/zI1vCs12X1rxpT3BQs83TzDVyQA.jpg
RomanceDramaMusic

The Dance of Life

- Glamorous! Gorgeous! Heart Breaking!

A vaudeville comic and a pretty young dancer aren't having much luck in their separate careers, so they decide to combine their acts. In order to save money on the road, they get married. Soon their act begins to catch on, and they find themselves booked onto Broadway. They also realize that they actually are in love with each other, but just when things are starting to look up, the comic starts to let success go to his head.

Release Date : 1929-08-16

Language :

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Paramount Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Hal Skelly

Character Name : Ralph 'Skid' Johnson

Original Name : Hal Skelly

Gender : Male

Nancy Carroll

Character Name : Bonny Lee King

Original Name : Nancy Carroll

Gender : Female

Dorothy Revier

Character Name : Sylvia Marco

Original Name : Dorothy Revier

Gender : Female

Ralph Theodore

Character Name : Harvey Howell

Original Name : Ralph Theodore

Gender : Male

Charles D. Brown

Character Name : Lefty Miller

Original Name : Charles D. Brown

Gender : Male

Al St. John

Character Name : Bozo

Original Name : Al St. John

Gender : Male

May Boley

Character Name : Gussie

Original Name : May Boley

Gender : Female

Oscar Levant

Character Name : Jerry Evans

Original Name : Oscar Levant

Gender : Male

Gladys DuBois

Character Name : Miss Sherman

Original Name : Gladys DuBois

Gender : Male

James Quinn

Character Name : Jimmy

Original Name : James Quinn

Gender : Male

George Irving

Character Name : Minister

Original Name : George Irving

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2025-03-19

“Skid” (Hal Shelly) is a journeyman Vaudeville performer who meets dancer “Bonny” (Nancy Carroll) on the circuit and they fall in love. They marry and make a go of things on the road until he gets spotted and next thing he’s on Broadway whilst she keeps up with the daily grind. He proves to be a bit of an hit, and pretty quickly is reunited with ex-gal “Sylvia” (Dorothy Revier) who is soon sharing more than just the billing. When “Bonny” finds out she decides that two can play at that game, especially as she is being courted by a wealthy cattleman (Ralph Theodore). Despite his own ghastly behaviour, “Skid” can’t bear the thought that she could be with someone else, and so takes rather heavily to the bottle. That slippery slope sees him fall from grace, and it seems his only hope is that “Bonny” might actually forgive him - but why should she? Will she? Fans of song and dance cinema will enjoy this, even though the embryonic production and some distinctly ropey choreography do leave them looking a bit rough round the edges. That said, though, there are still some good numbers here, like “True Blue Lou” to compensate for the well travelled rags to riches story that isn’t so hot on the jeopardy front but it does shine a light on the fickleness of fame. This also has the benefit of quite seamlessly marrying the theatrical with the cinematic quite effectively, and though at times that doesn’t always come off, the efforts from Shelly, Carroll and from Revier showcase just how multi-talented people had to be in the 1920s if they had any hope of making a living in this cutthroat business whilst still delivers plausible - if not always so likeable, characters. It is a bit routine, sure, but it has a watchable freshness and vitality to it, too.