The Half Naked Truth (1932)

Director
Gregory La Cava

Main cast
Lupe Vélez; Lee Tracy; Eugene Pallette; Frank Morgan; Shirley Chambers

Genres
Comedy, Romance

Description
A barker at a down-at-the-heels carnival becomes a powerhouse New York publicity man as he transforms a sideshow dancer into a Broadway sensation.


Similar movies

Harriet Green, a beloved and radiant music hall star of the Edwardian era, has a guilty secret: She has a baby daughter, born out of wedlock. Harriet leaves her public and flees to South Africa to raise her daughter quietly. The years pass, and now her daughter, Harriet Hawkes, returns to London as a young show-biz hopeful. Tommy, a wily publicity man, knowing that young Harriet is a dead ringer for her famous mother, convinces a theater producer to star her in a new revue as none other than the original Harriet Green, miraculously untouched by old age. The ruse works too well: Now the public believes Harriet is a well-preserved 60-year-old and Tommy is her son. The deception is more than merely inconvenient, because now Harriet and Tommy have secretly fallen in love.
Sexpot film star Lola Burns (Jean Harlow) is at the top of the pile in Hollywood in this pre-code film directed by Victor Fleming But with her father and brother always hanging around for handouts and the studio PR honcho cooking up endless lurid newspaper stories, she decides to get a new image by trying all sorts of schemes which go awry.
A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.
A publicity man promotes his newspaper, but finds his boss always steals the credit.
A broadway playwright is burning the candle at both ends. He is dealing with pressure from a production nearing premiere, a wife who is leaving him, and 5 children 4 of which belong to her.
The bold Tira works as dancing beauty and lion tamer at a fair. Out of an urgent need of money, she agrees to a risky new number: she'll put her head into a lion's muzzle! With this attraction the circus makes it to New York and Tira can persue her dearest occupation: flirting with rich men and accepting expensive presents.
Bill Dancer and his young companion Curly Sue are the classic homeless folks with hearts of gold. Their scams are aimed not at turning a profit, but at getting enough to eat. When they scam the rich and beautiful Grey Ellison into believing she backed her Mercedes into Bill, they're only hoping for a free meal. But Grey is touched, and over the objections of her snotty fiancé.
This musical is based on four short stories by Damon Runyon. In one tale, gambler Feet Samuels sells his body to science just as he realizes that Hortense loves him and that he would rather live than die. In another story, Harriet's parrot is killed, and she has problems dealing with her loss. Then, there is a gambler, "Right", who has bloodhounds on his trail when he becomes a murder suspect. Finally, "The Brain" is bleeding profusely, and his friends search for a way to save his life through a blood transfusion.
A producer puts on what may be his last Broadway show, and at the last moment a chorus girl has to replace the star.
Oscar Jaffe is a successful Broadway director; Lily Garland, one of his stars. But when she leaves his direction, his success goes with her. When he recognizes her aboard the Twentieth Century Limited, the train that both of them are riding, he tries to get her back for a new show. But accomplishing that feat isn't as simple as he had thought.
When the Muppets graduate from Danhurst College, they take their song-filled senior revue to New York City, only to learn that it isn't easy to find a producer who's willing to back a show starring a frog and a pig. Of course, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy won't take no for an answer, launching a search for someone to take them to Broadway.
Paul and Eddie have just begun previews for the new Off-Broadway musical "Adam and Steve Just the Way God Made 'Em." Their lives strangely mirror the characters they are playing. Paul is looking for the perfect man and Eddie is dealing with how his sexuality and faith can mix
Janie lives to dance and will dance anywhere, even stripping in a burlesque house. Tod Newton, the rich playboy, discovers her there and helps her get a job in a real Broadway musical being directed by Patch. Tod thinks he can get what he wants from Janie, Patch thinks Janie is using her charms rather than talent to get to the top, and Janie thinks Patch is the greatest. Steve, the stage manager, has the Three Stooges helping him manage all the show girls. Fred Astaire and Nelson Eddy make appearances as famous Broadway personalities.
A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script.
Rusty Parker, a red-headed leggy dancer at Danny McGuire's Night Club in Brooklyn, wants to be a successful Broadway star. She enters a contest to be a 'Cover Girl' as a stepping-stone in her career. She reminds the publisher, John Coudair, of his lost love, showgirl Maribelle Hicks. He was engaged to Maribelle, although his wealthy society mother made fun of her. Maribelle left John at the altar when she saw the piano at her wedding. It reminded her of the piano-player she truly loved. Rusty is Maribelle's granddaughter and there are musical sequences with Maribelle dancing to songs from the beginning of the 20th century.
