Varieties on Parade

A young man from a wealthy New York family pursues a career as the leader of a dance band.

A miniature vaudeville show, complete with a title card introducing each act, is presented. First up is The On-Wah Troupe, an East Asian group of contortionists. Next, Blossom Seeley and Benny Fields sing a duet of the song, "Why Don't You Practice What You Preach". Third up, father and son Pat Rooney and Pat Rooney Jr. perform a recitation and dance musing about if they will ever be as clever as their dad. And the last act on the bill is The Runaway Four, a group of comic acrobats.

Two Bowery vaudevillians find success in producing shows on Broadway, but when one of them suddenly departs to work for a beautiful woman, a feud erupts.

In PRC's Follies Girl, Wendy Barrie plays dress designer Anne Merriday, who becomes the object of middle-aged millionaire J. B. Hamlin's (J.C. Nugent) affections. To save his dad from throwing his life away on a supposed golddigger, Hamlin's son, Army private Jerry Hamlin (Gordon Oliver), begins courting Anne-and, of course, falls genuinely in love with her himself. Meanwhile, the rogueish J.B. tries to mount a Broadway burlesque show, with costumes designed by Our Heroine.

Georgie Price tells Bryan Foy, who is to direct his short film, that he is nervous about performing to a camera and microphone instead of an audience. He then sings a couple songs, in an Al Jolson/Eddie Cantor style.

Lewis and Clark, aka The Sunshine Boys, were famous comedians during the vaudeville era, but off-stage they couldn't stand each other and haven't spoken in over 20 years of retirement. Willy Clark's nephew is the producer of a TV variety show that wants to feature a reunion of this classic duo. It is up to him to try to get the Sunshine Boys back together again.

Olive rushes over to show Popeye the headline: Vaudeville is coming back. They agree to rehearse their old act. After a brief song-and-dance intro, the act begins: Popeye demonstrating his strength while Olive displays her flexibility and balance; impersonations of Jimmy Durante, Stan Laurel and Groucho Marx; and the last act, more feats of strength and agility.

Bob Hope tours China, takes in the culture and meets up with Big Bird, Crystal Gayle, Peaches and Herb, and others.

Two vaudeville acrobats adopt the son of an actor friend.

The Baroness de Courtebise presides over an association of mothers-in-law with grievances against their sons-in-law. Armed with her prerogatives, she forbids the marriage of her daughter-in-law to the mayor's nephew, especially as an inheritance is in doubt. The ladies kidnap, the men kidnap, the election campaign turns sour and the Baroness must capitulate. She takes revenge by falling into the mayor's arms.

Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Youngest son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.

Pat and Molly Malloy, once famed vaudeville and Broadway performers, arrive to play the small town of Hamilton, Conn. with a troupe of dancers, singers, a trained dog and an educated seal. Harry Clark, the clerk at the rundown Swanzey Hotel, insults Pat and the latter uses the $4000, that he and Molly have been saving for years to buy a retirement farm, to buy the hotel so he can fire Harry. Local skinflint, J.A. Higgins wants the hotel as he knows the state has intentions to buy it for a museum, but Pat won't sell.

A group of inhabitants from Ferté-sous-Jouarre decide to spend their jackpot on a three day trip to Paris.

Sitting in a theater box, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy make comments between the acts of a vaudeville show.

The landowner Mordashov, in order to please his future son-in-law Alexei Fursikov, marks his daughter’s entire dowry with the monogram “A.F.” But the groom gives compensation. So that the goods are not lost, the prudent father begins the search for a groom with the appropriate initials Az and Firth.

A film director travels to Kentucky to seek out local talent for a hillbilly musical film. There, he gets kidnapped.

After getting kicked out of a vaudeville show for misbehaving, they decide to put on a show of their own.

Vaudeville entertainer Eddie Foy, who has vowed to forever keep his act a solo, falls in love with and marries Italian ballerina Madeleine. While they continue to tour the circuit, they begin a family and before long have seven little Foys to clutter the wings. After tragedy threatens to stall Eddie's career, he comes to realize that his little terrors are worth their weight in gold. - Chris Stone

Shortly before Christmas, a family moves into an apartment where Rupert the squirrel lives in the attic rafters. Just as it seems that the holiday will come and go without so much as a Christmas tree, Rupert acts as the family's guardian angel - not only saving Christmas, but changing their lives forever.

A workman finds a singing frog in the cornerstone of an old building being demolished. But when he tries to cash in on his discovery, he finds the frog will sing only for him, and just croak for the talent agent and the audience in the theater he's spent his life savings on.