MartinHafer This is the first of only three films that Marilyn Miller made. Because she was the toast of Broadway, she didn't really need a Hollywood career and preferred the stage over films. Additionally, she had a drinking problem and died very young from the oddest of reasons....dying while undergoing surgery on her sinuses! So if you want to see her, this is one of your only chances.When the film begins, Sally (Miller) is a poor working girl and isn't very good at her job in the cafe. She aspires to sing and dance on stage but has yet to be discovered. The film follows her from being a waitress to being a star...and all the problems in between.Considering that it's based on the stage play "Sally" (also starring Miller) and it came out in 1929 (when sound technology was rather antiquated), the film is naturally incredibly stagy and the music is very old fashioned. While it played very well in the day, the music doesn't age all that well. It's made worse because late in the film it's one song after another after another...and they are quite tedious. Just a year or two later, sound films in Hollywood were a heck of a lot better and more timeless. Additionally, the film suffers a bit from being a black & white copy. Originally, it was filmed in Two-color Technicolor but only one brief musical sequence remains in color remains today...and it was only recently discovered.As for Joe E. Brown, this film came out before he was an established star and it looks in this movie as if Warner Brothers really didn't know what to do with him. He's much more a supporting character and plays, oddly, a broke playboy and member of the royalty who's working incognito in the cafe!Overall, this film is more of a curio...and oddity, as opposed to a film folks would want to see. Not a terrible film but a difficult one to love, that's for sure.

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.

kidboots Marilyn Miller was Broadway's Queen of Musical Comedy in the 20s and it's all due to "Sally", which debuted at the New Amsterdam Theatre and clocked up a massive 570 performances. She wasn't a great singer or dancer but on stage everything came together and she was absolutely unforgettable. "Now the screen has robbed the stage of it's most prized possession". Fortunately when "Sally" was filmed people still wanted musicals with a capital M and apart from the omission of a couple of Jerome Kern songs, including "The Church 'Round the Corner", "Sally" was filled with the songs everyone remembered.Sally Bowling Green (Marilyn Miller), so named because she was found as a waif on the steps of that particular telephone exchange, is a waitress. She is watched from afar by wealthy Blair Farell (Alexander Gray) who has fallen in love with her and her happy disposition. Sally dreams of becoming a dancer and practices every moment she gets. O. Hemingway Hooper (T. Roy Barnes) comes into the diner. He is a theatrical agent, always on the lookout for dancers and Sally wows him with her swell dancing. Unfortunately Sally has stars in her eyes and when she accidentally tips a plate of spaghetti all over Hooper, she not only loses her job but Hooper wants his card back!!! When Sally finds another job at the Elm Tree Inn, Blair meets Sally again - he is there with a bachelor party. When she tells him of her hard life he advises her not to be discouraged but to always "Look For the Silver Lining". When his group gathers, he sings of his love for "Sally" (Alexander Gray is wonderful, very sweet and ruggedly handsome). Later that night the Grand Duke of Chekoslovenia - "Connie" (Joe E. Brown)is feeling down in the dumps.. (He has lost all of his money on "fast women and slow horses" and is working at the Elm Tree Inn as a waiter). Sally cheers him up by telling him to "Look For the Silver Lining" and together they do a comical, charming dance. When her shift is over Blair takes her for a drive and together they sing the beautiful "If I'm Dreaming, Don't Wake Me Too Soon".The next night, through Blair's intervention, Sally gets a chance to dance before the patrons. The clowning is left to Joe E. Brown and Ford Sterling - he is the restaurant manager and the only person who knows Connie's real identity. There is a very funny part involving Jack Duffy as an elderly gentleman who has a tantrum when his hat is stepped on - Connie gives him a couple of balloons to make him happy. Pert Kelton is pretty pert as Rosie, Hooper's unrefined mistress. Sally, looking adorable gives "All I Want to Do Do Do is Dance" her all. It is a wonderful example of just one of Miller's many eccentric dance steps - the "pluck and step", a style she originated. Hooper and Rosie also see her dance and Hooper, who has just found out that Madame Moskorova, a Russian dancer, is going to be a no-show at a ritzy society ball, thinks Sally will be a natural. She is and wows the crowd with her crazy accent."You are like a little primrose", "No I am not - I am like a wild rose". Then with the help of the chorus boys Sally goes into "Wild Rose" and after a bit the screen blazes with colour (even the sound improves) and you can see why Broadway just adored her. She is as light as a feather as she twirls and high kicks. Unfortunately Sally is ousted as an imposter but not before Ziegfeld arrives and wants her for his Follies. After Sally's broken heart is fixed, at the end of the film she has performed in Ziegfeld's "Ballet of the Butterflies" and is the toast of New York."Sally" really showed how wonderful some early musicals could be with the right songs and clowning kept to a minimum. Marilyn had a wonderful way of looking into the camera,just as she was finishing her dance, with a look that said "it's all a lark" and letting the viewers into the secret. It was probably a hold-over from the stage and another reason why audiences loved her.Highly, Highly Recommended.

didi-5 Originally filmed in 2-strip Technicolor, this film now survives as a mainly black and white print with some colour footage intact. This rags to riches story (Sally starts from an orphanage and ends up with her own show on Broadway) stars Marilyn Miller - little seen and perhaps only known to film buffs because of Judy Garland's impersonation of her in 'Till The Clouds Roll By'. Miller was a beautiful and talented artist, as 'Sally' proves.Supporting her is a very young Joe E Brown (best known as Captain Andy in the third film version of Show Boat) who is a lot of fun, and Alexander Gray, who like many other leading men of the early talkies is a bit of a stuffed shirt. You'll also spot the Keystone Kops' Ford Sterling as 'Pops'.'Sally' is a hugely enjoyable early talkie. The colour sequence is lovely and bright - it is a pity that we lose the impact from the rest of the film. The songs are good and Miss Miller is a treat to watch. Try to catch this when it next airs on TCM.