support :)

[darthsideous1968]

If you look carefuly.....2 of the boys at the end of the vid "with naturaly messy faces" are little rascals. The one on the left is the little rascal known as Butch. ^_-

[AliceMoving]

This must be what the Willy Wonka factory looked like in the 1930s.

[mookindahouse]

lucy's in here as well as paulette goddard

[Birondon]

It's fantastic and amazing. It seems like a The Wizard of Oz movie pionner...

Ethel Merman becomes a Ice cream seller!!! Incredible!!!

[Dirkdebruyne]

I always thought Disney had the exclusive use of 3 strip technicolor from 1932(when "flowers and trees" was released)untill 1935, but obviously I was wrong...this is the most stunning use of the process in live action, color isn't what it used to be !

[robcat2075]

I believe Disney had exclusive use of 3-strip for animation.

[RayPointer]

Diseny had the exclusivity to Technicolor for animation until 1936. It was a while longer when live action cameras were possible for things like this.

[stjn00]

No, that is not entirely correct. The first live action footage in 3-strip was a scene in The Cat And The Fiddle in February 1934. Check it out, I have it up.

Kid Millions was released in november the same year.

[RayPointer]

Disney started a four year exclusivity for animation beginning in 1932, which ended in 1936, when all other cartoon producers were able to use the process. The CAT AND THE FIDDLE, a live action feature came out two years after FLOWERS AND TREES(1932)and had only the last reel in three color Tech.

The first live action application was in the RKO two-reel comedy, LA CUCARACHA (1934), which won the Academy Award. The first completely three-color feature film was RKO'S BECKY SHARP (1935).

[stjn00]

La Cucaracha was released in August 34. The Cat And The fiddle was the first. There are other shorts released before La Cucaracha as well. Service With a Smile in July for instance, and Good Morning Eve was made before as well but not released until September.

[soulierinvestments]

Thanx for posting this luscious clip. Lucille Ball in her Goldwyn Girls period is supposedly in this production. But where??

[stjn00]

You can spot Lucilla Ball in the Okay Toos clip from the same movie.

[vieetverite]

Is that Lucille Ball who appears for just an instant, on the left and with blond hair, at 2:30 to 2:32?

[bandgeekmike]

Quite possibly. She was one of the Goldwyn girls in this movie and that was before she started dying her hair red. I haven't been able to locate her in it. My mom bought me the VHS of this when I was in high school and the cover mentioned that she was in it, but I couldn't never tell.

[honeybeeisme]

Absolutely fantastic! Love it! The color is just beautiful! And Eddie... what a doll!

[calamtykel]

This is absolutely marvelous. I lost my VHS of this years ago. Thanks for sharing! Be sure to look for the Our Gang Kids - "The Woim" and Tommy Bond (Butch) as well as Stymie. There are others, but I don't recognize them on my small screen. Marvelous early color that must have cost more than the entire film!

[tlt1536]

This color is really eye-popping...those blues!