The Granddaddy of the legendary Gold Diggers films of the 1930s is THE GOLD DIGGERS OF BROADWAY, made during the first year of talkie features in 1929. Besides being an “all-talkie,” that is, a feature with no “silent” footage, GOLD DIGGERS also boasted early two-tone Technicolor. Unlike the later three-strip Technicolor (WIZARD OF OZ, GONE WITH THE WIND), two-tone Technicolor offered a pastel view of the world.
The big hit song was “Tip Toe Through the Tulips” performed by Nick Lucas. This song later became popular in the 1960s when it was sung by Tiny Tim:
Here is a precious eight minutes of re-discovered Technicolor footage from this pioneering musical that starred Winnie Lightner, Ann Pennington, Lilyan Tashman, and Nick Lucas:
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