A Walk Into a Real 1920s Night Club
Today is the birthday of Star of Vaudeville #447: Roland West (for his full bio go here). He made his biggest mark in show biz as a film director (see my lengthy squib on his versions of The Bat here). In this clip from his 1929 film The Alibi, the viewer has the realistic experience of walking into a night club and seeing a charming floor show — it’s the next best thing to virtual reality!
To find out more about the variety arts past and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold. And don’t miss Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, to be released by Bear Manor Media in 2013.
