Movie Melodies on Parade: A weird, musical time capsule

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you’re into the weird, specific history of how people used to package musical clips before YouTube existed. If you want a narrative or anything resembling a modern structure, you will hate this. It’s a relic, plain and simple. 🎶

It feels like stumbling into a room where someone is obsessively organizing their old 8mm collection. You get these big orchestral swells, and suddenly, boom—you're looking at a clip from some forgotten drama. The editing is actually surprisingly smooth for its age, which I didn't expect.

Sometimes, the transition between the live orchestra and the black-and-white film footage is jarring. It’s like eating a sandwich where the bread is from two different bakeries. It works, but you definitely notice the seam.

Odd bits and pieces

• The conductor seems to be having way more fun than anyone in the audience.
• The way the music swells during the dramatic clips makes them feel way more intense than they probably were originally.
• I spent most of the runtime wondering if the people in the clips knew they were being edited into a musical revue.

It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Great Sensation, where everything is just a bit too loud and eager to please. It’s not trying to be a deep dive. It just wants you to hear the tunes and see the faces.

I found myself zoning out during the choir parts. They really hold those notes a few seconds longer than necessary, don't they? It started to feel less like a performance and more like a test of my patience. 🥱

There’s a weird charm to it, though. It’s not trying to be anything other than a showcase for songs. If you want to see how cinema used to talk to itself, this is a weird little window. Just don't expect it to change your life or anything.

It’s a strange little palate cleanser, much like some of the short bits in Character Studies. It exists, it plays, it ends. And that's about all there is to say about it.