Now Erich Von Stroheim is regarded as one of the all time great directors but back in 1930 he was almost unemployable. He had been sacked from "Queen Kelly" (1928), at the star's (Gloria Swanson) insistence. He was then hired to star in "The Great Gabbo" and the film showed audiences what a wonderful character actor he was. People could see and hear him yelling, preening and huffing - sounding exactly the way he looked!!!

Erich Von Stroheim plays Gabbo, a conceited meglomaniac, who has a ventriloquist act that he performs on the vaudeville circuit. During one performance, his assistant and live-in love Mary (Betty Compson) drops a tray and is forced by Gabbo to find another job. She leaves him with the advice "We only take out of this life what we put into it!!".

Otto, the "dummy" seems to have a life of it's own - he is Gabbo's conscience and talks to him about his bad decisions. Before Mary goes, she questions why, with such a good act, he is still playing vaudeville. Gabbo decides to do something about it and 2 years later he is the toast of Broadway in "The Manhattan Revue". When they go out to tea at an exclusive restaurant Otto sings "The Lollipop Song" - "and it gets all over icky" - much to everyone's delight. They see Mary at a table with Frank, her new partner. They are playing at the same theatre.

Marjorie "Babe" Kane then sings "Every Now and Then" with Frank and afterwards it gets the full production treatment with dancing girls and men in top hats. Gabbo hasn't changed his autocratic manner - his new dresser is ready to walk out but Mary intervenes. Mary feels sorry for Gabbo and tries to do a few things for him - gets his coffee etc. Frank gets the wrong idea as does Gabbo, who thinks Mary is coming back to him. Otto then sings "I'm Laughing" during the show. This song and "The Lollipop Song" have a very European sound. "The Ga-Ga Bird" is missing - at this point you see chorus girls removing bird costumes. Also at the end there is a montage of all the songs in the show and there is a scene of girls dancing in bird costumes - you also hear a bit of the music as well. Next there is a big production number "I'm In Love With You". I think the last couple of reels were filmed in "Multicolor" - just the look of the stage and dancers. The next number is "The New Step" featuring "Babe" Kane and dancing chorus girls in a whizz bang production with psychedelic curtains and a revolving bulls- eye. The songs just keep on coming.

"When You're Caught in a Web of Love" is astounding. An amazing acrobatic dance (it is so obvious that it is not Betty Compson dancing). There is also a conversation being carried on, stopping only when she is being thrown around, and then resumed when she is still. The dance starts off on a big spider's web and the dancers then jump down. It would have been glorious in color. All the chorus girls dressed as butterflies and dancing, not always in time but that is part of the charm.

When Mary tells Gabbo the truth - that she and Frank are married and if she misses anyone it would be Otto, who always had a kind word for her - Gabbo is completely derailed mentally. He has a complete break down and ruins the finale and the ending shows him walking forlornly away with Otto as his name is being taken off the theatre marquee.

I think the problem with the musical numbers during the last part was that they didn't seem to be incorporated into the plot. Even if there had been some clichéd dialogue "This is our big chance", "I hope we make it" - it would have made the last 20 minutes less awkward.

Recommended.