Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 is a lost film. According to Vitaphone Varieties, the only known surviving copy of the film was lost in a catastrophic fire in 1937. There is a listing for the film at the Library of Congress, however it is only for a record as listed in Jack Raymond’s Show Music on Record (a listing of recordings from American shows). After contacting the Library of Congress, I discovered that they do hold 35mm nitrate of censor cuts from the film, however nitrate elements are not available for viewing.

DIRECTOR TROUBLE 
Fox Movietone Follies was initially directed by Marcel Silver, who also directed Married in Hollywood, another lost film from 1929. In the late 1920s, he directed many of Fox’s “Varieties,” sound shorts featuring vaudeville acts filmed in Hollywood. ​

After Fox executives began to panic at the escalating production costs, lack of plot, and lengthy production period, director David Butler was bought in to finish the film. He did so in a matter of weeks. Raised in a show business family, Butler directed over eighty films and television shows in a career spanning over fifty years, including the delightful Sunny Side Up, (1929), The Little Colonel (1935), Calamity Jane (1953), and Leave it to Beaver (1957).

CATCHY MUSIC
The reviews unanimously declared that the music was catchy and fun, and bound to get the audience dancing. Several songs from the film including “That’s You, Baby,” “Breakaway,” “Walking with Susie,” “Big City Blues” became best-selling hits. Photoplay wrote, in its new record review section, “you can dance to this!”

The music team were all highly successful and prolific composers. Working primarily for Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Sidney Mitchell had a successful partnership with Lew Pollack. Mitchell wrote the lyrics for "At the Codfish Ball," "Sugar," and the Oscar nominated "A Melody from the Sky."

Starting out as a piano accompanist for silent film, Conrad went on to perform, write, and produce for the Broadway stage. His songs were recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Eddie Cantor, and Eubie Blake, and went on to become huge hits. Conrad eventually moved to Hollywood, and continued to write hit songs for the budding talkie industry. He won the first Oscar for Best Song for "The Continental," featured in The Gay Divorcee (1934), and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. Conrad's music continues to be featured in film and television, including "Palesteena,” You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)," and "Ma, She's Making Eyes at Me."​

Another silent film accompanist, Archie Gottler went on to write for the Ziegfeld Follies and Broadway Brevities in the 1920s. After composing innovative scores for silent films, he continued working in Hollywood as a successful composer and director. As a director. Gottler is best known for Woman Haters, the first of the Three Stooges comedies. His famous songs include “America, I Love You,” “Easter Sunday on Parade," and “Wine, Women and Song.”

MULTICOLOR DANCES! 
Despite the song and dance routines being filmed in groundbreaking multicolor, which according to historian Richard Barrios “was based on shades of red-orange and blue, which gave it a softer and cooler look than its rival,” the choreography did not receive much mention in any of the reviews. 

Unusually for this period, the choreographers are credited in Fox Movietone Follies. For this film, the musical numbers were staged by brother and sister team, Fanchon and Marco. Fanchon & Marco Inc, also known as F&M, was a highly successful family-run production company and talent school based in LA. The company created elaborate stage shows and film segments featuring large numbers of talented chorus girls. According to the Fanchon and Marco website, notable students who trained with Miss Fanchon and her brother, Marco Fanchon, include “Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Shirley Temple, Ginger Rogers, Dorothy Lamour, Cyd Charisse, Betty Grable, Joan Crawford, Will Rogers and May West.” The site is well worth checking out for production shots of F&M’s elaborate sets and staging. 

Even with the use of multicolor, the critics failed to be impressed by the elaborate numbers. Barrios states that “Trick photography was used on an energetic group of black singers/dancers performing “Walking with Susie”; and a faux undersea ballet, “Pearl of Old Japan”... yet neither was terribly dazzling.” 

LACK OF STARS
Variety lamented the lack of stars in the cast. With a few notable exceptions (listed below), very few of the credited cast members went on to any sort of performance career beyond a few film appearances.

Along with her sisters, Lola Lane was one of the leading ladies of the 1930s. Born Dorothy Mullican, Lane started out playing piano for silent films. After reportedly being discovered singing in a flower shop, Lane toured the vaudeville circuit and eventually moved to New York where she starred in revues alongside George Jessel. Lane was spotted by a talent scout and moved to Hollywood in 1929. She appeared in over forty films, usually playing tough women. Lane was the inspiration behind the Superman character, Lois Lane.

Stepin Fetchit, or Lincoln Perry, was a highly successful, and controversial, comedian and actor. He was the first African American actor to receive a featured screen credit, and the first to become a millionaire. Although widely criticized for his derogatory portrayals of "lazy" African American characters, Perry was later celebrated for opening the doors in Hollywood to African American actors. An excellent bio and breakdown of his career and legacy can be found here and here.

Sue Carol was a successful actress for over 10 years before starting her own talent agency, the Sue Carol Agency. The critics loved her in Fox Movietone Follies, and she received universally favorable reviews.

Dixie Lee is now known as Bing Crosby's wife, however she was very much a celebrated star in her own right, even if she was adored for her good looks rather than any remarkable acting abilities. Lee appeared on recordings "A Fine Romance" and "The Way You Look Tonight."
Paula Langlen was a stage actress who also went by the nickname of "Skipit," reportedly due to her flighty demeanor during her first Broadway audition. She appeared in Gilbert and Sullivan productions on Broadway, and in several films. One critic described her as "sprite-like" and "charming."

Carolynne Snowden was a highly acclaimed African American dancer who appeared in over twenty films, mostly during the silent era. She was a headliner at the Cotton Club in Harlem, and toured the US with her own troupe. At the height of her success in Hollywood, she had her own dressing room on the MGM lot, and a five-year contract. Snowden often appeared opposite Lincoln Perry, and appeared in The Jazz Singer as a maid. She is credited as being one of the first successful African American film actresses who paved the way for actresses of color on the big screen.

Frank Richardson was a child performer who was known as "The Wonder Boy Tenor". He had success as a black-face performer in vaudeville, and his act, "The Joy Boy of Song," was filmed as a short for Vitaphone. He appeared in Sunny Side Up and "Happy Days" (1929). A detailed biography can be found here.