Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929 ) top grossing American color movie from 1929 - 1939

( The show starts at 2:15 ) Gold Diggers of Broadway 1929 This film was so popular that it quickly became the top grossing film of all time in 1929 and held this record until 1939

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Education

Tags:

• Gold
• Diggers
• of
• Broadway
• 1929
• most
• popylar
• American
• color
• movie
• from
• 1929-1039

[TheMoviefan1996]

Thank you so much for putting this on Youtube. Five stars.

[ClarasBeau]

You really can't tell from this somewhat muddy copy just what an absolute THRILL this picture must have been for audiences back in 1929... It made Winnie Lightner a mega-star... at least for the moment... I've listened to the complete soundtrack (from the old Vitaphone discs), and it sounds like it was a hoot!

So glad that we can see any of it in any form... And isn't it a riot that they did everything but throw in the kitchen sink for this finale?!! LOL

[hoss73ford1]

this is awesome. Hope the rest of the film is found

[WrightsW5]

What is the footage situation as of the end of 2011, any more fragments found recently?

[blackmud42]

There has been talk of recreating this landmark film by utilizing the surviving publicity stills, of which there are at least 100, to substitute for the missing film portions. It would be terrific if that could be done. Turner Classic Movies, where are you?

[blackmud42]

Another reason this film was lost is that there were several later versions made with improved technology -- "Gold Diggers of 1933," Gold Diggers of 1935," etc. -- so this early one was regarded as obsolete and worthless.

[blackmud42]

The finale is amazing considering the conditions under which it was produced: To keep the film and the separate sound disk in sync, the entire reel had to be filmed without any interruption or later editing. To muffle the noise of the projector, the projector and its operator were enclosed in an airtight box that could not be moved. The lighting was so intense that the actors' costumes and hair sometimes got singed. Yet the performance we view is almost flawless.

[xxmoviemakerxxx]

@calvinnme2 Very interesting and informative. I like YouTubers who make intelligent contributions!

[calvinnme2]

@xxmoviemakerxxx Yes, there were many prints in circulation, but after their runs they went back to the studio. Prints that were all Technicolor often belonged to the Technicolor Corporation and many of those films were intentionally destroyed in the late 1940's by that company. This might have been one of those since it is all color. That's why so many lost films are found in places like Russia or Australia. By the time films ran in such remote locales, nobody bothered to demand their return.

[xxmoviemakerxxx]

@calvinnme2 In some cities this film was being shown in 10 theaters simultaneously. There must have been hundreds of prints in circulation. I know that many of them wore out after repeated screenings, but it's still amazing that not one survived intact. They must have been intentionally destroyed. And since the entire sound track did survive, lost or damaged discs could not have been the reason for tossing the film.

[calvinnme2]

@xxmoviemakerxxx There was no concept of film preservation at that time. Movies were entertainment and looked at as something that had no use past their given runs in theaters. Only 7 WB films from 1929 still exist in any form that could be considered complete. Jack Warner even sold off the entire WB pre-1949 catalog at one point. WB only retrieved that portion of their film history because Ted Turner sold it back to WB in 1996 as part of his deal to sell his entertainment empire to them.

[xxmoviemakerxxx]

@calvinnme2 Your explanation makes sense...I just would have thought that Warner Brothers would take better care of their top grossing film at the time.