The Dance of Life (film)

The Dance of Life
Directed byJohn Cromwell
A. Edward Sutherland
Written byBenjamin Glazer
Julian Johnson (titles)
Based onBurlesque (play)
by George Manker Watters and Arthur Hopkins
StarringHal Skelly
Nancy Carroll
CinematographyJ. Roy Hunt
Edited byGeorge Nichols Jr.
Music byAdolph Deutsch
Vernon Duke
John Leipold
Production
company
Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • August 16, 1929 (1929-08-16) (New York City)
  • September 7, 1929 (1929-09-07) (U.S.)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
The Dance of Life
(full movie, public domain)

The Dance of Life is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film. It is the first of three film adaptations of the popular 1927 Broadway play Burlesque, with the others being Swing High, Swing Low (1937) and When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948). The film was directed by John Cromwell (who also appeared in the film with a small part)[1] and A. Edward Sutherland.[2] Hal Skelly appeared in the lead role as Ralph “Skid” Johnson after playing the same role in the Broadway version at the Plymouth Theater. He took part in the production for fifty two weeks before leaving his role to take part in the film.[3] Charles D. Brown, Ralph Theodore and Oscar Levant also appeared in the Broadway production.[4]

The Dance of Life was shot at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens, and included Technicolor sequences, directed by John Cromwell and A. Edward Sutherland.

  1. ^ Tibbetts, John C. (1985). The American Theatrical Film, Stages in Development. Bowling Green, Ohio, USA: Bowling Green State University Press. p. 130. ISBN 0879722894.
  2. ^ Mordden, Ethan (2016). When Broadway Went to Hollywood. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 17–19. ISBN 978-0199395408.
  3. ^ "Now At the Circle "Dance of Life"". The Indianapolis Times. Indianapolis, IN. September 21, 1929. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  4. ^ Bradley, Edwin M (2004). The First Hollywood Musicals, A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. Jefferson, North Carolina, USA: McFarland Inc. Pub. pp. 54–56. ISBN 9780786420292.