The March of Time (film)

Production

The uncompleted film was originally titled Hollywood Revue of 1930 and was conceived by producer Harry Rapf as a follow-up to MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929, which he had also produced. The film was retitled The March of Time, as it was to consist of three sections which featured past performers from the stage and the vaudeville circuit, then-present-day performers, and up-and-coming performers. In order to attract audiences that mainly watched films, musical numbers featuring well-known actors of the time, including Bing Crosby, Ramon Novarro, Marie Dressler, Joan Crawford, and Wallace Beery were included. Production began in Spring 1930, but by June 1930 MGM had decided to shelve the project, as they considered it to be unmarketable, despite the fact that several of the musical numbers had already been filmed.

Among the performers originally scheduled to appear in The March of Time were Buster Keaton, Joe Weber and Lew Fields of the Weber and Fields comedy team, Gus Edwards, Fay Templeton, DeWolf Hopper Sr., Albertina Rasch and her dancers, Polly Moran, Barney Fagan, and Raquel Torres.

In order to salvage the $750,000 that had already been spent on the film, MGM announced plans to use the footage in a planned project starring Jimmy Durante that was to be released in 1932. That project was also abandoned. The footage from The March of Time later found its way into the musical shorts The Devil's Cabaret (1930), Nertsery Rhymes (1933), Beer and Pretzels (1933), Hello Pop! (1933), Jail Birds of Paradise (1934), and The Big Idea (1934). MGM's 1931 musical revue Wir schalten um auf Hollywood (We Tune In to Hollywood), produced for the German market, also featured scenes from The March of Time as did Broadway to Hollywood (1933). Footage from the unfinished film also appears in That's Entertainment! III (1994).