When the temperamental star of a new Broadway musical revue in rehearsals walks out, director and choreographer Ted Sturgis suggests casting an unknown for the role. When it is announced in the newspapers, throngs of hopefuls show up. The revue's musical composer, Leo Belney, champions ballerina Joanna Moss, while gofer Bob Dowdy is enchanted by novice Suzy Doolittle. Then producer Felix Jordan persuades Ted's former dance partner, Madelyn Corlan, to come out of retirement to try out, much to Ted's great discomfort.
Constance Shaw, a Broadway dance star, and Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a keen fan of hers, marry after she breaks up with her fiancé. Connie thinks Joseph owns a gold mine, but he actually works as a presser at a hotel valet shop. When everyone learns what he really is, Joseph is banned from the theater. When he sneaks in again, he learns of a plot to set off a bomb in the adjoining munitions warehouse.
Married songwriters almost split up while putting on a big show.
When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.
Set in 1920's New York City, this movie tells the story of idealistic young playwright David Shayne. Producer Julian Marx finally finds funding for the project from gangster Nick Valenti. The catch is that Nick's girl friend Olive Neal gets the part of a psychiatrist, and Olive is a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist as well as being a dreadful actress. Agreeing to this first compromise is the first step to Broadway's complete seduction of David, who neglects longtime girl friend Ellen. Meanwhile David puts up with Warner Purcell, the leading man who is a compulsive eater, Helen Sinclair, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Cheech, Olive's interfering hitman / bodyguard. Eventually, the playwright must decide whether art or life is more important.
Tycoon J.L. Higgins controls his whole family, but one of his sons- in-law, Dan Brooks and his daughter Alice are fed up with that. Brooks quits his job as manager of J.L.'s paper box factory and devotes his life to his racing horse Broadway Bill, but his bank- roll is thin and the luck is against him, he is arrested because of $150 he owes somebody for horse food, but suddenly a planed fraud by somebody else seems to offer him a chance...
Hiring real zombies for a broadway show proves difficult.
Fame goes to a priggish singer's (David Manners) head and almost costs him his girlfriend (Ann Dvorak).
After putting together another Broadway flop, down-on-his-luck producer Max Bialystock teams up with timid accountant Leo Bloom in a get-rich-quick scheme to put on the world's worst show.
The Marx Brothers try and put on a play before their landlord finds out that they have run out of money. To confuse the landlord they pretend that the play's author has contracted some terrible disease and can't be moved. Originally a Broadway stage play by John Murray and Allen Boretz, adapted for the screen by Morrie Ryskind.
Broadway producer Max Bialystock and his accountant Leo Bloom plan to make money by charming little old ladies to invest in a production many times over what it will actually cost, and then put on a sure-fire flop, so nobody will ask for their money back - and what can be a more certain flop than a tasteless musical celebrating Hitler…? The film distributors were also afraid that the audience would react negatively, so the film had a sneak premiere in Pittsburgh in November 1967 and its official premiere in New York in March 1968, but it didn't go on general release in the US until November 1968. It wasn't released outside the US until its UK premiere in October 1969, followed by Sweden in May 1970, and Italy, Denmark and France in 1971. They didn't dare show in Germany until 1976. Today its regarded a comedy classic.
A Cinderella story of a young country girl who comes to Hollywood and achieves movie stardom with the help of a publicity man.
A publicity stunt staged on a train known as the Broadway Limited creates problems because of an unknown baby that was part of the stunt.
Bud Hooper, a cadet at Winsocki Military Academy, sends an invitation to movie star Lucille Ball to come to Winsocki's big dance. Ball's publicity-hungry agent convinces her to go in order to boost her career. Complications arise when Bud's girlfriend Helen Schlesinger unexpectedly shows up, too.
This television movie finale to the series "Extras" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Made-for-Television Movie. Andy Millman is finally no longer an extra and has his own sitcom, but still, Andy is not happy with everything. Whilst his long-term friend, Maggie struggles to earn a living from any job she can get, Andy still wants to be famous amongst the A-List stars, even if it means cutting back on a few things, including close friends.
