Sally

1930 "ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!"
6.1| 1h43m| NR| en
Details

Sally is an orphan who was named by the telephone exchange where she was abandoned as a baby. In the orphanage, she discovered the joy of dancing. Working as a waitress, she serves Blair (Alexander Gray), and they both fall for each other, but Blair is engaged to socialite Marcia. Sally is hired to impersonate a famous Russian dancer named Noskerova, but at that engagement, she is found to be a phoney. Undaunted, she proceeds with her life and has a show on Broadway, but she still thinks of Blair.

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Marilyn Miller

Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
GManfred Marilyn Miller was the most famous Broadway musical star of the early part of the last century - too bad for most of us she died so young. She made three motion pictures in the late 20's/early 30's which survive and can give us an indication of what made her such an acclaimed talent.In 1929 she made "Sally" for First National (forerunner of Warner Bros.) in which she recreated one of her stage triumphs. It is good and with some competent back-up supporting actors, but I would say it is an incomplete document if one is trying to 'discover' Marilyn Miller. The story is familiar, about a waitress looking for her big show biz break with a romantic side-story, and she shows her star appeal as a passable singer, a better actress and an even better dancer. She is pretty in a familiar sort of way, but she wins you over with her vivacious, cheerful demeanor. The website rating is about right, and you get the feeling that being captured on film in an unremarkable story doesn't do her justice. I haven't seen her other films but I am reasonably certain that they do not capture the full impact of this legendary performer, either. I guess we'll just have to rely on historical sources and those three films.
Michael_Elliott Sally (1929)** 1/2 (out of 4) Better than average Musical from Warner about a down on her luck waitress (Marilyn Miller) who dreams of making it big as a dancer and finally gets a shot thanks to a man (Alexander Gray) who turns out to also be a major love interest. This story was a big hit on Broadway and it was even made into a film in 1925 but it seems it has now been forgotten as has its star Miller. Miller was apparently one of the biggest names on Broadway and she was making her film debut here but she's end up dead a short seven-years later due to alcohol and health problems. Many consider this her shining moments and she certainly leaves an impression even if it wasn't the one I was expecting. The actual story here will probably strike many as being unoriginal but one must remember that this movie came before many future films that would follow the same Cinderella-type structure. The one problem I had with the structure is that it seemed like Miller became famous way too quickly but this is just a minor thing. I went into this thing expecting great music numbers and poor "acting" but I actually got the opposite. I thought the entire cast delivered fine performances and they actually made the story flow a lot better than it would have with other actors. Gray has a very good voice but he also handles the role quite well and makes a memorable character. Joe E. Brown is here for comic relief and nearly steals the film in a couple classic scenes. One has an old man paying him some extra money to get into the club so Brown makes him climb a ladder to reach a tree house. Another laugh riot follows when Brown makes life Hell on a guy who comes to the club to impress a girl but doesn't have enough cash to pay for what she wants. I think most people are going to be checking this film out to get a glimpse of Miller and she's certainly very easy on the eyes. Her acting range really impressed me as she came off quite natural and I thought she was very believable as the girl dreaming for something big. I thought her dancing scenes were terrific and her comic timing was able to match Brown's and the two appear to be having fun together. The strange thing is that I wasn't overly impressed with her voice, which is something most other reviewers really praised. It wasn't horrible but I just didn't really get into it. The film was originally released in 2-strip Technicolor but sadly that version has gone missing so we're left with a B&W print that features the only remaining color footage, which lasts around three-minutes. It's a real shame that the color stuff is missing but the footage that does survive is in pretty rough shape but then again the B&W print is in tough shape.
mukava991 Sally, based on the famous Jerome Kern-Otto Harbach-Guy Bolton stage musical, is an oddly-structured piece, at least in its film incarnation. For the first 20 or 30 minutes (I didn't count) there is no music, then it's one song after another until nearly the end, with an unusually long closing title card accompanied by the melody to what is arguably the best song in the piece, "Look for the Silver Lining." The soundtrack quality leaves much to be desired (as we can expect from 1929 technology), but the melodies manage to squeeze through without too much harm, as do most of the vocals sung mainly by the winsome Marilyn Miller and the technically robust Alexander Gray who, while not physically expressive, is able to convey great range and depth by sheer vocal skill, singing in the grand old manner of judiciously trilled R's and well formed vowels. Miller, as showbiz antiquarians know, was the toast of Broadway in the 1920's. It can be said that she has a certain kind of guileless charm exhibited in later decades by Diane Keaton or Meg Ryan in their youth, except that neither of them could dance or sing much. Miller's fancy footwork includes ballet, tap, high kicking and various acrobatics. Joe E. Brown in a supporting role gets a chance to show off his own impressive athleticism on the dance floor; in his late 30s here, he could still do a masterful cartwheel in his 50s. Pert Kelton makes a few wisecracks in a nothing role that basically requires her to act, well… pert.The plot drags interminably, the "jokes" land with heavy thuds and one can only be grateful for the generous inclusion of song, though only three Kern numbers make it into this film: the title song (natch), "Look for the Silver Lining" and "The Wild Rose." The balance of the music and lyrics, mostly undistinguished, come from other songwriting teams.If for no other reason, this is worth a look for the sake of the rarely seen Miller and Gray.
dansavoie Sally, with Marilyn Miller, was the first movie shown at the Chatham Capitol Theatre in Chatham, Ontario Canada - on April 11, 1930. It was originally shown in color, however all the color sequences have been lost. It only survives in Black & White.Sally appears to be a bit dated, as we make our way through this new millennium, but serves as a tribute to the beauty and youth of Marilyn Miller. Miller is a fantastic dancer and gives the role 100%.The film is hard to find, but worth watching if you locate it. Thanks to MGM/UA and Turner for finding the merit to release it on laser disc back in 1993.