Radio Parade of 1935 (U.S. title: Radio Follies) is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Will Hay, Clifford Mollison and Helen Chandler. It was written Paul Perez, and followed on from the 1933 film Radio Parade.
The character of the Director General is intended to be a satirical parody of Lord Reith, and the NBG the BBC (in 1930s British slang, the "NBG" stood for "no bloody good").
Contents
Plot
The film tells the story of the Director General of the National Broadcasting Group, who promotes the ambitious Head of Complaints to Programme Director in an attempt to stem the number of complaints he is receiving owing to the station's overly intellectual programming.
Production
Two sequences in the film were filmed in Dufaycolor.
Preservation status
The film is extant.
Reception
The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Spectacular Dufaycolor sequences provide grand climax featuring hundreds of chorines, swaying with terpsichorean abandon. ...Cast-iron popular entertainment for any house, with big star and title exploitation angles. One of the most commendable things about this production is the fact that it is not merely a string of turns. There is a definite plot that would in itself be quite entertaining without the introduction of radio and variety stars."
Variety wrote: "Principal criticism is that there are too many stars, with the result none of them can do justice to themselves. ... Rather pretentious and attractive settings, with some remarkable color sequences by the Dufay color system. ... B.I.P. will probably have enough specialty bits left over for use in future productions for years to come."