Film

Roman Scandals

Name: Roman Scandals
Genre: Music, Comedy
Released: 1933
Cast: Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, Edward Arnold, David Manners

Comedy
Light-hearted

A 1933 musical comedy where Eddie Cantor plays a small-town nobody who dreams himself into ancient Rome. It's a vehicle for vaudeville-style comedy, elaborate production numbers, and Cantor's particular brand of energetic, pun-filled performance. It's for anyone who loves old Hollywood spectacle and doesn't mind when the plot takes a backseat to the next big musical number.

TMDb rating

2.9

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It Happened One Night1934

A screwball comedy that proves early 1930s filmmaking could be genuinely funny without relying on slapstick. The chemistry between Gable and Colbert is electric, and it holds up better than most comedies from the era.

But It's romantic rather than musical, so if you're specifically chasing Cantor's vaudeville energy, you won't find it here.

Singin' in the Rain1952

The greatest Hollywood musical ever made. If you want that same joy in production and performance but with better songs, sharper writing, and choreography that still astonishes, this is it.

But It's from nearly 20 years later, so it'll show you how much filmmaking improved—which means Roman Scandals will look even more creaky by comparison.

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Cocoanuts1929

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The Marx Brothers' first sound film, where Groucho, Chico, and Harpo wreak havoc on a Florida real-estate scheme. It's anarchic, quotable, and proves that early 1930s comedy could be genuinely subversive—absurdist humour that still stings.

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The Phantom President1932

George M. Cohan leading a political satire musical comedy. It's got that same cheerful absurdism and pre-Code willingness to mock authority that Cantor brings to Roman Scandals.

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Footlight Parade1933

James Cagney as a harried director staging musical numbers. It's got more plot than Roman Scandals, tighter comedy, and Busby Berkeley at his most ambitious with the production design.

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The Cat and the Fiddle1934

A musical romance with Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro that leans into the fantastical dream-logic of storytelling. It's lighter than Roman Scandals but has genuine charm and some lovely musical moments.

But The romance is treacly, the plot is gossamer-thin, and it doesn't have the comedic punch that makes Cantor films worth the runtime.

Babes in Arms1939

Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in a musical where young performers put on a show. It's got energy, charm, and songs that actually matter. It shows how the musical could evolve while keeping that Depression-era spirit.

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Follow the Fleet1936

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Trip to Mars1924

Both use dreams as a premise to shed the constraints of the real world and stage elaborate fantasy sequences. But where Roman Scandals uses that freedom for spectacle and period slapstick, A Trip to Mars uses it for something closer to surrealism. Watching them back-to-back shows you two different answers to the question: what can you do with a dream?

An obscure silent comedy where a dreamer falls asleep and ends up on Mars. It's got the same dream-logic structure as Roman Scandals but with sci-fi rather than historical settings, and it's lean—just 40 minutes of pure invention without padding.

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The Band Wagon1953

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Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in what might be the perfect Hollywood musical. It's self-aware, funny, beautifully shot, and the dancing is transcendent. Every element serves the whole.

But It's a direct contrast to Roman Scandals' charm-over-craft approach. If you want lo-fi spectacle and earnest silliness, this will make Roman Scandals look like rough drafts. It's also 20 years later, so standards had evolved enormously.