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The Busby Berkeley Collection, Vol. 2 (Gold Diggers of 1937 / Gold Diggers in Paris / Hollywood Hotel / Varsity Show) | 
 enlarge | Actor: Busby Berkeley
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $23.60
You Save: $16.38 (41%)
New (38) Used (10) from $23.60
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 5032
Format: Box Set, Black & White, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 4
Running Time: 387
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.5 x 2.5
MPN: WARD037126D
UPC: 883929010202
EAN: 0883929010202
ASIN: B001A5ES8E
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/16/2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Mediocre films in neat package November 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This collection, marketed under the name of Busby Berkeley, is not one of Warner Brother's better releases. The Berkeley name may draw the unfamiliar but it is misleading since in at least one of the films, he was brought in merely to stage the finale and as a director, except for a certain visual flair with the camera boom, there was nothing really to distinguish him from any other contract director of the time. The Warner's musicals lost a lot when the Hays Code removed their sting in 1934 and all these films are post code. Berkeley lost too since so many of his best numbers revolved around sex. Also the budgets were rapidly curtailed.
The first film and maybe the best is "Golddiggers of 1937", a cynical and not very likeable farce set around insurance salesmen. Berkeley regulars, Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, married at the time, are the leads and since Blondell is neither a singer nor dancer of any note, if at all, there is a hole in the accompanying musical numbers. The climax is the battle of the sexes number "All's fair in love and war" and Berkeley's penchant for precision marching and formations is prevalent and dreary.
"Hollywood Hotel" directed entirely by Berkeley, is overlong but the musical numbers, particularly the title number and "Let that be a lesson to You" have real visual flair, infectious orchestrations and the vocals tossed around the cast and extras. They bounce and jump off the screen. Benny Goodman and Francis Langford bring a touch of class and Harry James can be seen in Goodman's band. The screenplay is a reasonably entertaining spoof on stardom with Lola Lane playing a temperamental star and Alan Mowbray giving an hilarious spoof of a ham actor. There are lots of then topical references to Hollywood, Ronald Reagan is visible as a radio announcer and starlet Carole Landis has a bit as a hat check girl. Louella Parsons, the famous and lethal gossip columnist appears, grinning her role and sure determined to convince that she was a nice person, which she wasn't!
The remaining films are busy musical comedies populated by second string musical performers. Here are some points to note:
* Rosemary Lane, with charm to spare, has a trained operetta voice which sounds dreadful with pop numbers
* Rudy Vallee plays a very sophisticated lead in "Goldiggers in Paris" and while he is more relaxed than usual, he is no substitute for the appealing and energetic Powell.
* Ted Healy, of 3 Stooges fame, has a really sleazy screen presence. He is horrible.
* "Varsity Show" suffers from an edited print. The film's continuity suffers and at least 2 numbers from Powell and the Lane sisters are missing. This is a giant "college' musical and the finale, a tribute to Ivy league is fantastic, maybe the best number of all in the set.
The prints of the films are in great condition and the extras contain lots of pleasant cartoons, usually attached to songs from the films, all the theatrical trailers and some shorts, most of which are awful. "Goldiggers of '37" also contains the only remaining footage from "Goldiggers of Broadway", a lost 1929 early talkie and filmed in 2 strip technicolour. The footage will be of interest if you would like to see what a Broadway finale was like in the twenties, but otherwise, it is crude and stilted. A parade of performers appear, rushing on, doing their bit (maybe a dance or acrobatics or a chorus or 2), then rush off. Some are very good but the overall affect is merely busy and all the acts are anonymous.
The set is not really expensive and it has been nicely packaged but unless you are particularly interested in the music or a catalogue of Berkeley's work, I wouldn't bother.
busby berkeley collection 2 October 26, 2008
nice set especially since this set, i believe. has never been on vhs. so if you are a musical fan and like films of the 30's i am sure you will like this volume 2, tho not up to volume 1 in great scenes still good.
not the best berkeley but still worth the money October 23, 2008
there is quite a difference in the overall mood in these films when compared the berkeley films of the early '30s. there is also a difference in the budget. these later examples are definitely pared down in the extravaganza department, but still entertaining and recognizable as berkeley's work. the only real disappointment is that for this dvd set, warners issued an incomplete "varsity show." is the complete film lost or was the money just not spent to restore the film. i realize it is not a great masterpiece, but why make it available when it is incomplete and when there are other interesting berkeley films that could have been included.
Great collection! October 16, 2008
Love the Busby Berkeley style. If you were a fan of the first collection, this will be an additional treat. As always, the plot is a segue to the BIG dance number - but who cares about the plot? It's a fun way to spend an evening. Pour a glass of wine and sit down to relax. Berkeley is a sure ticket to stress relief.
Busby Berkeley on a Budget! September 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I wasn't expecting the release of this set and was taken by surprise by Volume#2 of four more movies from Busbys' Warner period.These movies however are not,for the most part, the Busby we would like to remember.This is basically Busby,on a budget!The extravagance,endless money,time and the "do whatever it takes to make it work" ethic he worked with in years past, had now pretty much dried up.He was now just another director that had to bring his movie in on time and within the usual financial constrictions.
Let's look at each film.And these tell the tale,in spades...in the plots and the execution.