A teenage couple making out in the woods accidentally runs over an alien creature with their car. The creature's hand falls off, but it comes alive, and, with an eye growing out of it, begins to stalk the teens. Meanwhile, Joe the town drunk wants to store the body in his refrigerator, but some of the alien's buddies inject alcohol into his system, and Joe dies of an overdose.
Nick and Nora investigate a murder on a gambling cruise.
Marvis Arden (Mae West) is a sensational movie star. Her following spans the world and her personal appearance tours prove her popularity. On her way home from one such appearance, Arden's car breaks down. She orders her publicity man (Warren William) to find her a place to stay, suspicious that he planned the break down to keep her away from a man. However, she soon finds herself mooning over an attractive repairman in town (Randolph Scott) and listening to his ideas about inventing equipment for film.
Ted Howard, a vaudevillian left, stranded in a tank town. A local girl, Mary (Sally O'Neil), proposes to finance a new act with her savings and the team succeeds in a minor way until Ted is discovered by Broadway femme fatale Valeska (Carmel Myers). Not wishing to stand in her partner's way, Mary nobly resigns from the act and instead accepts a minor role in the show. She proves a sensation on opening night, however, and a jealous Valeska demands her ousted. But Ted, who is in love with Mary, reorganizes their old act and they begin a new life together as man and wife.
Two delusional geriatrics reveal curious pasts, share a love of tuna and welcome a surprise guest in this filming of the popular Broadway comedy show.
A horse trainer who has fallen on hard times looks to his horse, Broadway Bill, to finally win the big race.
Commander Logar fools Arif and sends him 1.000.000 years back in the time. He must civilize people from past to reach today.
An out-of-work singer, Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews), meets a just-fired, flamboyant gay man in a diner in 1920's Paris. He convinces her to pretend to be a man who is a female impersonator in order to get a job. The act is a hit in a local nightclub, but things get complicated when a gangster and nightclub owner from Chicago, King Marchan (Michael Nouri) falls in-love with "her." Flimed live on stage on Broadway, 1995
A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.
A hapless talent manager named Danny Rose, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. His story is told in flashback, an anecdote shared amongst a group of comedians over lunch at New York's Carnegie Deli. Rose's one-man talent agency represents countless incompetent entertainers, including a one-legged tap dancer, and one slightly talented one: washed-up lounge singer Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte), whose career is on the rebound.
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.
On his deathbed Carmine Vespucci's father tells him to "get Proclo". With "the hit" on, Gaetano tells a cab driver to take him where Carmine can't find him. He arrives at the Ritz, a gay bathhouse where he is pursued amorously by "chubby chaser" Paul B. Price and by entertainer Googie Gomez who believes him to be a broadway producer. His guides through the Ritz are gatekeeper Abe, habitue Chris, and bellhop/go-go-boys Tiger and Duff. Squeaky-voiced detective Michael Brick and his employer Carmine do locate Gateano at the Ritz, as does his wife Vivian. Written by Ed Stephan
Ralph Norton, man-about-town and wealthy favorite in Broadway society circles, is attracted to Helen Tremaine, but her flirtatious behavior causes him to reject the superficial life of his set.
After an absence of three years, Mae West returned to the screen in the musical comedy The Heat's On. La West is cast as Fay Lawrence, a famous Broadway actress who is loved intensely by her producer Tony Ferris (William Gaxton). Rival producer Forrest Stanton (Alan Dinehart) steals Fay away from Ferris by convincing her that she's been blacklisted from Broadway by blue-nosed moralist Hannah Bainbridge (Almira Sessions). Meanwhile, Hannah's puckish brother Hubert (Victor Moore) syphons money from his sister's "clean up show business" committee to produce a musical show for his actress niece Janey (Mary Roche). Somehow, all these characters converge for a spectacular closing production number spotlighting the formidable Fay. Part of the reason for the failure of The Heat's On is the fact that Mae West didn't write her own dialogue, as was usually her custom. The film performed so poorly that it would be 27 years before West would again appear on the Big Screen.
Corky St. Clair is a director, actor and dancer in Blaine, Missouri. When it comes time to celebrate Blaine's 150th anniversary, Corky resolves to bring down the house in Broadway style in this hilarious mockumentary from the people who brought you "This is Spinal Tap!"
Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decide to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as Mickey's girl.
The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.
