A fairly ambitious Pathe musical from 1930, set in a traveling circus of the 1880s, this one's no neglected masterpiece, but it does show how quickly the talkies were learning to tell stories with, and through, song. A barely-singing Helen Twelvetrees is the put-upon heroine, wooed by nice-but-weak Fred Scott, and threatened by an unscrupulous Dorothy Burgess, who played this kind of part over and over, and well. The emphasis is on how the circus is a real community, an extended family, with good guys and bad guys, and on the strong woman/weak man pairing, and Helen's Cap'n Andy-like protector. I'm guessing Pathe had Show Boat in mind quite a lot when they made this. The songs aren't Kern quality, but they're OK, and there's at least a passing relationship between some of them and the plot. It's more than capably directed by Joseph Santley, nicely shot, and has some fun supporting players, including Stepin Fetchit, who's alternately delightful and cringe-inducing. There's an exciting if predictable climax, and Scott, who later became both a singing cowboy and an opera star, while goofy-looking, partners well with the delicate Ms. Twelvetrees. Among forgotten musicals of 1930, and there are many, this is one of the more impressive.
Review of Swing High