"Varsity Show"-1937
Dick Powell stars as a Broadway producer down on his luck with a string of flops.His old alma mater comes a calling asking for his help to put on a show there.Dick butts heads with the college staff and ends up leaving.The hepped up collegians follow him to New York and stage a sit-in in the last theatre Dick played out of.As each contingent of police,national guard and finally the mayor arrive to oust the students,each becomes an audience member to their show and the finale to the movie.The number is replete with reverse shots and cuts and over all nothing too memorable Berkeley wise.Dick Powell seems to just glide through this picture without his typical energy.His manager Ted Healy,as in all the pictures he is in in this set,goes around with a look on his face that suggests there is something rotten in the air.There is a talented Black act included here called Buck and Bubbles,a song and dance duo.Jack Bubbles' work dates back years and he was quite a famous dancer in Vaudeville.In fact he would teach a very young Fred Astaire some dance moves!Watch for Ed Brophy as the apoplectic theatre owner.Buster Keaton fans will remember Brophy in "The Camerman" in that dressing room sequence.
Golddiggers in Paris-1938
This pic stars Rudy Vallee who runs the Bali Nightclub,which is not doing so well.Hugh Herbert is a French diplomat who comes to the States and mistakingly takes Vallees' club dancers to Paris under the impression they are the Amercian Ballet Academy.When they arrive in Paris they are eventually found out and are pursued by the authorities.There are alot more twists and turns in this picture with an ex-wife and a "killer" of a patron to the Ballet company(Ed Brophy),which make it a bit more enjoyable than most of the other entries in this box set.The musical finale is really nothing of import and is again definitely not Berkeley quality.Watch for a brief glimpse of a Black doorman who is none other than Eddie"Rochester" Anderson,who many recall as Jack Benny's lovable valet.Also a wonderful musical addition is the appearance of the novelty "Schnickelfritz Band".These five guys were the forerunners to Spike Jones and they are seen to great effect in this movie.In fact it was Vallee who saw them play and brought them out to Hollywood especially for this picture.Vallee sings very well and does some wonderful musical imitations,which he was well known for.
Hollywood Hotel-1937
This movie is the one whose plot is practically non existant.Dick Powell is a sax player off to seek his fame and fortune in Hollywood.It doesn't take long before he loses his contract and is forced to get a job in a drive in.The drive in is run by none other than Edgar Kennedy,old Laurel and Hardy's nemesis in many of their films,who shows off his "slow burn" to great effect.There is a singing/staged number that occurs here"Let that be a lesson to You",that enables Powell to get re-signed to the picture studio.There is a plot twist involving the mix up of a spoiled star and her indentical lool alike,but sadly overall the story is totally uninspiring.Hugh Herbert plays the spoiled stars' befuddled(as usual for his charcater)father who goes "woo-wooing" his way throughout the picture.Sour puss Ted Healy is again there as Dicks' manager.Watch for famous gossip columnist Louella Parsons in the picture...enough said.
By far the BEST thing about this picture is the appearance of the Benny Goodman Band,in its' prime.The highlights are the band playing the 2nd portion of "Sing,Sing,Sing" and a number with only the Benny Goodman quartet featuring Goodman,Krupa,Teddy Powell and Lionel Hampton.To watch frenetic Gene Krupa on the skins with trumpet wonderkind Harry James standing beside him gives one goose pimples;they are so extraordinarily good!And the quality of the transfer makes it all the more exciting.
Golddiggers of 1937-1937
This by far the best of the set.The plot however is a very cynical one.In the past the term "gold digging" was usually used in a broader sense,looking for better times and circumstance.This time around it's a group of money grubing ladies out to get any guy with some kind of income they can can get,and the richer the better.Victor Moore stars as the head of a company who is a hypocondriac.His two assistants wrangle him into buying a million dollar insurance policy from a reluctant and novice Dick Powell.It's now up to Powell to keep Moore alive as long as he can(his meal ticket for an assured income) as opposed to Moores' conniving assistants who would prefer him six feet under to collect on his policy.Moore's company usually puts on an annual play but due to his assitants' bad investments they are broke,unbeknownst to him.Moore plays his befuddled character to a tee and Powell gives lots of energy to his part.In the end the show goes on due to Powell's usual diligence in these matters.And this finale is the best one in the box set and the most typical of what we think of when we think of Busby Berkeley."All's Fair in Love and War" is the big number and it's on the grand scale with all those high shots we're used to seeing.Joan Blondell(his wife in real life)is Powells' love interest here,but with not much to do.
To wrap this all up,most of the musical numbers in the movies in this set could have been directed by anyone,with the exception of "Gold diggers of
1937".This is the only movie out of the four with that typical Berkeley finale flair.But you'll notice I only said "finale".In his heyday he'd have four or five big numbers in a picture,which shows the changes that had occured in a few short years within the studio,limiting what he could do.However all these films are transferred wonderfully and all have accompanying shorts and cartoons from the same year the main picture is from,which are nice to have.
As I said this isn't typical classic Berkeley so don't go looking for him to any great extent here.There are some great non-Berkeley musical moments that come from other acts throughout these films as I have noted which will surprise and delight many.So even though the films themselves deserve maybe a three star rating entertainment wise,I am giving it a four star rating for what musical kicks do occur,for the transfers and for their historical importance overall.
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