A pretentiously artistic director is hired for a new Broadway musical and changes it beyond recognition.
When the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 hit, millions of people were left in the dark, including Waldo Zane, a New York executive in the process of stealing a fortune from his company, and two people whose paths he's destined to cross, Broadway actress Margaret Garrison and her husband, Peter.
A musical comedy based on several Damon Runyon short stories. When a bookie on the run, Robert 'Numbers' Foster, falls for a pretty country songbird, Emily Ann Stackerlee , he'll do anything to help her make it big -- including a stint in jail to pay for his crimes. But will the tough guy's sacrifice of the heart pay off when it comes to his girlfriend's singing career?
Mavis (Liza Minnelli) was a chorus line dancer on Broadway. Just as she was on the verge of getting more prominent roles, she fell in love. Her full-of-himself boyfriend moved them to Buffalo, far from the theater scene. As a musician, he plays with a band in the local clubs, often with the very talented Mavis singing at his elbow. But, they are just two bit players, mostly because of his total lack of ambition. On the side, Mavis runs a dance studio for ordinary folks. In her classes, among others, are a lovely nurse, a librarian, a lady with an overbearing husband, a lady with an unemployed son, a bossy middle aged housewife (Julie Walters) and a lone, divorced, very shy male. The studio pianist is a strong-willed senior (Shelley Winters). One day, a woman who operates a more prominent dance school in Buffalo invites Mavis and her class to perform a number in a charity dance recital.
Team America World Police follows an international police force dedicated to maintaining global stability. Learning that dictator Kim Jong il is out to destroy the world, the team recruits Broadway star Gary Johnston to go undercover. With the help of Team America, Gary manages to uncover the plan to destroy the world. Will Team America be able to save it in time? It stars… Samuel L Jackson, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Michael Moore, Helen Hunt, Matt Damon, Susan Sarandon, George Clooney, Danny Glover, Ethan Hawke, Alec Baldwin… or does it?
Two Broadway showgirls, who are also sisters, are sick and tired of New York as well as not getting nowhere. Quitting Broadway, the sisters decided to travel to Paris to become famous.
Two-part story--the first is about a washed-up Broadway actor and his tough daughter, who is a bigger star than he is; the second is about a literary agent whose newest client--a nine-year-old boy--is the author of a borderline pornographic book.
Ten-year-old orphan Patrick Dennis has come to live with his nearest relative and in the high times ahead, he's not going to believe his luck. Nor will you, because Patrick's relation is played by one of Hollywood's grandest dames. Reprising her Broadway triumph, Rosalind Russell won her fourth Oscar nomination and third Golden Globe Award as the marvelous madcap who lives life to the hilt. Auntie Mame brings to bubbly life the mayhem Mame and her cronies create while guiding Patrick's fortunes. "Life is a banquet," Mame says, "and most poor suckers are starving to death!" With wit, style and a seasoned cast to dish humor and heart with gusto, Auntie Mame is a full-course meal of entertainment magic.
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
On a trip to New York, a small-town blowhard gets caught between a wealthy widow and a gold digger.
Pretty Melinda Howard has been abroad singing with a musical troupe. She decides to return home to surprise her mother whom she thinks is a successful Broadway star with a mansion in Manhattan. She doesn't know that her mother is actually a burnt-out cabaret singer with a love for whiskey. When she arrives at the mansion, she is taken in by the two servants who are friends of her mother's The house actually belongs to Adolph Hubbell, a kind-hearted Broadway producer who also gets drawn into the charade. Hubbell takes a shine to Melinda and agrees to star her in his next show. Melinda also finds romance with a handsome hoofer who's also in the show. All is going well for Melinda except that she wants to see her mother who keeps putting off their reunion.
Harriet and Queenie Mahoney, a vaudeville act, come to Broadway, where their friend Eddie Kerns needs them for his number in one of Francis Zanfield's shows. Eddie was in love with Harriet, but when he meets Queenie, he falls in love to her, but she is courted by Jock Warriner, a member of the New Yorker high society. It takes a while till Queenie recognizes, that she is for Jock nothing more than a toy, and it also takes a while till Harriet recognizes, that Eddie is in love with Queenie
Lovely, gifted Irene Foster hopes that her childhood sweetheart-turned Broadway producer Robert Gordon will recognize her--and her talent. Gordon is too busy sparring with a dirt-dishing gossip columnist to notice, but his wisecracking, heart-of-gold secretary certainly does. She and Irene must use their wits to show him what he's missing!

© Valossa 2015–2024